18.12.09

it's been a long time, i shouldn't have left you..

for the few that read this blog, sorry for the lack of updates in the past couple weeks. they have been pretty busy one's; filled with christmas shopping, wedding planning, job working (i'm officially a fiction director now, which is exciting), and many other adventures.

my work was called off today because north carolinians do not know what to do in the snow, save call everything off so: SNOW DAY! i've spent the first half sleeping and i am going to spend the second half reading 'battle royale' at dewey's (which, unfortunately for my fiance is still open) and then mayhaps watch a movie this evening. the world is my oyster and i intend to eat said oyster.

i just wanted to say hello to all; merry christmas and i will be back with more soon!

30.11.09

back to work...

it's going to be hard going back to work after having two days off in a row; but i have sufjan to carry me through...i'm in the middle of a sufjan marathon: so far i have listened to 'a sun came,' 'enjoy your rabbit,' and 'songs for chirstmas vol. 1 & 2' and i have just started 'michigan'...so 3.3 hours of sufjan down, 10.6 hours of sufjan to go; here is a sampling; one of my favorite tracks from 'michigan' accompanied by random pictures of nature:

for the widows in paradise, for the fatherless in ypsilanti:


29.11.09

a most productive day...

it is only 3 o'clock and i have already accomplished a lot of what i wanted to do today: shower, shave, wash my comforter, do the dishes, finish 'cowboy bebop', and i am in the midst of doing reading the last 50 pages of king's 'different seasons'...and after i am done with that i am going to grab my copy of 'battle royale' and head to dewey's to read that for a while. most excellent.

also, this is the song of the day:


28.11.09

i love days off!

this is me, and i couldn't be happier at the moment; coffee, music, some reading material, some light blogging. beautiful.

a modern masterpiece.


yeah...

your boy BANGS.

and this track is dedicated to all the ladies out there

who like to go the movies, y’know,

especially you girl:

let me take you to the movies, shorty,

i’m sure later on you will be my baby,

let’s sit down and just be by my side

i got the popcorn, i know what else you like.


hey shorty! you’re really looking nice,

let me take you to the movie cause i know you like,

you got nothing to worry about,

hold the popcorn and the drink,

let me pay the money so we can get in,

now hold my hand and take a step through the door,

be careful don’t fall!

let’s sit on those two chairs, alone,

watching a movie, so we can see what’s going on,

if you don’t like to watch, you can lean on my chest,

take a rest and do your best.

baby girl.

a-ha!


let me take you to the movies, shorty,

i’m sure later on you will be my baby,

let’s sit down and just be by my side

i got the popcorn, i know what else you like.


i hope you enjoyed the movie ‘cause i did too,

anytime you want to go again just holler at me;

baby girl, we can make to be better than before,

anything you want me to do i can do it fo’sho,

you can be my cinderella. when it rain,

you can stand under my umbrella,

i know it make us feel better,

i’m not like the other boys, i’m different guy,

coming from the sky.

whatever i say, i never lie.

just let me know if you want to go somewhere. YEAH!


let me take you to the movies, shorty,

i’m sure later on you will be my baby,

let’s sit down and just be by my side

i got the popcorn, i know what else you like.


hey shorty, where you at? where you going?

can i see you later? ‘cause i can see you busy right now,

meet me at the shop about four o’clock,

don’t forget and don’t be late.

i can tell you what we do when you come back,

i still remember when you told me,

“take me to the movie, friday night.”

that’s right, what time it is now?

it’s half-past three.

my girl she back about half an hour,

let me go and take a shower,

dress good, put some perfume so i can smell GOOD.


let me take you to the movies, shorty,

i’m sure later on you will be my baby,

let’s sit down and just be by my side

i got the popcorn, i know what else you like.


yeah girl. you can go to the movie anytime you like.

ya na’mean?

but guess who you’re going to call?

your baby boy BANGS. cause he’s still got chance.

ya na’mean?

a-ha!

yeah. yeah.


that’s right.


woah.


uh.


let’s sit down and just be by my side,

i got the popcorn i know what else you like, you like, you like...


- your baby boy, BANGS; 2009


25.11.09

my 20 favorite albums from the aughties...

its nearing the end of the year and that means LISTS; even more so with the aughties or double 0's or what have you ending. and so i thought i would put my two cents in with my favorite 20 albums of the last ten years. these are albums that have stuck with me and that i constantly find myself revisiting; many of the them are already acknowledged as "best-of" albums, some of them not. But these 20 are the biggest and most important to me, ones that have changed my musical outlook, challenged my notions of 'good music', and some are just plain fun. most of these albums seem to fall within the second half of the decade mainly because those were my college years and when i discovered the most new (to me at least) music. i'm hoping that this offers a few surprises and discoveries for people and that they are able to love these albums as much as i do. ranking them would have been impossible for me and so i just present them in alphabetical order.

my favorite 20:

amadou & mariam - dimanche a bamako (2005):





















produced with manu chao, this album is one that brings insta-good feelings whenever a hear it. i went back and forth between this one and 'welcome to mali', both excellent but since this was my first exposure to their music, dimanche a bamako, it is!

animal collective - feels (2005):





















the first ac album that really clicked with me in a big way. i still think this is their strongest overall album with songs like 'the purple bottle', 'grass,' 'banshee beat,' and the amazing closer 'turn into something.'

arcade fire - funeral (2004):



















what more needs to be said. an album that is practically perfect in every way.


beach house - devotion (2008):





















this duo keeps creating some of the most affecting, sultry, dreamy, and beautiful music around today. never gets old.



bon iver - for emma, forever ago (2007):





















this album has A LOT of personal connections for me which, along with the fantastic songs and the whole lore surrounding it, makes it a definite decade album for me.


burial - untrue (2007):





















this album is a dark, rainy, lonely night in audio form. one of the most immersive and powerful listening experiences that i have ever had. gets better every time.


the clientele - strange geometry (2005):





















this album is definitely the dark horse on this list. it may not seem like much on first listen; but the great songwriting keeps me coming back again and again and again until one day i find that i LOVE this album.

daft punk - discovery (2001):





















yup. soooooo gooood. one more time, please.



dengue fever - escape from dragon house (2005):





















cambodian by-way-of california surfer rock. truly a thing of greatness with strong connections to the music i heard growing up in cambodia. and even apart from my own nostalgia; i think it stands up as a wonderful album.

fanfarlo - reservoir (2009):





















the most recent album on this list and one that seems to mesh everything good about arcade fire and beirut and pop music in general into one brilliant and exciting debut.


fleet foxes - fleet foxes (2008):





















probably the album i have listened to the most in the past two years and every time it is just as exciting and beautiful. and what a cover!



frightened rabbit - the midnight organ fight (2008):





















this one took me completely by surprise when i first heard it; maybe it is the great scottish accent, maybe the raw emotion of the lyrics, maybe just the great tunes...but whatever it is, it is working for me.


girls aloud - the sound of girls aloud (singles collection; 2003-2006):





















i dare you to find a better group of pop singles released this decade...impossible. and everything that they and xenomania have done since 2006 has been pretty ace as well.


joanna newsom - ys (2006):



















joanna newsom is a true storyteller and this album, though maybe a little daunting at first listen, is one that dazzles and envelopes you in its own magical world of talking bears and meteorites and birds stuffed with sawdust and diamonds. a masterpiece.

the knife - silent shout (2006):





















the opening track 'silent shout' is perhaps my favorite opening track to any album; ever. it takes you in immediately and the knife don't let you leave their transfixing and terrifying world until 'still light' fades out 48 minutes later.

m.i.a. - kala (2007):





















the beats on this album are what bring me back; from the standard boom-boom-bap to a beat constructed from a chicken's ba-kaw!, this album dazzles and m.i.a.'s lyrics on top of that push the album over the edge in the best way possible. kala is everything great and fabulous about the globalization of music and remains one of my favorites.

the new pornographers - twin cinema (2005):





















picking which new pornographers album to put on this list was really hard, which tells you something about the strength of their discography; but in the end this won out because of the greatness that is 'the bleeding heart show'.

radiohead - kid a (2000):





















perhaps the most praised album of the decade, but one that i believe genuinely deserves the praise that is gets. radiohead at the top of their game.


sufjan stevens - illinois (2005):





















at 73 minutes sufjan's best album (so far...fingers crossed) is too much to take all in at one listen, but on repeated visits i think it reveals itself to be a true masterpiece. 'john wayne gacy, jr.' still gets me everytime. wow.

super furry animals - rings around the world (2001):





















my favorite band since the beatles has released a lot of great albums this decade, but 'rings' deserves to be on this list because of the grand scope of the album. this thing is a beast. a wonderful messy joyful beast.


that's it. there are MANY albums that almost made the list (im sorry vecaktimest!). if you have any qualms with the list, let me know what you think should have made it in the comments.
the baron.