band names from my spam folder.

2009–10: israel | west bank | egypt | turkey | jordan | paris

2010-06-01T19:09:00.004-05:00

images from israel, the west bank, jordan, egypt, turkey, and france.

fall 2009: israel | egypt | paris

2010-01-11T16:59:00.003-06:00

tentative decisions

2009-12-19T17:43:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-12T16:08:00.010-06:00

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

2009-11-23T08:18:00.001-06:00

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

2009-02-22T11:51:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-30T20:08:00.002-06:00

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

2008-12-22T02:48:00.003-06:00

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

"feels like" minus twenty-seven

2008-12-22T02:28:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-09T02:44:00.000-06:00

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

2008-12-02T02:24:00.000-06:00

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

2008-09-24T02:15:00.001-05:00

pilule
stimulate imbibe
thoi
wooiyi
poag

death of the last denton

2008-08-14T00:40:00.000-05:00

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

2008-08-01T14:29:00.001-05:00

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

2008-05-02T14:30:00.000-05:00

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)

2007-12-10T01:47:00.001-06:00

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)

2007-12-08T03:05:00.000-06:00

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

2007-12-06T23:27:00.000-06:00

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

alone or rio

2007-10-02T16:10:00.000-05:00

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

2007-09-28T18:52:00.000-05:00

así, así, eres tú

2007-07-22T20:19:00.000-05:00

papageorgio

2007-07-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

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

mae

2007-06-08T22:38:00.000-05:00

guy visvanat
leitchfield
ethology molecule
that'll or

pura vida

2007-05-24T19:18:00.000-05:00

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

2007-04-04T17:40:00.000-05:00

my craigville none moca

three mahjong

2007-04-03T01:06:00.000-05:00

que su
gneiss himself
the syaic
herminia trousers
country arrested
ladonna

sanchez lissajou

2007-03-21T23:06:00.000-05:00

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

bestätigung

2007-02-26T01:23:00.000-06:00

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

spanish banquet

2007-02-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

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

radiotherapeutic

2007-01-26T10:47:00.000-06:00

the new impeachmen
of majesty camera
monarchis
my operaglas

audemars piquet

2007-01-11T21:45:00.000-06:00

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

omander wood old bactrian

2006-11-09T23:38:00.000-06:00

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

snow day

2006-10-13T12:25:00.000-05:00

medical marvel
heartbreak peacefulness
semester legibly
naked oats
models apart
anytime ernesto
danse combustible
naturally calamity
mind fork
frigidity oyster
panache pilgrim
humanly consciously
musket quicksand
pilgrim lust
rubber band exuberant
toilet paper sleight of hand

hang loose

2006-09-06T12:20:00.000-05:00

intermittent fuse box
the fraudulent refreshments

105 degrees

2006-09-02T12:27:00.000-05:00

parsley modification
biweekly proletarian
rowboat stalking
the trader present
dressmake teeing
insubstantial highness
uniformity refrigerator
pixie impractical
dilate debug
overdrew undone
warpath flash

öxnadalur valley, iceland – 28.07.06

2006-08-05T14:05:00.000-05:00

more photographs at flickr.

heading south

2006-08-05T13:12:00.000-05:00

interstate hiccups
blah speedometer
godchildren windchill factor
runaround vengeful
generosity whom
painting saturn
demon monopoly
monolingual irritable
oxide gentrification
windsurf gangland
complicity feed
relativity attribute
lighthouse eldest
mistakenly mar
dream bongo
edification visibly
biskay
nodded adhesion
irresponsibly flexibility
outsmart cordiality

if anyone read this blog they would have missed me the last two months

2006-06-26T00:56:00.000-05:00

catfish puppeteer
dauphin camaraderie
fluorescent backpack
head count offset
woo reproduction
horsewomen hey
mail we shameful
jalopy acculturate

time to make the donuts...

2006-04-19T02:10:00.000-05:00

idiotic pulaski
caveman chess
sea gull lurk
show some keno
caramel checkbook
infinitive cream
firebreak acerbity
optoisolate
gunman nobelium
obstruct oceanographer
bobby shaftoe's malaria
leonor brushlike

desert countdown (april is a rainy wasteland)

2006-04-01T19:21:00.000-06:00

delphi carnation
ashy umber
sunken honoraria
rensselaer
ingest on stereography
millenarian
young russian whisper
snob exhumanation
zan ceiling
einsteinium
into moccasin
in byword versailles
amplitude effigy
fusiform desorption
rajah bourn!
gemini slater
martian crack
blood sea oh?
quarternary drudgery

when you're hot you're hot

2006-03-17T00:34:00.000-06:00

ebony foxhound
now codebreak a callahan

twenty-three days and five hundred spams

2006-03-08T14:54:00.000-06:00

palindrome blunt gyroscope
bootlegging aristotelian
danish manual numerology
able babe
able pentecostal?
look rich
elysian railway
pillow on mud
squawbush
drizzly chide
last of the pistol collection
lopsided lemming
goldfinch forgettable
concerning dossier
cognizable bowline
horsedom
cereal oakley
discreet halogen
kallow mis eyes
bacon miami
polk pesticide
grizzle in emittance
clockwise and helpful

i neglect you but believe me when i say it's out of love...

2006-02-13T18:29:00.000-06:00

to! messy
tetrahedral tollhouse
commissariat catchup
crabapple electrolytic
intrusive aloud
facto capistrano presto

bon week-end mes amis...

2006-02-03T11:52:00.000-06:00

meistersinger
kunden anfrage
delude ! cranky
maternity saccharine
willie says sociology
sweaty as dissension
insubstantial coverlet
the punctuation marks

macgyver season three now on dvd.

2006-01-31T18:25:00.000-06:00

not half so bilious
grumpy frumpy wayward
gentlemen on horseback
shiloh. cromwellian
beneficial birds/insects
lesser apes attain
ambiguity searchlight

rainy monday.

2006-01-30T12:05:00.000-06:00

the killjoy nonce
be seclusion try kabuki
be mollify, vertebral
beechhouse
done dunedin

cats have six nipples (even males).

2006-01-28T23:04:00.000-06:00

galapagos hotrod
convulsion be bonaventure
quinine crouch
sniffle be kinglet
farley and sofia
magnolia centrifuge
delete see osaka

punctuation counts and will be graded.

2006-01-25T15:01:00.000-06:00

mini ! crimson
coke may dandelion

happy days are here again.

2006-01-22T14:39:00.000-06:00

fonzie leafloor

if you're honest with yourself you definitely underrate chicago.

2006-01-18T13:26:00.000-06:00

the ginsburg soliloquy
lobular the lipid

kramer playing billiards.

2006-01-04T21:01:00.000-06:00

maestro backscatter

craig stadler was my hero for a week in seventh grade.

2005-12-31T19:09:00.000-06:00

walrus corollary

anarctic poker party.

2005-12-12T16:47:00.000-06:00

multi-felt gunk
borealis be dug

guaranteed to be a winner.

2005-12-11T21:50:00.000-06:00

buteo offenbach

guest post @ bnfmsf: a guy named rars gets spam as well.

2005-12-11T20:04:00.000-06:00

geisha fellatio

my roommate was a collegiate gymnast, i swear.

2005-12-11T18:59:00.000-06:00

the acrobatic craftsmen

fish out of water.

2005-12-08T21:50:00.000-06:00

artful trout

latin only thinks it's a dead language.

2005-12-06T23:41:00.000-06:00

conquest by triangulum

fifth grade genius.

2005-12-06T15:55:00.000-06:00

genitive butsee

eight nights of chanukah.

2005-12-05T01:04:00.000-06:00

paradigmatic ! roach
duopolist compressor
bothersome asterisk
not rye molasses
subjunctive confederacy
breakup or cuba
medici engine
kirby may czech

it's nutcracker season ain't it.

2005-12-02T13:36:00.000-06:00

youngblood ballerina.

a/k/a zeus.

2005-11-30T15:07:00.000-06:00

thunderbolt dropper

immediate contender.

2005-11-26T23:22:00.000-06:00

clockwatcher chlorate.

i am a comrade, not ashamed.

2005-11-25T16:00:00.000-06:00

soviet try
coincidental disruptive

polaroid picture time.

2005-11-22T22:28:00.000-06:00

boogie it berronial

definitely questionable.

2005-11-20T21:58:00.000-06:00

look rich errata

kiss your calculator watch it's eleven eleven.

2005-11-18T13:11:00.000-06:00

injurious ducky

be brave with it.

2005-11-15T17:56:00.000-06:00

yousalacious

not quite sure.

2005-11-14T17:42:00.000-06:00

her sleep intelligible
agronomy

can't go wrong with red vines.

2005-11-11T20:45:00.000-06:00

di cadre licorice.

¿tienes fuego, tío?

2005-11-10T21:50:00.000-06:00

no smoke do doll

blastoff.

2005-11-10T17:39:00.000-06:00

propulsionstipend

guest post @ bnfmsf: a guy named rars gets spam as well.

2005-11-10T17:15:00.000-06:00

ich habe keine ahnung

making the hajj for love or money?

2005-11-10T17:00:00.000-06:00

she arabia may regalia

we are all on drugs in big sur.

2005-11-10T07:40:00.000-06:00

anthropomorphic campsite

you are not ready, no you're not.

2005-11-10T00:27:00.000-06:00

castanet and chablis
hey there masochism

it is beautiful this time of year.

2005-11-08T19:31:00.000-06:00

flycatcher parisien

rock out big.

2005-11-08T14:15:00.000-06:00

so cut the iota

ay ay.

2005-11-08T14:10:00.000-06:00

shipmate cal mckee septuagenarian

boston, 1732.

2005-11-08T11:23:00.000-06:00

fiancee the blacksmith

i'm buyin' what she's sellin'.

2005-11-08T09:25:00.000-06:00

avon curlicue chorale

hello good sir nice to make your acquaintance.

2005-11-07T20:29:00.000-06:00

goldest h. horsing
baghdad dogmatic abstract

i dreamt i was a woodsman.

2005-11-06T14:02:00.000-06:00

slender it frontiersman

as say of sequoia

is cough my envy

buenos días chicos.

2005-11-05T10:45:00.000-06:00

gasify barefoot
divisible amigo

take one and pass it on.

2005-11-04T19:15:00.000-06:00

disconcert disservice
maximize jovial
dairylea donovan
nobleman anthony
cope. fiberboard