Friday, November 07, 2008
Holga
I've been enjoying diving into the world of Holga: a plastic toy camera, which shoots medium format film. Amanda got it for me for my birthday and it has turned out to be the perfect present. I thought I would share my favorite shots of recent Holga ventures.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Music's decision
A music obsessive like myself looks for experience in music. I look for a collection of music that comes from an artist's labor and sweat in order to bring their grand vision to fruition. Almost everything about our culture is eroding the enormous potential for music's transcendence and power. "Pitchforkmedia" labels OK Computer as the last successful "true album." Meaning this is the last LP to be collectively experienced as a whole because of its place in history and it's artfulness in creating a world in which one tracks cannot and should not exist without the ones surrounding it. What I mean by "it's place in history" is that this record came out right before the advent of the mp3 or at least the revolution marked by it. I agree with Pitchfork's stance that that was the last of it and it's near impossible that it will happen again.
We are at a place now where music simply isn't being experienced like it once was. There are a million different ways to obtain one piece of music, both free and bought. The release of the latest coldplay album, for example, has been received by fans and casual listeners in many questionable ways. When you get someone's opinion on this particular LP, something to the effect of: "man, they're just trying to be the next U2," they very well may have bought it at their local record store, brought it home, sat down, and listened to it through once or twice...probably not though. It's more likely that they A) only listened to the 30 second samples on itunes; B) downloaded lossy mp3's off bittorrent; or C) overheard it at a friend's house. The point is that a listener who sat down and listened to this album as it was intended to be heard and the listener described above are basically listening to different records. On the other hand, if this record were released 10 or so years ago, it is more likely that these two people would listen to identical physical copies of the record: same sound quality, same track order, etc...
So this state of affairs leaves music with a decision: do we fight the trend and cater towards the dwindling population of "album lovers"- those people who are now reverting to buying vinyl for its forced patience and experience?; or do we accept the industry's movement towards a pre-Beatles market where albums are seen as a collection of singles? This split in musical schools of the thought is not a new issue. At the turn of the century, classical composers noticed the general populace turning towards the immediacy of popular music and in return gave up on the idea of a "popular audience" shifting their focuses towards a more challenging, academic sound that would serve the "high-art" crowd that still attended their concerts.
The happy medium, which I believe Coldplay has mastered, is to make a record in which each song is amplified by their context but also engaging by themselves. Viva La Vida is a very well composed record in that it moves sequentially in such a way that is respectful and rewarding to the listener, but you also have songs like the title track, which can live outside of the record in, for example, an ipod commercial with great success.
We are at a place now where music simply isn't being experienced like it once was. There are a million different ways to obtain one piece of music, both free and bought. The release of the latest coldplay album, for example, has been received by fans and casual listeners in many questionable ways. When you get someone's opinion on this particular LP, something to the effect of: "man, they're just trying to be the next U2," they very well may have bought it at their local record store, brought it home, sat down, and listened to it through once or twice...probably not though. It's more likely that they A) only listened to the 30 second samples on itunes; B) downloaded lossy mp3's off bittorrent; or C) overheard it at a friend's house. The point is that a listener who sat down and listened to this album as it was intended to be heard and the listener described above are basically listening to different records. On the other hand, if this record were released 10 or so years ago, it is more likely that these two people would listen to identical physical copies of the record: same sound quality, same track order, etc...
So this state of affairs leaves music with a decision: do we fight the trend and cater towards the dwindling population of "album lovers"- those people who are now reverting to buying vinyl for its forced patience and experience?; or do we accept the industry's movement towards a pre-Beatles market where albums are seen as a collection of singles? This split in musical schools of the thought is not a new issue. At the turn of the century, classical composers noticed the general populace turning towards the immediacy of popular music and in return gave up on the idea of a "popular audience" shifting their focuses towards a more challenging, academic sound that would serve the "high-art" crowd that still attended their concerts.
The happy medium, which I believe Coldplay has mastered, is to make a record in which each song is amplified by their context but also engaging by themselves. Viva La Vida is a very well composed record in that it moves sequentially in such a way that is respectful and rewarding to the listener, but you also have songs like the title track, which can live outside of the record in, for example, an ipod commercial with great success.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
April
Sun Kil Moon's "Ghosts of the Great Highway" is an important record to me.
I bought it senior year of high school while my friend Phil Byers and I were skipping school. We drove his parents' minivan into downtown Rochester and walked around for the afternoon. We walked from High Falls through the city to the Park Avenue neighborhood. The biggest event of our afternoon was strolling through the Museum of Natural History because we both agreed this was something we hadn't done in a while. This is, by the way, not considered a cool thing to do while skipping school. That idea didn't matter to us because the important thing was that we were free to do whatever we pleased: which was going to the effing museum! To balance it out, we also smoked pipes and went to hip poster and music shops.
In the poster shop they were playing the aforementioned record. I found out who it was and bought it used at the hip record shop we went to next.
This record is still nostalgic to me. It's one of the few records I feel so strongly attached to in this way. It is one of the few records from that long ago that I still listen to often. When I don't have the money to buy a new record I default to one of...let's say...5 records to listen to.
In the last year or so they have been the following:
1. Sun Kil Moon - Ghost of the Great Highway
2. Radiohead - either Amnesiac, Kid A, or In Rainbows
3. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go
4. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
5. Feist - The Reminder
All that to say,
I was pleasantly suprised to find that Kozelek's new record is fully streaming here.
There's something about Mark Kozelek's voice and songwriting that imparts a certain nostalgia on it's own. This record feels like it came from that same time in my life in which I bought and fell in love with "Ghosts" for the first time. In other words: Instead of being disappointed by this record after the personal experience attached to the previous record, I feel like that connection is somehow extended.
This feeling is what separates good and great records for me. A great record feels like it came from a certain time and place, which is both familiar and somewhat mysterious to the listener. I feel this way about all of the records I listed above. I suppose what I'm describing is transcendence. I guess my only point is that this record is transcendent.
"April" is not a perfect record: far from it. At 80 minutes long, it can't help but feel long. The 10 minute opening track feels like a test for the listener patience. A bit pretentious, I suppose. However: this record, and kozelek's records in general, are all about atmosphere. For me, this is not a record I want to sit and listen to start to finish. This is the type of record I want to put on while driving long distance, while cleaning the house, or taking a nap. If you don't have "Ghosts," buy it immediately. If you already love that record, buy this one, or listen to it for free online.
I bought it senior year of high school while my friend Phil Byers and I were skipping school. We drove his parents' minivan into downtown Rochester and walked around for the afternoon. We walked from High Falls through the city to the Park Avenue neighborhood. The biggest event of our afternoon was strolling through the Museum of Natural History because we both agreed this was something we hadn't done in a while. This is, by the way, not considered a cool thing to do while skipping school. That idea didn't matter to us because the important thing was that we were free to do whatever we pleased: which was going to the effing museum! To balance it out, we also smoked pipes and went to hip poster and music shops.
In the poster shop they were playing the aforementioned record. I found out who it was and bought it used at the hip record shop we went to next.
This record is still nostalgic to me. It's one of the few records I feel so strongly attached to in this way. It is one of the few records from that long ago that I still listen to often. When I don't have the money to buy a new record I default to one of...let's say...5 records to listen to.
In the last year or so they have been the following:
1. Sun Kil Moon - Ghost of the Great Highway
2. Radiohead - either Amnesiac, Kid A, or In Rainbows
3. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go
4. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
5. Feist - The Reminder
All that to say,
I was pleasantly suprised to find that Kozelek's new record is fully streaming here.
There's something about Mark Kozelek's voice and songwriting that imparts a certain nostalgia on it's own. This record feels like it came from that same time in my life in which I bought and fell in love with "Ghosts" for the first time. In other words: Instead of being disappointed by this record after the personal experience attached to the previous record, I feel like that connection is somehow extended.
This feeling is what separates good and great records for me. A great record feels like it came from a certain time and place, which is both familiar and somewhat mysterious to the listener. I feel this way about all of the records I listed above. I suppose what I'm describing is transcendence. I guess my only point is that this record is transcendent.
"April" is not a perfect record: far from it. At 80 minutes long, it can't help but feel long. The 10 minute opening track feels like a test for the listener patience. A bit pretentious, I suppose. However: this record, and kozelek's records in general, are all about atmosphere. For me, this is not a record I want to sit and listen to start to finish. This is the type of record I want to put on while driving long distance, while cleaning the house, or taking a nap. If you don't have "Ghosts," buy it immediately. If you already love that record, buy this one, or listen to it for free online.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Illness leads to blogging
Well I have been sick the past 2 days or so. I went to the minute clinic this morning to get tested for strep. The nurse there said my throat looked "mean" but the test came back negative for strep. I still got some antibiotics and am still quarantined for the day at least.
Amanda gave me a book of Bukowski poems for valentines day (!) so I have been reading some of that between movies and naps. I have been surprised by the beauty in these poems when the content is typically so ugly and raw. I have tried to read his fiction and have given up out of exhaustion and frustration. HIs poetry, so far, is much more focused and even sometimes hopeful!
"I have 2 bullets left and
use them
both.
nothing in the air but
clouds. nothing in the air but
rain. each man's life too short to
find meaning and
all the books almost a
waste.
I sit and listen to them
singing.
I sit and listen to
them. "
-from 'people as flowers'
"to fight for each minute is to
fight for what is possible within
yourself,
so that your life and your death
will not be like
theirs.
be not like them
and you will
survive.
minute by
minute. "
-from "the minute"
I have been thinking about why it is that my generation identifies with a character like Bukowski so well. Not specifically Bukowski but the archetype of a self-destructive, self-loathing, self-pitying persona. Bukowski might as well be Conor Oberst, Thom Yorke, or Bob Dylan. Last year, living with Evan, much of our conversation revolved around our generation and what that means. The "pathetic generation," we sometimes called it. I am starting to see that this analysis has a lot to do with being surrounded by artists here in Nashville. The fact that I am surrounded by artists and entrepeneurs exaggerates this position, I admit; However there seems to be a certain attraction to the idea of being pathetic, helpless and hopeless. I see this reflected in music, literature, as well as films: take the characters in any Wes Anderson film for example. I, personally, often have the overt desire to submit to the knowledge that I am helpless: I want to light a cigarette, buy a bottle of whiskey and feel sorry for myself (cue "The Wind" by Cat Stevens).
Amanda gave me a book of Bukowski poems for valentines day (!) so I have been reading some of that between movies and naps. I have been surprised by the beauty in these poems when the content is typically so ugly and raw. I have tried to read his fiction and have given up out of exhaustion and frustration. HIs poetry, so far, is much more focused and even sometimes hopeful!
"I have 2 bullets left and
use them
both.
nothing in the air but
clouds. nothing in the air but
rain. each man's life too short to
find meaning and
all the books almost a
waste.
I sit and listen to them
singing.
I sit and listen to
them. "
-from 'people as flowers'
"to fight for each minute is to
fight for what is possible within
yourself,
so that your life and your death
will not be like
theirs.
be not like them
and you will
survive.
minute by
minute. "
-from "the minute"
I have been thinking about why it is that my generation identifies with a character like Bukowski so well. Not specifically Bukowski but the archetype of a self-destructive, self-loathing, self-pitying persona. Bukowski might as well be Conor Oberst, Thom Yorke, or Bob Dylan. Last year, living with Evan, much of our conversation revolved around our generation and what that means. The "pathetic generation," we sometimes called it. I am starting to see that this analysis has a lot to do with being surrounded by artists here in Nashville. The fact that I am surrounded by artists and entrepeneurs exaggerates this position, I admit; However there seems to be a certain attraction to the idea of being pathetic, helpless and hopeless. I see this reflected in music, literature, as well as films: take the characters in any Wes Anderson film for example. I, personally, often have the overt desire to submit to the knowledge that I am helpless: I want to light a cigarette, buy a bottle of whiskey and feel sorry for myself (cue "The Wind" by Cat Stevens).
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Fav's of '07
Top Five Albums:
1. Sky Blue Sky - Wilco
2. In Rainbows - Radiohead
3. The Reminder - Feist
4. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
5. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
Top Five Songs:
1. The Underdog - Spoon
2. Hate it Here - Wilco
3. All I Need - Radiohead
4. Hurricane - Allie Peden
5. Sea Lion Woman - Feist
Top Five Movies:
1. Juno
2. The Darjeeling Limited
3. No Country for Old Men
4. I'm Not There
5. Waitress
1. Sky Blue Sky - Wilco
2. In Rainbows - Radiohead
3. The Reminder - Feist
4. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
5. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
Top Five Songs:
1. The Underdog - Spoon
2. Hate it Here - Wilco
3. All I Need - Radiohead
4. Hurricane - Allie Peden
5. Sea Lion Woman - Feist
Top Five Movies:
1. Juno
2. The Darjeeling Limited
3. No Country for Old Men
4. I'm Not There
5. Waitress
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
