Everything
In an effort to play a little game of catch-up with all of you, I am going to just drop a pop-culture bomb right now. Tell you in brief about things I'm looking at, thinking about, listening to, reading ...
Reading
Soulseeking: Me and Mine: Ahab After the Whole ... this is a really cool Stylus magazine article. I totally feel this guy ... reading the article made me feel like my Soulseek habits are valid and that made me feel better. Or something.
Beikoku Ongaku v. 23 ... okay, I know that the newest Beikoku Ongaku (literally "American Music") came out a few months ago, but these things are hard for me to find! Anyway ... it's a good magazine, and as usual, does not feature too much American music. I think a more fitting name would be "American Style Music," but even that name doesn't sum up the magazine very well.
Listening
Blood On the Wall ... a fantastic new band. These guys combine poppier tunes with a Sonic Youth approach ... their debut, Awesomer, is a must-listen ...
Black Dice's latest, Broken Ear Record, is their most consistent and confident album, but I guess you need to be into that sort of music ... knob turning, guitar effect pedals, tape loops ...
Blackalicious just released a brand new album, The Craft, and I must say that I dig it hardcore. The lyrics are wittier than ever, and the beats are creative ... I think it would be difficult to be a creative beat-maker these days ... hip-hop seems to be digging its own grave by only featuring ... beats ... as the melody, rhytm, and time keeper.
Hmmm ... Grandaddy is definitely one of my favorite bands. They combine country and pop in a very unique way. It doesn't sound too much like either genre ... something that only Grandaddy does. But the new EP, Excerpts From the Diary of Todd Zilla, seems a little sloppy, although I do appreciate their "back to our roots" approach to making the EP (some of the songs were written 8, 10 years ago so they have that "vintage" Grandaddy feel).
Devendra Banhart has recruited a huge ensemble of bearder folkies and recorded Cripple Crow, which I actually sort of enjoy, although I still don't know what the hell "freak folk" means. Folkies used to look exactlly like the dudes from A Mighty Wind ... when did they get all freaky and bearded? Huh?
Looking At
Monsieur T makes some interesting T-Shirts ... don't know if I'd buy one, though ...
the Cotton Factory reprints plenty of goofy vintage tees, and they're all very cheap! Some of them are winners, but most of them kind of suck ... sorry.
Sinko-Trace ... this is like, so friggin' awesome! I totally want a customized pair of Vans! And they're pretty nicely priced!
Etsu Meusy is a fantastic graphic designer/illustrator ... I really want to buy a t-shirt of his or something ... way too cool!