Top 25 Albums of 2008

This was hard. Much harder than I thought it would be. I listened to about 75 albums from 2008, but there were so many more that I thought I "should" listen to, to be fair. Well, time ran out, and here's what I ended up with. I'm happy with it. I'd really appreciate your comments. Also, see my FULL list of reviews of all of the albums I listened to.

25. Beach House - Devotion
Very nice Nico-esque sound they have. It's retro, for sure, but not the same kind of retro everyone else seems to be ripping off lately. These Baltimoreans have done my home state proud.

24. AU - Verbs
I heard these guys open for the Dodos, and it took a few songs, but I eventually got into their sound. For some reason, I end up comparing a lot of bands to Animal Collective, but I think it's apt here. They have that same sense of how to make the bizarre beautiful.

23. Delta Spirit - Ode to Sunshine
Not consistently good through the whole album, but there are a few outstanding tracks. Their old-school folk/soul lo-fi sound feels comfortable from the moment you hear it.

22. Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak
As much as I dislike the guy for his attitude, there's no denying his ear. Yeah, maybe he isn't a very good singer, but he knows it, and makes up for it with some appropriate effect-work.

21. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Fun and dancy, this record doesn't take itself too seriously like a lot of electronic music. The synths and beats make for perfect party music that owes plenty to Depeche Mode and other earlier electronic groups, but still sounds modern. I think the singer could use some voice lessons though.

20. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
All quality songs. This mellow folk rock rookie in the Iron & Wine mold has some stellar melodies and a haunting sound that will touch your heart and be appropriate for the soundtrack to Gray's Anatomy (woops, too late).

19. Deerhunter - Microcastle
This album has multiple personalities. Its ambient, spacey, trippy side makes it pleasantly groovy. Its power pop melodies and hooks give it a familiar feel. "Never Stops" is a really good track.

18. Santogold - Santogold
Hopping back and forth between new wave, reggae, hip hop, and hard rock, (even a taste of country) this exciting new artist is fresh and filled with the funk. Can't wait to hear what she has to give us next.

17. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Jack White's "other band" is better than his regular band (The White Stripes). Yeah I said it. This isn't his side project. This is the real deal. Unlike White Stripes albums, this one keeps moving the whole time, not pausing to marvel at Jack's virtuosity. This is about the songs, not the man. The rest of the band must bring out the more practical rocker in him.

16. Amadou & Mariam - Welcome to Mali
Blind husband-wife duo mix traditional and modern sounds with soulful song-writing. I have no idea what they're saying, but they've got me convinced.

15. The Dodos - Visiter
This duo, sometimes trio, is downright nasty with the skills. Acoustic guitar, drums, and singing (and sweatpants). That's all you need, apparently. Their music is a frenzy of activity that you should be shocked to learn comes from just two young dudes from San Francisco. Full review.

14. Shugo Tokumaru - Exit
When I first listened to it, I thought it would surely be one of my top 3 albums of the year, but it didn't take too many spins before I realized it's just a very very good album. The multi-instrumentalist from the nation of my birth did the homeland proud with a little gem of an album. It's fun, trippy, airy, and concise. Full review.

13. Sigur Ros - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
The Icelandic group's most accessible album to date. Mosts of the songs are single-length and of fairly standard song structure, unlike much of their more ambient catalog. A good listen for sure, even if it seems to cater more to the masses. They're still near the top of the active psychedelic music scene.

12. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
It took a long time for me to appreciate this album. It seems to be on everybody's top ten list, and I just didn't see it until I listened to it in the morning. Some albums are night-time music. This is morning-time music, for me at least. My beef with it for a while was that it's not very original, as it borrows a lot from the 60s and 70s era psychedelic and folk scenes, especially the Beach Boys. I know everyone borrows, but it just seemed too similar. But I realized that regardless of whether the style is new, the songs are great, and the melodies are timeless.

11. Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08
What is he? Indie? Punk? Who cares, it sounds so good to me. It's defiant, angry, paranoid, confident. Everything he seems to be as a person.

10. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
Another innovative electronic group making beautiful sounds with blips, beeps, and buzzy beats.

9. Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid
This Mancunian group have been one of my favorite bands for a while now, but this album seems like their best, most confident work so far. Also, their show at 6th & I historic Synagogue was my favorite show of the year, and I went to a LOT of good shows this year.

8. Dr. Dog - Fate
They might be higher if not for a weak final three tracks. This band has been one of my favorite music discoveries of the year. They're awesome live, and this album, an indie/blues/folk fun-ride, complete with great vocal variety and harmony. Full review.

7. The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale
Midwest hip-hop duo lay witty, self-deprecating rhymes over minimalist, old school beats. My favorite hip-hop album since Madvillainy. Ok, so I don't listen to that much hip-hop, it's true. But this has fulfilled my undernourished taste for it for '08, and I think '09 will be a year of hip-hop exploration for me.

6. Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing
The future of music? This electronic group put together a great effort filled with hard beats, dramatic buildups, and a fascinating mix of melody and noise.

5. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
"I am armed with the past, and the will, and a brick / I might not want you back, but I want to kill him." These are the kinds of raw emotional lyrics, sung with a wobbly, earnest voice, that make this album great. It's produced by the same guy who produced Boxer by the National last year, and the two albums share the quality of breathing new life into the conventional rock style with just good song-writing and production.

4. The Walkmen - You & Me
Roommate Ed proclaims, "Sounds like Bob Dylan" and dismisses it. Whatever, he does have that great-singer-that-can't-really-sing kind of sound to him. There's so much more though. You feel like you're in some grainy independent film that's vaguely set in the past, but feels particularly timely, if that makes even a lick of sense.

3. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
This album occupied my top spot for a good portion of the year, and might have suffered from being the first of these top 3 that I heard, and therefore, the least fresh. It's amazing. They deserve all the praise they're getting. I think they finally put it all together on this record, where in their previous efforts, there were good tracks, but not a good album. Also, read my full gushing review.

2. Portishead - Third
Wow, who knew a band could go away for so long and come back with an album this good? I guess it's not unheard of. These alt-electro-rock-ish veterans know how to make some amazing sounds with their instruments, machines, and voices. To use a cliche term, the songs take you on a journey, and all the stops on that trip are beautiful and strange.

1. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
First off, props to Brooklyn for putting out so many good records this year (this one, TVOTR, Santogold, The Hold Steady, MGMT, Vampire Weekend). Nicely done. This one takes the cake though. It's a full album, stunning from start to finish. They ditched their out-and-out electronica sound and humor (which were good too) and focused on making a spooky folktronica masterpiece. Daniel Rossen, also from Grizzly Bear, has a beautiful and earnest voice that colors the album with vivid, pained strokes. Also check out my full review.

inconvenient year-end technology failure

If you happen to be in the market for a netbook, and you are trying to decide between the Acer Aspire One and the MSI Wind... get the Wind. My friend Rachel got the Wind in September. I got the Acer in October. My Acer is now dead, or something like it. It won't turn on. I'm sending it back for repairs. This is annoying because:

1. I'm obviously an internet fiend.
2. I can't work on my annual Christmas mix, and it'll have to be delayed.
3. I can't work on my year-end top albums list because all my music is on that laptop.
4. My desktop (which I'm using to write this post) is a six-year-old hand-me-down piece of garbage that crashes every five minutes, and certainly doesn't fit in my man-purse.

Meanwhile, Rachel sent me a link saying that Wired named the Wind the Top Gadget of 2008.

On top of that, my new LG enV2 phone, which I also got in October, turns off every time I put it in my pocket. Garbage.

songs of the year: 2008

The year's coming to an end, and I'm still working on my albums of the year list, but here's something to whet your appetite.

Ten Favorite Songs:

10. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park

9. Fuck Buttons - Sweet Love for Planet Earth

8. MGMT - Time to Pretend

7. Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook

6. Amadou and Mariam - Sabali

5. Elbow - Grounds for Divorce

4. Frightened Rabbit - I Feel Better

3. TV on the Radio - Dancing Choose

2. Portishead - The Rip

1. Dr. Dog - The Old Days

Bonus! Least Favorite Song:

My Morning Jacket - Highly Suspicious

Why I Hate Of Montreal

Of Montreal being annoying in Baltimore, 2007

I don't usually go around actively hating on bands. I respect musicians for putting themselves out there for public critique, and I usually just ignore bands I don't like. But Of Montreal is an exception. I can't stand them. I first heard them on Satanic Panic in the Attic, and it was an OK album, but I found the unchecked glee of the singing highly annoying. Don't you know rock music is about misery?! The next time I heard them was on an Outback Steakhouse commercial. I generally groan when bands I like "sell out" and do commercials, but Of Montreal took it a step further. They changed the words to one of their own songs to make the jingle for the Outback commercial, "let's go Outback tonight." Here's the original song, "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games." That is criminal! An "indie" band shilling for a corporate steakhouse and changing the words of their own song?! Who does that? They deserve maximum mocking. That happened a while ago, though. The indie-heads know that's old news. The last straw for me, however, was even older news than that, which I recently found with the help of my good friend Wikipedia. Of Montreal is not from Montreal, but from Athens, Georgia. Maybe I'm the stupid one for assuming what shouldn't necessarily be assumed. Maybe everyone else caught on to that long ago. But me? I just learned about it, and I'm angry at being deceived for so long. Also, it didn't help their cause that their new album, Skeletal Lamping, sucks.

Overboard?

This is the scene in my car lately. I've been working on a year-end best albums list, and the end of the year is coming fast. I still have a lot of albums to listen to. No time to waste uploading to my ipod. Is there a law against operating a laptop while driving?

Concert Review: Wilco - 12.14.08 at Lyric Opera House in Baltimore

I got tickets to Wilco even though they're not a band I've ever fallen in love with. They kind of occupy the same sort of vague territory of appreciation without outright affection that the White Stripes, Ted Leo, and Broken Social Scene fall into for me. But I knew they write good songs, and they have a reputation for being an excellent live act to see, and the choice of venue had me sold. 

The Baltimore show was one of only a couple that Wilco are doing this tour without Neil Young, so they get to be the headlining act. Funny, that they are opening for Neil Young, but the one time I saw Neil Young, he opened for Dave Matthews Band... something is wrong here. Anyway, the venue of this show, the Lyric Opera House, was a big selling point for me too, because shows I've seen this year in fancier seated venues have all been excellent (Sigur Ros, Elbow, Mos Def).

And what do you know, I got exactly what I paid for. (Ok, not exactly... I bought two tickets thinking, surely, I could convince one of my friends, or some poor hipster out in the cold of Baltimore to see the show, but I couldn't find a single taker, and had to totally eat the cost... and that's the 2nd time that's happened in two weeks! WTF?)

The thing that struck me about this show is that this is just a very good, professional, band. They're tight, they have no weak links, they take their craft extremely seriously. That being said, one of the more memorable parts of the show came when Tweedy messed up a verse on "Jesus, Etc." about which he seemed really embarassed. He explained that, what had gone through his head to make him lose his place in the song was, he was thinking about how cool it'd be if characters from "The Wire" (best show in the history of tv) like Omar and McNulty were real and came to a Wilco show. It was a stark contrast from Nick Cave, who seemed to not give a damn about stopping in the middle of "God is in the House" or explaining why.

So in conclusion, even if you don't like Wilco that much, you should go see them if you get the chance, especially if your friend is offering them to you at a discount and would probably even give it to you for free.

Might Could at Orion Studios

My friend and guitar teacher Aaron is in a band called Might Could. Usually, they're an acoustic prog  guitar trio plus bass sometimes. At Orion Studios in Catonsville on Saturday night, they were that for the first set, and then, for the second time in their existence, a metal cover band for the second set. They rocked the house two times over.

Concert Review: Dr. Dog - 12.3.08 at the 9:30 Club

For the pre-encore setlist, see the previous post.

The encore was:

1. I Hope There's Love
2. OHNO
3. Fuck It

This was my second Dr. Dog show in five days and third in the past three months. From these shows, I've learned it's best to see this band up close, not hanging back or from a balcony. Though not the most danceable of musical styles, a lot of their appeal is their high energy. I used to always be a "near-the-stage" kind of concert-goer, but lately, in my old age, I've been favoring the balcony or the "hang-back" method. This is fine for mellower shows. But I hung back at the Dr. Dog show in Philly a few days back, and it just wasn't as good.

The 9:30 club set was pretty similar to both of the previous sets I saw. All three opened with "The Old Days", the first song of theirs I ever heard, and still one of my favorites. The sets were all heavily from their two latest albums, Fate and We All Belong, but featured a few old ones sprinkled in there. They're a really well-rehearsed band, and I definitely respect them for that.

The real treat in being up front for the show was the crowd. Dr. Dog fans are my kind of people, I guess (except for the couple that was making out hardcore in the front row). They sing along, but not obnoxiously; they dance; they're good-natured. I'm glad I saw this show, because after watching them from next to the sound board in Philly, I was starting to question whether this band was as good as I'd thought. The answer: yes, they're that good. If you ever get a chance to see them (and you will - they tour a lot), learn the songs, buy a ticket, and stand in the front with my people.

dr. dog 930 club setlist

full review coming later.

song of the day - 12.1.08: portishead - nylon smile

This Portishead track is sure to give you goosebumps. Beth Gibbons's ghostly whisper hitting all the right notes, the driving hand-drum rhythm, and the blips and moans of indistinguishable electronic and instrumental fills create a trance-like feel. It will transport you to a creepily beautiful landscape painted by three great musicians from Bristol. Enjoy the ride, readers. Enjoy.

song of the day - 11.29.08: amadou and mariam - sabali

I'd never heard of this duo before two days ago, but apparently Amadou & Mariam have been around for quite a while now, doing their thing. They are a blind couple from Mali who mix traditional and modern sounds to make some really cool songs like this one, "Sabali." This song sound simultaneously old and new, and either way, it's just a stunning melody that needs no context or explanation. It was produced by Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and Blur fame. Also, apparently they have a huge fan in Manu Chao, who approached them to collaborate on a previous album, and I haven't found anything saying this, but I swear he's on at least one of the tracks on the album Welcome to Mali, off which "Sabali" is the first single,. Expect to see this album somewhere on my soon-to-be-posted "Top [some number] Albums of 2008" list.

Concert Review: Dr. Dog - 11.28.08 at Starlight Ballroom in Philadelphia

I'm seeing Dr. Dog again in 3 days in DC, so I'm gonna do a full review of both shows then. For now, here's the set list of the Philly show. Sorry, kinda blurry on the encores.

Set list:

1. The Old Days
   
2. Hang On
   
3. The Way the Lazy Do
   
4. Fate
   
5. Today
   
6. Worst Trip
   
7. From
   
8. The Ark
   
9. The Breeze
   
10. Say Something
11. Army of Ancients
12. My Friend (?)
13. Fat Dog (?)
14. 100 Years
15. The Girl
16. My Old Ways
17. Alaska
18. The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer 

Encore

1. Keep a Friend (?)
2. Ain't It Strange (?)
3. Die, Die, Die (?)

song of the day - 11.27.08: maritime - guns of navarone

Maritime is kind of an indie supergroup, except the word "super" implies that the members were previously in well-known bands. If you consider The Dismemberment Plan and The Promise Ring well-known, you're probably a pretty devoted music fan. Maritime's original lineup featured two members of the Promise Ring, and Eric Axelson of the Dismemberment Plan. (D-Plan happens to be one of my favorite bands of all time, and I actually found myself dancing next to Axelson at Wonderland Ballroom last year, and I think he was surprised I knew who he was.) Both of the bands had broken up, and those three got together and made some good stuff. Axelson had already left the band by the time "Guns of Navarone" was written for their third studio album. I'm not sure what makes this song and the album it comes from (Heresy and the Hotel Choir) so appealing to me. The sound is poppier than I usually like, but they're just good, catchy tunes that deserve recognition for being so.

Giving Thanks for the Little Things

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought I'd list some things I'm thankful for. I'm not gonna bother with the obvious things (family, friends, health, etc.). I'd rather focus on the littler things that bring the little joys to my life (many of which are foods):

ice cream sandwiches, cheese, Gmail chat, Crisp & Juicy, The Onion, Twitter, dimsum, Gatorade, Honey Bunches of Oats, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Popeyes, U-Topia, Jameson's Irish Whiskey, Jack Daniels, Knob Creek, bacon, craigslist, perforated edges, high thread-count sheets, Moleskine notebooks, Pilot Precise pens, foosball, fantasy sports, Everton, the Redskins, Five Guys, costillas, Rafa Nadal, Zooey Deschanel, Fiona Apple, Daniel Day Lewis, Shure headphones, Apple, Microsoft, American Apparel, Converse, Ibuprofen, earplugs, text messaging, Slate magazine, the BBC, NPR, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, David Simon & Ed Burns, dance parties, Skype, electric toothbrushes, mayonnaise,  Old Bay, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Beau Biden, Banana Fana Fo Fiden, butter, Black Cat, Girl Scout Cookies, sunsets, clouds, Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce, Wikipedia, Klean Kanteens, Fatwallet, murses, hoodies, shoe horns, graffiti, Sharpies, Kurt Vonnegut, the National Park Service, Ikea, the Dude and Walter, sand, wind, rain, rocking chairs, Grandma Utz potato chips, YouTube, Hillary Clinton, onion rings, clementines, dark chocolate, Facebook, Bell's Oberon, Hunter S. Thompson, Mitch Hedberg, HBO, DVR, On Demand, Ledo pizza, Tastee Diner, mix tapes, fire, tennis, Kinder Buenos, Boggle, and rainbows

Amazing Feat

I accomplished something amazing the other night, something I doubt many people can claim to have done. I chipped a tooth in my sleep. That's right. I chipped one of my upper teeth with one of my lower teeth.... while sleeping. How, you ask? I wonder how myself. I must have made some sort of sudden movement in my sleep, perhaps something dream-related. I don't remember. I woke up to the disturbing sensation of something going terribly wrong in my mouth.

It was only a tiny chip, hardly noticeable, but I could feel the bits of tooth floating around my mouth. Few things make me cringe more than even the thought of my teeth cracking. I'm cringing right now, while I write this. (Cringe... I like that word. It sounds like what it means.) It's even more frightening to think that, since it happened once, it could happen again, and I have no protection against it. Basically, I could permanently fuck up my teeth in my sleep. What do I do? Wear a mouth-guard to bed? That's a quality-of-life sacrifice I'm not willing to make.

Ugh. I might as well get dentures now and get it over with.

Prop 8 Protest & March in DC

When Proposition 8 in California passed on Nov 4, marriage equality for gay couples in the entire U.S., not just CA, suffered a huge blow. Anti-gay groups across the nation will doubtless be emboldened by the "success" of their CA (and Utah) counterparts' vicious and unnecessary attack on civil rights. More of these propositions may arise, and more state Constitutions may be amended to deny the right of marriage to many citizens. All they have to do is collect (or forge) some signatures, then pour a lot of church money into highly deceptive advertising and marketing.

Now that Prop 8 and similarly disastrous initiatives in other states have passed, there's no imminent election on which to focus the marriage equality movement's attention. The goal now is more vague, and there's a risk of losing momentum after such a disappointing loss.

There's hope that this won't happen, though. Facebook members across the country organized protest marches for Sat., Nov. 15, and the Event Invitation for the DC march got over 3,000 "attending" responses. I have no idea how many people actually showed, but I'd guess it was at least 1,500, possibly thinned out by some unfortunately-timed torrential downpour. 

This was a protest against a vote that already happened. It was about being angry. It was about continuing the fight. I hope there's a backlash against this kind of injustice, now that the focus can move away from the biggest election of the past few decades. This is a start, but it needs to keep going. And it needs to grow. 

That's my sign! If you don't get it, watch this Keith Olbermann's Special Comment. Photo by flickr member: dcjay64

Photo by Jamison Grella

Photo by JG

Photo by JG

Photo by JG

Photo by JG

song of the day - 11.16.08: dave grohl - everlong (live acoustic on howard stern)

This could just as easily go under the post from a few days back about stuff that reminds me of my college days, but I forgot about it when I wrote it, and I haven't done a song o' the day in a while, so here you go. It's one of the better-known Foo-Fighters songs out there, but I much prefer this acoustic version from the Howard Stern Show, which, if you're to believe the banter on the recording, was the first time Grohl played it unplugged. I listened to this version so many times that the talking by Stern and Grohl are part of the song in my mind.

Album Review: "In Ear Park" by Department of Eagles

We're coming up on the end of 2008. I decided that this year, I'm finally going to actually try and listen to as many "significant" albums as possible and put together a "best of" list. So the new stuff is hitting my iTunes fast and furious, and there's a lot to like.

Department of Eagles' second album, In Ear Park, is one of the ones to like. In their follow-up to 2003's The Cold Nose (a lost gem of an album), they've really come up with a formula for beautiful music. Nose, brilliant as it was, was disjointed and immature. Each individual track carried some completely different idea, and the album as a whole suffered for its lack of cohesion. Park has no such problems. The indie experimentalists from Brooklyn have found their musical voice; it's simultaneously chilling and warm, tight and free.

The original band-members, Fred Nicolaus and Daniel Rossen, welcome members of Rossen's other band, Grizzly Bear, to the mix and form a sort of hybrid of the two bands. The engine of ideas for DoE remains with its original members, but the tightness and psychedelic melancholy are influenced by Grizzly Bear.

The album is emotional and haunting, and strikingly beautiful. Have a listen to some of the sweet sweet magic here:

This is a pretty faithful live performance of the opening and title track. The album stays thoroughly interesting from beginning to end despite never rising to the playful energy of Nose. Other highlights include "Phantom Other", "Herringbone", and "Floating on the Lehigh", but the album is best appreciated as a whole. Not to spoil a surprise, but this album will surely make that top 10 list I'm working on.

stuff that reminds me of my college days

Cannibal! The Musical


End of Ze World


Don Hertzfeldt


Wesley Willis


Gonads and Strife

Strong Bad Emails

Napster and Dispatch

Battlebots

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

Where the Hell is Matt?

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

This video was sent to me months ago, but I never thought to put on here til now. It serves no real purpose but to put a smile on your face or a tear in your eye as you marvel at how such a simple act can bring people together in the furthest corners of the world. 

Album Review: "Exit" by Shugo Tokumaru

I think I might forego doing numerical ratings for my album reviews here, because clearly, I'm only writing about the ones I like anyway. So it shouldn't surprise anyone that I liked Exit by Shugo Tokumaru quite a bit. Maybe even a 10. I didn't think there would be an album to challenge TV on the Radio's Dear Science for my favorite album of the year, but here it is. (Stay tuned for the results of that contest.)

Shugo Tokumaru is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist who has shockingly little biographical information on his Wikipedia page. After this album, he deserves to be a star. Even though I'm Japanese, most Japanese music doesn't appeal to me. This album is different. Way different. It has  opened my mind to a whole new kind of rock music that is exciting to say the least.

Tokumaru's sound is filled with acoustic instruments and organic sound effects accompanying his sweet, high pitched Japanese pop crooning. It's definitely aptly labelled as psychadelic, but it doesn't use the typical psychadelic techniques like trippy electric guitar and electronic sounds. It acheives its trippiness with haunting harmonies, droning acoustic instrumentation, lots of out-of-tune bells, and other natural-sounding effects that remind me of an acid trip in the woods of Bambi.

There isn't a loser on this album. The highlights are "Green Rain," with its complex rhythms and its use of all the instruments you'd expect to find in the closet of an elementary school music classroom; "Clocca," mystically dissonant pop song; "DPO," a dizzying romp that sounds like a punk song played with a ukelele and a Fisher Price xylophone; and "Wedding," which opens with a beautiful banjo (or steel guitar?) part that gives way to a frantically joyous refrain of the same melody.

This is one of those albums that makes me happy that I am a fiend for finding new music. It's not likely that I'd have found this if I was even slightly less obsessive about music. I can't imagine an album like this existing and my never hearing it. Sadly, there are probably many such albums, and I'm not obsessed enough to find them all. But Exit is the kind of prized find that will sustain my interest in digging through the obscure, because it is a true gem of an album.

Who are you, Russ Merva, and what did the gays ever do to you?

Russ Merva holds up a "Yes On 8" sign as a bus emblazoned with "Vote No On Prop 8" passes in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, Nov. 3, 2008. Both sides of Proposition 8, were out the day before Tuesday's election trying to drum up support. If approved, Prop. 8 would change California's constitution to ban same-sex marriage.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

The AP picture above ran in a lot of newspapers on Thursday after Proposition 8 in California passed. The ballot measure called for an amendment to the State Constitution saying, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The measure passed with a 500,000 vote cushion.

Here's my question: WHAT THE FUCK?!

I am so disappointed in California right now. That state has dropped ten notches in my eyes. This is supposed to be the bastion of liberal ideas, the trailblazer of progressive policy. How could they so overwhelmingly pass a bill that annulls the 18,000 same-sex marriages that have occurred in the state since June 17, after the State Supreme Court ruled that gays could marry?

So, Mr. Russ Merva with your yellow "Yes on 8" sign, what do you have to say for yourself? What was it that not only made you vote for such a measure, but actively campaign for it? I don't mean to pick on you, as there were about 5 million other Californians with you on this issue, but you obviously consented to being in this picture by giving your name. You clearly wouldn't mind being a poster-boy against gay rights. 

So what the hell did the gays ever do to you, Russ? What's it matter to you whether Dan and Tom are married or not? I don't tell you you can't marry a woman because it goes against my morals do I? Maybe I should say it's against my morals to have idiot douchebags marry and procreate, so we should prohibit it by amending the constitution. How about that?

Of course, that'd be ridiculous. But no more ridiculous than what your movement managed to get passed. 

I'm gonna take a wild stab at the real reasons you voted for this amendment:

1. You realize that the wheels of social progress are turning, faster and faster, and the social construct you put all your chips into (presumably the church life) is going to look more and more antiquated and stupid. You don't want to look stupid, right? So you fight back against those who would make you look stupid, the more enlightened human beings who accept the realities of the world instead of the gospel from thousands of years ago that isn't relevant or even fully understood. That, and you've always had a thing for fairy tales.
2. You find gay people repulsive because you grew up never seeing any. And like most other people with a tiny little underdeveloped brain, your instincts make you hate what you don't understand.
3. You think "traditional marriage" is actually a real thing, even though your own is in shambles. Perhaps the tradition you're referring to is the get-married-for-the-wrong-reasons-and-being-miserable tradition that so many Americans follow, leading to a ridiculously high divorce rate.
4. This is your issue. You don't go out and picket against people who steal, deceive, and murder. You go out and picket against people who love each other but happen to be of the same gender. To you, this makes perfect sense, somehow.
5. You think it's about evolution. You think, "we were meant to procreate, and same-sex couples can't, so it's wrong." Well, Einstein, does that mean if some crazy person had cut your dick off in a fight, you shouldn't be allowed to marry either? How about that?
6. You heard some smart-sounding person say that it's not government's place to be involved in gay marriage, and it should be up to the faith communities, since marriage is traditionally a religious practice. Of course, you forgot to consider that, well, if government shouldn't be involved in gay marriage, should it be involved in straight marriage? Bah, don't be ridiculous.

I'm sure there are other reasons those 5 million people voted to take away the rights of people who never did them any harm whatsoever. It just hurts my brain to try and come up with them, because they're all SO STUPID. The only smart thing in that picture is what's on the bus: "Unfair, Unnecessary, Wrong."

Concert Review: The Mountain Goats - 11.06.08 at the 9:30 Club

This was the third time I saw the Mountain Goats in the past year or so. The other two times, both at the Black Cat, were better shows for me. Not that John Darnielle and Co. did a poor job or anything. They are excellent showmen, and really do try to connect with their audiences. I just think they're much better suited for the more intimate setting of the Black Cat. 

For some reason, I was really tired and couldn't get pumped up for this show. Maybe it was the enormous "Educated Consumer" cheeseburger I had at DC9 before the show. Maybe I'm still drained from Election Week. Maybe my nightly sleep-deprivation is catching up to me. Whatever the reason, I managed to fall asleep for bits of this show. It's not the first time I've done that at the 9:30 club; I fell asleep at an Iron & Wine / Calexico show a few years ago, too, but the circumstances of that night (dramatic fight with GF, lullaby-like songs) made it more understandable, I think.

What I do remember between catching a few Zs was Darnielle being his normal self-depricating, hilarious self, telling long, ridiculous, dramatic stories leading up to his songs, then singing his heart out. He is one of my favorite performers to see, and I'm glad that he is back on his feet and touring. Last time I saw him, he hinted at some grave illness that would keep him out of action for some time. Well, it wasn't very long. I'm glad he's feeling better. Next time, just play at the Black Cat. Thanks! 

Come Together

This blogger Ze has a good idea. He figures, with the election finally over and the real task of fixing the ills of America ahead of us, it's time for red and blue to unite. So he started a project called "from 52 to 48 with love," where Obama voters can reach out to McCain voters with photographic gestures of reconciliation. I like it.

Living in the most liberal part of one of the most liberal states in the Union, I don't know very many Republicans. The few I do know are wonderful people who happen to have different opinions about what the country needs. In the heat of election season, it was easy for me to focus on the worst parts of the opponent party: the mega-rich corporate thieves, the bigots, and those who would use God's name to hurt people who mean them no harm. But looking around objectively, I can see that most of these so-called opponents want pretty much the same things I do: peace, prosperity, opportunity, fairness. 

After the unnecessarily long and agonizing election process has stirred up all this antagonism and division, it's important to remember what we're actually voting for: the leaders who will create the best situation for our country and our families. That can't be accomplished when half the country is moaning about how their choices would be doing a better job and the other half is laughing at them for not being able to do anything about it. No, that just won't do. The country and the world are in some very difficult and dangerous times, and there's no time for partisanship. I'm not saying to stifle dissent and disagreement. Without those, the fight is already lost. I'm saying we shouldn't let the differences that separated us over the last two years of election-mania keep us from working toward meaningful solutions. A few pictures won't can't fix much, but it's a start.

#44

Marylanders: Vote NO on Slots

Voters in Maryland will doubtless be handing Barack Obama ten electoral votes tomorrow. While I do urge anyone reading this in VA, PA, or any other swing state to vote Obama, that argument has been beat to hell by greater minds than mine. I'd like to use this space to encourage Maryland voters to reject Question 2 on the ballot, a measure that would allow slot machines at racetracks around the state.

The state is running a pretty huge deficit right now: $430 million. Cuts will have to be made from the budget or taxes will have to be raised. No one wants those things to happen, but it's a reality. Slots are being trumpeted as the cure-all for Maryland's budget woes. They will single-handedly fill the budget gap with $600 million in new revenues, supporters say.

Well, that's garbage. The numbers for revenue are based on having current MD gamblers who travel to PA, WV, and DE gamble MORE in their own state, and for a large number of new gamblers to start the nasty habit. Also, the $600 million number was pondered before our current economic downturn, and that number will be much lower, just from people having less money to spend on entertainment, which gambling is supposed to be.

"We'll still bring in a lot of revenue," you say? Well, that's true, but where will it come from? MD will not draw out-of-state gamblers in any significant numbers. Thirty-seven states have slots approved in one form or another, including the aforementioned neighbors. So the people putting dollars into those machines in MD will be MD residents. So, it's a tax on our own people. Fine. But it just so happens that the demographic of slot-users are disproportionately low- and moderate-income residents. So, it's a tax on our own poor people. Am I missing something here? How is that helping our state's economy?

The revenue gained from gambling will be at least partially offset by the costs required to deal with public health and social issues such as gambling addiction, alcoholism, and broken up families. People living within ten miles of a casino are 90% more likely to have a pathological gambling problem than those who don't. So, we're gonna create a whole bunch of addicts so we can save some money on property taxes? I don't like it. Why not just have crack-dispensers that we can tax the hell out of? We'd be the richest state in the Union!

So, we're gonna make more people poor, and tax the hell out the current and future poor, and give people something to blow their money on instead of food, clothing, or savings? Where do I sign up?!

Oh yes, then there's the "save the horseracing industry" argument. That was once the main reason for supporting slots, after all. You know what? Screw the horse-racing industry. Fully 1/6 of the revenue from slots will go into the pockets of these already-wealthy breeders and owners who often aren't even from MD. Not to mention the fact that horse-racing is a cruel practice where the animals are forced to race with injuries and pumped with steroids, often resulting in early deaths. I say the horse-racing industry isn't worth saving.

Unfortunately, the support for this question has come from Democrats like Gov. Martin O'Malley, Baltimore's Mayor Sheila Dixon, and Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. They seem to be taking the approach of holding their noses and closing their eyes while they push the "Yes" key on their no-paper-trail Diebold voting machines. It's understandable that our leaders are under enormous pressure to fix the state's economy, but I think they've lost sight of the sacrifices they'd be making for an unknown number of extra dollars. 

So, there you go. PLEASE, VOTE NO ON SLOTS TOMORROW!

I did a poor job citing in here, but I assure you, everything I said in this article comes from one of these four sources:

Washington Post editorial

Baltimore Sun editorial

Baltimore Sun columnist Dan Rodricks

Daily Kos article

comments?

I've updated the settings on this blog to allow comments from anyone, not just blogger-users, so go nuts everyone. Comment away! I look forward to any reactions, suggestions, critiques, and praise you'd like to post. Especially praise.

song of the day - 11.2.08: billy bragg & wilco - california stars

In 1998, Nora Guthrie, daughter of American folk singer Woody Guthrie, organized the recording of some of her father's lyrics by an unlikely pairing of American folk band Wilco and British singer Billy Bragg. California Stars is one of the tracks off the resulting album, Mermaid Avenue. This video isn't an official video, just someone's individual work posted on YouTube, but I really like how it was done. The song itself is a testament to the talents of all three of its creators. It seems more like a song that was always destined to be made than a piecemeal collaboration by three very different musicians.

On an unrelated note, I'm excited to finally get the chance to see Wilco, as I managed to be one of the lucky few to get a ticket to their show in Baltimore on December 14. Hooray.

playlist gadget

I finally added the feature that this blog has been needing since its birth: a playlist gadget. It's on the right-hand side, and it features full-length versions of previous "songs of the day" and whatever other stuff I deem blog-worthy right now. Enjoy!

song of the day - 11.1.08: al green - belle

Al Green has one of the greatest voices in R&B history. With this golden voice, Willie Mitchell's production, and the Hi Rhythm Section, Al Green churned out several of the definitive R&B songs of the 70s. Then in 1977, he left Mitchell and his band and created The Belle Album. The title track, "Belle," is as beautifully crafted and smooth as any of his previous hits. For the first time, he provides the lead guitar track for his own work as well. This album was also the first that he made since being ordained a pastor, and the last of his his records that could be considered secular. He made Gospel albums thereafter. While his best work was probably behind him already, this track is still one of my favorites by Green.

Reacting to Question Time in America

Yesterday I went to a very different kind of show than the musical variety I frequently ramble on about on this page. I was in the audience for the most watched political show on the BBC, Question Time. They normally shoot in different parts of Britain, but this week they had a special U.S. episode on the election. 

On this show, the host, David Dimbleby, moderates as members of the audience ask questions of a panel of guests. Tonight's panel: Elizabeth Edwards (health care advisor to Obama and wife of John), Christopher Nixon Cox (McCain campaign exec. director in NY and grandson of Dick), Clarence Page (Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the Chicago Tribune), Simon Schama (the only Brit on the panel, a professor of history and art history at Columbia U. and author and tv presenter), and Cheri Jacobus (Republican strategist and possibly spawn of Satan). 

The audience of 150 was supposed to be evenly distributed between Reps and Dems, but it didn't seem that way at all. Based on how I got a ticket for this, which was to just sign up on their website and get a call from them 5 minutes later that I at least existed and had a brain, all two days before the show, I don't see how they could've possibly planned out the audience demographics and political preferences. To do their sound check, the exec producer chose five volunteers from the audience to sit in as the fake panel. Wouldn't you know it, all five were conservatives and McCain supporters. Then there was a mock discussion with the audience asking questions and making comments. This is when I realized I was not in the DC that I know, but some alternate reality DC where there are a crapload of Republicans saying ridiculous things and whooping loudly when other Republicans say ridiculous things. I was scared that this crowd was going to be the face of America to millions of people around the globe. "We're not all like that!" I wanted to shout out when the cameras were rolling.

David Dimbleby came out, followed by the panel. The banter was typical of what I'd expect to see in an American TV talkshow debate: Republicans reciting talking points (including accusing Obama's foreign policy stance of being only talking points), Democrats being flabbergasted by outrageous and erroneous comments by the Republicans and trying to be heard over their counterparts, and the crowd booing, cheering, and heckling. It was quite a raucaus affair.

I was glad to see that the liberal panelists were the clear intellectual and oratory superiors of the group. Schama in particular was extremely witty and insightful. When one Republican jerk, who claimed to know that America was well liked around the globe because he'd been to 55 countries, said that Schama was a "typical professor," Schama countered that the man was a "typical blowhard." That was brilliant.

Another highlight of the hour was when Jacobus said that Obama's plan to reduce taxes for 95% of Americans will be a handout to people who hadn't worked to earn this. The audience was shocked. Dimbleby was also shocked, and he quieted everyone down to ask her if she wanted to clarify what she said, AND SHE REPEATED THE SAME THING.

The farsical nature of the Republicans' policy proposals (like giving people the freedom to cross state lines to get their healthcare... if they happen to be one of the lucky few who can afford it or fighting to attain VICTORY in Iraq .... uh, how do you win a war when the result is everyone being worse off than they were before, if they're fortunate enough to be alive anyway) was only surpassed in shockingness by the large number of people in the crowd who cheered so enthusiastically for them. These people looked like any other sane people we see in our daily lives, but they are clearly not sane people.

When I got home, I checked the show’s website to read the viewers' comments, and was really disappointed by what I saw. Several commenters said it was the worst episode of Question Time they’d ever seen. They rightly ridiculed the Republicans, but they also took the disorderliness of the crowd and the panel as some sort of sign of American inferiority to the prim and proper Britons. 

"I'm sure they didn't improve their battered American image withtheir usual ignorance and arrogance but that's just it with a lot of them - They don't care what anyone else thinks," says L Thomas from Croydon. Well, L, it's funny that you should bring up the words "ignorance" and "arrogance," because that is precisely what you've displayed in your comment. Ignorance in your blanket generalization about Americans through one television program that featured some idiot Republicans prominently, and arrogance in allowing such a program to validate your obviously preconceived hatred for Americans. 

It's also funny that you should mention that we don't care what anyone else thinks, because you know what? We don't. This is the election for the President of the United States of America. When you ask us who we want for Prime Minister, we'll ask who you want for President. Fair is fair. L, I'll admit that there are a lot of Americans out there that are ignorant to the world around them, but you are proving yourself no better by failing to recognize that, WHOA, Obama is actually favored to WIN this election, and that would have to mean that these people you speak of are in the minority. And that would also have to mean that you are guilty of exactly what you criticize Americans for: being ignorant and arrogant. Take a look in the mirror, L.

So, this post took a turn there, didn't it? I don't mean to belittle the fact that, for the past eight years, our nation's government has been run by a bunch of assholes who do indeed act arrogantly in the world community. But these assholes are not America. The only thing American about them is that they took an idea and created an extremely effective innovative use for it. Unfortunately for the world, that idea was deceiving the American public in order to give more power and money to the corporate devils who have taken over this once great nation. I hate what America has done in the past eight years. I am ashamed of it. I understand the world's anger. But it's almost time for the world to put that anger aside and welcome an America that will finally be moving in the right direction again under President Obama.

song of the day - 10.30.08: cool kids - gold and a pager

I have to confess: I'm kind of obsessed with this song by The Cool Kids at the moment. I have trouble explaining why. The beat is minimalist, the rhymes are clever but not amazing, and the "chorus," if you can call it that, is just a slowed down voice saying, "With a little bit of gold and a paaaager." But I'll be damned. This song is ridiculously addictive. There's some quality about it that makes it so interesting. Maybe it's how the MCs pronounce their words in such a saracstic tone. Maybe it's the homage to a bygone, happier era in hip hop music. I don't know, but I like it.

song of the day - 10.29.08: sufjan stevens - for the widows in paradise, for the fatherless in ypsilanti (live)

The world is a better place with Sufjan Stevens in it. He's such a talented musician, and he's kind of wacky too. This live version of "For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" is off of his Greetings from Michigan, The Great Lakes State, the first of two albums he wrote about states (the other was Illinois) that were devoted to the stories he learned about and the towns he saw while living there. At one point, he claimed he would write an album about each of the 50 states, but he must've busted out a calculator and realized there was no way he could follow through with that. I think he's given that up. He also has an extensive catalogue of Christmas tunes that he releases every year, which are actually good, unlike most of the garbage you're subjected to during holiday season. If you don't know him, check him out. He's one of the best around.

song of the day - 10.28.08: tv on the radio - dancing choose

I wrote some extensive praise for TV on the Radio's new album, Dear Science, in a previous post. This song, track 3 on the album, is my favorite on the album, and is in the running for my favorite new track of 2008. It's a new direction for TVOTR. They've always been energetic, but this song takes that energy to frantic new heights as it builds subtlely over three glorious minutes. The frenzy of Tunde Adebimpe's crisp rhymes alternates with the soothing chorus, and little by little, horns grow the song's intensity to a thrilling climax that leaves you wishing the song was another three minutes longer. 

check out this verse:

• though he expresses some confusion
  
• bout his part in the plan,
  
• and he can't understand
  
• that he's not in command;
  
• the decisions underwritten
  
• by the cash in his hand
  
• bought a sweater for
  
• his weimariner too
  

Concert Review: Billy Bragg - 10.27.08 at the 9:30 Club

As anyone who reads this blog regularly can see, I've been to a lot of shows lately. I love music more than anything, but going to shows so frequently was getting sort of tiresome. So, naturally, I wasn't extremely pumped to go see Billy Bragg, an artist I respect greatly but have never become a huge fan of, on a cold and rainy Monday night.

I was stupid to think that. This was one of my favorite shows I've seen this year, and I've seen quite a few. Billy Bragg was an absolute delight.

To call this a concert might not even do the events of last night full justice. He was on stage for about two hours, but a large portion of that time was more like a lefty voter rally and a stand-up comedy routine. For those who don't know, Billy Bragg is extremely political. I believe he's an outright socialist. It was not at all lost on him that he was in the nation's capital a week before the biggest election in recent American history. He ranted about the upcoming end of "American exceptionalism" and the need for universal healthcare. He also praised America for nominating a black man as a major party Presidential candidate. He kidded about the confusing nature of our red/blue political party designations, since liberals are red and conservatives blue everywhere else in the world. His stories covered subjects as wide-ranging as attending an anti-racism Clash concert when he was 19 and the haircut he got in Ithaca, NY on his current tour. He has a great sense of humor, and is very good at articulating his beliefs about politics and society.

But, even though his stories and rants were highly entertaining, his songs were better. I've never seen the stage of the 9:30 club so empty. It was just Billy Bragg, his guitar, his mic stand, two amps, and a coffee table with his lemon echinacea tea. No support band, no lights show, just Billy Bragg playing and singing his heart out on a Monday night. And it was great. He is getting on in years, for sure, but he has not lost any of his energy on stage, and he's still very good vocally. He surprised me with how well he can sing.

He opened the show with "Help Save the Youth of America," which fit in nicely with the political themes of the show. He mixed in old classics, new numbers, and covers, and even though I'm not that familiar with his catalogue, every song was performed in his unmistakable, passionate style. He played mostly electric, but mixed in some acoustic midway through the set. He had some hilarious banter with the crowd as well.

For the encore, he brought on the Watson Twins (the opener, also known for having recorded and toured with Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley) to provide some beautiful harmony for the first number. Then he played "A New England" to close out the show with the entire audience singing the chorus.

I'm so happy to have seen this show. It was such a pleasant atmosphere, especially after the gang of Republicans near us left in disgust, apparently having shown up not realizing Billy Bragg is about as lefty and political as musical artists get. "He's a Socialist! What did you expect?!" taunted the girl next to us. Ah yes, the perfect preamble to one of the most politically important weeks of my lifetime.