I’ve been wanting to do more video - stop-motion in particular.

Andrew Bird - Tables and Chairs:

if we can call them friends then we can call them on their telephones
and they won’t pretend that they’re too busy or that they’re not alone
and if we can call them friends then we can call
holler at them down these hallowed halls
just don’t let the human factor fail to be a factor
at all

don’t, don’t you worry, about the atmosphere
or any sudden pressure change
cause i know
that it’s starting to get warm in here
and things are starting to get strange

and did you, did you see how all of our friends were there
and they’re drinking roses from the can?
and how, how i wish i, i had talked to them,
and i wish they fit into the plan

and we were tired of being mild
we were so tired of being mild
and we were tired…

i know we’re going to meet some day
in the crumbled financial institutions of this land
there will be tables and chairs
there’ll be pony rides and dancing bears
there’ll even be a band
cause listen, after the fall there will be no more countries
no currencies at all, we’re gonna live on our wits
we’re gonna throw away survival kits,
trade butterfly-knives for adderal
and that’s not all
ooh-ooh, there will be snacks there will
there will be snacks, there will be snacks.

and we were tired of being mild,
we were so tired of being mild,
and we were (we were so) tired…

so don’t you,
don’t you worry
about the atmosphere.

“One day I will sing the songs with no lyrics, and everyone can imagine for themselves if it’s about love, disappointment, banalities or about Plato.”

- Juana Molina

I’ve been meaning to mention this for a while now, but never got around to it until now. My buddies, the Ten Minute Turns, were recently featured in Billboard! They play a great show and are always fun to hang out with. They do some cool side projects too, like scoring the music for a new Nickelodeon cartoon called Three Delivery. They perform next at Southpaw on Friday, May 16th, 8pm. Be there or be □.

I’d been playing with the idea of trying to hook up more (digital) music in the living room. I wanted something that’s more on-demand and easier to control. I tried my iPod but this doesn’t interact with last.fm (I like keeping a listening history). I tried my iPhone - it’s hacked to run MobileScrobbler and therefore can log to last.fm. But this gives me issues when people call or send me texts. I tried plugging my laptop into the speakers. This was a little awkward because the laptop has to sit next to the TV and the speaker (running the cable all over the place is just not a good idea especially when people are over). And this method just made it hard to do work; I was standing hunched over trying to type emails. I started looking for other devices around the house. The PSP was nice and would’ve looked cool next to the TV - but I couldn’t figure out a way to get last.fm running properly - and syncing music with the system didn’t really fit my workflow. Then, my Nokia N800 volunteered for the job. I found a last.fm client for Maemo called Vagalume that works pretty well - it watches my last.fm radio and plays tracks non-stop. And it looks really cool. Sweet.

My friends Josh and Dave sent me a text Sunday afternoon asking if I wanted to go see The Magnetic Fields that evening at Town Hall. Having missed out on two attempts to get tickets to the show, I shot back a faster-than-your-question text: “yes, please”.

The show - much like the songwriting itself - was amazing in its simplicity and humor. Stephin Merritt was once described somewhere - can’t remember the source - as the most miserable man in the Lower East Side. I think that’s what I like most about his music. Even though the songs are about some of the most crushing moments in life, there’s something about the way it’s put together and the way they are sung that really keeps you holding on. Misery loves company - but it’s only because there’s a certain love and hope that comes out knowing others are in the same boat.

One of my most favorite songs ever is “The Book of Love”. I almost thought they were going to skip it - but luckily they played it at the very end. Actually, I should say Stephin played it. The whole place was quiet: it was just him and his banjo and I thought it was a nice way to finish the show.

The Magnetic Fields - The Book of Love

I’m going to go see the lovely Joanna Newsom tonight at BAM.

and all those lonely nights down by the river
I was brought my bread and water by the kith and the kin
now in the quiet hour when I am sleepin’
I cannot keep the night from comin’ in

A fan site called Milky Moon has a good collection of lyrics. The thing I like most about this set (other than the design) is that some of the words are hyperlinked so, you know, you can finally find out what “Ys” is.

Astrud Gilberto’s Dreamer, covered by The Postmarks

Why are my eyes always full of this vision of you?
Why do I dream silly dreams that I feel won’t come true?
I long to show you the stars,
Caught in the dark of the sea.
I long to speak of my love,
But you don’t come to me.

So I go on asking if maybe one day you’ll care.
I tell my sad little dreams to the soft evening air.
I am quite hopeless it seems.
Two things I know how to do.
One is to dream,
Two is loving you.

I am quite hopeless it seems.
Two things I know how to do.
One is to dream,
Two is loving you.

Ana Carolina and Seu Jorge singing Damien Rice’s “The Blower’s Daughter”. The song sounds just as beautiful in Portuguese.

I went to see Andrew Bird last night at the Beacon. I’ve been listening to his latest, Armchair Apocrypha, non-stop this year. I’d never seen him live before and I’d learned from a few of my friends that he puts on a very fun show. Their stories turned out to be very true. He gives off a big presence on stage and really takes over all parts of it. He makes it seem like a big band production when, in fact, there are only three people on stage: Andrew, the bass player and the drummer. He switched instruments after nearly every song. He used a multi-track system to sample and loop pieces. For example, he’d play a small violin part and loop that in the background while playing the next part. Everything was operated via foot pedals and he did this all in socks - I guess to make it easier to control and hit the pedals. Oh, and on top of all this he’s a great whistler, too.

I wanted to link the song “Armchairs” here but can’t find a suitable version online. It’s by far my most favorite track - it’s had more listens this year than any other song.