Non Sequiturs

It was a long week and a short week. I am very glad it is the weekend and I can get some much needed relaxation in. No huge plans this weekend other than Barry Bishop's annual birthday bear pool party. I have never been and hear it is a lot of fun, so am looking forward to it. Apparently over 300+ people are going to be there. How they are going to fit that many bears into this setting is beyond me.

I feel really bad that I haven't posted more blog posts lately. I have a huge backlog of cd reviews that I would like to get out there. I am reaching the critical mass point where I either have to get them all done in one sitting or just cut off and start with the new ones going forward. I will likely do the one sitting thing. There have been too many good releases lately to let slip through the cracks.

It's a rainy Friday here in Atlanta. Not a just a storm here and there day, it is a black clouds, don't see the sun all day rainy day. Very depressing. Fits my mood as I was supposed to go to Chicago this weekend for five days. I only wish it were sunny here and hurricane like conditions there. Sorry, I am grousing. I am just mad that I had to eat a $150 plane ticket. The fee to change the ticket was $150, so it basically nullified everything.

I take it back about wanting it to rain in Chicago. My friend Kurt is up there with his friends Janis and Ian for two NIN shows on his small venue farewell tour. He was not looking forward to going because he spent all last weekend in NYC at two shows and didn't sleep much. But secretly I think he is in for something special and I hope it turns out that way.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Head

"I wanna sleep
Underneath the weeping willow
As it cries all night quietly
Its tears all around me
I'll sleep there so soundly
Until I'm allowed finally
To wake and be happy again
To wake and be happy again "

Grandaddy
"Underneath the Weeping Willow"

"They are useless hangup cures,
All except that trick of yours.

No one to leave the light on,
To help you choose the right song.

I try to do right, but it's wrong.
Nothing feels right with you gone.

Over hedges high,
Climbs a smiling spy.

Who now will shift your shoelace?
And wipe the crumbs off your face?

No one should get what you got,
Nothing should end where you start."

Mew
"Start"

"In pitch dark I go walking in your landscape
Broken branches trip me as I speak
Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's there"

Radiohead
"There There"

"When I question love I thought I'd surely die
I couldn't see a future without you by my side
We're not together but I'm still alive
I'd rather not see you for a really long time

Funny how love is"

Fine Young Cannibals
"Funny How Love Is"

"And you're not the one
Who said he'd never leave
The one who made me believe in me
That was someone who could do no wrong
But you lost him

You're not the man
Who would bleed for me
But never shed a tear
You're not the one
Who said he'd always, always, always be here
said he'd always always be near"

Sade
"You're Not The Man"

"You know the hurts
So deep
That I cant sleep or eat,
And what Im hoping for
Is to feel your kisses sweet.
If we could just talk
Things might be a little more clear.
I really need the chance
To explain the way I feel.

I cant sleep (cant sleep),
Thinking of you constantly,
I cant sleep (cant sleep),
Wishing you were here with me.
I cant sleep (cant sleep
Where are you please?"

Saint Etienne
"Carnt Sleep"

"Every day, I get up and pray to Jah
And he decreases the number of clocks by exactly one
Everybody's comin' home for lunch these days
Last night there were skinheads on my lawn
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Some people say that bowling alleys got big lanes
Some people say that bowling alleys all look the same
There's not a line that goes here that rhymes with anything
I has a dream last night, but I forget what it was
I had a dream last night about you, my friend
I had a dream--I wanted to sleep next to plastic
I had a dream--I wanted to lick your knees
I had a dream--it was about nothing"

Camper Van Beethoven
"Take the Skinheads Bowling"

Appealing Things

A good friend in Denver
Blue British eyes
The XX
80s alternative music
Hiking in the North Georgia mountains and feeling the presence of something higher.
Mew
Bear pool parties
An office window
My body finally getting used to the new medication
Dinner with dear friends

Annoying Things

Rain on a Friday
Stressing about my healthcare running out
Politics
US immigration policies and medical travel bans
Being lectured about something I am quite well aware of. I am not 16 years old people, I am almost 40

Videos of the Week

Here are the videos from the week that have interested me, inspired me, exacerbated me, etc. etc.



Moby's new cd Wait for Me is one of the most melancholy and beautiful cd's I have heard. It has been on constant repeat on my iPod. This song is my favorite off the album and has become more meaningful to me since my breakup this weekend. The constant refrain of "don't hurt me again/don't hurt me this way" is particularly haunting. This video is really beautifully done. And thankfully it is done from a more positive viewpoint than the video for "Pale Horses."



A gorgeous song from The Walkmen called "On the Water" with a very striking video.



On to something much happier. This is one of my favorite songs of the year "Happy House" from the DFA band The Juan Maclean. On the cd, this song is 12 minutes long. The video version is on about 3 1/2, but is still awesome. Cowbell is always a good idea, don't you think? The video is just such a beautiful celebration and is so damn goofy I have to smile when I see it.



Ok, back to haunting again. Sorry about all the darkness and bleakness this week. Just been in a mood. I will snap out of it. I love the singer's voice in this song though.



I posted a live version of this cover a few weeks ago, and here is the actual video. And yes, the VHS distortion is intentional. A good cover is always one that celebrates the original version but either transforms the original into something different or shows you something that you didn't see or hear originally. I think this song does both.



Interesting song and video from the Danish band MEW. Great song and particularly odd video, which of course I really love.





Two videos from IT band of the moment The Big Pink. Not the most original of bands, but they have the right attitude to pull it off and make it their own.



Awesome live version of one of my favorite Depeche Mode songs, "Lie to Me."



My friend Kurt introduced me to this band and I am smitten. Great song. Nice dynamic and excellent use of atmosphere and sonics.



Found this while searching for the videos from The Big Pink. Not the same, but much more hilarious!

Non Sequiturs

Haven't really been in the mood to blog this week due to bizarre circumstances. My boyfriend Bruce broke up with me via email on Monday. Yes, via email. Apparently, he was not capable of saying what he wanted to say to me over the phone or in person. I am not going to trash him or say anything ill about him. I still believe he is a good person but is having a lot of issues that I cannot help him with. I just wish he had chosen to treat me with a little more respect and personally told me why he was ending things. I've never been the type of person to overly dwell on things, so I will take a little time to deal with it and then move on. So I won't be discussing the matter anymore. It's history, I need to look forward.

I was supposed to go up to Chicago to see him next weekend, but of course that is out of the picture. Apparently there is a big Bear pool party here in town hosted by Barry Bishop that is supposed to be a lot of fun, so I am going with my friends Darren and Ken.

I got $10 lawn tickets for Depeche Mode in two weeks. I have seen them live a hundred times and am not really thrilled about going, but hey, it's $10. Pet Shop Boys are in three weeks at Chastain and I am very thrilled about that. Going with some good friends and have some good seats. PSB always put on a fun show. Then in October I am really excited about the Grizzly Bear show. They are my favorite band of the moment and I think it will be a wonderful concert.

I've only been working one job this week which has been very nice. Working 18 hours a day was not a good thing, though I am enjoying the extra money. Of course, now I am rethinking my job outlook and what I want to do and where I want to do it. I am actually seriously considering stepping up my search to outside Atlanta. I've felt like I've been in a rut for awhile and perhaps I need to look somewhere else. Just a thought.

Lyrics Rattling Around In My Head

"Don't let me make the same mistake again
I never felt this loss before
And the world is closing doors
I never wanted anything more
Please, Don't let me make the same mistake again."

Moby
"Mistake"

"And all you'd ever hear me say
Is how I pictured me with you
That's all you'd ever hear me say

But since you've been gone
I can breathe for the first time
Im so movin on
Yeah yeah
Thanks to you
Now I get
What I want
Since you've been gone"

Kelly Clarkson
"Since U Been Gone"

"You saved me from a rainy day
And melted all the clouds in the sky
Yes, I always wished it could be this good
So I thank you for just being so damn
excellent
You are so excellent"

The Juan Maclean
"Happy House"

"There was a time
When all on my mind was love
Now I find that most of the time
Love's not enough in itself"

Depeche Mode
"Love In Itself"

Appealing Things

$10 lawn seats.
An open road
Hand and foot
Happy House: 12 minutes of blissful house music
2666
Julie and Julia

Annoying Things

Being dumped via email, text, or post-it note
Having to date again. Ugh.
Getting stuck with a ticket to Chicago
The thin line between love and hate

Videos of the Week

Here's the latest songs, videos, and whatnot that have been interesting me this week. There wasn't much new coming out this past week, so most of these clips are for recent and old songs that I was playing again.



I hate that Sony and other record labels are so stingy with allowing people access to their bands' works to point that it is no wonder that the labels and record stores are going out of business. They basically have disabled embedding of all their videos so that you can view them but can't post them on a blog. Oh, well. They have stuck their heads in the sand for too long. Ok. rant over. Here is a live performance of Editors from the 2008 Glastonbury Festival for the song "Munich." It is a fabulous song, given a slightly different opening here. Excellent.



Loved this Duran Duran spin-off. Sort of a cross between Japan and Roxy Music. It was much better than the horrid Power Station. This is the beautiful song "Goodbye is Forever."



I love bands that come out of left field and change their sound around so much that they are barely recognizable. The British band Hood started out as a fairly indistinct lo-fi pop band. I was shocked a few years ago when they released the now classic album Cold House. Picking up from the blueprint of Radiohead's Kid A, and adding more glitch techno and guest vocals from the avant garde hip-hop collective cLOUDEAD, it was a stunning release that unfortunately they have failed to top. Outside Closer, the follow up, was beautiful, but lacked the shock of Cold House. Here is a gentle, undulating song "You Show No Emotion At All" from Cold House. Enjoy.



Trippy new song from Yo La Tengo, with an even more trippy video. Don't eat beforehand.



Classic drum and bass song from Olive. Probably one of my favorite songs of all time.



Alter ego of Paul Banks from Interpol. Released his solo album under the name Julian Plenti. This is the first single. Doesn't stray far from the Interpol formula. Nothing wrong with that.



Suede were white hot in the 90s and brought two classic albums to birth under the original lineup. Once Bernard Butler left the band sort of ran into a rut. But this is one of their classic singles from the difficult second album Dog Man Star, "We Are the Pigs."



Second incarnation of Wire. This was an awesome single and sinister video from the album The Ideal Copy. It's a great song to drive to.



My favorite Depeche Mode song. The Jeep Mix of the song is one of my favorite remixes of the song.



Pop Will Eat Itself. Have a soft spot for them



Great album track from Gorillaz. Nice laid back, trippy drum track. Sad song though.



Big dumb song. Try to get it and its crackwhore chorus out of your head.



John Hughes died this week. Loved his movies Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, and Pretty In Pink. In honor of him and the amazing soundtracks he put together, here is the original version of "Pretty In Pink."



Another classic Buddy Cole skit discussing outing celebrities.



New single from Metric. Really good song and fun video.



I was at Mary's in East Atlanta the other night and the DJ as spinning a lot of alternative dance music. This song came on and I knew I knew it but couldn't think of who it was. Finally it dawned on me that it was Grizzly Bear. I had to immediately go home and download it. It's not a great remix, but it is interesting. The original song is just too slow to truly make it as a good remix. But I like it anyway.



Haunting song and cool video for the song "Overcome" from Tricky's classic trip hop album Maxinquaye. Too bad he never scaled the heights of that album again.

Non Sequiturs

80 hours of work finally done. I thought this would be one of the last weeks doing both projects, however, just got word that more documents are on their way and we are looking at weeks of more work. I'm not unhappy that there is work, just would like to scale back to a more manageable workweek. Of course, the money sure is nice.




Here is a pic of Bruce from last weekend at Market Days in Chicago. Sigh. I can't stop looking at him. Three more weeks until I see him again. I miss him pretty badly.

I was told by a couple of people that I put too many things about cats on my Facebook profile and on here. Well, I like cats, so you can suck it.





I don't want to get into the big healthcare debate, but I do want to say that I find it annoying that the people who are most adamant against national healthcare are those that have insurance. Since being laid off, I have been on COBRA which is about to run out in November. Due to a preexisting condition, there is no way for me to get an individual policy. Once COBRA runs out I am unsure as to what will happen. I've called BCBS on several different occasions and have gotten different answers each time. I guess I will be forced to either go without healthcare or attempt to get placed in a State program. So to me, I will likely be in the government's hands anyway so I really don't care if we go to a National plan. I just think it would be nice for everyone to be covered regardless of place or situation in life.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Head

"Put me on the train
send me back to my home
Couldn't live without you
when I tried to roam

Put me by the window,
let me see outside
Looking at all the places,
where all my family died"

Moby
"Pale Horses"

"Do you have change or a button or cash?
Oh, my pockets hang out like two surrender flags
Oh, but I'd pay anything to keep my conscience clean
Keeping my eye on the exits, I'm steady now"

St. Vincent
"The Party"

"Our haven on
The southern point is calling us
Our haven on
The southern point is calling us
And faced with all
The obvious, so carry us
Avert your eyes from all of this
We'll make it all back"

Grizzly Bear
"Southern Point"

"When the world is a monster
Bad to swallow you whole
Kick the clay that holds the teeth in
Throw your trolls out the door

If you're needing inspiration
Philomath is where I go
Lawyer Jeff he knows the low-down
He's mighty bad to visit home"

R.E.M.
"Can't Get There From Here"

Appealing Things

Bruce
Meeting good people and getting rid of people who don't deserve my time.
The end of summer beginning of fall.
Family Guy.
Meryl Streep as Julia Child.

Annoying Things

Medical procedures on television. I mean really. Gross.
Bad customer service from your doctor's office.
No universal healthcare.
Switching to medicines with reportedly no side effects and having twice the side effects of the old medicine.
Fruit flies.