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Listening to the Music

Music was playing,
so I sat there, quietly.

She walked into the room and noticed me. With deep interest and a bit of urgency, she asked: "What are you thinking about?"

I've learned that "nothing," as an answer, isn't good enough. So I searched for the truth. What was I thinking about? What was the truth?

I was thinking about the bass, how thick and round it sounded. I was thinking about the guitar riff, wondering why they'd placed it there, instead of there. I was thinking of the effect used on the vocals, imagining that they'd applied it in order to conceal…

<I>VQR</I> on <I>Little Nemo</I>

I remember when The Virginia Quarterly Review was the perfect panacea for insomnia, but something has happened to that august publication: It woke up! These days, it has become a must-read, from Art Spiegelman's latest multi-chapter opus to well-written articles such as this one on Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland.

If you don't know McCay's dreamy, gorgeous artwork, check out the example-packed entry on Little Nemo in Wikipedia.

Carl Zimmer Has a Blog

Just what I need—another daily stop on my Internet rounds. Zimmer, an alarmingly prolific, vastly entertaining science writer, has a knack for explaining complex ideas simply enough for me to grasp. Check out his coverage of the Homo floresiensis (Hobbit Man) brouhaha.

Jazz Wars Go Calypso

Moistworks has a great post on the "lost to history" NYC bebop wars, which have left a historical record by spilling over to the Caribbean and migrating to London, where—wait for it—"they were fought by proxy, in the streets of Notting Hill, by a host of Trinidadian stick-fighters and calypsonians."

This is new to me—and the musical examples are great.

A Heinous Hairdo Is Creeping Back Into the Limelight

The real horror of The Da Vinci Code? It's Tom Hanks' hair.

Lost In Translation

English comedy doesn't work in German—and that's no joke. Blame it on a "geographical accident."

Your Mother is a Vampire

I'm listening to Margot & the Nuclear So and So's now. They sing songs about vampires and kittens, mice and clowns. You might like them. Their story is one of poverty and despair and desolation thwarted by sudden friendship, a burst of creativity, and life on the road. It sounds familiar, but then not. They make music with trumpets and cellos and keys.

Damn, I love trumpets and cellos and keys.

When the trumpets and cellos and keys come in, I kind of just want to die. Either die or dance. Jump out the window and dance until I die.

The music comes in…

LPs More Popular Than CDs?

Well, that's what The Business says. Reading the article, I suspect the answer is one we audiophiles have known all along: LPs are cooler than CDs and all the hip kids dig 'em. Still, it's nice to read an upbeat article on the music industry for a change.

Now That's a Fan

Craig Robins couldn't understand why his favorite show wasn't available on DVD, but instead of carping about it, he bought the rights and released it himself. I'd consider buying a copy for that alone, but now that I know that the show in question was written by Steven Moffat, who created Coupling, it's a no-brainer.

Zen and the Art of Record Licking

There are LP collectors and then there are those freakin' record lickers.