Tucked Inside A Suitcase ( Big Ups)

Taken By Trees

Victoria Bergsman left her band the Concretes in July '06. She released four demos, produced by Björn, under the name Taken By Trees in September '06. Not a bad track of the four. Also, for demos these sound fantastic. The music is very sparse, with Victoria's voice usually at the forefront. I hope the sound stays this cozy with the proper album. "Tell Me" might be my favorite of the bunch.

Taken By Trees

Talking About The Young Style

Peter, Bjorn and John performed their single "Young Folks", with Victoria Bergsman, on Conan. Victoria Bergsman couldn't possibly be more precious.

This I Believe, Assignment

I was given the assigment, by my German teacher, to write a This I Believe essay. Now, if you're not familiar with the NPR program, this is how it works: people submit essays, in written form or recorded, that outline their personal manifesto. A recent example was that one man thought it was extremely important to always be cool, level headed and just plain cool. Now in an effort to find some guidance I'm sifting through the essays submitted to NPR. So far, this one is my favorite. This man's personal belief is that things should pass a rocking chair test. I feel it's some kind of improper etiquette to post the whole essay, but it's fairly short, so that quoting isn't quite right either.

"I have something shocking to tell you. Are you sitting down? Brace yourself. Are you ready? Here goes.

I didn't wash my car last month.

Isn't that awful? What's worse is this: I don't intend to wash it this month either. Isn't that terrible?

Washing my car is one of the things I don't do because it doesn't pass my rocking chair test. When I'm an old man sitting in my rocking chair looking back at my life, I'm not going to be saying ''Gee I wish I'd spent more time washing my car. If I'd only scrubbed those whitewalls a little more often, I could have had a really happy life.''
Applying my rocking chair test keeps me from doing a whole host of wasteful things from dusting furniture to holding a grudge to eating spinach. It also keeps me from doing some really stupid things. I know I'm not going to be sitting in my rocking chair thinking ''I wish I'd snorted coke''
Of course it's not always that simple. Take television. It's not likely I'll be sitting in my rocking chair thinking ''I wish I'd watched more television.'' However I might be thinking ''I wish I had relaxed more'' and watching television is a form of relaxation.
Even trickier is reading. Will I be sitting in my rocking chair wishing I had read more? Or will I have wished I'd spent less time reading and more time experiencing things firsthand? Tough call.
The best thing my rocking chair test does is to remind me that it's better to do than to own. I may be in my rocking chair wishing I had taken more trips, gone to more ballgames, attended more concerts. It's not likely that I'll be thinking ''Gee I wish I'd bought a bigger house and a fancier car''
I've made this essay personal because the rocking chair test is personal. Thinks that flunk my rocking chair test may pass yours with flying colors and vice versa. But there's one thing I suspect is true for all of us.

That rocking chair is closer than we think."

This I Believe

It's Not Too Late

I totally remembered to tell you that it's not Opposite Day. Alright, with that sentence, I'll stop speaking in Opposites. Anyways, it's probably too late, but I had to post about it. Opposite Day is today. Do the best you can.

Little Fat Man

I came upon this, courtesy of that crew over at Stereogum. Either way, it's absolutely hilarious. Oh yes, David Bowie is in it.

Cornwall, England

Some Loud Thunder

The sophmore record from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is now up for listening on their myspace. I listened to the whole record, and wow, it's pretty dissapointing. The title track "Some Loud Thunder" has totally meaningless production. It was a great live track, but for reason the band thought it was a good idea to use some stupid vocal effects. This is a theme throughout the whole record. I know the producer for this record is famed for his work with The Flaming Lips, but this production is just stupid. On top of that, most of the songs just aren't that memorable. Ahh, I hate this production so much, what's with the vocal effects? Alec Ounsworth already has a weird voice. Either way, pretty big let down.

Pie

Hilarious.

Threadless

I'd never wear this, but it's still hilarious.

Before They Became Famous

Did you know, that Luther Vandross and Stevie Ray Vaughan played on David Bowie records before they became famous? Luther Vandross did backing vocals on 1975's "Young Americans" and Stevie Ray Vaughan played lead guitar on 1983's "Let's Dance". The lead guitar is real bluesy of "Let's Dance", upon a further listen. Interesting little facts.

Jesus Phone

Steve Jobs dropped some serious tech justice today. I'm sure everyone has been hearing way too much hype and speculation about the iPhone, and now it's here.

Just looking at how these menus work, this phone makes every phone, mp3 player and video player look like a bitch. It's all touch screen, which might get a bit annoying after a while. It can also be used as a web browser, has Google maps functionality, you can read your e-mail, clone humans, etc. It also has a built in 2 mega-pixel camera. It's seriously like a tiny Mac. If the next iPod has this menu system, ohh man, I'd be really tempted, even though I just bought an mp3 player.

Elephant Gun

Beirut has released a new EP title "Lon Gisland". The first track "Elephant Gun", is a free download from eMusic. In my opinion, it's very good.

Elephant Gun

Modest Mouse - Dashboard

Modest Mouse has a new record on the way and I read about a new track being leaked. The reviews I read were unfavourable, but I am all about this. It sounds really 80's, in a good way. It's got this choppy, ska-esque guitar riff, horns, and this amazing synth line in the chorus. Modest Mouse fans will probably hate this so much; it's their next single. Check the link for a live version. Ahh, that synth tone sounds so Duran Duran. How delicious!

Take a listen

2007

Hey 2007. You've got quite a bit of possibilities.

I hope it starts feeling and looking like Winter soon. I hope I read more. I hope the years don't go from 5 to 6. I hope I do something musically. I also hope great things happen, if not for me, for people I care about.

Good luck!