Wednesday, February 28, 2007

mark jiggsaw


a funny thing has happened over the past couple of weeks -- i've started taking my job seriously. kind of, strangely, very seriously. i tell you what, though, i am making goddamn waves down here at dell, inc....

in the meantime, ol' boy jiggsaw does the legwork for me and makes his own headline. i got a myspace announcement a week ago from mark, saying I just started a solo page and put 5 new songs up.... color me sold. he had told me he came home inspired one night and started singing over ratatat tracks, and was planning on putting something together. i had no idea it would be this cool, though.

ratatat ft. mark jiggsaw - selling feelings

you can check out the rest of the tracks at his new myspace page, where mark will also tell you to buy the ratatat album, because he's damn, dirty pirate and did this all without permission.

rock!

Saturday, February 24, 2007

barack obama in austin yesterday



[if you follow the link to youtube, the rest of his speech is scattered through the "related videos" section.]

smoking popes - pure imagination

Monday, February 19, 2007

everything around him turns to dust

so i've gotta renege [do you ever just want to make out with your dictionary?] on my promise of an epic post. i'd been holding onto tiny thoughts all week, scribbled onto post-its and the backs of opened envelopes, stuffed in pockets of jeans, jacket and bag, with the intention of expanding on each when i found the time to. but when i got home from work today and downloaded a security update waiting for me from apple -- in lappy's current condition, i knew this was risky -- my hopes for some late-night, sunday poeticism went swirling down the drain. after installing and restarting, i was left with a beautiful aqua blue screen and not much else. so, understanding my fickle little machine like i do, i powered her down and waited [sometimes she just needs a nap]. i dug through one of my boxes still [still] unpacked from the move, found volume 2 of "larry's last tuesday" and, after uncapping una cerveza, put it in the cd player and sat, back to the wall, eyes closed and reminiscing our old once-a-week retreat to the white horse in champaign. take me now, larry:

larry gates - radio cure (wilco)

[even though you were never there and kind of hate me now, this makes me think of you, laurie.]

it didn't take too long, nor much of the beer, to make me sappily text message everyone from the old tuesday troupe, "listening to larry... miss my tues crew." jerkass-paul called me only a couple minutes later, and we spent the next hour catching up after months of our own absence from one another. we talked of turntables and lacks of social life, and music we'd each come across and wanted to share. he hooked me up with an oink invite, which i'd tried to acquire some time ago, but failed, which made me more than happy. with lappy slowly crawling towards her end, and applications picking and choosing when they want to run, i've lost nearly all downloading capability -- you don't understand how crippled this makes me feel -- and this gives me a new, untapped avenue to keep finding the music that keeps me going.

in related news, modest mouse's new album leaked on thursday. with lappy like she is, i'd ruled out the possibility of finding the album if it were to leak before its march 20 release, but, as a modest mouse album always seems to do, it found me instead. i copied nick on the find, and knowing i'd have to spend all weekend with the album if i wanted us to have anything to talk about for the next month, i did just that. i finally hooked up the surround system he loaned me while he's on tour [nick: "i'd rather you take them to texas than know they're going unused"] and kept my neighbors up night and day listening to the thing. it's good.

but the song of the night belongs to jerkass, who was the cherry on top of a wonderful weekend. "you ever hear of the band 'crosby, stills, nash and young?" he asked me a few minute into our conversation. of course, i said. but i'd never heard of the hollies, graham nash's band beforehand. after a little wikipedia work, i see that CSN&Y put out the live 4 way street [amazon] in '71, and that's where nash steps up to the mic for this acoustic version of the hollies' "king midas in reverse":

hollies - king midas in reverse

he'd even like to sleep at night
but he can't...

Friday, February 16, 2007

life is hilarious...



slow week, i know. but... happy friday!



[go on, watch it again!]



big post this weekend. promise.



[again!]



:)

Thursday, February 15, 2007

RE: Greetings from Becky (Harbaugh) Wright

>  Sent: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:24:23 -0600
>  Subject: Fwd: Retirement

>  I hope this finds you well and still making music!

>  Mrs. Freese is retiring this year and as a surprise to her, we are
>  putting together a book of “musical” memories. I hope you might
>  take time to write a memory or a good wish – even a photo – and
>  return to me at THS, 815 Springfield Road, Taylorville, IL 62568
>  or rwright@taylorvilleschools.com.

>  I want to present the book to her at this year’s production of My
>  Fair Lady, March 30th and 31st.

>  It would be wonderful to see you there! I know it would please
>  Mrs. Freese as well.

>  Hope to hear from you and see you soon!

>  Becky

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

my brain is coming apart

happy valentines. smirk.

adriel harris - i dreamed a highway back to you
[adriel harris, of chicago's elanors. song belongs to gillian welch.]

Monday, February 12, 2007

jigga what

man, that jiggsaw show must be something to brag about -- our boys at banddot.com snazzed up their site for jigga's video podcast debut. jiggsaw followed by headlights? crazy talk...

in other news, here's an awesome dude on rollerblades somehow playing bottles:

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Friday, February 02, 2007

you, you're awesome

for the trip to the airport:

explosions in the sky - all of a sudden i miss everyone
do make say think - you, you're awesome
tom waits - bone machine
roy - killed john train
wolf parade - apologies to the queen mary
bloc party - a weekend in the city
velvet underground - the velvet underground
paul westerberg - besterberg
of montreal - hissing fauna, are you the destroyer?
m. ward - transfiguration of vincent

too bad the airport's only an hour and a half away -- kinda makes me want to spend eight hours in the car.

dad, i'll call when i land! mark, chill the shot glasses! erin fein, pick out your goddamn sexiest, cuz i'm coming home!

B-)

Thursday, February 01, 2007

bring it

again, why i love...

...said the gramophone:

howard tate - chain gang (sam cooke)

Tate is rewarded for his bravery, not only because he is a brilliant singer, but also because he has surrounded himself with a band consisting of several very bad dudes. The guitarist, for instance, has tone as warm as a perfect bath and as delicate as the bath bubbles that only a philistine would do without. The drummer, who plays a funk beat with brushes, is so gentle and tender that I imagine him playing with one hand and warming milk on the stove for his babies with the other. Or maybe he's a quadruped who drums with one paw, warms milk with another, writes cheques to the United Way with a third, and cuddles the elderly with his fourth. Listening to him now, he may even be an insect, or perhaps, an arachnid. In any case, after we hear from the chain gang for the second time, as the plodding rhythm is about to give way to the more fluid verse, Howard Tate starts to really blow.

this song also seems to be a perfect example of why i love music, and the joy there is in the exchange of it. from you to me. from me to you. with nothing more than the hope that it might make you smile, like it just made me. because it's beautiful and i'd like to share it with you.

le sigh... i'll be leaving for san antonio airport in about 24 hours. i'll be back in champaign early-afternoon friday.

how cool is that?