i’ve got some new demos to share, although you might think i’ve stolen some of your time after listening. the first one i’d like to “share” with you is something i’ve absurdly titled “slow attack! or running through trees” . its the product of boredom, an illusion during college (i originally came up with this diddy back then) that i could play a classical guitar somewhat classically (it’s not even remotely close), and imagining what it would sound like to be on drugs. so naturally, there is some spastic (read: incompetent) drumming. i can’t seem to stop trying.
the other one i’d like to share is called “love as war (& war as love misplaced)”. i attempt to sing high notes on it. just warning you. “love as war” is a reworked demo that was originally called “let’s make it happen,” but after more listens, i disliked it. so now it’s “love as war”, and like most of my other songs, it lacks any chorus. enjoy! if you can.
another new demo. starting to see how limited i am as a musician and how redundant i am as a human being. i should never play the drums. unless i practice. a lot. like for the rest of my life.
anyway, the new song is called “in the red” and its not nearly as depressing as i might sound to you right now.
liu xiang of china, the defending 110-meter hurdle olympic champion, pulls out of the event due to an achilles tendon injury. his withdrawal from the race reduces *chinese fans to tears.
radiohead’s in rainbows was made available for public download a little less than a year ago. i’ve listened to the album in its entirety but the first several tracks usually arrested my attention. as a result, i grew immune to the haunting beauty of “videotape”, the final track on another great radiohead album.
this is a live performance on nigel godrich’s podcast turned television program, from the basement. please enjoy this rendition of “videotape” and check out from the basement if the opportunity should arise.
while shopping in trader joe’s, i came across their beer selection. naturally, i gravatated toward the usual suspects–amber boont ale, negra modelo, new belgium’s springboard ale and fat tire. feeling a bit adventurous, i tried a new one and struck gold. if “rich hoppy and malty aroma with a slight sweetness” sounds appealing to you, i say: “brouczech. suck on one today.”
art spiegelman’s maus is a part biographical, park autobiographical account of the author/artist’s strained relationship with his father, a survivor of the Holocaust.
this tale of survival is heart-pounding as it is heart-wrenching, and the portrayal of the strained relationship between father and son as honest as there is. maus is a classic, and if you’re a dolt like me, you may not have read it until the urgings of a friend. hopefully you can call me a friend today.
“sometimes all we need are colder nights and warmer thighs.” those are lyrics from a saves the day song called “hold,” and they are befitting of craig thompson’s autobiographical blankets.
whether it’s dealing with the insecurities that come with the awkwardness of high school to fighing for the warm security of a blanket with a younger sibling, to the impermanence of an innocent and perfect first love. . . blankets is the perfect companion for those quiet nights with nothing but a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate to keep you warm.
Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death is one of the few books that i’ve managed to get through this year. it took me several months, but if you pick up this read, you’ll understand why.
drawing heavily from such intellectual giants as the saddeningly obscure Otto Rank (whose life work concluded this post’s title) to the more prominent Freud and Kierkegaard, Becker attempts to explain human beings and our behavior in light of the impending reality of death. Becker expounds on the idea of the denial of death as means to living in and maintaining the programming of our society’s culture. such a denial, according to Becker’s astute analysis, produces the spectrum of behaviors that are known to man.
in other words, this piece of nonfiction should be required reading for all people. do yourself a favor and get a copy of this book. my short synopsis hardly does Becker’s simple and eloquent ruminations any justice.
