sad is mad without the energy

[jfb]

Fifteen 50-word reviews of the new Radiohead record.

Thom Yorke sounds like he's falling down a well on nearly every track. I wish he'd hit the bottom and crack his skull so that Michael Jackson could join the group and help create a paranoid, alienated album that might genuinely be fascinating, involving, coherent and catchy. But he won't.

William Gibson on George Orwell.

A Slate article about two books about L.A. literature:

Last year, the Library of America published the excellent Writing Los Angeles, a massive anthology of a century of writing about the city. But if you are a native of Los Angeles, paging through all the travel notes and memoirs and short stories is a strange sensation. Where you expect to find the city itself, there is only a carnival of metaphors.

MP3s from the latest M. Ward record. "Oh but if you're gonna leave, better call the undertaker, take me under, undertaker, take me home."

Cool photos from the Aran Islands. You know what I like? Representational photographs that look abstract.

Most of the above links came from a session with The Minor Fall, The Major Lift, so enjoy that too.

Comments

[michaelpop.livejournal.com]

i haven't heard any m. ward yet--i'm holding out until i see him on sunday (opening for rilo kiley)--but what's your opinion?

[jfb.livejournal.com]

One of my favorites. His first album had potential; his second album was great, drifting in and out like a dream about music. I confess I haven't heard the new one yet; I'm waiting until I can buy it from him. But I like the MP3s.

Plus (since I haven't plugged the web site for a while), he liked my cover (http://www.drowning.org/covers.shtml) of his song "Carolina".

Thanks for mentioning the show, which reminded me to go buy a ticket for the SF show. And Me'Shell Ndegeocello later that week. And Jay Farrar and Tim Easton (!) the week after that.

Re:

[michaelpop.livejournal.com]

hmm. a friend of mine who also shares my alt. country proclivities enjoys m. ward as well, but that alone wasn't enough to get me off the fence. but now that i know that you like him as well...ii'll be going to see him with high hopes. :)

i know you were inquiring about rilo kiley not too long ago; have you checked 'em out yet?

[jfb.livejournal.com]

No, but, I'll see them when they close for Matt.

Re:

[michaelpop.livejournal.com]

which leads me to my next question: where do you usually tend to loiter during shows? do you find a spot up front, or in back, or does it vary and not matter?

[jfb.livejournal.com]

Depends on the venue and stuff. Actually seeing the band is generally less important to me than hearing them, so I mostly try to find a spot where I'm close enough to feel like a part of things but I still have elbow room. Occasionally it's nice to see the band, though, like when they're the Postal Service and they're doing "Nothing Better".

Re:

[michaelpop.livejournal.com]

interesting. i'm one of those that loves to be near the stage...i'll sacrifice a little sound quality to get a good sightline.

i hope you have a good time, 'tho i'm starting to have my doubts on you enjoying rilo kiley. they might be a little too, oh, saccharine for you. but you'll see soon enough. hope you'll let me know what you think.

[jfb.livejournal.com]

I'll have a good time because I haven't seen M. Ward for too long. If I like the headliner, that's icing. (If I don't like the headliner, I get to bed earlier.)

I don't think I have anything against saccharine, but we'll see.

[jfb.livejournal.com]

Also, I've never seen him with a band. So that'll be interesting.