Music

I'm at a weird stand-still with my dissertation, where I'm waiting for a response from my advisor who is currently in New Zealand, so I figured I would use this rare free time to update the blog.

So music I am currently listening to (bolded items I like more than the others - there are a lot of bolded items in this list - and not being bolded does not, in this case, mean I hated it, although I might...):

• Akron/Family - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free: I really like this album. Well, all except for the song "MBF." What the heck is that? I skip it every time, after first cringing in pain. The rest is great. I love the song "River."
• Azeda Booth - Tubtrek EP: This is a free EP available online. It's pretty good - sounds like usual Azeda Booth, so fans won't be disappointed.
• Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains: Pitchfork loved this. I have no idea why. I am close to deleting it cause if I have iTunes on shuffle it hurts my ears. Actually, I take that back. The songs actually trick me - and some start out beautiful and then take painful turns in the middle. It's a love/hate relationship, I suppose.
• Death Cab for Cutie - Open Doors EP: This is stuff that apparently didn't make the cut for their last full length album, Narrow Stairs. I was totally bored by that album, so I wasn't expecting much from this EP. Bottom line? They should have used this stuff instead. I like the EP much better than the full length.
• The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love: This is supposed to be a musical/play/opera sort of thing, with different vocalists playing different characters. Some parts are nice, but the refrain where they sing "The hazards of love" gets old after a while and just feels a little over-dramatic.
• Fever Ray - S/T: This is the woman from The Knife. Its pretty electronic and her voice has been manipulated a bit, but I still like it. If you like The Knife, you'll probably like it. If you only liked "Heartbeats" by The Knife, you may or may not like this.
• Fol Chen - Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made: I haven't heard this album enough to really have a full opinion, but I love the song, "Please, John, You're Killing Me."
• Jonathan Johansson - En Hand i Himlen: This guy is Swedish, which almost always means good things for me. He does a version of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule The World" in Swedish. It is fabulous. The other music is nice, too. Pretty vocals over slightly 80s style synths.
• The Leisure Society - The Sleeper: Sometimes this bores me. Other times, I think it's great. Not sure what that means, except maybe I'm moody? I don't really feel moody, so it probably means that this is one of those bands who puts out decent stuff, but maybe doesn't have long-lasting stay-power. At least to stay in my most-listened-to-albums...
• Metric - Fantasies: I need to give this more listens, but there are a few standout, good songs on it so far, like "Help, I'm Alive" and "Sick Muse."
• Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: This is great, but I have liked Phoenix for a while now. This is nothing new or unusual, so if you like old Phoenix, you will probably like this, and vice versa.
• Psapp - The Camel's Back: Not as good as their last release, but it has been growing on me. Standout tracks: "The Monster Song" and "Fickle Ghost."
• Super Furry Animals - Dark Days/Light Years: Good mix of stuff on this album. "Inaugural Trams" comes complete with a German rap by one of the Franz Ferdinand guys.
• Venice is Sinking - Azar: Pretty dream pop. Which I'm usually a sucker for. I would probably put it in the same category as The Leisure Society, though, in that I'll probably listen for a while, then forget about them later on. Or perhaps they will surprise me. My favorite track is "Wetlands Dancehall."
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!: Old Yeah Yeah Yeahs was hit-or-miss for me. I loved "Gold Lion" and "Maps," but the other songs were only so-so. This album, though, is great. I've listened straight through quite a few times without need to skip, which is saying something for me, as I have little patience for annoying or boring songs.

Market Surveys

I just got a phone call from Victoria's Secret. They want me to test a new bra. I get to keep it, and they will call me in 2 weeks to get my opinion about it. Weird part: they knew my bra size before I told them. Why I'm ok with that: I get a free bra...

Quick Love/Hate List

Things to love about LA:

• Death Cab playing with the LA Philharmonic, with Tegan & Sara and The New Pornographers opening
• This. I realize it defies the "Sunny California" stereotype, but it's pretty dramatically stunning. The ominous cloud and the color of the ocean...
  
• This. The sky. The building. The grounds.

Things to hate about LA:

• This. This is a time-lapse video taken by my friend Ida from the back seat of my car. We were on I-5 in LA. (Note: the original version is much longer than 2 seconds - something happened to it when Ida sent it to me via email)

Things to love about Eugene:

• This. Cardboard signs plastered around someone's yard saying things like, "To Pay Day" "To Keeping it Weird" "To Being Spontaneous"
  
  

Things to hate about Eugene:

• This. Yes, this is the same photo. That was not an error. Sometimes the quirkiness is entertaining and creative. Sometimes it gets old. Is weird still weird when everyone does it?

BO

You know how when you are in a smoke-filled room, you smell like smoke when you leave? When you used to be able to smoke in bars, I remember waking up and the smoke had transferred from my hair to my pillow and then my pillow smelled like smoke. And I have never been a smoker...

Well, apparently this same phenomenon can occur with BO. I spent a few hours today in a local coffee shop. There are many hippies and homeless people in this coffee shop on a regular basis, so the stench of BO can sometimes be quite high. I have noticed this on a regular basis, but today, it was the worst it had been in a long time. And the worst part? When I left...I still had the BO smell on me. Just like the smokey bar smell that lingers after you leave.

Honestly? I prefer the smoke...

In a relationship - with Penske?

"You're receiving this email because of your relationship with Penske."

This was the first line of an email soliciting boxes to pack for my upcoming move. I rented a truck from Penske, and I suppose this suggests that Penske and I are in a relationship of sorts. Sure, the definition of "relationship" is quite broad, and so the email is, in fact, speaking the truth. However, it just sounds awkward. Perhaps in the days of Facebook, with daily reports of friends' and acquaintances' relationship changes, it is an automatic association to initially think "romantic relationship" when I hear about anyone being in a "relationship with..."

What is even more "Facebook-ish" about the email was that it asked me to confirm my interest in these emails, similar to Facebook's emails asking you to confirm a relationship status or friend request.

I didn't realize that reserving a truck to move to LA held so much meaning...

I'm bad at this

So last summer when I started this blog, it was because I had all of these random things to get out of my system and no one to tell them to. I'm not sure what changed - whether my friends are just being inundated with my random stories or whether I just don't have as many anymore. My life is taking a more "concrete" turn lately, with internship interviews last January, planning for my move in June, and finishing that one last major requirement for grad school called a dissertation. So perhaps that has squashed my randomness? Who knows. I would write more about music, but that seems like it is coming at me at such a fast past lately, that I barely have time to collect my thoughts on particular albums, much less write anything more than "like it" or "hate it." And I'm sure I'd get some random internet commenter hating me for not giving it a shot or not exploring it more in depth.

I also realize that the less often I write, the less people will actually come back and read this site. Regardless, I guess this intermittent writing may continue. Perhaps after I move to LA and have fewer friends to share my random tidbits with, I will have more need to write them here. Who knows.

And to end this post...my dog just farted. It is pretty gross.

Deodorant

Sometimes I can't remember if I put on deodorant in the morning.