National Public Viking

Thursday, November 16, 2006

\m/ once again


|current sounds| various Chartreuse tracks (Drew, I love it!)

Ladies and gentlemen, the halls of Odin shout praise! On Monday, February 19th, this young Viking shall swing his hair valiently to
SLAYER!!!

Man, forget Joanna Newsom. The greatest metal band of all time - the one for which I purchased my first ever red t-shirt (un-thought-of for many years) to iron-on in black Cooper Black font "SLAYER" and wear on my second day at NPR for the National Day of Slayer - will drench the walls of the 9:30 Club with the blood of the ears shorn from auditory battle.

And, yes, I did buy a ticket just now. Not taking chances on this one.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

No cute elfin/Nordic-mixed babies for me



The Joanna Newsom concert has sold out. I've been spoiled too long by shows that seemingly never sold out in Athens to pre-order tickets.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Freaking out at half-time

|current sounds| Radiohead- I Might Be Wrong

Man, I always wanted a big band to cover "National Anthem" by Radiohead and it looks like I got my wish (well, at least it's a major section of the Radiohead medley). The Arizona (?) group really went all-out on the horn freakout! I would love to see that performed live.

Some music crits and hyper-sensitive bloggers get mad when marching bands arrange popular tunes for competition as if they have special ownership of their favorite band. I tend to go anarcho on art and music like that - I think it's all up for grabs. Now, there is a distinction: creative, genuine use that either (or simultaneously) celebrates and/or deconstructs the piece or, well, just plain rubbish. For the latter, it's usually a "know it when you see it" situation. And sometimes, art deserves, nay, needs to be reduced to rubbish.

Too many good concerts coming up, which brings last month's lackthereof to equilibrium:
+ Joanna Newsom, P.G. Six @ Black Cat (11/17): I understand Newsome's performing Ys, the phenomenal new album, in its entirety on this tour. Wow, oh wow. Maybe she'll marry me? Or at least bear my children?
+ Dirty Projectors @ Rock n Roll Hotel (11/20): Would love to go to this, but may need the $$$ for the show below. Although, D-Lo's been known to screen The Getty Address videos on a big projector (duh), which are all pretty sweet.
+ Charalambides @ 611 Florida Ave (11/21): Because I'm such a good guy, I gave my copy of A Vintage Burden to Phillip when I should have just hoarded it. :)

Oh, and what the #$%&!

Thursday, November 09, 2006

If I had a dime for every...

|current sounds| No-Neck Blues Band- Qvaris

I'm walking back home from the metro listening to "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" by Leonard Cohen when I hear a car horn and a man shout, "Hey!" I turn to see a somewhat distinguished black man in a nice vehicle, so I cautiously approached with some good distance still between us. I noticed he's a little inebriated. When I stop, the following dialogue ensues:

"Oh, you're not a girl," the man states dejectedly.
"No, no I'm not."
"Hrm." Looks at his staring wheel and then back at me.
"Well, I'm gonna go back over there."

I'm afraid of what he would have said if I was.

Maybe it's time for a haircut.

[EDIT: Christa called me out in the comments and rightly so. I should have mentioned that this particularly street after dark can be a little sketchy, so anyone shouting "Hey!" can make you apprehensive.]

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

The left side of County Election

|current sounds| Rafael Toral- Space

As nearly apolitical as my friends and family think I am, I do vote (despite a hatred of all politicians). And now that I live in a district without any representative in Congress (sorry, Green Party, statehood's just not going to happen), it's hard to get jazzed about elections when all you have to vote for is a mayoral candidate that's already acting as if he's got the job. Nevertheless, I would have gone to the polls today if it were legal. DC has a rule, as many states do, that you cannot vote 30 days after registering (getting a driver's license) in the district. And since I didn't want to register with a party (can't bring myself to support either of the two majors), I can't vote in future primaries. So there you have it. I imagine DC residents feel as lost and hopeless as I do when it comes election time, which is probably why a good bit of them eventually move out to Silver Spring and Bethesda, Maryland.

How did I end up in the capitol of the free world again? :)

Monday, November 06, 2006

Stuff that's ruled me the past week or so

|current sounds| Keith Fullerton Whitman- Multiples (this rules, too, by the way)


The Fruit Medley cup from Dilettante Chocolates is divine. Dried fruits wrapped first in milk chocolate, then in white chocolate. The taste just gets better the farther your teeth sink in. My favorite is the apricot. Trader Joe's sells it.


It's been almost two years since I've bought a pint of Ben & Jerry's. The foodstore had them on sale, so I treated myself to the new 2006 flavor "Dark & Tan," the ice cream giant's tribute to, well, beer. Its creamy stout top gives way to a swirl of more cream swirled with rich chocolate. I have a feeling I'm going to feel the same way about "Dark & Tan" that coffee enthusiasts feel about a good coffee ice cream. Just don't confuse the name for a British militia.

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
We got a piano. I found it on my daily Craigslist "Free" section perusal. It belonged to the ex-girlfriend of a man in Silver Spring and if nobody picked the piano up, he'd use it for firewood. Jamie and I drove out to his place and besides a few unplayable keys, it works well. All of the roomies sit in the living room reading while Jamie plays Chopin. I don't need to mention how ideal this is. Between my acoustic guitar and Jamie's new 1927 Chase Brothers piano, we serenade the house.


The. coolest. new. instrument. ever.
Reactable approaches music-making like an analog synthesizer, but is sensor-based with a fully tangible (and seemingly easier to master) interface that allows multiple users to interact with each other. Soooo cool. There are more Youtube demonstrations here and here. Watch them and mess your pants. The software's downloadable (and open source for you tech geeks), but the downside is buying the equipment, though I get the feeling all you need is a wide-lens digital USB camera and a large, round (glass?) table. I'm definitely interested.

Venice Is Sinking is mad at me because I think "Andropolis" sounds like "My Heart Will Go On." Okay, Lucas, it doesn't have the same chords (or even the same number of chords as mentioned), but when you listen to the flute melody, there's a Kate Winslet flying on the Titanic vibe (not too mention the same intervals and pacing for a measure and a half). And the sustained guitar line echoes the same. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, Venice Is Sinking. This is why I miss DJ-ing Sound of the City (the local music show at WUOG) with Robi: calling out local bands and taking them down a notch (it's not that we were mean, but not even the local weekly would offer this important service to the community - except maybe Gordon Lamb). It's all in good fun and I think (hope) the band, that I like quite a bit to be honest, knows this.

BEST NEWS OF THE WEEK
After some phone calls and meeting that quickly turned into an interview, flippin' NPR has hired yours truly to help develop their online music project. I start on Wednesday as a full-time temp-to-hire. Isn't that just dandy? Don't know long the temp thing runs, but here's to hoping they'll want to keep me on.