I'm sorry. You win. I've been eating quinoa.
This bird is pretty amazing. It looks like some kind of phantom when it plumes out like that.
I've decided to go vegetarian for a month. From 43 Things:
Today is Day Number 1
I’ve gone mostly veg before for financial reasons and I’m actually pretty good about getting protein (beans, tofu, still eating dairy and eggs for now). This is the first time I’ve really thought about going veg for environmental or animal rights reasons. The little piggies, moo-moos, and chickens deserve at least a month.
Anyway, I'm totally down for recommendations and tips, especially healthy brownbag ideas for lunch.
Also, does anyone know if there is a way to post 43 things entries directly to Vox? I noticed options for Livejournal and Typepad.
What are your top 10 most-played songs currently?
A sort of amalgamation of last.fm and the CDs kicking it on top of my stereo because I never put them away. I'm really more of an album listener:
Xiu Xiu - "Suha" - so uplifting. A song to really smile about. :-)
Deerhoof - "Cast Off Crown" - probably my favorite song from "Friend Opportunity," maybe tied with "Matchbook Seeks Maniac."
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - "Life in LA"
Nadja - "Flowers of Flesh" - dream doom. Kind of an electronic metal thing riding into dark shoegaze territory.
Harvey Milk - "Brown Water "- creaky vocals, suspense laden pauses, and heavy as anvils riffs.
Stars of the Lid - "Dopamine Clouds Over Craven Cottage." Ambient group definitely winning a lot of prizes, among them: Best Album of the Year So Far and Best Song Titles (the final track on their double CD And Their Refinement of the Decline is called "December Hunting for Vegetarian Fuckface")
Hidden Cameras - "Animals of Prey" (Smell of Our Own has been on the iPod a lot lately)
Dungen - Familj - "Swedes please" or "Swedes, please." Both are correct.
Grails - "Space Prophet Dogon." Grails are a major new discovery for me, (as are Sun City Girls, the originators of this song). Kind of new age/ world music meets Post Rock.
I can't believe that Napalm Death's album "Scum" was originally released in 1987! Wow! I was 10 years old when this came out, but never really picked it up until I was 17 or so. It's probably the only "grindcore" release that I've ever really enjoyed, but I enjoyed it a lot. It's been one of those metal albums that I always go back to no matter how far my tastes have drifted since my Riki Rachtman influenced youth. Sadly, my original purchase followed the same fate as many of my CDs did when I first moved to San Francisco and ended up in Amoeba's used bin so that I could buy some beans and rice and not die from starvation.
Anyway, Earache Records have graciously remastered and reissued this fantastic classic for its 20 year anniversary, and have even produced a DVD documentary "The Scum Story" to package with it. suh-weet!!! I grabbed it today and quite frankly, it's never sounded better. I don't know too much of what became of this band outside of the guitarist, Justin Broadrick, who went on to form the groups Godflesh, who I sadly admit I've never heard, and Jesu ,who are also awesome -- kind of a hard, shoegazey metal-pop and really cool.
I picked two of the album's longest tracks, both under 4 minutes, for your listening enjoyment.
EDIT: So yeah, I have heard some of their later stuff, but had no idea that the band was still touring (albeit with a totally different lineup).
Much in the same way, this song is full of sadness leaking through its chanted background chorus. I won't parrot the Pitchfork review of the Camera Obscura version except to say that I always have found a few of ABBA's songs to be less than 100% cheery (Super Trouper being the most believable) and that Camera Obscura certainly have a knack for that old school "Tears On My Pillow" melodrama.
Kiki and Herb are a world famous lounge act who have been touring and performing together for almost half a century, or something like that.
Show us a picture of where you'd like to live and tell us why you want to live there.
Submitted by Warhead.
What an amazing coincidence! I was just coming here to mention the 100% adorable Toronto Coat-Of-Arms that a friend just linked me to. I think this image is reason enough to make me at least visit, if not outright move - even if I have never set foot in the place before. This heartwarming scene of animal friendship is made all the more glorious by that little red heart on the crown. Yay Canada!
Heres something really yummy I made the other night, its got feta cheese so vegans will have to substitute something... read more
on apology to all the hippies I have mocked