Tuesday, May 25, 2010

My favourite nuts beginning with the letter "P"

1. Pecans
2. Peanuts
3. Pistachios

Pecans are the obvious choice, naturally, but the rest of the list was a bit difficult. The pistachio is a fantastic nut, don't get me wrong, but eating the thing is a whole other story. The shells are sometimes entirely closed, not split open, making extracting the actual nut a chore. You can put in your mouth and bite it, sure, but then you have to spit out the shell, which is both a pain and rude, depending on the context in which you enjoy your nuts. All the salt also tends to stick to the shell, meaning you have to put the shell in your mouth anyway. Delicious, but is the payoff enough to warrant all that?

Even a perfectly prepared pistachio, however, will still lose out to the peanut, if only for the latter's versatility. It's sort of the "classic nut", the ubiquitous nut; you can't really hate on the peanut, unless you're allergic, but I get the impression that peanut allergy is sort of a fake idea. Peanut butter also does wonders to the peanut's score. It really stomps all over the other butter spin-offs. Almond butter is a fairly disgusting rendition.

In other, music related news: I've been a bit uninspired lately, and rather than rhyme off some schlock and post a link, I'd rather give you, the reader, something to read, though I reckon 9 times out of ten you're just looking for that bold, blue link. Hmpf.

In any case, things will be coming. Let me tell you about them: some cool new stuff from Silber and a proper presentation of Planning for Burial.

I would also like to take this time to remind you that I am 100% open to artist submissions. I even encourage it. Send me your stuff. I will listen. I will talk about. A couple dozen people might read it. Cool, huh?

Also, did you know that The North Sea wrote a song for me? It's true! And it's a doozy.

The North Sea - Calvin

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Reading

Do you enjoy reading? In particular, words I have written? Then this might just tickle your fancy.

If it doesn't, I'll update this soon, pinky swear.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Oh wait, here I am

Yeah, ok, the quasi-habitual bimonthly "here I am back to blog etc" obligatory whatsit. No really. I think I mean it this time. (Maybe.) There's been hell of circumstances, plus being all busy with my quote/unquote day job and my quote/unquote day life.

Speaking of tangents, I also thought, maybe, since music is all so totally my entire life (refers to generic treble clef tattooed on wrist and/or ankle, hearts and stars all surrounding it) that using it as an aid in brooding and mulling and other more foreboding ways of thinking that maybe just maybe that is something I shouldn't, y'know, do. Maybe it ain't good for me to have men who want to be suiciding or already have to be whispering sweet nothings in my ear[phones]. Maybe I need to be put in a more positive mind frame. Maybe less Joy Division, Giles Corey, Jandek, Scott Walker, Swans, Zola Jesus, Death in June, Former Ghosts, Hrsta, etc, etc, etc.

Run-on sentences and general blubbering aside, what do we do about this?



oh hell yes

Husker Du is what we do about this. New Day Rising is what we do about this. Sure, there are definitely some downers on here ("If I Told You"), but in terms of sound it's an incredibly life-affirming album. It's also perfectly acceptable to leave the title track on repeat for 15 times and call it a day, because goddamn, "New Day Rising" is as fierce and ambiguously hopeful/hopeless in its simplicity as anything on the album; really, the perfect title track/opening number.

New music, new attitude?

Maybe.

Whatever, Husker Du rules.

DOWNLOAD "NEW DAY RISING".