a quick hello on a rainy saturday...

i am currently in the midst of enjoying a wonderful day off and i just wanted to say, 'hi' to the three people that still might be looking at this; and to also leave you if a wonderful single from a English group that i recently stumbled across called Everything Everything and this is a single off of their debut album, Man Alive. Cheers:

modern life, well, its rubbish...

hey there fine friends.

it has been far too long since I last updated this blog (I seem to start every post with that disclaimer). but anyhow, things have been going quite well during the interval. I am a mere 2-ish months away from my wedding day; which is very exciting and slightly nerve-racking because I know how much I have to do before that day. but life is really very good. the best its ever been, maybe. maybe.

on the music front:

i'm still chipping away on the tiny mixtapes list; currently at #51 - Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica (which is an EXCELLENT album). But the past two weeks have been a little consumed with my recently renewal of my love for Blur (which was reignited by watching an excellent new documentary called 'No Distance Left to Run'). The flame I've carried for them never really went out; I just moved on to different things only to come full circle back to their wonderfulness...or something like that.

Anyhow, if your working knowledge of Blur stops at 'Song 2' I would suggest digging at little deeper; maybe starting with 'Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur' a great best-of compilation that came out last year. Or if you are more of an album person 'Parklife' or 'Modern Life is Rubbish'.

Unfortunately, EMI doesn't seem to allow you to embed any Blur videos so you will just have traverse to YouTube via the links; but here is a sampling of the wonders in store:

Popscene (early Blur; circa 1992...great video)

The Universal (mid-Blur; circa 1995...perhaps my favourite video of theirs and one of their best songs)

tiny mix tapes...best of the the decade.

so as a project i am currently listening to (most) of the 100 albums in Tiny Mix Tapes best of the decade list; from #100 all the way up to #1. Mostly for fun and and also to expose myself to some music that I wouldn't normally find myself listening too or even CHOOSE to listen to (ie. metal or noise). Think of it as an exercise in expanding my musical horizons by doing my best to see the beauty and the art and the MUSIC in places where I don't normally look. And even in my short day and a half thus far I have found some real winners and I am only on #84: The Unicorns' Who Will Cut Our Hair When Were Gone? My two favorites so far (these are albums that were new to me) have been:















#100 - Psychic Paramount's Gamelan into Mink Supernatural: This record was basically a 30 minute punch to my gut. Pure energy, noise, rhythm, and overall amazingness. Great way to start out the list.















#92 - Blackalicious' Blazing Arrow: Goodness gracious this is an amazing rap album. I've never been one for large volumes of hip-hop and we I do partake it usually airs on the old-school end. Blackalicious seems to combine everything wonderful about old school rap and puts a modern twist on it. Simply an enthralling listen (Definitely going to investigate these fellas further).

Anyhow, as I slog my way through the rest of this list (which you can check out here) I will be posting update on my progress and on some of the new and wonderful discoveries that the fine people at Tiny Mix Tapes have helped me make. So I will see you all at #1!

the baron

two door cinema club...

i stumbled across these guys today and was very pleased that i did; i don't really know anything about them other than that they are from the uk (ireland to be more specific), they have two ace singles, and i would like to share them with you. two door cinema club are releasing their debut album, tour history, on the 1st of march and these are the two lead singles from said album; both with very loverly videos to accompany:

if i had to pick i prefer 'undercover martyn' but both are pretty ace...i'm looking forward to great things from these fellas...

the baron

a quick one...

snow day!

i won't be long...spending the afternoon watching some monty python goodness and i thought i would share some of the love; if you have never strayed beyond 'monty python and the holy grail,' i highly recommend checking out the tv show...you won't be disappointed:

enjoy

till later,

the baron

a snowy day off, making mixes...

i am currently in the middle of making three mixes for different folks and sorting through all that music and matching this song with that has inspired me to make a short post about what is currently consuming a lot of my time.

owen pallett's (formerly known as final fantasy) new album, heartland, has really been sticking with me the past couple weeks, and last i was walking home in the dark at about 1 in the morning and everything was covered in a fresh layer of undisturbed snow and this song was playing on my iPod (albeit not this live version):

it was one of those rare moments when everything in the music seems to perfectly compliment everything around me. it was pretty awesome 3 and a half minutes and i listened to the album on repeat until i fell asleep.

all that to say, if you haven't checked out heartland yet and you enjoyed the video above; i highly recommend it. pallett's strings and voice dominate most of the record and it is a beautiful, engrossing, almost pastoral, album. give it a listen and let me know if you agree or disagree.

enjoy,

the baron

i leave you with a few loverly pop songs...

so it's been a while; a very long while. i realize that. i feel guilty; i really do. and so to make up for it i'm giving up this peace offering of some songs that have been catching my attention lately and i promise that i will be back with more soon, and on a much more frequent basis.

i am currently digesting (and also loving) owen pallett's new album...i will let you know what i think next time.

til then and, again, apologies...

the baron