Sitting on Top of the World.mp3
I really don’t know what I’d do without this song. It’s so wonderfully sad and comforting. I wince and have to lower my head when I attempt to feel how much of this song is a man trying to convince himself of something that just ain’t true. But damn, those piano & guitar solos over the bridge and how they melt into each other, they almost make it alright.
So what did you listen to the most? I can get a glimpse of it at your lastfm account, but, assuming you don’t always listen to music on your computer, there are other votes to count. So what were your top ten or fifteen in 2007? I wanna know what I could have been listening to.
This year is easy for me to calculate, these are the clear front runners:
Complete Early Recordings (1931) Skip James
Complete Swing Time / Down Beat Recordings Vol. 1 (1949-52) Ray Charles
Blonde on Blonde (1966) Bob Dylan
Sound of Confusion (1986) Spacemen 3
Methodrone (1995) The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Myra Lee (1996) Cat Power
What Would the Community Think (1996) Cat Power
Perfect From Now On (1997) Built to Spill
XO (199 
Elliott Smith
Neon Bible (2007) The Arcade Fire
Feel free to poke fun at the fact that only one album was from this year. I’m just one step away from becoming that janitor at one of the old folks homes I worked at, whom I used to chuckle at for wearing, in 1995, extremely faded Megadeth t-shirts and fondly proclaiming, “Man, it’ll probably never get better than Sabbath.”
Ah, yes. I mean, ladies, they were nice this year, but to say more would be pushing it. I suppose it was partially my fault — my heart may have been elsewhere, I’ll allow it as a possibility. Nonetheless, I can only say yes to this song and hum along to its yearning melody and be thankful Ms. Holiday graced us with a recording of it. If I leave it on repeat, it can feel kind of like a balm. And balms only do so much, I know, but it’s better than nothing.
I wouldn’t want to lead you into thinking that being cautious with your dreams (not all in one basket) is the only road for daydreaming because there are certainly other options. I mean, you could always get Too Drunk to Dream.mp3 (the Magnetic Fields come through again with another off their forthcoming Distortion), which is a choice with a certain amount of guaranteed (grim) success involved.
But I suppose one must admit that continually getting too drunk to dream might be a rather cumbersome life choice. Luckily, as long you don’t fall too in love with the wisdom in that bottle, there are still other options. You could always say to yourself, “I’ll Dream Alone.mp3,” like Mr. Merritt does a bit later on the new album — though the timber of his voice at the close of the song suggests he could still use some convincing of the soundness of his choice. Still, there is much to be said for the attempt: it’s sometimes rather hard to dream alone, which, if you’re reasoning has a circular tendency to it (and that might mean everyone), means you’ll likely be headed back the first notion of simply ditching your dreams for drinks. At least there’s a catchy tune you can sing along with — And I’ll sing the harmony parts for you, if you’re looking.
I was hoping someone would come through for me with the right kind of holiday tune this year, and someone did: Mr. Stephen Merritt recording here as the Magnetic Fields.
Yes, now I can stay inside caroling to myself, “Oh, Mr. Mistletoe, wither and die, you useless weed . . . Oh, Mr. Mistletoe, how very rude, couldn’t you tell I’m not in the mood?”
A prize was offered to the youths for the deftest kiss.
I found this charming and thought you might as well.
I know it’s the of season dreams: it’s cold outside. You might sit inside with some tea, or other warm beverage, trying to get some work done, but you always end up daydreaming. Maybe it’s about summer travel plans or about some pretty new face you ran into the other day. Or maybe it’s just a random tangent you conjured up to enjoy while at a stand still with work. And I know it might sound crazy, but many a life has been ruined by a daydream that was carried away because of a sugar rush or indigestion one ventures all on a whim, which I admit is sometimes the necessary action, but for the general times it’s not, here’s Ray Charles giving us a mournful reminder:
Don’t Put All Your Dreams In One Basket.mp3
Let’s start off with an easy one:
You show some interest.
I respond.
I respond again, with no response.
I hang my hat. And move on.
You show interest again, even more inviting this time.
I figure, okay, why not.
But again, I respond.
I respond. And no response.
I once again hang my hat, this time with conscious temerity in the terminus.
You show interest yet again.
This time Bogart a la Rick Blaine comes to my aide and I respond, in my own fashion, “Sascha, see her to the door.”
Alright, the next one isn’t really any different from the first, only it’s more involved.
The scene: several interrelated questions are raised: Is de Tocqueville ultimately giving American democracy a thumbs up or thumbs down? Would he do the same today? Is it necessary to even question or even think of another system besides democracy? This last question is asked rhetorically, some objections are raised, but they are brushed aside or placated by once again counting up the benefits of democracy.
Thinking to self: wow, it’s incredible. Here it is again, that jolly optimism about the US of A. It really is amazing how people generally have a strong aversion to criticizing anything at the foundation of things. I wish grabbing someone by the collar would do some good. I feel like I just boxed this employee on the ear and didn’t even get a shrug . . . maybe there’ll be a delayed reaction? Did I really have to explain that the ability for a genuinely critical perspective of an idea is surely connected to the ability to question the very existence of the idea in general? (in this case, democracy.) I’m flabbergasted. And I think he caught me staring at him with frustration and general ill will in my eyes.
Then a fellow student remarks on the place of education in a democracy (representative democracy, however you slice it) and how its failure further proves the failings of the current system. Anecdotal evidence is brought in to the tune of that conference back in 1942 wherein a number of people in Germany decided to give a green light to a plan that would later be known as the holocaust. Fourteen of the people that voted yes had doctorate degrees in the humanities. This is then used to express a disbelief of the importance of education in democratic nations, USA in particular, and at the same is used to expess that the universal good of a democracy is beyond the reach of education and its possible pitfalls and is somehow unquestionable.
Thinking to self: wow, I can’t believe he thinks that is even worth considering as compelling evidence in this argument. One, it’s sensationalism. Two, as far as research methodology goes, it’s a wicked bad sampling. Three, and this is really kids stuff, correlation does not mean causation. I feel like I should scold him. But I’m not that kind of boss.
The point of all this is that this song is so right, right now.
When Not Being Stupid Is Not Enough.mp3 by Built to Spill Caustic Resin. Turn it way, way up.
Well, the film’s out. The new biopic on Bob Dylan (I’m Not There) wherein a handful of juxtaposing actors play fanciful flights on the legends surrounding Dylan. I’ll say this much: if you’re familiar with Dylan to the point that you know what he looked like in 1962, 1965, 1973 (amongst other times), then you won’t be confused by the shifting in character names (no one is actually called Bob Dylan in the film) and actors’ faces. Otherwise, you could become impatient and think it all a sore affectation. But I think the shifting works to profound effect. The film is endowed with a sublime gift of storytelling; the myriad foldings of ideas and myths in the film allow for the impact of the film to be more than just a fan piece on Dylan by Dylan though I don’t think I can delve into it now. And the fact that Dylan cowrote the script (I forget the clever pseudonym he uses) makes many of the lines in the film quite moving, I think.
BTW, Cate Blanchette as Dylan is a fucking bad ass though it’s tough to say who does the best job — everyone in the film is acting their asses off.
Oh yeah, the music is simply wonderful. Much of the soundtrack is backed by the Million Dollar Bashers, consisting of Sonic Youth stars Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, Television guitarist Tom Verlaine, Dylan bassist Tony Garnier, guitarist Smokey Hormel and keyboardist John Medeski. That’s a superband.
Here’s a few glimpses of the soundtrack:
I’m Not There.mp3 — Sonic Youth offer an instantly classic version of this obscure (until now) Dylan tune. Sing along, “She’s gone like a rainbow…”
Fourth Time Around.mp3 — Yo La Tengo give listeners a near overdose of lovely sound in this authoritative cover. I can’t imagine anyone else doing this must justice to this wondrous Dylan tune.
Going to Acapulco.mp3 — Jim James and Calexico do this song with a grace that is silencing. I love this song. I quickly fell in love with Dylan’s version years ago, so much that I learned the song and used to sing it to myself, on repeat. There’s something about the tone and melody of the song (in both versions) that combines a feeling of aching pain and beautiful comfort. I’ve often used the line, “It’s a wicked life, but what the hell,” like a mantra to aide in lasting the day, and there’s a charming sentiment in the story told in the song that I like returning to.
Ballad of a Thin Man.mp3 — Stephen Malkmus & The Million Dollar Bashers. Enough said.
I realize everyone has probably already seen this. But it’s that time of year again, and I find this so hilarious I simply must share again. [NSFW]
WordPress.com uses OpenID. So does vox.com, as well as LiveJournal and many other sites. This means that you can use your user ID from one site on the other. So, if your name is Bob, you can sign in to WordPress with bob.vox.com. This is as long as you are signed into to Vox at the time. You can also get your own domain to use (bob.name) or use an ID service. Personally, I really wish Google would offer OpenID support. I’d love to log in to the various services I use with just my email addy.
Santa Fe got its first snowfall for the season, w00t!
And speaking of snowfall, here’s two cents from The Halo Benders:
My Bus Stop is famous! It was recently featured in a local newspaper!
If you look closely past the civics lesson in the foreground, you will clearly see the Woolworth’s building. My stop is right in front of it!
Alright, so I’m sitting down this morning, trying to write a paper about Kant and his metaphysical morals, and I can’t shake this little bur in my side. So allow me to shoot from the hip (in hopes to clear my head for a different train of thought).
I suppose I might just be sleepwalking through life, but I’m still shocked that I run into naively patriotic people — especially in graduate school. Don’t get me wrong, my anarchist friends would never allow me into their club, but I learned somewhere about the 2nd grade that questioning the government and the state of the union is the proper thing to do, which might not even really be the central issue here.
What’s really bugging me is this:
cutting some slack for some old dead guys simply because they gave us a leg up. fuck that.
Question: Did those fellows accomplish something noble in the span of years where they wrote the Declaration of Independence and Constitution?
Majority answer: Yeah, sure. (all those rights, freedoms etc. are pretty cool.)
What? noble? No. Sure they had deft minds for political organization, particularly when their overall interests were at stake, and they certainly gave us a decent shot at freedom under a democracy (representative republic), but let’s not let time do the work for them. Don’t fast forward through time with them as the continual authors. Nah. They dropped the ball in more than one place, and there’s no reason not to mention it. (I really don’t understand this aversion to criticizing them. I’m dumbfounded that I find intelligent people [people with bachelor's or at ph.d's degrees, so maybe not necessarily intelligent, but "educated"] defending the original constitution (et al) out of, as far I can tell, nothing more than patriotism.)
Need a few examples? Sure, here ya go: The declaration is a fine work, but I think it no less than fair to call them cowards for removing the bits about the rights and whatnot of women and potential slaves. Sure, it would have been difficult to get everyone to sign, and it would have complicated things, but, even more surely, the fact that they consciously left those problems for later generations warrants a judgment of less than noble (whatever the fuck that means). Time did take care of the problem, as they hoped. And people eventually did their sloppily best to deal with women and slaves (minorities in general, really) in the land called USA, but creating a capacity doesn’t warrant them (if this “them” is too vague, mind that I’m referring to all those wigged good ol’boys from the late 1700s, who primarily lived on the east coast of the USA) authorship or immunity — if you think of it as if you were writing a paper, they’d be in your works cited.
And one more thing.
What the hell is this romantic attachment to the “We the people” bit in the Constitution, particularly the whimsical notion that by people they meant anything other than the 5% who were going to have any hand in being a citizen. You’re right, nowhere in the Constitution does it specify who they mean by “people,” so it could possibly mean everyone residing in the (then) newly formed United States. But look, you’re doing it again; doing the work for them. Yes, they wrote it in a universal language (one might also call it vague), but everything from who was participating in the forming of the government to the people immediately participating as citizens evinces who exactly they meant by “people.”
To the regular readers of the fates, that fine bunch, this all will likely prompt a response somewhere along the lines of “No shit, Sherlock.” But I needed a catharsis. Thanks.
Blogged with Flock
Tags: Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, US Government, political science
Harvey is easily one of my favorite films. I know I can turn to it when I need a bit of wonder, a bit of delight, or a bit of deep feeling. If you’ve never seen it, here’s a little clip to introduce you, enjoy.
Here’s a pair of tunes you can hit play on and then use to set the world aside with just the right kind of attitude.
And if in you’re in a reverent mood for the up coming holiday, then you might even sing along,
“I don’t mind dyin, lord, but I hate to leave my mother cryin.”
Every time something happens with Ubuntu to really get me down, something pops up to make it all better. For instance: The other day I was in class. I was doing a group presentation of the Nara period of Japanese history. We had everything on my lappy–presentation, slideshow, music, etc. When I plugged the external monitor cord into it nothing happened. It didn’t recognize it. I couldn’t figure out how to make it work. A guy came over to help, but he didn’t know anything about Linux, so he couldn’t do anything. He called out to the class, “Does anyone know anything about Linux? How to get this to work?” Someone called out, “I’ll give you a Windows disk.” I was so embarrassed. I wanted to explain that it wasn’t the fault of Linux. The only reason stuff “just works” on a Mac is because OS X only has to work with hardware built by Apple and the only reason things on Windows “just work” is because Windows has a monopoly and all the hardware manufacturers make sure their stuff works with Windows before they sell it. With Linux, the OS has to, without help, work with myriad different hardware configurations with almost no support from anyone. As it is, Linux is the most robust operating system there is. As the saying goes, “If it’s a computer, it can run Linux.” My problem was that (AFAIK) the key that I needed wasn’t mapped. Ubuntu knows a lot of key-mapping out of the box, but you can’t expect it to know every single keyboard configuration for every computer ever made. I hadn’t realized this because I hadn’t had need to use it before then. So, there it was–I was embarrassed and there were 30 people who will never use Linux now. Really a small problem, but they don’t know that.
And then something happened to make me love it again. I’ve found that I have to use a lot of special characters these days. Like tempyō, for instance. This is because Japanese words that have a long vowel sound, like “ou,” get transcribed as “ō.” I don’t like it. I prefer to write tempyou. But, that’s because I wouldn’t mispronounce it. So, anyway, I was really starting to hate having to do all the extra work for just one character. Then, just a little bit ago, I was adding something to my task bar (fast user switching [Mac people know what that is]) and I saw something called “character palette.” I checked it out. It was just what I was looking for. It’s exactly what it sounds like: You have a palette for special characters in your taskbar.
Well, that’s my blog post for the month. I should’ve been practicing kanji with this time, but what the hell. You gotta live a little, right?
I like Grizzly Bear.
I don’t understand why when you pre-pay for gas the machine slows way down $.50 ahead of time. It’s a fucking machine. It should slow down, like, three cents ahead. If I owned a gas station I’d set it that way and advertise, “Save 30 minutes a year with fast-pump.” I mean, if you could save a penny a gallon or 30 seconds standing at the pump, which would you choose?
There is no word in English for the shimmering heat wave you see in the summer. Just a description of it. It’s kagerō in Japanese.
Also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_no_aware
I really like Grizzly Bear.
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