Our Endless Numbered Ping-pong Match, Or: Music for Frustrated Lovers, Or: The Subliminal Baton
Part of the problem is that I'm almost always thinking about what I should, or could, be writing here on the blog. I'll be in the shower, thinking: "Man, I haven't written anything good lately. Haven't written anything that's inspired discussion. Maybe, today, I'll write about my father and how his alcoholism relates to speaker cables…."
Out of the Office
On a clear, bright day, when the blue of the sea rivals the blue of the sky, one sees the hawk, the eagle, the buzzard soaring above the still, hushed canyons. In summer, when the fogs roll in, one can look down upon a sea of clouds floating listlessly above the ocean; they have the appearance, at times, of huge iridescent soap bubbles, over which, now and then, may be seen a double rainbow. In January and February the hills are greenest, almost as green as the Emerald Isle. From November to February are the best months, the air fresh and invigorating, the skies clear, the sun still warm enough to take a sun bath.
—Henry Miller, Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch
—Henry Miller, Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch
Overheard at HE 2007
"Man, hemp seed drivers?!"
Owner of an Audiophile Heart
I'm looking forward to the new Bill Callahan album, Woke On A Whaleheart, not only because I have this aching feeling that it's going to be a beautiful piece of work, one that I can relate to and fall in love with, but also because I think it's going to offer excellent sound quality, and I just can't wait to hear it on the hi-fi. This is interesting to me because I never looked forward to an album for its sound quality before. Even when reading our own Stereophile record reviews, I've paid little attention to the number of stars placed besides the "Sonics" heading, except to make sure they're the right size and font.
Pa Kontrarie'm
The oppressive heat shook hands with the violent rain, and I couldn't summon the drive to do much of anything at all. Rather than wilt, I decided to visit Tunes and dirty my fingertips with some old vinyl. Outside, the day danced furiously back and forth, the rain so hard at times that drops fell from cracks in the ceiling to land among the album stacks. I waited it out.
Paco de Lucia Shreds
http://www.youtube.com/v/89zM9pZzt0U&hl=en&fs=1"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true">http://www.youtube.com/v/89zM9pZzt0U&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="344">
Painfully Obvious
Thishttp://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118953936892024096.html">This; Wall Street Journal article asks: "Are MP3s and the iPod ruining pop music?"
Palmist: A Labor of Love
More to get excited about: FatCat Records, the Brighton, UK-based label, home to some of my favorite bands and artists (Hauschka, Animal Collective, Black Dice, Johann Johannsson, Sylvain Chauveau, to name a few), has announced the new Palmist imprint, “a project dedicated to releasing limited, vinyl-only runs of artists we love who are home-recorded or otherwise steeped in the DIY tradition.”
The first three releases will be 12” split singles, scheduled for US release on August 16th:
Panda Has a Baby Roo
Panda Has A Baby Roo. Morgan Jet. 2006
purple highlighter and red pen on paper
8" x 11"
purple highlighter and red pen on paper
8" x 11"
Panoramic Banana
On my way to work this morning, I noticed that the cool air felt like the first days of school. Though I often hated those first days of school, I enjoyed the feeling of this morning's cool air.