future sounds of london . . .
When I had a Monday-Friday job, Saturday was naturally laundry day. Every week I would have to ask Mr FD to carry the laundry hamper downstairs for me, as it was often too heavy for my back. May I repeat, EVERY Saturday I had to ASK Mr FD to bring down the laundry hamper from our bathroom.
Now, I don't have a Monday to Friday routine, and I do laundry during the week, trying to leave the weekends free. You know, just in case the last threads of our sanity tear and we give in to spontaneity, heaven forbid!
NOW that I no longer do laundry on a Saturday, every Saturday without fail, WITHOUT A REQUEST, Mr FD brings down the laundry hamper and places it with pride in the middle of our small laundry. It sits there like a dog poop on your priceless heirloom rug. I say nothing, trying to ignore it, but oddly enough it makes me want to rip his throat out.
I do not do the laundry. It sits there until the day I do, in the meantime, our dirty clothes mount up on the floor of our bathroom. I prefer not to say anything as when I am back in the work force I will no doubt want him to bring that damn laundry hamper down each and every Saturday again.
I just want to know - does he know what he is doing? Is he playing games with me - stirring the lizard he calls it. Passive aggressive games of marriage...sigh. Or did he just finally get the message through his damn thick skull and is now probably wondering why I am not postulating myself at his feet in gratitude?
Is it him, or is it me? I know, it's him. It is always him.
Also, I am back on reviewing music as I have stopped going out to see live bands. I am still not accepting new music as I still have to clear out what I've already been sent/requested. Apologies to any promises that I may have made.
sarahelizabethfoster.com ♥ myspace
Sarah Elizabeth Foster's EP, Gardening From the Ground Up Part 1 from Studio Sarah Records, is the first submission I've received for a 2010 release. Generally around this time, I get a ton of Christmas music offers (which, hey, I will be doing a roundup next week!).
Foster actually has a degree in music, singing French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and, of course English. While this EP is only in English, it does showcase her classically singing abilities. My favorite song is actually the title-track, "Gardening From the Ground Up". There's something about this love song, from rain drops to the up-beat jazzy tempo, that I really like. This is in contrast to the opening song, "Wake Up", for a song that's about waking up, it sounds like "take it easy" evening song.
While people will automatically associate Foster to 60s girl singers, I think her vocal styles, would actually lends itself really well to modern indiepop music. I'm certainly interested in hearing what part two sounds like. If you live in New York, Foster will be playing tomorrow, December 4th at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn.
FERAL CHILDREN
myspace.com/feralchildrenseattle
Feral Children is a "backwoods" band from Seattle, Washington. Their self-titled EP was a free released on Sarathan Records, while their forth-coming album, Brand New Blood, will be available digitally December 8th, while a physical release on January 19th, 2010.
As their name suggest, their music seems, I don't know, wild. Like "grizzly bear", "panda bear, "deerhunter" and "animal collective" wild, and this isn't surprising, considering Scott Colburn (Animal Collective's Feels producer) is their producer on the Feral Children album. Compared to previous bands I mentioned, Feral Children seems more melodic and less experimental. I'm not sure who produced their EP (I rarely get liner notes for digital submissions), but they certainly have that collective-like influence.
I did give the EP a few listens, and not entirely impressed with the singer (is it Bill Cole?). His vocals is very rough, voice cracking comes to mind on tracks like "Saint". While this may possibly be the greatest song done live, listening to it on headphones made me cringe.
Who knows, maybe their album will be much better than the self-titled EP. It is, after all, their first release, I'm sure they'll improve over time. Information on the free downloads, head over to Sarathan Records.
MOJORISING
mojorisingband.com ♥ myspace
I keep mis-reading this band as Major/ising, so I'm not sure if other people might have the same problem reading the name (it's OK people misread W♥M as "we love music" all the time...)
Mojorising recently moved from Los Angeles from Australia. So prices for their EP at $12 on the merch page might seem high, until you realize it's in AUS dollars.
My impression is that this duo makes some really funky music, but with classic rock attitudes (think Jamiroquai). The funk soul translate well on a few of their songs, "She Woke Up To Me" and "Sooth Me And Use Me". The later is very dancey, I suspect it will play well to a live audience. Incidentally if you are interested in hearing the first song, it's available as a free download.
The band is playing a few dates in California:
- Dec 20 2009 THE MINT Los Angeles
Jan 10 2010 EL CID Los Angeles
SEA OF BEES
seaofbees.com ♥ myspace
Lara dismissed Julie Baenziger, aka Sea of Bees, as being too "CocoRosie/Joanna Newsom", and really - what's wrong with that ? As expected, Baenziger's vocal style is that of a small cute child. And also cute is the title of the EP, called Bee Eee Pee. This is a collection of four songs and one intermission song.
All of the songs are pretty minimalistic, usually with just acoustic and Baenziger singing. The stand-out track for me is "Willis", because it does feature a melodic backing music (vs just acoustic alone). Also, the inclusion of the random intro is nice - it explained that this particular recording happens to be the third take.
Julie is doing some winter dates:
- Dec 4 2009 Fox & Goose Sacramento, California
Dec 15 2009 Sacramento, California
Jan 26 2010 Matadero Huesca, Huesca
Jan 30 2010 Tanned Tin Festival Castelo, Castellón
Feb 10 2010 TBA w/ Mountain Man, Chelsea Wolfe and Dead Western Sacramento, California
PS, That's all I can manage today. Check out Ryan as he's retweeting on twitter/weheartmusic. You can see some of the tweets on the right-side of this page. The account is kept active by live blogging by myself, Ceji, and Ryan. Not just a robot account!
12/03/2009 22:55:52 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
I have been sitting and thinking about my Dad today. Dad died in 2000 at the age of 76. He was the 13th child in a family of 18th children born to first generation German-Australian migrants. By the time he was born some of his elder siblings were young adults. It was the depression and his father, though they farmed was more interested in drinking and partying than feeding his family. Often my Dad went hungry. He told me tales of catching rabbits at the age of 9 or 10 just to have something to eat. Once he was sent to live with am older brother who would disappear for days on end and not leave any food in the house for my Dad, a small child, to eat.
Back at the family "home" many of the children actually slept out in the shed [barn] and used hessian sacks as blankets. The bathroom was the dam or the creek. Food, usually, what they could find. Dad often told me that he probably owes much of survivial during his childhood to the lady who lived on the neighbouring farm, who would give Dad food to eat. I wonder if that woman ever knew what a role she played in my Dad's life? Other people no doubt would have just thought him a waif from a hopeless family, and not cared, but she did. Her generosity shaped my Dad.
Thoughout his life, he was always concerned that no one left his table not full and content. If anyone hung back he would urge tidbits on them. Sharing his food and his table was a joy to him, and one of the ways he showed his care and concern.
As Christmas draws near, I think of Dad, and the love and pride he had for his family. No Christmas ever passes without one of his Grandchildren remembering how Grandpa would steal food from their plates and pretend that he was going to eat it, and when they played the games and complained would return the food, and usually some from his own plate as well. He hated to think that someone might go hungry, or miss out. We neve did of course, we would all have a very full tummy when we rose from the table. Dad would complement the food and say "isn't that wonderful"! He showed his appreciation to all.
So, in many ways, though he is not physically with us, Dad still shapes our Christmas. We plan the menu, we talk about the food we will make and share. We strive to bring pleasure to each other. And to ourselves. Dad also taught us to honor ourselves as well. We deserve good things too. The real pleasure though comes from sharing and giving to others. That nourishes our spirit and our family bonds, even more than the physical food. That is the finest lesson Dad taught us, that caring for others is the greatest gift that we can give ourselves. Caring for others can change lives and shape generations to come. Just like the woman who shared her food with my Dad, sharing what we have can have far reaching effects that no one can know or see, but they are there. Through her simple kindness, our family continues to grow and prosper and pass on the gift that she gave my Dad.
Care about those around you, do the little things and the world grows and the gift goes on and on.
I'm sure if Daz had of tried just a little bit harder he could have bought a more difficult wedding present for me to wrap.
Not much harder mind you.
There was a gift registry, he was going to the big smoke, so I said - go and spend about $100.00. And he came home with this weird mish mash of items. He was super impressed with himself because there had been 30% off everything and he was able to get a lot of totally random unrelated items.
I said - couldn't you have just bought one item?
He said - well I could've got the ironing board.
Easier to wrap no doubt, but not as easy to fit in the car.
So I've ignored it for two weeks but the wedding is tomorrow so I had to face up to it today. A lot of sticky tape was used. And I'm not sure a piece of curly silver ribbon is going to make it look better either.
But at least its crap they want.
So this is Emjays son who is getting married. My nephew. It is going to be a huge, long and hot day, that will start with a three hour drive for us to even get there. I'm planning on taking my swimmers to have a splash around in the motel pool between the service and the reception. That will hopefully be followed by a nap. And we have to fit lunch in sometime before the service and all stay clean. Lol, we have to get dressed at 7.30 in the morning, drive three hours in Lloyds old smashed up Magna, eat lunch, go to the service, fill in a few hours, then turn up at the reception still looking clean and fresh.
Don't know what that chances of that are. But it should be a good day and night. Big.
Emjay tells me I should wish for my children to elope.
"I know, you know, there's no denying it, these are scary and uncertain economic times. Property values continue to plummet like a six-year-old out of a mylar balloon. Retirees are trading in their 401(k)s for a box of Special K. And the dollar has been slapped around so hard it's asked the euro for a safe word."
Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report (11/11/09)
Yeah, that about sums it up.
Tuesday night:
FD rolls over in bed.
Mr FD : Be careful!
FD: What?
Mr FD : Be careful of the chicks!
FD: Chicks? We have chicks in our beds?
Mr FD : Penguin chicks.
FD: How many penguin chicks are in our bed?
Mr FD : Lots - 8 to 12 at least.
FD : We have 8 to12 chicks sleeping in our bed with us?
Mr FD : Yes, so be careful when you move.
FD: If they poop on the sheets I won't be happy
Mr FD : Oh they won't do that, they have diapers.
FD : Of course they would! How long are these chicks staying with us in our bed
Mr FD: I don't know, awhile. Until their parents come back for them.
FD: And where are their parents?
Mr FD; On holiday.
FD: You are making them breakfast.
Wednesday night
Mr FD : I am going public
FD: Going public about what?
Mr FD : Tiger Woods and I.
FD : You've had an affair with Tiger too?
Mr FD: Yes. I feel so used now.
FD: Where did you meet him?
Mr FD : In the valley [night area].
FD: What were you wearing?
Mr FD : A tight little number. Blue, orange, a splash of red.
FD: Did you wear heels?
Mr FD: Oh course! And sequins. It was kind of a jumpsuit thing.
FD: Do you think you will recover?
Mr FD : I feel sooooo used...sigh
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Baby Dee ♥ Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (12/01/09) |
Before her last song, she introduced The Books by telling this joke about next to the dog, a man's best friend is a book. Next because inside a dog, it's too hard to read.
The Books set up two chairs and their movie projector at 9 o'clock. Remember, this is the Cedar, their shows starts early and ends early (no later than 10:30pm). Which its audience is an older (and probably gainfully employed crowd), so they like early shows.
So, back to the Books, they provided the live soundtrack to their movies. Everything is in sync, no technical problems at all. They even went so far as having a one-minute intermission song as they tune up their instruments. The intermission song features anagrams of the word "Immediate". Everything is calculated.
I find that trying to watch the movie and watching Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong was somewhat distracting. I think they prefer you watch the screen, because watching the duo play isn't exactly that exciting.
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The Books ♥ Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (12/01/09) |
As for the encores, which incidentally is predetermined because of the movies that is associated with the songs, they did two songs. The first is a Nick Drake cover "Cello Song", which Paul explained is their only cover they do. It was for the benefit of the Red Hot organization for Aids awareness. If you recall, I've previously endorsed the organization by buying many of their music releases. Their final song is "An Owl With Knees" from their 2005 album, Lost and Safe.
PS, This is my final concert for 2009 (I hibernate during the winter), I would like to thank everybody for offering shows for me to review. I will be able to accept assignments in March-ish 2010, and/or whenever it stops snowing.
12/02/2009 11:29:30 ♥ vu () ♥ thebooksmusic.com ♥ myspace.com ♥ twitter.com
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12/13/09 Loring Kitchen & Bar Minneapolis
Discography
12/20/09 Loring Kitchen & Bar Minneapolis 12/31/09 Loring Kitchen & Bar Minneapolis
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Minneapolis duo Bella Ruse self-classify their sound as “indie folk jazz,” but when Joseph Barker plugs in his electric, as on opener “Push On,” the result doesn’t quite fit the categorization. The sparse, moody guitar and Kay Gillette’s intimate vocals would be as appropriate for a sparse, moody Jim Jarmusch film as for a smoke-filled jazz club. While “Push On” is Bella Ruse’s standout track, the rest of the EP is quietly pleasing. “J’ai Presque Peur” is a smooth Pinot Noir toast to Edith Piaf and “Heart of Everyone” jangles along nicely. When Norah Jones released her debut, I remember being underwhelmed at first, certain that her foray into “jazz” was one clarinet short of Lite FM. However, after a few listens, I warmed up a bit, mostly because beneath the soccer mom ear-bait, I could detect the slightest shade of melancholy, and this interested me. Bella Ruse is interesting in a comparable way (they had me at “kind of sad”). Gillette’s voice calms rather than excites and sure, “Hold Me Close” would probably excite a Meg Ryan character (when she realizes that the Tom Hanks character is The One*); still, revisit “Push On” and convince me there isn’t a little Scout Niblett/Chan Marshall angst beneath the romantic sentiments.
In his track notes, Barker admits that “Push On” was not an immediate favorite. In fact, it took Gillette’s persistence and encouragement from fans to convince him that the song had a place on the EP. Although this baffles me, I also kind of get it. “Push On” is Bella Ruse’s “Hide and Seek”: a stand alone track that deviates from an otherwise comfortable style. There’s a reason why I’ve listened to the song a total of 27 times since I received the EP, except the ‘reason’ is actually a sensation—a slight tingling, milder than goosebumps but equally elusive. My request for the band is simple: more, please. More blood, sweat, tears, booze, ultra-lights, magic fairy dust or WHATEVER combination birthed this beauty. More Pinot Noir, too.
Besides their debut EP, Bella Ruse has also released ‘Twas a Bella Ruse Christmas, a 4-song compilation of Christmas favorites. Both albums can be purchased digitally at http://bellaruse.bandcamp.com. For more information visit the band’s official website or e-stalk the pair on Facebook and Myspace.
*Sadly, my Nora Ephron references are dated. Help.
12/01/2009 23:35:26 ♥ lara (
/lara206.vox.com)
♥ bellaruse.com ♥ myspace.com/bellaruse ♥ twitter.com
I am bringing my rampaging soul back into balance. Daughter1 had a meeting with Small Balls the Principal - she took HR and the union with her. I don't have details as yet, except what The Boy has passed on but the meeting went ok and Daughter1 is feeling 'empowered". Empowered is a good word in the Flamingo Dancer world. The union rep was so impressed on how she presented, and the information she wrote that he wants to offer her a job! That's my girl!
Daughter2 is feeling back in balance too, and Son has found out he is the last man standing for the next round of job interviews. I have asked if I can resubmit my assignment and I am waiting for a reply - if not I will live with it. I obviously made some errors and so I may have to suck it up and be a big girl.
Thank you for your support during my blood letting. Small Balls the Principal is still going to get his. Maybe Daughter1 should resign the first week that school returns in 2010, then he can squirm and find a replacement when all the good teachers are taken! My quiver of sticks are in readiness...
And it is raining so the heat has decreased. I am going to make a superb dinner tonight, inspired by Jamie Oliver, and maybe even crack a red and sing Christmas carols at the top of my rather off key voice. What I lack in talent I make up for with gusto and volume!
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