Non-Sequiturs

Katy Perry's backup dancer.  Damn.

Sexy belly.

Woof!

Lots of yummy fur.

Gorgeous.

Ginger god.

UNF.

Just gorgeous.

Hot nerd.

Ditto.

I want arms like that.

My ex Will will love this pic.  Total hairy forearm fetish.

Cutie.

Beefy bull.

So damn hot.

Amazing chest.

Adorable.

Perfect.

Pretty damn near perfect.

Great smile and chest.

Holy fuckballs.

I will take 4 of him, thank you.

Grrrrrrrr and purrrrrrrr.

Rugged.

Sexy grin.

Yes, please.

Though this might sound strange coming from me, I really like John Legend's music.

Huge pet peeve: people who cannot follow simple directions.

The use of hash tags has become completely out of control and irksome.

After all this rain, Atlanta needs a do-over for summer.

I love this.

I enjoyed my time in college, but I graduated and moved on. Life goes on people, stop living in the past.

Regardless of its health benefits, green tea is foul tasting.

A suntan should be earned, not bought.

"Everything good dies here, even the stars."

It works.

I'm very good at pretending to be good at something I am not good at.

Stop trying to fix your relationship with distractions.

If a movie is released in theaters during February, it is going to be a clunker.

Gregory Peck had some awesome hair.

Love this poster.

Once again in work limbo.

Is it really that difficult to respond to a hello?

While I am sure it would be an interesting experience, I really have no interest in doing Burning Man.

Sometimes it is way too early in the morning to see your up close selfie pics on Facebook.

Tequila is not my friend.

Your cute for the day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"Faster, faster, you won't go far
Shouldn't leave, feeling faint, we both know why
You got to show me, both knees, cold I lie
Hold me, slowly, hide me, til I can fight

Always, we can sing, we can make time
Old songs, flood and flame, you could be mine
But you got to show me, both knees, skin and bone
Clothe me, throw me, move me

Til I can sell you lies
You can't get enough
Make a true believer of
Anyone, anyone, anyone

I can call you up
If I feel alone
I can feed your dirty mind
Like I know, like I know what you want

Icon of symmetry, swallowing sides
Fall down in front of me, follow my eyes
But I got to see you moving, waste no time
Teach me, make me holy

Til I can sell you lies
You can't get enough
Make a true believer of
Anyone, anyone, anyone

I can call you up
If I feel alone
I can feed your dirty mind
Like I know, like I know what you want."

CHVRCHES
"Lies"

"A little more
Every day
Falls apart and
Slips away
I don't mind
I'm okay
Nothing ever
Stays the same, well
While we can
Remember when
Always running
Even then
Stay with me
Hold me near
While I'm still here."

Nine Inch Nails
"While I'm Still Here"

"My body is your party, baby
Nobody's invited but you baby
I can do it slow now, tell me what you want
Baby put your phone down, you should turn it off
Cause tonight is going down, tell your boys is going down
We in the zone now, don't stop

You can keep your hands on me, touch me right there, rock my body
I can't keep my hands off you, your body is my party
I'm doing this little dance for you
You got me so excited
Now it's just me on you
Your body's my party, let's get it started."

Ciara
"Body Party"

Appealing Things

Andrew moving in
Sunday of Labor Day weekend out with our whole group of friends
Ana Paula
Lifehackable.com
Forest Swords' Engravings
The randomness of SoundCloud
Kyson Dummy Mix 180
Su's Chinese

Annoying Things

Know-It-Alls
Drunks on a dancefloor
Rock operas and concept records
Papa John's pizza
Work limbo
People who are only nice to you to get to other people through you

Album Review: Forest Swords - Engravings

Forest Swords
Engravings
Rating: Woof Daddy

On 2010's almost album length EP Dagger Paths, British producer Matthew Barnes expertly blurred the lines between electronic and organic music, seamlessly incorporating elements of house, dub, dubstep, folk, drone, and R&B. It was fascinating listening to how he put rhythms and sequences together, and how just as tracks seemed to verge on too repetitious, he was would slightly alter things to put focus on new or even lesser elements, changing your perspective as one walks around a sculpture. There has been nothing since that adventurous release until now, Barnes suffering through some almost permanent hearing problems (since rectified) and also the bold attempts at creating his music out in nature, which he reluctantly scrapped in favor of studio recording, but subsequently mixed out in the open. Not much has changed with Barnes' musical approach and outlook in those three years, his debut full length Engravings is essentially cut from the same mold, but Barnes' focus has become razor sharp and the way he mixes all the various elements together into a seamless whole is practically brilliant.

All of the tracks are built upon loops that gradually unfold, allowing you to hear their purpose, going in certain directions only to be pulled back from again, or driven against expectation, the lines between natural and electronic constantly blurred. Engravings is a deeply emotional and spiritual listen, taking you deep inside your head and thoughts; it is big music, and important music, but never less than grounded. You immediately feel tracks like "Thor's Stone" with its mournful synthetic drone loops, vocal snippets morphed and flayed into just another element, it all merging together with cavernous drums into a vast landscape of sound and vision;



"The Weight of Gold" brings together intertwined guitar play, drones, and manipulated vocals over intricate, martial drum loops;



"Gathering" is built off competing vocal samples that bump and grind against one another into their own manufactured rhythms and patterns, with Barnes' masterfully adding new elements until the track becomes something new and different with each passing minute;



while closing track "Friend, You Will Never Learn" perfectly captures in one track the mesmerizing nature of this sublime record, moving effortlessly from undulating drones into dense drum patterns and an almost funky bass line, unfolding with purpose and meaning over its lengthy 8+ minute run time. Choruses of sampled vocals emerge from the dubby mix, often seeking to overtake the mix, but always held in check. At the closing 2 minute mark, ghostly pianos and vocals play around one another until rising synth strings blend everything together and take the track into its inevitable conclusion.



While on other tracks, Barnes takes a more measured, subtle approach, drawing you in like spider to its web. "Onward"'s soft pushing clicks and rushes slowly unfurls around a quietly plucked guitar pattern before rippling into a string-sampled coda of innate gorgeousness;



"An Hour" feels almost Tim Hecker-ish with its sepulchral organ drones, but quickly is changed over with blasts of electronics, chimes, and chopped up vocal samples;



and "Anneka's Battle" clomps along on a blocky rhythm and psychedelic samples with singer Anneka's voice emerging in and out of the fog of sound.



On paper, Engravings sounds like a clinical listen, something too experimental to get one's hands around. But it is a testament to Barnes' considerable production skill that it never comes across like some thesis. While this is heady music, its base in organic sounds and feelings always speaks to the heart first. Engravings is a new experience with each listen, and fits and molds itself to your situation, location, and mood. It is the sound of the now, the past, and the future, and is one of the best albums of the year.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Jam of the Day: Forest Swords - "The Weight of Gold"

Haunting, dub-influenced track from Forest Swords upcoming record Engravings.