politics

i haven't been able to get on the internet in a few days and i wanted to share my thoughts on this history that has been made this week.

8 years ago, i was fairly passionate politically but i would have voted for nader if i'd had the rights.

4 years ago i was much more passionate politically and i voted for kerry even though he didn't really make me excited. but 4 years ago, i was mostly disgusted in america, how we somehow voted w to a second term. i know, everybody was scared and thought he would finish the war or something. but i still can't believe we voted w to a second term in office.

2 years ago we started getting it right.

and now we've done it. i know there's a long way to go. i know prop 8 somehow passed in california. there are some disappointments.

but this eclipses it all.

this month i read a book called the wordy shipmates by sarah vowell. it's about the puritans struggling to make sense of this land as they moved here. she wrote about the "city on a hill," the message co-opted by reagan many years later, that america is supposed to be a city on a hill, looked at and admired by the world. a shining example of what can be achieved. democracy, equality, freedom. america has not been a city on a hill in a long time. but i think, at last, we have become what we are supposed to be. i haven't cried so many tears of joy as i have in the past 2 days.

it's not over, but it is certainly a time to reflect and rejoice.

i am so behind!

i hope you had the good sense to pick up the new deerhoof album this week.  and the one from women.  that one's good too.

freehiphopnow has a bunch of new free albums up since i last spoke with you.  i will just link to them:

-belief's let it breathe.  a big mashup basically.  

-elucid's police and thieves.  haven't heard it yet but it looks promising.

-z-trip's obama mix.  you know, songs in support of obama.

seriously though, this year it seems like the best hip hop is the free stuff.  murs put out a new one and it's nowhere near as good as his free one.  and nas' mixtape is much better than the official album.  wale, rhymefest...there's been a lot of good free hip hop so i hope this is some more of that goodness.

Danielson Alive!!

there is a free danielson ep you get get at emusic.  6 live tracks.  hint: click on each individual download link for each track.  if you click "download album" and you're not a member, they try to get you to sign up.  but they don't bother you about it if you do each track individually.  also: 2008 is The Year Free Music Broke Out i believe.  there's been free music forever, but this year there is a lot.  i like it.

Hey guys, it's tuesday!  i hope you got these albums last week:

TV on the Radio

Dr Dooom.

Dr Dooom is actually very very awesome.  if you hated the return of dr octagon, like most people did, you will love Dr Dooom 2.  Basically he's like, "i killed dr octagon, and y'all are bringin him back?  fuck that.  he's dead.  i'll kill him again."  

and of course tv on the radio is album of the year material.

anyway, this week.  lots of stuff:

*Mercury Rev

*Murs

*People Under The Stairs

*Madlib (but the vinyl is out on oct 14)

*Ani DiFranco

*Ben Folds

*Polysics (but shoot, i already got that on vinyl a long time ago!)

*Roots Manuva

*Jennifer Hudson (yeah i dunno.  she's a great singer but it could have annoying production or songwriting and it might end up not being great.  i'll hold off for now.)

and reissues of

Creedence Clearwater Revival (basically all of their albums now with bonus tracks!)

The Jesus And Mary Chain (box set of b sides & rarities)

oh and IRON MAN on dvd!

and THE BEACH BOYS AND THE SATAN on dvd!

oh guys, i never told you so you might not know: there is a charity digital EP from Ted Leo & the Pharmacists available at touch & go records.  it's called Rapid Response and it is awesome.  it's a response to what happened at the Republican National Convention.  very quick, dirty recordings made in like a day or so.  like punk rock is supposed to be.  you should get it.

yes, let's remake rashomon.

yes, that's a great idea.  let's take one of the most important films in the history of the medium and put it in modern day america.  why not?  

seriously, they're calling it rashomon 2010.  this is really happening.  it's come to this.  60 years later, have we made NO progress?  we should be wayyyyy beyond rashomon.  it was important and forward-thinking in 1950, but that was 1950.  can't we make new forward-thinking, important movies ourselves instead of stealing from the dead?  

this shouldn't surprise me.  and it doesn't.  it does upset me though.

by the way, you can get criterion-quality dvd of rashomon for cheap.  if you didn't know, criterion has launched a series called Essential Art House, and it's basically cheaper versions of their dvds (same high quality transfer, just no fancy special features).  also out in this first release are grand illusion, beauty and the beast, lord of the flies, wild strawberries, and knife in the water.

source: dark horizons

quickies

the internet is working! a little bit.  here's what's up.

*i've missed the last few tuesday tomorrows, but if you didn't know, CALEXICO and OKKERVIL RIVER both released amazing albums last week.  this week there was DRESSY BESSY but i didn't get that one.  

*very sad news that Norman Whitfield passed away.  some of my favorite whitfield compositions were:

--Can't Get Next To You

--I Heard it Through The Grapevine

--War

--He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'

What about you?  It seems he was one of the proponents of the best parts of Motown in the late 60s/early 70s (psychedelia and funk) as opposed to the annoying disco-esque stuff that they put out in that era.  So basically I have him to thank for Motown not being too annoying in that era.

*i'll probably miss this coming tuesday tomorrow, but just know that TV ON THE RADIO is releasing dear science, this tuesday.  so stoked.  also, JONKATBAND (featuring jon from the mekons and kat from the ex) released their debut album together.  i saw them together at the touch & go fest thing a couple years ago and it was lovely.  so i'm anticipating it to be one of those sleeper hits for me (due to it being released the same day as TVOTR) and something that totally misses the indie radar.  that's too bad.  so i'm suggesting right now that you check that one out.  also dr dooom 2 comes out next week.  huh.  i hope it's not as annoying as the return of dr octagon.

tuesday tomorrow

tomorrow is tuesday. i am in my new place. i don't really have great internet here. i am on my girlfriend's laptop. or it is on me. on my lap. my local sportscaster is trying to be jim rome right now. these are the thoughts that qualify me to be a blogger.

music is out tomorrow!
polysics - we ate the machine/karate house. vinyl of their last 2 releases, which hadn't hit the US yet. polysics are AMAZING.
original silence - the second original silence. this is something. thurston moore, jim o'rourke, terrie ex, and some more folks, it's just a bunch of noise/jazz brilliant minds making some noise/jazz.
the verve - forth
bb king - one kind flavor
eva cassidy - somewhere
dragonforce - ultra beatdown
v/a - motown collection. some 10 disc box set, i don't know if it's rare stuff or what.
matthew sweet - sunshine lies. vinyl comes with 4 bonus tracks AND a free cd of the music

dvds are also out tomorrow!
*salo, or the 120 days of sodom. so messed up. so, so messed up. but oh so essential. criterion.
*cannibal holocaust
*the nightmare before christmas. some fancy edition.

moving

i am now packing up my computer to move far, far away to the suburbs.

i may or may not be able to get on the internet at my new home.

see ya

oh wait, something happened today. not just tomorrow.

pretend this post was on monday.  i just checked my email.

everything that happens will happen today.  or at least something has happened today.  the digital release of everything that happens will happen today, the first collaboration between david byrne and brian eno in 30 years!  it is pretty great, from what i've heard so far.  here is a player with a streaming song or maybe the whole album or something:

there's a link there, but FYI you can get the album at everythingthathappens.com

here are the options:

*digital only (boo!) is $8.99.  you get 320kbps MP3s, DRM-free and a 17 page digital lyric booklet.

*CD + Digital is $11.99 +S&H.  you get the above plus a physical CD that will ship by november 30th.

*Deluxe Package is $69.99+S&H!  you get the above plus four exclusive bonus songs, a short film about the album by Hillman Curtis, a screensaver, and a miniature hardbound book.

you can also get it in FLAC lossless format if you wish.  i'm not sure if it costs any more.

i'm going with the $11.99 package.  Even though shipping is $3 more.  boo.

tuesmorrow

so, what's hitting stores that you can buy tomorrow and be cooler than all your friends?

i don't know! let's find out!

MUSIC

*Men Without Pants - Naturally.  it's the latest Dan the Automator project!  He teams up with Blues Explosion drummer Russell Simins.  dig it.

*Lykke Li - Youth Novels.  is this the first time this album has been available in the states?  I could be wrong but I think so.  Too tired to look it up.

*Brainiac - Hissing Prigs in Static Couture.  vinyl reissue of this CLASSIC AWESOME ALBUM that YOU NEED TO HEAR IF YOU HAVE NOT BEFORE.

*Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun.  I LOVE that this is out on vinyl this week and not coming out on CD for a couple more weeks.  Suck it, non-vinyl-enthusiasts!

*Dandy Warhols - Earth to the Dandy Warhols.  I hope you got the free remix ep thing at your local record store!

*Don Caballero - Punkgasm.  They are still good, aren't they?  Even though Battles is better?  Don Cab bring something to the table still, don't they?  somebody tell me!

*GZA - Pro Tools

*Ice Cube - Raw Footage.  on Amazon people are saying it's "terrible" so yeah, don't bother I guess.  I dunno, I'm not gonna bother.

*Jim O'Rourke - Long Night.  2 1/2 hours of electric drone work!  can you handle it?  can you EVEN handle it?  He produced this back in 1990 but this is its first release.  I don't know if i can even handle it, to tell you the truth.

*Shwayze - Shwayze.  ha ha.  i TOTALLY met him at sxsw last year.  sorta.  filmed an interview with him, met him, same thing.

*George Jones -  Burn Your Playhouse Down: The Unreleased Duets.  nice.  nothin' like a classic country duet.

*The Walkmen - You & Me.  Pitchfork is way into this album.

*Lagwagon - I Think My Older Brother Used To Listen To Lagwagon. EP.  best title of the year.

*The Uglysuit - The Uglysuit. quarterstick!

damn. that's a lot of stuff this week.  did i miss anything in my hunt?

DVD

*House season 4

*Dexter season 2

*Twenty-Four Eyes

*The Small Back Room

*Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day

good stuff.  

new mercury rev

you can hear a song off the new mercury rev album here.  i like it.

you can also pre-order the new album from yep roc records.  includes vinyl.  and remember, if you purchase online from yep roc, you get a free download of what you bought right away (including vinyl).  well, if it's not out yet (like this album) you don't get the download until it's out.  but still, how exciting is that????

and don't forget to sign up for the mercury rev mailing list so you can get the supplemental album for free.