21st century soap-boxing

I just wanted to post here to offer my thoughts, hopes and wishes to the dissidents in Iran who, this weekend, have been in the streets fighting for a fair democracy. I am one who normally discounts 3/4 of the news that I read in the mainstream press, but one of the many advantages of a 21st Century world is that we can hear directly from participants as the event unfolds (protests against the alleged theft of the presidential election by sitting ideologue Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from opposition candidate Moussavi, and I for one have been absolutely riveted by the news coming out of Tehran. Most forget that Iran is a historically progressive muslim society that has been held in the grip of fundamentalists since before I was born.

I am always a fan of dissent and the hope of a better tomorrow, so I feel that the eyes of all freedom lovers should be focused square and center on these tumultuous events and the hope for substantial change in the Mid-East power structure that it represents.

The Huffington Post has a rather fantastic timeline of reports from this weekend’s protests over the presidential elections here:
Huffington Post live web-feed of unfolding events

This video of Thursday’s protests are awe-inspiring, I can’t help but think of how interesting a movement like this would be within the United States:

Also, I am absolutely enthralled by these two pictures of the protests:

I know that I say this about every year, but 2009 is shaping up to be an amazing year for new music. It seems as though I can’t go anywhere, turn on the computer, or talk with any friends without being pointed toward some new song that makes me want to shake my moneymaker (note: my moneymaker has, to date, brought in three dollars and half of a can of Miller). Being the giver that I am, I felt compelled to put together a mix of what’s been moving my keister of late.

At first glance, the mix may appear to be a little Grizzly Bear heavy but believe me when I say that this is in no way a bad thing. In fact, you should just go and pre-order your copy of their second full-length, Veckatimest, now and eagerly await it’s arrival on May 26. If the piano line in “Two Weeks” doesn’t have you bopping around the room then you just may have no soul (your first clue should have been your ginger hair). Indie Pop lovers should not miss Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian) in his new incarnation, God Help The Girl, or the insanely infectious The Bird And The Bee. The Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson slows down her already languid songs to Nyquil-pace as Fever Ray and Modeselektor and Apparat prove that some collaborations are a great idea with the Moderat track “A New Error.” Then, of course, St. Vincent ties it all together with her Kewpie Doll looks and Angel of Death voice on “Actor Out Of Work.” In short, there should be a little something for everyone. Unless your taste in music sucks, in which case you should download this anyway and expand your horizons a bit.

1. Pomegranates- Everybody, Come Outside!
2. The Bird And The Bee- Love Letter To Japan
3. God Help The Girl- I’ll Have To Dance With Cassie
4. Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks
5. Black Moth Super Rainbow- Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Rise
6. King Khan & The Shrines- Welfare Bread
7. Dananananaykroyd- Black Wax
8. St. Vincent- Actor Out Of Work
9. Fever Ray- Concrete Walls
10. Moderat- A New Error
11. Telepathe- So Fine
12. Grizzly Bear- While You Wait For The Others
13. Handsome Furs- Talking Hotel Arbat Blues
14. Matt & Kim- Lessons Learned
15. God Help The Girl- Musicians, Please Take Heed
16. The Bird And The Bee- My Love
17. Phoenix- Lisztomania
18. Jenny Lewis- Carpetbaggers
19. Nouvelle Vague- Guns Of Brixton
20. Grizzly Bear- Ready, Able

Download the mix from Sendspace by clicking here

It’s been a little over two months since the K@ and I rinsed the last bit of dust from our heels and settled down into a nice muddy existence in the City of Roses. While still adjusting to the cold weather extravaganza (just because it may rain is no reason to sit at home, we are not the Wicked Witch of the West and water is not our bane) it has definitely been a fantastic breath of fresh air for both our cultural and social lives. I love this city, I love that nearly everyone we have met is involved in some sort of creative pursuit, I love the food and, nearly most of all, I love just how green everything is here.

We are now tucked into the first gaspings of Spring. Tulips are beginning to bloom down the street, trees are beginning to shower their white and pink blossoms over every inch of street, the crocuses (shouldn’t it be crocii?) are looking very merry and festive, as though they are welcoming in this slight warming in temperature, heralding the birth of a new natural cycle. Every bloom and weed is crowing “It’s Spring!” from the highest available parapet, except one.

I speak, of course, of the Monkey Puzzle Tree. An ancient conifer very similar to some that we observed in Costa Rica (note: Wikipedia informs me that the Monkey Puzzle Tree is the official tree of Chile), this millenia-old remnant of the days when giant land sloths and mastodons roamed the North American continent much as the elephant and giraffe do today in Africa grows all throughout South-East Portland and invokes constant looks of befuddlement on friends that we’ve pointed it out to. A quick look at the branches and trunk of this oddity quickly reveal just how apt its name is:

A monkey that found itself chased up this pointed little beast would instantly regret their decision to take shelter there. What on earth could they hang onto or swing from? It’s Mother Nature’s original razor wire. Fortunately, Oregon isn’t exactly known for its large population of indigenous primates (other than the pesky and ever-present homo sapiens) so this tends to not be as large of a problem as it would be in, say, Panama. Instead, it offers just one reason among millions as to why I am constantly astounded every day I leave our house and discover some new haven of life in this petri dish of biodiversity. For sheer lushness on an unimagined scale, Portland (scratch that, the entire Pacific North-West) can not be topped save by the likes of the Amazonian rainforest.

Now, it’s no secret to anyone who has talked with me for longer than five minutes that I am a book whore (yes, five minutes is the average length of time it takes me to swing any conversation back to books. I hope to get this down to three minutes by year’s end). There are few things i like more than talking about what I’m currently reading (today it’s Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine and J.G. Farrell’s The Siege of Krishnapur) unless it’s the acquisition of more books. Do I find it necessary to have time for the plethora of books that make their way to my shelves? Do I even have room for more books? Of course not! That’s not the point. The point, if there has to be one, is that I want to have any book that I could conceivably want to read at my fingertips for whenever the urge to read it strikes me. I don’t want to rage futilely at myself for being good and not buying those three other books from the bargain table at Powells.

Yet, as the news persists in telling us, these are dark economic times. What is the rabid bibliomane to do when faced with rampant unemployment and an annoyingly literate monkey on his back? Look for deals. There is no better place to look for insane amounts of books for low prices than your local library’s annual sale. Every year libraries are donated thousands of books that are either duplicates to books that are already on their shelves or for whatever reason do not wish to enter into circulation. I don’t know why. Ask your librarian. Regardless, their loss is our gain (and I kick myself for even mentioning this to you, the internet, because you’ll show up early and grab all the good books to sell on ebay, you illiterate assholes- you know who you are!) because those books get offered to the public for as little a standard price of $1-$2 apiece, except for those godlike sales where they sell by the bag full.

“But Logan, you say to me in your disembodied internet voice, we’ve already exhausted our local library’s selection. What are we to do now?” Oh silly book lovers. What would you do without me? There is ALWAYS a solution on the internet (sure, sometimes that solution involves a trip to the Gulag, but those are the risks we run). In this case, there is booksalefinder.com, a handy little site that tracks library sales in every state of the nation, with a nice breakdown of what type and how many books they will have on hand, so you don’t drive to McMinnville only to find the complete works of Nora Roberts. Through this handy utility I have already discovered a Unitarian Church sale not 8 blocks from my house at the beginning of March, not to mention the awe-invoking Eugene sale which is large enough to take place at a Fairgrounds. Truly, I’ve dreamed of such a sight for years. Because my to-read stack is not high enough already (the three stacks atop the shelf are my to-reads, the shelf itself is my scifi bookshelf- note the most embarrassing books are double stacked in the back of the front row):

So I’ve said for many months now that “big things are in the offing” as a means of excusing the rapid decrease in posting that has plagued this blog in recent months. While I was loathe to reveal our plans prior to acting upon them, in case they fell through beforehand, for the past several months the K@ and I have been involved in our tri-annual ritual of uprooting ourselves. While the exact make-up of my ancestry remains a mystery, I like to blame my perpetual wanderlust on the gypsy blood roaring in my veins. I’m not sure what K@’s excuse is, besides the obvious insanity that led her to marry me (for which I am eternally grateful).

Regardless, like an egg timer that just won’t stop chiming, we found ourselves beginning to chafe at the confines of Tucson last summer as the sun beat down and began to slow roast the desert inhabitants’ minds. Sidenote: is it a coincidence that the major Abrahamic faiths arose from pilgrimages in the desert? Did the blasted and ruined landscape mixed with the most unrelenting elemental pressures create the perfect storm for hallucinatory religious experiences? When faced with the oblivion of the desert, does humanity’s mind reel with shock and lay the foundation for millennia of tyranny and bloodshed? If so, I think that rapidly increasing desertification is likely the greatest threat facing humanity today.

Just compare, if you will. Can you spot the differences? Tucson:

Portland’s lusciousness:

As we barricaded the doors and windows to stop the incessant onslaught of blowing dust and blinding light, we reached back in out memories to those heady days of living in Eugene. Grass rooted to keep the dirt in its place, trees to shade its inhabitants from the intermittent sun, blackberry bushes on every riverbank or alleyway to feed the hungry inhabitants. Oregon is a land bursting with moisture and greenery; moss springing from every puddle and ivy tracing its way up every wall. Like the proverbial greenhouse that it is, Oregon inspires much in the way of cultural activity as well. Nearly every person you meet is involved in some artistic endeavor, musical side project or politico-philosophical debate. Where the art and culture of the desert is as minimalist as the landscape that inspires it, within the Willamette Valley ideas run pleasantly amok and, while some of these concepts are evolutionary dead-ends and future victims of natural selection, the mere fact that they can exist and even temporarily thrive in this environment makes living here seem like a return to Paradise.

I guess this is my round-about way of informing you, loyal reader, that we are no longer denizens of the desert. We have traded in our sunglasses for parkas, our tequila for whiskey, and are settling in nicely to the beauteous city of Portland. We have amazing vegetarian restaurants within walking distance and, better still, the weather actually allows us- nay, encourages us- to venture out and take in all of these sights. Over the next months expect to see much more content as the K@ and I reveal the inner workings of this city that has sung its love songs directly into our cerebral cortex and take to the web to share our excitement and fascination with this new home of ours.

“Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy.” Benjamin Franklin

“Hangovers are proof that god is a vindictive swine.” Logan Graf

What a great year for music! I say that every year, I know, but then every year is a phenomenal year for music. You can very rarely go wrong when it comes to creative expression, as long as your work doesn’t involve the gratuitous use of feces. This was a year that saw some amazing releases from new artists, the return of some of my favorite musicians (thank you, Portishead, for that awe-inspiring set at Coachella), and some explosive new directions from older groups. Of course, there was the inevitable deluge of mediocre radio fare (Katie Perry, I heard your song the first time, when Jill Sobule did it better) and stumbling Sophomore albums from previously hyped buzz bands like Tapes ‘N Tapes, Blitzen Trapper, The Cold War Kids, and Gnarls Barkley but these missteps happen to a new band every year. Such is the creative process. Fear the band that has never made a poor album.

All of that is neither here nor there, though. We are all here (all 2 of us, it’s cozy) to see which ten artists have managed to sneak onto my year end best-of list. There are some predictable entries, I doubt anyone is too surprised to see TV on the Radio or The Hold Steady reprising their previous appearances, and some records that may have slipped under your radar this year. If any should take umbrage with my selections (Yes, I know that there is no Magnetic Fields on the list), please feel free to file a grievance in the comments section. I’ll endeavor to avoid too much condescension in my reply (I kid, I love feedback). Without further ado, here they are, Logan’s top 10 albums of 2008:

10. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks- Real Emotional Trash
If I were Stephen Malkmus, I would find it really hard to resist punching the next person who asks him when Pavement is going to reunite. What must it be like, as an artist, to be producing the best music of your career and to have fans so wrapped up in nostalgia that they can’t look beyond the dissolution of your last band over ten years ago? Frustrating, I imagine. Nuts to all the haters, I say! As long as Malkmus continues to churn out the fantastic stoned jams that populate this year’s Real Emotional Trash, then he can do pretty much anything he wants. Such is evolution. From opener “Dragonfly Pie” to the last lick on “Wicked Wanda” the guitars shred themselves furiously, as though Malkmus were battling for his soul at a crossroads. The lyrics leave something to be desired but then, I’ve never been a large fan of lyrics. Vocals, I can really get down with vocals, but you could be expounding on the state of the Union or repetitively singing “Elmo Delmo” for all it matters to me. Funnily enough, following a 10 minute plus rendition of that selfsame song at Coachella, Malkmus joked to the crowd that those may have been the most ridiculous words ever spoken to a crowd that large. That, in a nutshell, encompasses everything I love about Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks: the ability to make such hard-driving rock with your tongue firmly implanted in your cheek for the duration.
Recommended Tracks: Baltimore, Wicked Wanda, Real Emotional Trash, Dragonfly Pie

9. Black Mountain- In The Future
This record is what psych-rock is meant to be. I was not a big fan of Black Mountains’ 2005 self-titled debut, nor their side project Pink Mountaintops, so was not predisposed to like this record. After a few spins around the old CD tray I was forced to radically change my opinion of these Canadian rockers. The record starts off with a bang on “Stormy High” with a driving guitar line that has made it onto every roadtrip mix that I’ve made this year, a plodding beat and jangling guitar epic on which singer Amber Webber’s ethereal voice coos seductively. The band’s strengths are fully revealed on long-players “Tyrants” and “Bright Lights”, when the group stretches out and lets their freak flag fly and begin to resemble the bastard jamb band equivalent of Led Zeppelin. While I am an unabashed fan of the raging guitars it is really Webber’s warbling trill that draws me so strongly to this record. All year long I’ve been grasping at comparisons, trying to find a singer who sounds anything like her but I just haven’t found anything that encompasses her haunting oohs and ahhs, which remind me of nothing more than a wailing widow on a foggy Scottish moor. The only possible match I can think of is Beth Gibbons of Portishead, but they’re merely stylistically similar rather than long lost twins. Regardless, between her haunting vocals and the magnificent wall of sound created by the instrumentation, Black Mountain proved that they were deserving of a second chance. Also, if ever the possibility should arise, they should be seen live.
Recommended Tracks: Stormy High, Tyrants, Wucan, Evil Ways

8. Wolf Parade- At Mount Zoomer
This is an album that I was predisposed, for whatever reason, to dislike. Simply put, I thought that 2005’s debut, Apologies to Queen Mary, was a fluke and the chemistry between dueling frontmen Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner would not be replicated on their sophomore release seeing as how both are very involved with their other groups (Sunset Rubdown and Handsome Furs, respectively). I have rarely been so happy to be proven wrong. At Mount Zoomer (named for the Parade’s home studio, natch) shows that sometimes lightening does strike twice. Bouncing between songs written either by Krug or Boehner, Zoomer sets the tone early in the record with “Call it a Ritual,” a plodding tribal beat with some backing strings that then leads in to “Language City” which proceeds to kick out the jams in a grand style with Boeckner singing with his customary yelping lilt. “California Dreamer” features some astonishing precise and jarring guitars before giving in to a Doors-esque interlude with one of the best organ solos of the year. “An Animal in Your Care” starts off sounding like a bad amateur prom band but ends up as a rather haunting jam as Krug stretches his legs in front of a militant marching beat and a synth line that sounds cadged from the soundtrack to a John Hughes film. The true magic happens on album closer “Kissing the Beehive” where Krug and Boeckner *GASP* collaborate on a sprawling, majestic 10 minute jam. It says something about the performance power of this group that, after 2 days of non-stop music and an early morning flight back to Tucson from Milwaukee we still had energy enough to dance until we dropped that same night.
Recommended Tracks: Kissing the Beehive, An Animal in Your Care, Language City, California Dreamer

7. Hercules & Love Affair
For better or worse, 2008 is the year where disco finally returned from the dead. But, rather than eating our brains, it is melting dance floors around the world in a firestorm that makes “Thriller” look like a gentle evening at the nursing home. Much of this can be attributed to the amazing work of DJ Andy Butler, mastermind behind Hercules & Love Affair and the always impressive Antony Heggarty (of Antony and the Johnsons fame) who lends his plaintive vocals to several tracks on this self-titled release. Whether it’s the laid-back beat and questioning horns on “Hercules Theme” or Antony’s shattering vocals on lead single “Blind” there is never a question as to what this album’s intent is: balls-to-the-wall booty-shaking and fie on those who can’t get into it. In a year where many dance acts failed to impress or evoke the urge to boogie down, Hercules & Love Affair were like an oasis in the Sahara. My goal for next year is to see these disco heroes live.
Recommended Tracks: Athene, Blind, You Belong, Iris

6. The Hold Steady- Stay Positive
You know what you are getting when you dip into a new Hold Steady record. Songs about debauchery, excess, lost youth and thinly veiled Catholic imagery over rollicking guitars and handy shout-along segments. The Hold Steady have a groove and far be it for me to critique it when it’s rendered some of the most unabashedly fun music of my (admittedly short) life. Whether he’s singing about trouble with the law in lead single “Sequestered in Memphis” or the heady possibilities of the summer after graduation before settling into a career in “Constructive Summer,” Craig Finn is so enthusiastic that, as a listener, you can not help but falling under his spell and singing along at the appointed time. As musicians, though, they refuse to be pigeon-holed as just a bar band. Guitarist Tad Kubler evokes nearly as many emotions as Finn’s illustrative lyrics, especially on the slowed down and haunting “Both Crosses” where Kubler lays down a guitar line that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Sergio Leone Western. Four albums deep, these boys from Brooklyn prove once again that they have the chops to make for a long and distinguished career.
Recommended Tracks: Sequestered in Memphis, Stay Positive, Constructive Summer, Navy Sheets

5. El Guincho- Alegranza!
El Guincho has to be the best thing to happen to the Canary Islands since Columbus lost a rudder and had to put in for repairs. This album barely meets the criteria for inclusion on the list, seeing that it came out in Europe in 2007, but I’m Amerocentric and if I hadn’t heard it then it’s new to me! Spaniard Pablo Díaz-Reixa serves as songsmith to this wonderful amalgam of world music, incorporating elements of tropicalia, afrobeat and mariachi to form a pastiche of some of the most danceable music of the year. Opener “Palmitos Park” incorporates some joyous hand claps before moving on to the Carnivale flavor of “Antillas” and “Fata Morgana” that just beg for you to get off the couch and start dancing. The steel drums on “Kalise” are hypnotic enough to induce spiritual possession, should the listener be into such things. I was heartbroken when El Guincho canceled his American tour earlier this year as I think watching him at a show would be an experience not to be missed, kind of like this album.
Recommended Tracks: Antillas, Kalise, Polca Mazurca, Palmitos Park

4. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson- Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
This may be the most under-rated album of the year. There was no buzz on Pitchfork, Rolling Stone dropped the ball (don’t they always?), nary a peep from Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, or Gorilla Vs. Bear. I’m still astounded about how little press this record has received. Robinson has a rather unique voice, one that’s not quite singing but several rungs above speaking. The arrangements are rather straightforward: a voice, a piano and whatever odds and ends he felt necessary to add a layer of scuzz and grime to the record. It’s the voice though that makes this record, a gravelly baritone that sounds a lot like a young whiskey-soaked Tom Waits. So plaintive, so heartbroken even when he’s singing the uplifting tracks, you can tell that the singer is a man who has lived through some iteration of hell and has come back swinging to make this record.
Recommended Tracks: Buriedfed, The Debtor, Written Over, Boneindian

3. The Ruby Suns- Sea Lion
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in 2008, it’s that we underestimate New Zealand at our own peril. First there were the musical comedy stylings of Flight of the Conchords then we were treated to the whimsical indie pop of The Ruby Suns latest release, Sea Lion. Most have probably heard “Oh, Mojave” without ever realizing it on a Windows Vista ad, though in an extremely truncated version. The full version is far more rewarding, with lushly layered vocals and a gently driving beat with acoustic guitars that recalls songs by another Top 10 alumni, the Dodos, but with air raid sirens tossed in for good measure. “Tane Mahuta” sounds like a lost song from Sarafina run through a campfire sing-along. There is a definite “light-hearted dancing in a meadow in Springtime” vibe that runs through the entire record, an aspect that helps make this such an enjoyable album. While the record stumbles in places (”It’s Mwangi in Front of Me” springs to mind) it is, for the most part, a lush affair that makes one yearn for the impending blooms of Spring.
Recommended Tracks: Oh, Mojave, Tane Mahuta, Kenya Dig It?, Adventure Tour

2. TV On The Radio- Dear Science
I’ll admit to a few moments of trepidation when I first heard “Golden Age,” the first single from the new TV On the Radio record. It started with an funky bass line before guitarist/singer Kip Malone begins singing in one of the oddest falsettos in rock and the song turns into a Bowie-esque dance number about utopia. This was not the TV on the Radio that I was used to. Then I was able to listen to the album in full and all of my fears were assuaged. In the context of the rest of the album, “Golden Age” fits wonderfully. As an art rock band that has never been afraid to push the boundaries of music, their newest album is a perfect reflection of this exact moment in our cultural zeitgeist with thundering denunciations of Bush era fear-mongering (I’ve never felt such a passionate rage at the atrocities of the past 8 years than when vocalist Tunde Adebimpe sings “Hey jackboot, fuck your war” in the opening to “Red Dress”) that improve upon the template they laid out with their Hurrican Katrina benefit song, “Dry Drunk Emporer.” Just as Pandora’s box was not all death and destruction, so too does this album contain the shreds of hope for a better future in both “Golden Age” and “Family Tree.” The music is astounding, as always. Producer David Sitek excels as usual at texturing all the layers on the tracks, lending a depth to the sound that allows Adebimpe and Malone’s off-kilter harmonies to skip along the surface like a flat stone on a still lake. Friends of mine often deride the group for being too slow to get into but, for me, the beauty of the compositions belies the pacing. Additionally, anyone who has heard the breakdown in “Shout Me Out” would be hard-pressed to argue that the group doesn’t know how to pick up the tempo. Regardless, Dear Science is a near-perfect mix of dread and hope, funk and rock, that shows the group uncertainly stepping into their burgeoning fame, determined to be rock stars on their terms and no one elses.
Recommended Tracks: DLZ, Shout Me Out, Red Dress, Halfway Home

1. The Dodos- Visiter
2008 was a banner year for live music for myself and the K@. New bands, old favorites, groups we’d never heard of- we heard them all. None, though, came near to the transcendental excitement of seeing the Dodos burn down the stage in an afternoon set at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. Maybe it was the heady mix of alcohol and caffeine from all the Sparks. Maybe it was an the onset of heatsroke. Whatever the reason, watching this duo bring as much fervor and energy to their sound with a single acoustic guitar and an impressive array of percussive instruments as bands three times their size was a stand-out moment of 2008. Album opener “Walking” merely hints at the maelstrom of sound to come with simple finger-picking from guitarist Meric Long and a gentle bass drum before seamlessly segueing into the powerful “Red And Purple” where percussionist Logan Kroeber comes in with so many different rhythms that I still can’t track them all and Long strums so frenetically that I’m surprised he doesn’t break all his strings. The vocals are reminiscent of both Panda Bear’s solo record from last year as well as the Fleet Foxes’ bearded folk compositions, an amalgam that works exceedingly well. My enjoyment of yelps in music is well-noted and this year the Dodos delivered powerfully on that front, harnessing the chaos to make the year’s most infectious and enjoyable record.
Recommended Tracks: Red & Purple, Joe’s Waltz, Fools, Winter
____
Obviously, I am neglecting several huge albums of the year. Sadly this list had no room for Chinese Democracy or Darius Rucker’s country album. Or, more realistically, Okkervil River’s astounding Stage Names, Portishead’s triumphant evolution of trip-hop on Third, Deerhoof’s return to the avant garde on Offend Maggie, Cloud Cult’s career best Feel Good Ghosts or even Of Montreal’s Skeletal Lamping. Better luck next year, kiddos.

Ha! You all thought I’d forgotten, didn’t you? You thought that the only significant tradition I have to show from over four years of blogishness would be put to the wayside what with all the madness that has enshrouded us lately. And what glorious madness! It is no act of hyperbole when I say that the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity on every conceivable front. Regardless, seeing as how 2008 stands out not only as a magnificent year for the concert experiences that the K@ and I have been privy to, but for musical releases as well, I would be horribly remiss if I didn’t add my own voice to the blogo-chatter and highlight some of my favorite releases of the past year. Below you’ll find my five favorite EPs of the year. My top ten full length favorites will hopefully be up later this week (or at least by New Year’s).

5. Crystal Antlers- Crystal Antlers EP
If Sonic Youth gave birth to the lovechild of Dinosaur Jr. and that child then dropped a lot of acid and started a band, that band would sound like Crystal Antlers. A feedback drenched squall that begins on opening track “Until the Sun Dies (Part 2)” and does not let up for a moment until the final note of seven minute closer “Parting Song for the Torn Sky.” With its short 25 minute running time, it’d be easy to right this off as a mere appetizer for a full length, but after listening to it from beginning to end you realize that any longer and your brain would be dripping from your ears having succumbed to the sheer sonic assault.

4. Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head- Secret Crush EP
From the beginning you need to give this group bonus points for the greatest band name ever. These Seattle electro-rockers do not rely on name power alone though. With a dirty production style and an obvious love of deep skronk-sounding bass this quintet has crafted some of the most infectious dance songs of the year with rather hilarious tongue-in-cheek lyrics. I dare you not to at least smirk in amusement when listening to call-and-response lyrics like “do you like my side ponytail? (I do, I do) It’s a sophisticated side ponytail (it’s true, it’s true).” At first I didn’t think this record made much of an impact on me until I found myself singing “let’s go ride the Tilt-A-Whirl, we’ll ride it ’til we hurl” at odd times.

3. Annuals- Frelen Mas EP
It would be easy to dismiss this EP as a collection of leftovers that should have been left on the floor of the studio and if the band were, say, Coldplay instead of Annuals this would probably be the appropriate action. Not so when we’re talking about the best thing to come from North Carolina since tobacco. Annuals garnered much praise for their 2007 record “Be He Me” and this collection of b-sides offers up a smorgasbord of leftovers equally as strong as the debut album. Opener “Nas Keseyi” builds slowly from a chant to a military march before segueing into the ragtime jazz of “River Run” that calls to mind a paddlewheel riverboat casino in the middle of a bacchanalian orgy. The sextet even manages to breathe new life to the old standard “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” their interpretation being at the same time a faithful rendering of the hymn and a wonderful new contextualization through the sparse use of computer bleeps and blips. I haven’t had much of a chance to listen to their 2008 sophomore record, Such Fun, yet but know that if the band’s evolution continues in a vein similar to Frelen Mas then it will soon have a spot on any playlist I put together.

2. Cat Power- Dark End of the Street EP
This record is coming in right at the last possible moment to be included here. By any standard it’s been a banner year for Chan Marshall. Her second covers album, Jukebox, dropped early in the year to much acclaim and the crippling stage fright that seemingly must be mentioned in every article ever written about her seems to have been conquered. She even took time out from singing to do a small turn in Wong Kar-Wai’s My Blueberry Nights as Jude Law’s girlfriend. After a victory lap (in touring form) around the US, she returned to the studio and cut this short follow-up record of leftover covers that was released earlier this month. If Jukebox was meant to be the main course then this is surely dessert. Opening with the title song, Marshall makes it clear from the start that she’s not merely aping those who have come before as she reinterprets the Aretha Franklin classic in that distinctive whiskey-soaked voice of hers. Next comes a rousing cover of CCR’s “Fortunate Son” that hits just as deeply today as it did during the Vietnam debacle. The album peaks with her stirring and triumphant cover of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)” which is on course to being one of my favorite tracks of the year. More than anything, in a year drenched with techie gimmicks that lead rappers to pretend they’re singers, this collection helps us remember the awe-inspiring power of a true vocalist. If next year’s Cat Power record has even a quarter of the passion that is evoked on this record then we are all in for a treat.

1. Fleet Foxes- Sun Giant EP
What a year it has been for this fabulously furry band of freaks! Shooting from obscurity to become one of the biggest attractions at a host of summer music fests, it’d be relatively easy to write them off as yet another blog buzz band that would fade into oblivion by the time next year’s best-of lists are being generated. It would be easy, if not for the strength of their musicianship. On this relatively short EP, released in early Spring, this Seattle quintet strikes a strong blow against the “everyone can sing, especially those who can’t” strain of indie music that has risen up in the past decade. The eponymous opening track is a wonder of a capella harmonies that sweep the listener up in a swirl of musicality before adding in some gentle guitars for second track “Drops in the River.” This is not to say that the entire record is some light and airy confection. No, these Fleet Foxes are as skilled at layering instrumentation as they are at constructing their tight harmonies, seamlessly weaving both together into a fantastic sound. For example, on “Mykonos,” the accompaniment drops in and elevates the song from a seemingly simple pastoral folk song to a rollicking foot-tapping good time without ever sacrificing the precision of the vocals. A few listens through Sun Giant will convince the most vocal critic that this is, finally, a band worthy of all the buzz that has been generated.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving which, aside from being the last remaining holiday to not be trampled over by the money hungry hordes of Capitalists, is the official kick-off to the winter shopping season. The next 30 days will see an overwhelming influx of awful music piped in through tinny speakers, parents beating their children in the toy aisles and a blitzkrieg of advertising the likes of which are rarely seen anymore. As each dime becomes more precious to workers facing unemployment and a distinctly un-merry Christmas, I expect to be increasingly bombarded by ads proclaiming deals-of-a-lifetime and can’t-miss offers. This tends to have an effect on me very similar to making Bruce Banner angry. Only instead of rampaging through Upper Manhattan I take to my blog to deliver incoherent screeds against consumerism, money, and holidays in general which few, if any, will ever read.

In honor of the looming holiday, please allow me to fire the first shot in my personal War on Christmas and declare this blog to be an ad free blog. More and more often, I find myself trolling through the backwaters of the internet only to be plagued again and again by inane and annoying pop-up ads or sidebars filled with Google Ads. I can’t read anything on Salon without a pop-up marring the experience, not to mention how arduous it is dealing with the ads at Stereogum that expand to hide the title of whatever article you’re reading until you manually shrink them again. I’m not even going to start on the bloggers who try to make a buck by shilling for Google again and again. It’s information pollution, is what it is and I don’t want to have to deal with it anymore than I have to.

Which brings us to my blog, humble reader(s). I am going to make you this vow: I will never allow the presence of corporate advertising to pollute this blogspace. I am not nearly egotistical enough to think that anything I write here is worthy of payment, even in a roundabout manner like Google Ads. Also, you may notice the new logo in between the links to the right —–>

I found this at adfreeblog.org, a site that states:
1. That I am opposed to the use of corporate advertising on blogs.
2. That I feel the use of corporate advertising on blogs devalues the medium.
3. That I do not accept money in return for advertising space on my blog.

Talk about a good idea whose time has finally come!

I am deeply enamored of Dan Savage. He’s just as witty on The Colbert Report as he is in his regular sex column:

Someone, whose name is now escaping me, once said something about the need to be ever vigilant in safeguarding our basic human rights. I don’t think that there is a much clearer example than last Tuesday’s general election. At the same time that the nation was congratulating itself on being progressive enough to look beyond a person’s skin in evaluating the best person for the job (in this case, the presidency) the laws were being rewritten to take away an already existing right from a group of Americans. At no other time in my life can I think of an example where a law has been rewritten to specifically discriminate against a group of American citizens.

I speak, of course, about the passage of Proposition 8 in California (as well as those measures mentioned in my last post that passed in AZ, AK and FL). 17,000 happily married couples who wed over the six months following the landmark ruling by the California Supreme Court that declared that gender restrictions violate the state Constitution’s equal protection guarantee and were thus unconstitutional are now without the safety and security promised by their marriage license. In essence, the electorate just pissed all over these couples’ commitment and happiness. This is a dark era for humanity, one that will be looked back upon with as much disgust as we now view Plessy v. Ferguson, where the idea of “separate but equal” was first established.

Make no bones about it, that is exactly what the kerfuffle surrounding gay marriage is about. This is the Civil Rights matter nonpareil of our time. Opponents look to so-called “civil unions” and say why can’t the gay community be satisfied with what they have? Why do they have to trample on marriage? Yet, as Brown v. Board of Education stated so perfectly, “separate… facilities are inherently unequal.” Denying truly loving couples the ability to garner the same protections and respect under the law clearly violates, if not the letter, then at least the intent of the Equal Protection clause under the 14th Amendment.

This is even over-looking the rather blatant commingling of church and state in assessing the definition of marriage. It seems to me that this is even a violation of the separation of church and state. Why can some people have church-sanctioned “marriages” while others are condemned to “civil unions”? In the eyes of the law it should all be the same. If that’s the path that the religious nutjobs (sidenote- not every religious person is a nutjob, just every religious person that I’ve met) want to take then why can’t we just get rid of marriage completely and call everyone’s union a civil union? If you want to take it one step further and go for the church-sanctioned marriage then that’s your prerogative. At least in the eyes of the government your union is equal in name and fact.

Finally, considering divorce rates in this nation, I sincerely doubt that gay marriage is a threat to the foundation of decent hard-working hetero American families. If anything, gay marriage strengthens the bonds of marriage and reinforces the solemnity of the occasion. What is more valued than that which is fought and struggled for? If anything the 62% divorce rate for hetero married couples has done far more to cheapen the institution of marriage than anything else.

It is clear that this is an issue that future generations will look back on with an extraordinary sense of shame and disgust at the fearmongers who preached hatred and intolerance. Just as the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Era saw an injustice and could not let a group toil toward freedom on their own, so to is it the responsibility of compassionate people in this age to speak out against divisiveness and fear.

This Saturday, November 15, join thousands of people across the nation in a coordinated protest against Prop 8 and anti-gay discrimination in general. Click the previously linked sentence to help find protests in your town and make your voice known as one of those who refuse to rest until there really is justice for ALL, not just some.