Wow... what a ride it's been!
2 Years!
400 Posts!
5 Contributors total!
Untold number of photos, videos, and other random tidbits from the internets, the world, random random randomness.
On that note... or those notes, I'm going on vacation. While I'm down South for the next week I hope to take bunches of pictures that I'll post up here. Keep your eyes peeled for photos of mountainous beauty, natural niftyness, and general merriment.
Also, while I'm away I'll have those top 50 track lists auto-uploading.
For now... I'm actually a little amazed to have logged in and realized that this is actually post #401.
Gosh.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
John's August Top 50 (pt. 2: 40-31)
So I started a bit of a series here, thinking I might schedule a couple posts to drop in while I'm on vacation next week. Keep your eyes peeled for the remaining segments of my current listening list, and hopefully with high speed internet in the cabin where we're staying even some updates on the mountains of North Carolina.
Here are my songs #40-31 for August of 2008:
40. Busta Miles (by The Apple Juice Kid)
This is off a really enjoyable album of Miles Davis music remixed. The album treads a nice line aesthetically between keeping some of the edgy playfulness that is so central to much of mixing and sampling in hip-hop while also letting the originality and brilliance of the source material shine through.
39. I Summon You (by Spoon)
38. Cut Your Hair (by Pavement)
I went through a big Pavement and Pixies phase recently, pulling back out old CDs to rip tracks to the ipod, picking up a nice copy of the delux re-release of Crooked Rain Crooked Rain by Pavement, and this is one of a handful of tracks I've kept in steady rotation ever since.
37. One Armed Scissor (by At the Drive-In)
Fun to crank up, hadn't heard this song in awhile, but tracked it back down via Emusic, I believe, and have enjoyed playing it in the car a lot lately.
36. Trapped By Love (by Manu Chao)
35. Leave You Behind (by Sleater-Kinney)
34. Dress Up In You (by Belle & Sebastian)
I have been a fan of Belle & Sebastian for awhile, listened to Tigermilk a lot while studying abroad in college, laughed when they were the butt of a joke in High Fidelity. After all this time, I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up a copy of The Life Pursuit. Their songs have consistently been enjoyable over the years, but often had a similar feel and pace, so it was nice to hear this new CD push their sound in ways that give a real sense of newness while capitalizing on the elements that have kept fans close to B&S over the years. Anyway, this is just one of a couple tracks I really like of the disc.
33. Check Yo Self (by Ice Cube)
32. L.E.S. Artistes (by Santogold)
31. White City (by the Pogues)
Along side my Pavement and Pixies revival of late has been a broader punk, alt, guitar driven music revival. I have developed this habit over time of seeking out all kinds of music, but while my tastes have wandered and strayed I still do love some of the sounds that helped me jump off the land of top-40 radio into my own efforts to explore music on my own terms.
Here are my songs #40-31 for August of 2008:
40. Busta Miles (by The Apple Juice Kid)
This is off a really enjoyable album of Miles Davis music remixed. The album treads a nice line aesthetically between keeping some of the edgy playfulness that is so central to much of mixing and sampling in hip-hop while also letting the originality and brilliance of the source material shine through.
39. I Summon You (by Spoon)
38. Cut Your Hair (by Pavement)
I went through a big Pavement and Pixies phase recently, pulling back out old CDs to rip tracks to the ipod, picking up a nice copy of the delux re-release of Crooked Rain Crooked Rain by Pavement, and this is one of a handful of tracks I've kept in steady rotation ever since.
"Darling don't you go an cut your hair do you think it's gonna make him change?
I'm just a boy with a new haircut and it's a pretty nice haircut!"
I'm just a boy with a new haircut and it's a pretty nice haircut!"
37. One Armed Scissor (by At the Drive-In)
Fun to crank up, hadn't heard this song in awhile, but tracked it back down via Emusic, I believe, and have enjoyed playing it in the car a lot lately.
36. Trapped By Love (by Manu Chao)
35. Leave You Behind (by Sleater-Kinney)
34. Dress Up In You (by Belle & Sebastian)
I have been a fan of Belle & Sebastian for awhile, listened to Tigermilk a lot while studying abroad in college, laughed when they were the butt of a joke in High Fidelity. After all this time, I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up a copy of The Life Pursuit. Their songs have consistently been enjoyable over the years, but often had a similar feel and pace, so it was nice to hear this new CD push their sound in ways that give a real sense of newness while capitalizing on the elements that have kept fans close to B&S over the years. Anyway, this is just one of a couple tracks I really like of the disc.
33. Check Yo Self (by Ice Cube)
32. L.E.S. Artistes (by Santogold)
31. White City (by the Pogues)
Along side my Pavement and Pixies revival of late has been a broader punk, alt, guitar driven music revival. I have developed this habit over time of seeking out all kinds of music, but while my tastes have wandered and strayed I still do love some of the sounds that helped me jump off the land of top-40 radio into my own efforts to explore music on my own terms.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Wait, Did Paris Hilton Just Do Something Cool?
Funny or Die, previously most famous for posting a hilarious clip of Will Farrell arguing with his 8 month old landlord (outtakes here, criterion edition here), has just posted a video response by Paris Hilton to John McCain's celebrity ad.
If you aren't aware of the brouhaha that has surrounded it, last week McCain released a video online that compared Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, saying he was one of the biggest celebrities in the universe and basically implying that he shares other qualities with the aforementioned vacuous pop star and celebutant. The Paris video is... I don't really know how to put this, um... good. Interesting, at the very least. Enjoy:
h/t Huffington Post.
If you aren't aware of the brouhaha that has surrounded it, last week McCain released a video online that compared Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, saying he was one of the biggest celebrities in the universe and basically implying that he shares other qualities with the aforementioned vacuous pop star and celebutant. The Paris video is... I don't really know how to put this, um... good. Interesting, at the very least. Enjoy:
See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die
h/t Huffington Post.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Saturday, August 02, 2008
John's August Top 50 (pt. 1: 50-41)
Ok, so in the spirit of our recent flurry of music-related content here on Best Way, I decided to start writing a bit about my fake ipod charts that I started awhile back. When I worked at my college radio station I generated weekly charts that reflected what discs were getting lots of play, what were new ads, etc. and distributed those to various distributors to keep them posted when their releases were getting pick-up. It was one of the more fun pieces of my job, along with the weekly conversations these charts spurred with reps from the various distributors.
Since owning an ipod I listen mostly to my own music when driving in the car (via FM radio adapter), at home, etc. so I have started thinking of my ipod as a little self-contained radio station. Hence, in June I made my first monthly top 50 playlist. I had toyed with the idea before, and it was lots of fun, so this month I'm doing the same. Below are songs #50-41 in my top 50 for August 2008. Songs newly added to my ipod and the list are in green.
50. Soggy Tongues (by Vic Chestnutt)
Lovely song by a widely respected artist, someone whose music I've always meant to check out, but only recently downloaded some of his stuff.
49. Climbing the Walls (by They Might be Giants)
48. Living Room (by Basement Jaxx)
47. Salamalekoum - Les Escrocs (by Bantu, Docta, Sister Fa & More)
This is off a wonderful compilation of African hip-hop I found on E-music. The album is called "Many Lessons: Hip Hop, Islam and West Africa." Some really wonderful sounds here.
46. Sweet Talk (by Spank Rock)
45. I Woke Up Today (by Port O'Brien)
44. Keasby Nights (by Catch 22)
I used to listen to Catch 22 a lot in college, but never purchased the CD until about a month ago. This has been in pretty heavy rotation ever since. Ahh for the throwback songs we used to crank while driving around campus!
43. Walcott (by Vampire Weekend)
They're a little too phenom-y for me right now, I see their record everywhere, but their sound is good even if the whole African sounds filtered through preppyness vibe is weird to me.
42. Ladies of the World (by Flight of the Conchords)
41. You and Me (by Solomon Burke)
Solomon Burke is an incredible soul singer who could literally make the warnings at the end of a direct-to-consumer drug advertisement sound amazing. This is a relatively new cut.
Since owning an ipod I listen mostly to my own music when driving in the car (via FM radio adapter), at home, etc. so I have started thinking of my ipod as a little self-contained radio station. Hence, in June I made my first monthly top 50 playlist. I had toyed with the idea before, and it was lots of fun, so this month I'm doing the same. Below are songs #50-41 in my top 50 for August 2008. Songs newly added to my ipod and the list are in green.
50. Soggy Tongues (by Vic Chestnutt)
Lovely song by a widely respected artist, someone whose music I've always meant to check out, but only recently downloaded some of his stuff.
49. Climbing the Walls (by They Might be Giants)
48. Living Room (by Basement Jaxx)
47. Salamalekoum - Les Escrocs (by Bantu, Docta, Sister Fa & More)
This is off a wonderful compilation of African hip-hop I found on E-music. The album is called "Many Lessons: Hip Hop, Islam and West Africa." Some really wonderful sounds here.
46. Sweet Talk (by Spank Rock)
45. I Woke Up Today (by Port O'Brien)
44. Keasby Nights (by Catch 22)
I used to listen to Catch 22 a lot in college, but never purchased the CD until about a month ago. This has been in pretty heavy rotation ever since. Ahh for the throwback songs we used to crank while driving around campus!
43. Walcott (by Vampire Weekend)
They're a little too phenom-y for me right now, I see their record everywhere, but their sound is good even if the whole African sounds filtered through preppyness vibe is weird to me.
42. Ladies of the World (by Flight of the Conchords)
41. You and Me (by Solomon Burke)
Solomon Burke is an incredible soul singer who could literally make the warnings at the end of a direct-to-consumer drug advertisement sound amazing. This is a relatively new cut.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Happy Anniversary, Crap Bag
Today is the 20th anniversary of Rush Limbaugh's radio broadcast being on air. I honestly can't figure out anything more appropriate to say about this than what Tom Tomorrow said on his blog:
What an ass. Rush, that is, not Tom. Happy Anniversary, ass.
"Most of us try to make our mark, in some small way. But it’s a rare group of human beings who can look themselves in the mirror and know, beyond any doubt, that the world is a far worse place for their having lived in it.
It’s quite an achievement!"
What an ass. Rush, that is, not Tom. Happy Anniversary, ass.
OhNoesBama ALIENS!?!?!?!
Thanks to Wonkette I just saw this redonkulous piece of campaign interview footage. Obama, what kind of answer is that? It isn't even funny. He smiles like he thinks he's making a funny, but really his answer is just plain strange.
Now, granted, this has got to be the most silly question I've seen put to Obama since Georgie Stephanop-o-pop-o-lupus asked, "Does Jeremia Wright love America, Jesus and Apple Pie as much as Harry Carey loves the sun?" Watch the super quick and silly clip below and be amazed. Hooray for Friday Video Rediculousness!
Now, granted, this has got to be the most silly question I've seen put to Obama since Georgie Stephanop-o-pop-o-lupus asked, "Does Jeremia Wright love America, Jesus and Apple Pie as much as Harry Carey loves the sun?" Watch the super quick and silly clip below and be amazed. Hooray for Friday Video Rediculousness!
New QTip... Maybe For Real This Time
So it has now been 9 years since the last release from Q-Tip, but that album, his solo debut, Amplified, is still great. Along the way between then and now there have been many indicators that something new would be released. Kamaal the Abstract was previewed to radio stations back in 2001 when I was still music director at my college's radio station, but while the initial tracks for that were tantalizing and intriguing it never surfaced. Today I read on Pitchfork that a whole new Q-Tip album is tentatively set for release in October. It sounds like this one may actually become real. Check out a stream of the first single.
Listening Notes Take 1
Nobuzaku Takemura: Scope
This has been one of the better rediscoveries on my iPod. I got this album sometime during college, and vividly remember driving back from the record store with my friend chuck, listening to the first track. It was about 20 minutes long and consisted mostly of silence broken by atonal, arrhythmic electronic noises. It was intriguing but hard to get into. The rest of the album is more accessible, and I am particularly fond of a track called “Icefall” which has been a regular feature on my playlist. It sounds like someone recorded a little synth riff, burned it onto CD and then scratched the hell out of it. It doesn’t sound like the recipe for gorgeous music, but it is—utterly gorgeous and utterly alien. In fact, in places, it reminds me somehow of Bach. Definitely worth listening to when you’re wearing headphones, alone in your room, or—as a study in contrasts—when you’re wandering through the woods early in the morning.
This has been one of the better rediscoveries on my iPod. I got this album sometime during college, and vividly remember driving back from the record store with my friend chuck, listening to the first track. It was about 20 minutes long and consisted mostly of silence broken by atonal, arrhythmic electronic noises. It was intriguing but hard to get into. The rest of the album is more accessible, and I am particularly fond of a track called “Icefall” which has been a regular feature on my playlist. It sounds like someone recorded a little synth riff, burned it onto CD and then scratched the hell out of it. It doesn’t sound like the recipe for gorgeous music, but it is—utterly gorgeous and utterly alien. In fact, in places, it reminds me somehow of Bach. Definitely worth listening to when you’re wearing headphones, alone in your room, or—as a study in contrasts—when you’re wandering through the woods early in the morning.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Let's Do This! (John's ipody goodness)
I was so pleased to see Matt's post about ipody goodness that I had to post a little quick tidbit of my own. I've recently been fishing around on my own ipod a good bit. Since I got one about a year and a half ago I've been frantically cramming pieces of a huge CD collection into apples sleek little sexy player... slowly taking my 30GB of space and narrowing it to the point where I think I maybe still have 4 GB or so. Along the way I've also become aware of and filled some gaps (never owned any Bob Dylan so I bought a bunch starting with Blonde on Blonde and Blood on the Tracks).
Lately I've gotten back into the swing of tracking new acts, and I've got a couple I'm pretty pumped about right now. The are Santogold, a group/performer I think is blowing up in a general sense. The sound is catchy, the beats are good, and the whole package comes together well. Many people make a quick comparison to M.I.A., another musician whose work I love that has come up in the past few years. The shoe fits in that department, and the similarity in their sounds is fine by me, as I like both. I've also heard Santogold compared in sound to other luminaries of fem rock and pop including Sleater Kinney, another group I admire greatly. Worth your time, no doubt, even as the tracks get picked up as background music for Bud Light Lime ads! (ak!)
The second new group I'm pumped about right now is Dr. Dog. I just downloaded a bunch of their stuff in the last couple days, and I'm pretty hooked right now. They've got a clean hooky sound. They're from Philly (as supposedly Santogold is as well... REPRESENT!!!), and they've got a devotion to certain founding rock sounds (think Beach Boys and Beatles) but they've also got a newskool arts and craftsy creative edge. Their arts and craftsy workmanship has me lumping them in with groups like Spoon, Interpol, and others like them who take well used sounds and hustle them into something new and interesting.
Let's hear it for music talk! I WANT MORE!!!
Lately I've gotten back into the swing of tracking new acts, and I've got a couple I'm pretty pumped about right now. The are Santogold, a group/performer I think is blowing up in a general sense. The sound is catchy, the beats are good, and the whole package comes together well. Many people make a quick comparison to M.I.A., another musician whose work I love that has come up in the past few years. The shoe fits in that department, and the similarity in their sounds is fine by me, as I like both. I've also heard Santogold compared in sound to other luminaries of fem rock and pop including Sleater Kinney, another group I admire greatly. Worth your time, no doubt, even as the tracks get picked up as background music for Bud Light Lime ads! (ak!)
The second new group I'm pumped about right now is Dr. Dog. I just downloaded a bunch of their stuff in the last couple days, and I'm pretty hooked right now. They've got a clean hooky sound. They're from Philly (as supposedly Santogold is as well... REPRESENT!!!), and they've got a devotion to certain founding rock sounds (think Beach Boys and Beatles) but they've also got a newskool arts and craftsy creative edge. Their arts and craftsy workmanship has me lumping them in with groups like Spoon, Interpol, and others like them who take well used sounds and hustle them into something new and interesting.
Let's hear it for music talk! I WANT MORE!!!
ipody goodness
I have recently finished taking the bar exam, an experience that is nearly as much fun as spending an evening with Karl Rove and Richard Simmons while drinking expired milk. (Apologies to anyone who spent their Saturday night that way).
The one good thing about the last two months is that I was motivated to finally go out and get an iPod, so I could use music to tune out the sounds of the world. When I first got the iPod, I decided to revisit some of the music that I own but haven’t listened to in years and years. For me, this essentially means raiding the vast collection of electronic music that I acquired in college. For the last 5 years or so, I’ve gotten really into –i.e. obsessed with—that ill-defined and venerable genre of music known variously as “classical”, “serious” or “art” music. So I haven’t really been keeping up with the phat beats and crazy mixes.
Anyway, I have thought about making some notes about music and my reaction to it, since I am by nature narcissistic enough to subject my friends to my opinions about this sort of thing. Therefore, you should all look forward to my random, incoherent and very possibly drunken ramblings about CD’s no one cares about anymore! Hurray!
The one good thing about the last two months is that I was motivated to finally go out and get an iPod, so I could use music to tune out the sounds of the world. When I first got the iPod, I decided to revisit some of the music that I own but haven’t listened to in years and years. For me, this essentially means raiding the vast collection of electronic music that I acquired in college. For the last 5 years or so, I’ve gotten really into –i.e. obsessed with—that ill-defined and venerable genre of music known variously as “classical”, “serious” or “art” music. So I haven’t really been keeping up with the phat beats and crazy mixes.
Anyway, I have thought about making some notes about music and my reaction to it, since I am by nature narcissistic enough to subject my friends to my opinions about this sort of thing. Therefore, you should all look forward to my random, incoherent and very possibly drunken ramblings about CD’s no one cares about anymore! Hurray!
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