There is little doubt that Coldplay is nearing the apex of the Rock & Roll mountain, waiting eagerly for the kings [U2] to pass on into the here after of legend and myth.  In the meanwhile the popularity of their latest record Viva La Vida is hailing criticism from both the yay and naysayers.  I have refrained from weighing in on the topic for some time, unable to feel certain in my response.  Alas, after much listening and praying, I’ve decided to discuss my opinions.

Coldplay first caught my attention in 2000 with the song Yellow, before it had ever really taken off as a hit.  Many of my friends dismissed them – as so many do – as being music for queers, no offense, their words not mine.  Even my family didn’t think they were all that good.  Then enters 2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head, an astronomically amazing sophomore smash that first made people assume Coldplay’s future status as the kings of rock & roll.  I still remember the first time I heard Politik, absolutely revolutionary in altering how I would write music and view it.  Needless to say I was waiting breathlessly for X&Y, which turned out to be an extension of the awesomeness in AROBTTH.  So where does this leave Viva La Vida?

There is little doubt that Viva was a step along the right path, but was it departing so much from what we came to love about the previous albums – especially AROBTTH – that it suffered to stand out?  What I mean to say is, did the band make an evolutionary leap too far?  X&Y was familiar enough to AROBTTH, and AROBTTH was familiar enough to Parachutes for the fan to appreciate what was new and exciting while feeling at home.  I don’t believe, in full hindsight that Coldplay have done this.  What they have done is no different then when U2’s the Unforgettable Fire came out.  Sure U2 had some minor hits in their early career like ‘I Will Follow’, ‘Gloria’, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, but it took the extreme unfamiliarity of that record [The Unforgettable Fire] to catapult U2 into some new sphere creativity.  It didn’t produce a long lasting impression like their later work, but it was a needed step to get there.  Before the Unforgettable Fire, we only had a vague notion of the Edge’s guitar, Bono’s voice, and the greatest rhythm section in rock history.  I predict that Coldplay will not be known for Viva La Vida, but for the greatness that will come because of it.  Their Joshua Tree is still out there.  Just let them write, it’ll come and if it doesn’t it’ll be something completely different and unique, their magnum opus.  Those who are still pinning for a return to the old days of Coldplay should stop living in the past and be thankful they had the opportunity to live through those times.  Keep your eyes on the future, the best is yet to come.

So it has been a while, I know, but without further excuses (or, better yet, none at all), I’m real excited by Jonsi’s (vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of Sigur Ros) new website jonsi.com. The last Sigur Ros album, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust, was probably one of their weakest in their history (or I just haven’t listened to it enough, as their other albums, except maybe Takk…, took months for me to click with).

Earlier this year Jonsi, a.k.a. Jon Thor Birgisson, did a collaborative record with Alex Somers of Parachutes called Riceboy Sleeps, which was mostly an atmospheric, ambient work. It was nice for background noise or to fall asleep to, but that’s about all.

Now, Jonsi has teased us with the most straight-forward pop song of his career, and he sings in English. “Boy Liliko” opens subtley with soft, shimmering chimes and aching strings. It’s a familiar sound for fans of the Icelandic collective, but then Jonsi sings. Now that I have finally heard him sing in English, he sounds a bit like Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate). With the vocals, the music coheres into a driving, sweeping song held aloft by fluttering flutes, pounding drums and hyperactive strings. It’s so light, loud and lofty that it sounds like it belongs somewhere among the clouds.  

You can download “Boy Liliko” for free from his site, through the link provided, and check out pictures and videos of the making of the album, which he has entitled Go.

I have high hopes for the accessibility of the album, but I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that it will have a true sense of the quirky creativity of Sigur Ros (by the video on jonsi.com of Samuli Kosminen, also of Sigur Ros, using a suitcase for percussion, I think there should be nothing to fear). Something nice and light from this band, even if it’s just a side project, would be welcome.

Adding to the hype, the manager for Sigur Ros sent out an email praising the work thusly:  “I think we are beginning to sense that maybe Jonsi has created something super special here. More than that in fact, I think he has created something really special here. I’m not sure I’ve felt this excited about a project since the time I first heard Agaetis Byrjun, right back in 1999. Holy fuck. Are you ready?”

He also shared the tracklisting:
Go Do
Animal Arithmetic
Tornado
Boy Lilikoi
Sinking Friendships
Kolnidur
Grow Till Tall
Around Us
Hengilas

With a blog name like Random Ramblings, it is highly appropriate for me to just throw out some completely unrelated musical thoughts that have been floating around my brain lately. So without further ado…

I like all of Coldplay’s albums.  But after listening to songs off “Parachutes” for the first time in a while, I’m thinking it might be good for Chris Martin to be a little bummed out again.  Anyone with me? Maybe Apple can be a little terror. But somehow I don’t think parental issues will conjure up a song as haunting as the lovelorn blues of “Sparks” or “Trouble”.  Just wishing you a teeny tiny bit of sadness, Chris. Not too much, though.

I really like the new Them Crooked Vultures album.  Really good, hard, intelligent, original stuff.  But I think I will always like music that I connect to emotionally more than stuff that I think just rocks.  Each one has its own place/time, but as far as favorites go, the artist that wear their hearts on their sleeves still make the most lasting impression on me.

Somewhere, somehow, is Zack De La Rocha still mad about something?

Anyone else remember listening to Rick Dees’ Top 40 radio show in the late 80’s, and how he would end each show with the song “Two Occasions” by The Deele (featuring Babyface)? If not, it’s the song that goes “I only think of you on two occasions, that’s day and night”.

I think each season should have it’s own official band to sponsor them. Even better, a specific album by a specific band.  My Morning Jacket, “Z” can have late autumn/early winter.  Will have to revisit this thought for the other 3 seasons.

I wish there was some way to know the percentage of a band’s audience that is quirky (or to get right to the point, insane).  I had this thought after listening to “Debaser” by the Pixies for the first time in awhile.  While this is a great song, it is really REALLY odd and strange.  Or maybe the movie that inspired the song is the odd and strange thing. Either way, I wonder if Frank Black has trouble finding the right emotional space for that crazy laughing every time he plays the song live.  To start another Pixies tangent, I really like the song “No. 13 Baby”. But I could probably do without the long outro.

How outraged would the world be if they found out that all this time Stevie Wonder was only pretending to be blind?

Is there a better guitarist of the 2000’s than Jack White? Will have to revisit this in another post. But the solos in “Ball and Biscuit” and “Catch Hell Blues” make a strong case.

Last but not least, there is a great quote by Nick Hornby in his book “Hi-Fidelity”.  The protagonist, a serious music fan, says “What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?”.  Good point.  Was I sentimental before I listened to thousands of sentimental songs, or did they just reinforce that part of my personality that was already there? Did listening to “Mayonnaise” by The Smashing Pumpkins ad nauseum in high school give me a good strong dose of bittersweetness, or was that blessing/curse already residing inside?

I cannot tell you who was more excited, myself when I found the parachute in our store closest or the kids at Keranyo when I pulled it out of my backpack.  Smiles were on all the faces as we played every game imaginable with that parachute.  It brought me back to the laughter of Elementary School and the simple fun that will always be remembered and I am so glad that these kids get to experience it.

At one point I stopped and watched the kids play and was overwhelmed by the picture of the gospel.  We were in one of the roughest and dirtiest areas of the city, all I could see around me was brown, outside the walls of the compound where we were playing were beggars, and these kids did not go home to “ideal” situations, but at that moment there were only bright colors and laughter in the minds of all the children.  All the hard realities of life faded into the background as these kids played.  The hope and joy the gospel’s freedom offers us takes us out of the brown slums and into the vivid colors of the Kingdom.  This is the truth I hope that these kids find.  This is the truth that I am daily learning.  This is the truth that I get to be a part of showing these kids a tiny taste of by simply unfolding a parachute.

NOTE: Barbara Mori Fans Blog does not claim ownership of any of the pictures displayed on this site or in the gallery. All pictures copyright to their respective owner!

Coldplay’s debut Parachutes is just swept in under the rug of the noughties by seven months, but it’s still being listened to around the world today. Just look at the simple, instantly iconic album art. Just like Chris Martin’s pointless, circular lyrics (High Speed was named after a washing machine setting) it doesn’t need to be analysed. It just sits there being perfect, pretty and inoffensive.

Parachutes (album cover)

But Parachutes isn’t my choice for our class’s wrangling over the album of the decade because of its legacy. If I were just choosing it for this, I’d have to acknowledge the legions of Coldplay-haters out there. Not to mention Snow Patrol. Coldplay have indeed gone down some silly roads.

Second album A Rush of Blood to the Head began the movement towards becoming U2 with Clocks, and when X & Y was released while I was in sixth form, it was the greatest anticlimax the world had known. The feverish build-up to its release was slammed all over the airwaves, the headlines, the rest of it. But the first single was Speed of Sound, an uninteresting track which tried to cash in on the Clocks ‘beat’. Unfortunately this amazing “messing with time signatures” thing was, err, pretty common long before 2003:

This album is the choice of the decade for me because it is perfectly unified – a joy to listen to. A friend of mine once said you start humming the next song before the last has even finished. In these days of downloading one song at a time, how many albums can you say you’d never listen to on shuffle?

It manages to do this by mixing memorable melodic hits like Yellow and Trouble with more forgettable, but perfectly pitched songs like Don’t Panic and Sparks. The fact that they were still inoffensive back in 2000 means they can be universally appreciated and liked, if not adored.

And the effect of Parachutes as an album, once the lights are switched off and the laptop shut down, is one of calm, unadulterated bliss. After years of Coldplay-hating, it reminds you Chris Martin actually has a beautiful voice.

And it reminds you that when he wasn’t trying to curry favour with the mass market, he wrote and arranged chillout songs which were utterly, utterly effortless. None of the bluster of the later work. I always thought Coldplay was one of those bands that got worse and worse as time went on, a point proved by early track See You Soon.

But the point still stands. If I have to choose one full album, it’s got to be the earliest one. It’s simple, pleasant, well-written and wonderfully mixed. ‘Nuff said.

Vote below, and follow the debate / read other blogs using the #albumofthedecade tag on Twitter.

Head on over to the *leefenvisual* store where every poster is $20. Get a jump on your holiday shopping. Buy a limited edition screen-print for the art collector in your life; they will certainly thank you for it.

Sale will last for 24 hours starting at 2:00pm PST.

http://tr.im/lfvposters

Tape Deck Mountain
stereogumのサイトでghost colonyって曲をふらっと聴いてたらズシンときました。こんな感覚ひさしぶり。脳にくるような。すーごいかっこいい。
ギター、ベース、ドラム/キーボード。サンディエゴの3人組。
snowcloneというところから少数の作品を3つ出して、その後Lefseからカセット、7インチ、そしてこの11月にデビューアルバム、だそう。またこのタイトルがなあ…ほんとghostって言葉すきだな。あこがれかな。
聴いてノックアウトされたghost colonyは不穏な空気と重さが出ている曲だけど、ほかのはほんのりポップでほんのりサイケデリックなのがおおい。この差はなんだろう。どちらの音もかなり好み。紹介されているところによってはlo-fiからhi-fiまでってことで”mid-fi”なんて表現もでてきてたり。myspaceの影響を受けたアーティストの欄を見ると「the microphones, my bloody valentine, mew, dinosaur jr., sonic youth, pumpkins, sebadoh, deerhoof」となっていて、よく表れているような。マイクロフォンズがいちばん最初に書いてあるあたりがまたなんか。つながりはよくわからないけどOn My Honorって曲をletting up despite great faultsがremixもしていて、オフィシャルでダウンロードできます。ポップです。

official / myspace – Tape Deck Mountain
official / myspace – Lefse records

ghost colony (live)

++++++++++

downloads
* Covers / James Figurine
DntelのJimmyさんが期間限定でカバーアルバムを。どなたのカバーかはmonchiconさんのサイトに出てました。

* s/t + Susy + Tree Roots / Parachutes
Sigur RosつながりのあのParachutesが解散してしまったみたいですね。全3作品をフリーダウンロード公開しています。残念。

Maseratiのドラムさんが亡くなったり、円楽さんも。残念がすこし続きます。一時期すごく笑点みてた。

もうそろそろ12月。もうと言えばMOWのあたらしいのはおいしいですね。ぶどう、カスタードといまいちだったのだけど、今回のエスプレッソラテ味は良いです。

Eram ca nişte mici bucăţi de plastelină, modelate de noi, retuşate de alţii, deformate şi colorate de cei cărora le-am împrumutat culorile noastre.

Poate e de la toamnă, de la ceaţa somnoroasă ce s-a abătut ca o plasă de pescuit peste Timişoara, poate e de la Forever Autumn de la Lake of Tears, ce îmi răsună în căşti încă de dimineaţă…că scriu rândurile astea, fără să ştiu de ce şi fără să am un scop…doar amintindu-mi de copilărie, de şcoală, de studenţie, de mine, de tine, de noi…erase and rewind

(Foto: Tiny Dancer by Leann Cannon)

MSgt. Donald G. Wogomon - My dad

On this veteran’s day I want to recognize my favorite veteran.  My dad proudly spent over 25 years active duty in the United States Air Force.  He specialized in life support systems … helmets, parachutes, survival gear.  We were the only kids on the block that had our own parachute. I got my first kiss under that parachute!

The military was my dad’s life’s work and he excelled at it.  It was his religion. I love to hear from guys who served with my dad. They have the highest regards for him and some crazy stories. He was sort of forced to retire as the military downsized in the 80s.  He didn’t have the same passion after that.  I don’t think he liked being a civilian so he channeled his efforts in the VFW.

My dad was one of the smartest people I knew. He had an answer for everything. As grew older I realized he just made most them up but it sounded like the right answer to me. I’m a little like my dad that way. Ok, a lot like my dad that way!

As a kid, I didn’t understand his job and most of the time didn’t like it.  We got dragged around the world and about the time I’d make friends it was time to move again.   From the time I was born until I reached high school in Texas we lived in 7 states and 2 countries. As an adult I realized that this was actually a gift he gave to his children. I am stronger, independent, worldly and tolerant because of my exposure to different people and places. I learned to build family out of friends.

My dad spent several years in Vietnam. I’m not sure how it changed him because by the time I could recognize him as a man other than my father he was already the quite stoic. He never talked about it.

For a while we were stationed at Nellis and he was the life support guy for the Air Force Thunderbirds. I asked my dad once why they put condoms in survival kits. He told me its so if the plane gets shot down and the pilot is captured and forced to marry tribal chiefs daughter. I believed that one for years.

My dad has passed. When you look back on someone’s life its easier to paint a rosy picture. My dad was a flawed man. He was stubborn and reserved and tough and prideful. But he was also loyal and selfless. As a military man he was exceptional! I am proud to have been his daughter.

I strongly support the military although I don’t necessary support our military actions. I glad to see the way much of the country is ’supporting out troups’. However, remember this wasn’t always the case and many of the older veterans remember very different times.  Also, its just not at times of conflict that they need support or recognition.

So Happy Veteran’s day to my Dad and the other Veteran’s who have served.

**************************************************
Here’s a letter my dad wrote to me when he was in Vietnam. I couldn’t find it when he died and I was broken hearted but it mysteriously appeared a few year later. Hope you can read it. Love ya, Dad

- [...]

- dar lumea mereu îmi reproşează unele lucruri…

- lasă oamenii!

- îi las, dar cum trăim fără ei?

- vreau să reuşesc să pot trăi doar cu anumiţi!

sunt unele zile în care simt mai accentuat diferenţa dintre prieteni şi restul oamenilor…şi cu fiecare astfel de zi, îi iubesc un pic mai mult pe cei care imi sunt dragi! Pentru că realizez, că poate sunt singurii care nu mă judecă şi care nu îmi analizează greşelile…şi sunt singurii cu care am trecut de un anumit prag…nu ştiu să spun care e acel prag…poate e faptul că nu ne mai certăm din nimicuri, poate e faptul că ne “permitem” mai multe unul cu celălalt sau poate e doar faptul că pot să fiu obosită, pot să fiu nervoasă sau pot să fiu irascibilă, pentru că tot mă înţeleg…

e bine să simţi uneori diferenţa asta, pentru că îţi dai seama cât de valoros e ceea ce ai, pentru că ai construit un fel de fortăreaţă, în care intri doar cu ei, atunci când vă întâlniţi.. şi poţi să vorbeşti, să glumeşti şi să te plângi…sunt oameni care iti stiu si defectele si calitatile, oameni cu care nu trebuie sa fii “oficial”, oameni care nu se feresc sa te imbratiseze cu drag, atunci cand rad de tine sau cand plang cu tine…

La mulţi ani, Miha dragă!  (din poză lipseşte Dana, din pacate)

erau momente in care mi-era dor de scena…de locul acela unde ma goleam de mine.mi-era dor de rasuflarea in fata careia nu eram eu. acum mi-e dor de o răsuflare pe care nu am simţit-o niciodată

mi-era dor de pasul acela din culise spre scena, cand simteam cel mai intens cum ma lasam in urma, printre umbrele cortinei! dor de lumina aceea galbuie, care nu te lasa sa vezi in fata…

apoi, în locul scenei, ai ţesut tu rânduri, care m-au făcut să mă pierd şi să mă regăsesc! şi a început să îmi fie dor de răspunsuri…

incercam sa fac din viata o succesiune de momente, o succesiune de replici, la care insa nu am citit scenariul inainte…o piesa improvizata mereu, de citit în serile de noiembrie, cand ne uitam replicile…

ti-am alergat in brate intr-o gară plină de oameni, pe care nu îi vedeam nici unul din noi …probabil am confundat asfaltul cu scena si felinarele cu niste reflectoare, probabil ca a fost un instinct al meseriei faptul ca nu mi-ai zis nimic, faptul ca palma iti aluneca peste parul meu, faptul ca stiai de cand m-ai vazut, ca asa va fi…nu ti-am spus in acea seara ca si eu anticipasem atingerea obrazului tau …

de multe ori stiam ceea ce gandesti, de multe ori imi anticipai gândurile, astfel ca nu mai ne puteam surprinde cu nimic, decat prin “alti cineva”, dar atunci ne-am surpins cu noi insine…asa cum ne surprindeam cu replici, de fiecare data cand nu aveam chef sa respectam scenariul…

as vrea sa nu imi respect scenariul de acum, as vrea sa trisez!

si am incercat sa fac o scena din covorul meu, dar imi lipseste pelerina neagra a culiselor, imi lipseste stranutul lor si replica ta, la care trebuia sa gasesc un raspuns…

degetele nasc replici pe tastatură, gândul tău le încarcă cu sentiment, ochii încearcă să ghicească nuanţa de albastru (niciodată nu m-am gândit că voi vedea o floarea soarelui pierdută în mare), încerc să dau pagina, să îţi anticipez replica…asta făceam în noiembrie 

apoi, într-o zi de decembrie, m-ai aşteptat la gară cu un bulgăre de zăpadă, mi-ai dat o lăcrimioară din hârtie şi ai răspuns “2″ la recepţie!

acum,  te surprind dimineaţa, cu gustul de cafea de pe buze iar seara, adormind mereu pe pieptul tău…

I just loved this post by Steve Roesler from his All Things Workplace Blog.  It really made me take pause and think.  How often do you think about the person who silently is behind you, making sure you are able to move forward, seamlessly? I know we have all heard the saying “behind every good man, there’s a good woman” (and definitely vice versa) but do we really think about that saying and think about that? Do you think about the contributions another has made for you?  I often think about that sort of thing, but it is more from the perspective of the tangible- that person that I knowingly am working with or who has done something I am aware. But I don’t think about those persons I am unaware, making things work behind the scenes.  And for this, I want to share Steve’s post. All credit to him for the below, including the picture.

Charles Plumb was a Navy pilot. On his seventy-fifth combat mission, he was shot down and parachuted into enemy territory. Plum was captured and spent six years in prison. He survived and now lectures on the lessons he learned from his experiences.

One day Plumb and his wife were in a restaurant and approached by a man who asked, “Are you Plumb the navy pilot?”

“Yes, how did you know?” asked Plumb.

“I packed your parachute,” the man replied.

Plumb was amazed – and grateful: “If the chute you packed hadn’t worked I wouldn’t be here today…”

Plumb refers to this in his lectures: he realized that the anonymous sailors who packed the parachutes held the pilots’ lives in their hands, and yet the pilots never gave these sailors a second thought; never even said ‘hello’, let alone said ‘thanks’.

Now Plumb asks his audiences, “Who packs your parachutes?….. Who helps you through your life?…. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually? . . .

Who packs your parachute?  At work and at home, thank them today.

Probabil că atunci când eu priveam, tu doar trăgeai cu ochiul

Probabil că atunci când tu râdeai, eu doar zâmbeam

Probabil că ceea ce tu doar atingeai, eu strângeam în palmă

Probabil că atunci cand eu eram, tu erai…

Probabil că atunci când ne pierdeam, tu râdeai, eu zâmbeam, tu îmi atingeai obrazul iar eu îţi strângeam umărul în palmă…

Coldplay!

I’ve been listening to them for about 4 years now and i can’t stop listening to them, Man i even listen to them while sleeping hahaha.

Although i just have to say their last CD’s Viva La Vida And Death To All His Friends/Prospekt’s March.

They just don’t have the feel like Parachutes had, Parachutes just went straight to the heart and had a raw feeling and then some songs of A Rush Of Blood To The Head Or X&Y had mostly great songs too.

All i want to say is, Dear Coldplay give us that feeling you gave us with Parachutes and i would lick Moses toes!

VIVA LA COLDPLAY

Here is a song i’m  going to be playing myself wich i am going to perform at school…enjoy!

Coldplay – Trouble

Other songs that are great:

Warning sign

A Message

Amsterdam

Shiver

Yellow

Don’t panic

Talk

We Never Change and Strawberry swing.

Download the complete discography of Coldplay

To download Clic on the Link

Coldplay -Parachutes
Coldplay – A rush of blood to the head
coldplay – X&Y
coldplay – Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Coldplay – Singles

http://www.taringa.net/posts/musica/3411608/Coldplay:-Complete-Discography-FreeDownload.html

Another Discography:

http://www.taringa.net/posts/musica/3430079/Oasis:-The-complete-Discography–freedownload.html

http://www.taringa.net/posts/musica/3411564/The-Beatles:-Complete-Discography-FreeDownload.html

http://www.taringa.net/posts/musica/3438730/Keane-Dicography-+-Sleeve-cd-and-wallpapers.html

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Upload and Get money

Otro de mis proyectos frustrados del año, ¡vaya tela de 2009!, era ir al concierto de Coldplay en Barcelona (04/09/09). Evidentemente, como no era menos de esperar, siguiendo la tónica, se ha quedado a la altura de msantaella in Dublin with U2, pero al menos esta vez sin haber comprado las entradas.

Total que esto que podía haberme pasado medio desapercibido, me lo trae a la memoria N.M., que SÍ iba al concierto. Peor aún cuando Ro, again, from London to give me envy, me envía un e-mail asegurando que ella iba a ver a mi amigo Chris Martin y cia porque le habían regalado las entradas. O sea, la misma tía que me restriega que vio el show de U2 en la azotea del edificio de la BBC, ahora me pasa por todo el morro la nueva hazaña. ¿No te da a rush of blood to the head? ¿No tienes piedad de tu pobre ex compañero de trabajo, littlero?

Pero una cosa os voy a decir a las dos: ¡¡Dos escopetas tengo!! ¡Ah, que no, que ése era el tío de Callejeros! Quería comentar que vosotras estaréis en tercera fila del concierto de Coldplay, pero yo estaba en primera fila del puesto de choripan en el Embrujo de Luna Mora de Carratraca, pasando frío, esperando una hora, aguantando la agonía de las comandas, soportando las idas y venidas de la luz, visualizando el caos argentino del puesto de comida “rápida”, y “estafando” tres choripanes de “regalo” por la espera debida. Los hubiera devuelto; pero la espera, el no darnos pan, la cultura malaguita cachuliana y el excesivo celo establecido en el precio nos impidieron ejercer tal acción de honradez para una cantidad tan nimia. El Tribunal Constitucional ya estableció la existencia de la “discriminación positiva”, que a fin de cuentas es lo que estábamos tratando de aplicar: dar un trato en teoría injusto para restablecer la justicia en una situación que tiene unos condicionantes que favorecen la desigualdad.

Y allí estábamos, Lost! in Carratraca, mejor que Scarlett Johansson, encendiendo velas con forma de luna, de estrellas o inclasificables; visitando el palacio de Trinidad Grund (sí, el tío que tiene una calle en el Centro de Málaga); mirando desde fuera la plaza de toros más asimétrica que te puedas imaginar, que parecía más los restos de un teatro romano que un cosío… Pero eso sí, en todo momento,  sonando Parachutes,  Clocks, The Scientist, Viva la Vida y demás, porque hasta en Carratraca se oía el eco de Chris Martin y compañía…

Goal – To make a parachute.

Materials – scissors, plastic squares, tape, strings or threads, a small light toy, timer.

Steps -

1. Get a plastic bag or a paper that is square.

2. Stick 4 strings on all the corners with tape.

3. Then tie one light toy on.

4. Throw it some where that is high and watch what happens.

By AA

For anyone who’s looking for something new to listen to, check out:

Peasant. The music of Damien DeRose; pleasant and chill. Recommended especially if you’re into Damien Rice, Bon Iver, Kevin Devine, or anything along those lines, but no matter what you listen to, you should be able to enjoy his latest album, On the Ground. One of my favorites at the moment.

Jónsi & Alex. Made up of Jón Þór Birgisson, the lead singer of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós, and his boyfriend Alex Somers, the founder of the band Parachutes; a musically flawless partnership. While the music they create is most similar to that of Sigur Rós, it’s much more experimental and instrumental. Their new album, Riceboy Sleeps, is the most beautiful release I’ve heard all year, and should be heard and appreciated by all.

Mew. Their new (long titled) album, No More Stories Are Told Today I’m Sorry They Washed Away, No More Stories the World is Grey I’m Tired Let’s Wash Away, came out three days ago and is yet another impressive 2009 release that deserves attention. The best word to describe it would have to be dreamy.