fall 2009: israel | egypt | paris

images from israel; egypt; paris.

tentative decisions

they do have leaves here. they do.
now, it’s not the most exciting foliage you’ll see.
but, there are leaves. you can crunch them.
well, not crunch, exactly. you can,
though,
step on them; that brings out a vaguely crunching sound,
which: satisfying.
repeatedly down the street. i’m telling you:
it can be done.

favorite albums of 2009

some words about several choices: the callahan record is gorgeous and vastly underrated. kreng's short soundtrack pieces provoked some of my most visceral (and horrifying) reactions of any music of the year, particularly the sobbing on "meisje in auto"—what more can i ask of music? snd represents raster-noton this year, and does it well, with atavism's assault of clicks and blips helping the label push experimental computer music ever forward. kate simko enthralled me in 2009 with range and superior quality, giving us two perfect dance tracks and an album of cleanly produced ambient. the xx's debut slid down a bit with repeated listens, but the band brought a fresh approach that recalled my very-different-sounding personal favorites young marble giants, and they achieved an affecting, individual sound. i continue to believe dirty projectors' rise above showcases their challenging brilliance better than bitte orca, but i'm not sure they'll be denied a top-ten record ever again. built to spill just slayed me. i love how faltydl begins love is a liability seemingly in mid-beat. bloody mary put on an absolute clinic in minimal dance music. my glib "half of the knife : half of the knife" blurb about fever ray's project was put to shame by a rich album that made icy desolation both comforting and warm; kda's artistic vision was also nicely captured in nearly an album's worth of stunning videos, making her hands down my "artist of the year." finally, hildur guðnadóttir's without sinking was my most-listened-to album of 2009—its atonality drones, its cacophony wails, its grooves build tension and turn left. most of all, though, there's something about it that just makes me feel right; it taps into something depressing and breathtaking about the world that i find, simply, true.

20. matias aguayo: ay ay ay

19. cymbals eat guitars: why are there mountains

18. gun outfit: dim light

17. burial & four tet: moth/cub

16. sunset rubdown: dragonslayer

15. bill callahan: sometimes i wish we were an eagle

14. kreng: l'autopsie phénoménale de dieu

13. grizzly bear: veckatimest

12. snd: atavism

11. the xx: xx

10. kate simko: take you there e.p. / music from the atom smashers

9. dirty projectors: bitte orca

8. built to spill: there are no enemies

7. blank dogs: under and under

6. girls: album

5. faltydl: love is a liability

4. animal collective: merriweather post pavilion

3. bloody mary: black pearl

2. fever ray: fever ray

1. hildur guðnadóttir: without sinking

jerusalem

i am paused at a golden flash
the seeds of a million sunflowers rain down
and cover this green field until
i am standing on a beach of fine pebbles
staring at an ocean of milk
paused at a golden flash

i am stuck in a silver sunlight
the charcoal clouds of a midwest summer storm
hover like daydreamy spaceships and
i am jumping into a canyon of mist
streaking toward a riverbed of cotton
stuck in a silver sunlight

i am paused at a golden flash
i am waiting
for you

bass concert hall, 02.21.09

i was looking through my dreams
and there you were.
there was one from spain
i hadn't remembered, even the morning after;
we hadn't yet met
but your eyes were unmistakably your eyes.
when i say looking through my dreams
to be clear
i mean dreaming of old dreams;
it's not quite the same thing
but your eyes are still your eyes.

it's what i hoped for

no more runnin
i've got to breathe
on back porches
with the torch of a firely
and trees

it's what i hoped for
whoa

—animal collective, "no more runnin," merriweather post pavilion

all will whisper

helfenbein danke disco
fredo contessa
faustino helps
blackjack mountain oklahoma
misfeldt argenbright

"feels like" minus twenty-seven

ninety-seven seconds
from the corner of foster and kenmore
to a snowed-in sedan

shoes too cold to be wet
eyes too stung to tear
wind too frozen to howl
but the bony trees are shrieking

tangible breaths rise
like clouds of powdered sugar; no
like puffs of european cigarettes; no—
like bank-robber dynamite in silent movies

three hundred thirty seconds
for my ice-caked glasses to finally
melt.

favorite records of 2008

26. the magnetic fields: distortion
25. wolf parade: at mount zoomer
24. fennesz: black sea
23. hauschka: ferndorf
22. deerhunter: microcastle
21. dj /rupture: uproot
20. marnie stern: this is it and i am it and you are it and so is that and he is it and she is it and it is it and that is that
19. ellen allien: sool
18. alva noto: unitxt
17. sic alps: u.s. ez
16. mau mau starter: waterless sky
15. nick cave & the bad seeds: dig, lazarus, dig!!!
14. the dø: a mouthful
13. of montreal: skeletal lamping
12. karl hector & the malcouns: sahara swing
11. arthur russell: love is overtaking me
10. plants and animals: parc avenue
9. belong: colorloss record e.p.
8. ponytail: ice cream spiritual
7. deerhoof: offend maggie
6. fuck buttons: street horrrsing
5. 2562: aerial
4. the garlands: the garlands e.p.
3. byetone: death of a typographer
2. department of eagles: in ear park
1. portishead: third

numb

my glassy red eyes
can't see a thing; but it is kind of dark out
so.

today i heard church bells echoing
behind creaking buses exhaling deep breaths,
relieved of something, tired,
and i think a turning car whispered
a secret; i know it was a secret
but i know nothing more

it is kind of dark out; i can feel the moon already
and all i can do
is laugh,
looking up.

das frogs

pilule
stimulate imbibe
thoi
wooiyi
poag

death of the last denton

a cigarette worries her cherry-red lips;
the chirping of the cricketing class
competes with the creaking oak of her chair, rocking
on the cracks of a nebraska veranda in california;
in texas.

summer winds blow television static through gaps
in screen-door wire;
sleep envelopes the holey couch and hot breath moistens
flattened pillows
that creep towards ashen-grey coffee-table shade.

she half-whistles into the wind as she
watches her song crash into the dirt in a cloud of truck-tire revolution;
the embers of the attic filament burst, glow stove-coil orange
and then;
it is dark, dark.
it is dark;
and she opens her eyes.

bmk12000 — everything should be perfect but instead mix

download here

track list:
1. radiohead — i am citizen insane
2. portishead — the rip
3. afrirampo — onipika heart
4. the deathset — impossible
5. the jam — 'a' bomb in wardour street
6. sic alps — strawberry guillotine
7. my bloody valentine — thorn
8. wire — i am the fly
9. studio — self service
10. freddy the flying dutchman & the sistina band — wojtyla disco dance (part 1)
11. black lips — veni vidi vici [diplo remix]
12. eddie bo & the soul finders — check your bucket
13. amy winehouse — you know i'm no good for you
14. steinski — greatest man alive [man's game mix]
15. the exciters — he's got the power
16. lykke li — breaking it up
17. young marble giants — brand - new - life
18. x ray pop — psychedelic dolls
19. syd barrett — late night
20. working for a nuclear free city — rocket
21. leonard cohen — chelsea hotel #2
22. gustavo santaolalla — tema amores perros
23. talk talk — i believe in you

inglebert geronimo

pyrolijk
the bunt singles
compressed happiness
the killer bats
the good guns
s'edargo
roulette shot game
ootsegni
brewtal
the reverand edward
dudley p. french
arty perón
bendix shashi

fifteen best (because shark says no one believes any more than that)

15. life without buildings: live at the annandale hotel
why did they break up? as i said in my initial pando, alternatively exhilarating and frustrating, since i never saw them play.

14. studio: yearbook 1
where my post-punk and electronic tastes collide. attempt not dancing to this.

13. working for a nuclear free city: businessmen & ghosts
partially a nod to how much i wish i did a list last year. their debut was great; the aura's a bit different here, and there's more material, but it's expertly curated. could be here for the addition of "sarah dreams of summer" alone.

12. sharon jones & the dap-kings: 100 days, 100 nights
says a lot that this band fit in seamlessly with an extended classic soul kick i had during the year. those fucking horns. see them live.

11. deerhoof: friend opportunity
as shark said, one of the top three bands in the world right now. satomi, i will marry you right now. we were neighbors till last year! so much in common!

10. sunset rubdown: random spirit lover
a giant leap forward from my one of my favorite bands from last year. probably the most dense record of 2007, both lyrically and musically. and if it wasn't clear from shut up i'm dreaming — and it should have been — it's not just spencer krug's show anymore; these kids all kill.

9. electrelane: no shouts, no calls
the most affecting album i heard this year; it just pummeled me in the soft spots.

8. the field: from here we go sublime
i heard the "over the ice" single on the sun & ice 12" early in the year and knew this guy was going to blow me away. he records these tracks in one fucking take. i mean, christ.

7. pole: steingarten
the only way i can describe this album is by calling it "three-d sound." there are sounds coming from every direction; if you close your eyes you feel like you are just floating. production of the year—and that's saying a lot (see nos. 1-4, 8, 10, 12-14). [note: check out the steingarten remixes album. how can you improve on something as unique as this approach to electronic music? well, maybe you can't, but every producer on the remixes stayed true not only to the sound, but to the approach to the sound. i can't listen to track seven standing up; it knocks me off balance, sober or otherwise.]

6. black lips: los valientes del mundo nuevo
i don't know if you can have more fun making, or listening to, an album. familiar influences skillfully synthesized into a drunken mess of rock glory.

5. dirty projectors: rise above
the biggest surprise of the year for me. i hear new things every time i put this on. his voice is just so damn desperate, the harmonies are gorgeous, the playing is scattered and weird and perfect.

4. radiohead: in rainbows
nothing like what i expected; everything i wanted. best band in the world.

3. animal collective: strawberry jam
i think we all saw this coming. they had been building towards a record like this for a while and did not disappoint. i was able to resist downloading individual tracks as they leaked out, and taking this thing in one dose is highly recommended. normally i'd be afraid an album as great as this one undoubtedly would be the pinnacle of a band's career. not with these guys.

2. panda bear: person pitch
nothing i can say about this album that hasn't been said. a true masterpiece. is it super-gay to call it life-affirming? yeah, it is. but, it is.

1. stars of the lid: and their refinement of the decline
far and away my most played album of the year; i've heard it so much that it has become a part of my life on a practical level unlike any other album, ever. studying, stoned, napping, sleeping, thinking, driving. it's like breathing; what's more, it actually is like breathing, with its swells and drones and ebbs and peaks. stunning.

best live shows of 2007 (that i can remember i was at)

10. arctic monkeys @ austin city limits
9. 65daysofstatic @ elysium (sxsw)
8. deerhoof @ emo's
7. bonde do rolê @ beauty bar (sxsw)
6. joanna newsom @ riverbend center
5. animal collective @ emo's
4. dirty projectors @ emo's
3. explosions in the sky @ emo's
2. black lips @ emo's
1. shout out out out @ beauty bar (sxsw)

mating ritual feverishly

socrates kuncham
leaked information
kuwaitibeach
tunnen
ron jeremy prescribes...
amber o. shoemakker
lawsimus
shinobur
schweig

alone or rio

sutivosa
bat celia
pony rizah
essentez
ruff ketchup
the chileans
truelle
snicker motorist
les snakes
[return to sender]
lunacy o. fascinating

verano 2007: costa rica | nicaragua | guatemala

así, así, eres tú

papageorgio

moccasin selectman
the vending machines
bandera hainesport
juans night out
fei pandars
unbleached
ignacio graves

mae

guy visvanat
leitchfield
ethology molecule
that'll or

pura vida

of no ferrum
the himself samuelson
constellate algeria
póstlisti
thank you for your recent loan request
eyepiece thorn
populldozen
make a mint
be be laloma
nicasio calabasas

guest post @ bnfmsf: p gets spam too

my craigville none moca

three mahjong

que su
gneiss himself
the syaic
herminia trousers
country arrested
ladonna

sanchez lissajou

dr. mannikins
spaiden
ingdom
a mit as mizar
bjung
the redraws
peoplesankle
bulk
uruguay

bestätigung

good diplomae
good oubliette
bezoekers berichten
string including
pippin v. merrimaker

spanish banquet

immovable mountainous
baneful nostradamus
paulautetta sivustolta
Школа Китайгородской
remars
darkest u. snobbier
says uschi
gip barbizo

radiotherapeutic

the new impeachmen
of majesty camera
monarchis
my operaglas

audemars piquet

my cylindrica
her he delecti
attack that
my grumbl
apparition molecule
manauthor
soru var
marxist till

omander wood old bactrian

new demetrius
lovesick patricide
roman numerals
cervix mealtime
fitful and michigan
hawthorne and guy
glint paperweight
interconnected aluminum
perversion gleefully
quill and velvet
butler global