50. Super Tarantas- Gogol Bordello
WonderlustKing

49. Return to cookie mountain- TV on the Radio
WolfLikeMe

48. Pixel Revolt- John Vanderslice
TranceManual

47. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
Nantes

46. Emotionalism- Avett Brothers

45. Sung Tongs- Animal Collective
LeafHouse

44. Vespertine- Bjork

43. Andrew Bird and the mysterious production of eggs- Andrew Bird
TablesAndChairs

42. Quiet is the new loud- Kings of Convenience
IDon’tKnowWhatICanSaveYouFrom

41. Michigan- Sufjan Stevens

40. ( )- Sigur Ros

39. Yellow House- Grizzly Bear
Easier

38. Hazards of love- Decemberists
HazardsOfLove2

37.Extraordinary Machine- Fiona Apple
NotAboutLove

36 Broken Social Scene- Broken Social Scene
7/4Shoreline

35. Antics- Interpol
NextExit

34. Eraser- Thom yorke

33. Lifted orthe story is in the soil- Bright eyes
LoverIDon’tHaveToLove

32. Boxer- The National

31. Everything all the time- Band of Horses
TheFuneral

30. Visitor- Dodos
RedAndPurple

29. Illinois- Sufjan Stevens
Chicago

28.Apologies to the queen mary- Wolf Parade
YouAreARunner

27. Plans- Death Cab for Cutie

26. You forgot it in people- Broken Social Scene
AnthemForASeventeenYearOldGirl

25. Neon Bible- Arcade Fire
AntiChristTelevisionBlues

24. Sea Changes- Beck

23. Feels- Animal Collective
PurpleBottle

22. Mignonette- Avett Brothers

21. Is this it?- Strokes
Someday

20. 3 rounds and a sound- Blind Pilot
OneRedThread

19. Hissing fauna, are you the destroyer?- Of Montreal
HeimdalsgateLikeAPrometheanCurse

18. Fold your hands child, you walk like a peasant- Belle and Sebastian
There’sTooMuchLove

17. Alligator – The National
AllTheWine

16. Dear Science- TV on the Radio

15. Armchair Apocryphia- Andrew Bird

14. Chutes too narrow- The Shins
KissingTheLipless

13. Kid A- Radiohead
NationalAnthem

12. Sharpen your teeth- Ugly Casanova
ThingsIDon’tRemember

11. Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
WhiteWinterHymnal

10. Turn on the bright lights- Interpol
NYC

9. Hail to the thief- Radiohead

8. Give up – Postal Service
SuchGreatHeights

7. Takk- Sigur ros
Hoppipolla

6. Yoshimi battles the pink robots- Flaming Lips
FightTest

5. In rainbows- Radiohead
HouseOfCards

4. Moon in Antarctica- Modest mouse
3rdPlanet

3. Funeral- Arcade fire
RebellionLies

2. For emma, forever ago- Bon Iver
ForEmma

1. I’m wide awake, it’s morning- Bright Eyes
FirstDayOfMyLife

i need to write because i have no idea where i am.

there’s something i’m not dealing with that i’m unsuccessfully ignoring because it’s raging raging raging through me.

why do these lyrics say everything.

The tide is high
I’ve never been so low
You got room to grow
You can never look up
You can’t ever look down
You get kicked around

Drink a little bit
that’s a little bit
Take a chance
or lose it all
I have no remorse no regrets
when I’m hanging from the seventeenth floor
- Everything I Build by The Stills

and also:

There’s no chance survival,
And no hiding place.
You must be my rival,
I remember your face.
A sweeter denials become familliar to taste

There’s no chance survival
And no hiding place

You can live your whole life in a cave, man.
You can learn to love uncertainty.

I want to spent my whole life without secureness regard
For the sweet sweet eternity

You’ll be praised for all your weights tonight
You’ll be praised by many ages tonight

There’s no chance survival
And no sigh to take

A beamless primate with no heart to chase
Something become so common place

I know
There’s no chance survival to the flesh now we race

You can live your whole life in a cave, man.
You can learn to love uncertainty.

And you can expect more gainless violence that have blown so far
You cross the, ship the shore to me

We are the golden,
We are the strongs, that it is showing the random calls
Fear the ocean,
Fear the frost
Fear the motion that
We are the old ones,
We are the lost standing comes with the cost

Can’t do wrong

Well. you’re hiding your smile ally me and i make you save
There’s no chance survival but it’s now time to waste
- No Chance Survival by Julian Plenti

and one more.

This was an exciting week for my company Bon Education and our parner Curriki in the Middle East, as interest continues to grow in our efforts to create an Arabic version of Curriki–i.e. an open source platform that would house open source Arabic language curricula and learning objects created by teachers and education stakeholders in the region.

Today, a story was printed in the National (UAE) about our efforts titled, “Arabic move to put lesson plans within UAE teachers’ reach“. The following is a brief excerpt from the article written by Kathryn Lewis:

“One of the things we know that improves teachers is for them to build their own knowledge, to get engaged in what they’re teaching,” Dr Kurshan said.

Curriki, she said, encouraged teachers to get involved in the design and implementation of lesson plans, rather than simply presenting the content of a lesson without engaging the material.

“If you can engage teachers in building their own knowledge they are going to have a significant impact on students and their students will do better.”

“Teaching is one of the most isolated professions. They spend a lot of time in their classrooms behind a closed door and they don’t have an ability to ask other people if what they are doing is having an impact.”

To the sharing of knowledge and curricula across borders, languages and professions!

Anna

@bon_education

P.S. To learn more about Curriki’s curricula and teaching projects around the globe, watch this video. To tell a friend about the site and to give him/her access to the 32,000 free learning resources Curriki has to offer, click here.

This year has been a good one musically, so many good releases, one of which was the double album, Dark Was the Night, featuring the Dessner brothers from The National. While I was hoping for a new album from the band this year, their contribution to the project, So Far Around the Bend has certainly been on high rotation. And anyway, great things don’t need to be rushed…

So, with the final month of the year hurtling toward us, the last weekend of Spring opening it’s skies, don’t be careful anymore…  fall in love with Mr. November.

Mr. November

Used as the unofficial anthem for Obama’s election campaign, this song, from their 2005 album, Alligator opens me up like a tin of fish each time I hear it. The lush, chiming guitars, crisp snare sound and vocalist Matt Berninger’s deadpan, rising to a full-throated roar, careens on the edge of losing control. It has a wildness, a sense of abandonment. It is driving with the windows down, turn it up loud and sing till your throat hurts good.

I wish that I believed in fate
I wish I didn’t sleep so late
I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders

Check out this great live version…

Apartment Story

Wind the clock forward to 2007 and the band release Boxer, a brooding masterpiece. It is an album of dark, asymmetrical rhythms scoring Berninger’s collage of poetry, dialogue and imagistic brush strokes. Apartment Story has an agoraphobic feel, something the band do quite well, but ironically, it sends you out into the world, wanting to share it with everyone you meet.

Oh we’re so disarming darling, everything we did believe
is diving diving diving diving off the balcony
Tired and wired we ruin too easy
sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave

Available

And this, from their 2003 album, Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers. This is jagged, angular rock. A caustic tale, which ends with Berninger exploding into the question, ‘why did you dress me down and liquor me up?’ Where Mr. November careens on the edge of abandonment, Available plunges headlong into it. The climax steamrolls… but leaves you ready to do it all again.

Did you dress me down and liquor me up
To make me last for the minute
When the red comes over you
Like it does when you’re filled with love
Or whatever you call it

More from the band at their homepage: www.americanmary.com

Happy Thanksgiving!  I’m not really much of a football person, so after gorging ourselves, my mum, dad, wife and in-laws sit around listening to music and talking.  Whether or not you do the same thing on Thanksgiving, here are a few tunes good for a post-tryptophan soporific chat.

1.  Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack – “You’ve Got A Friend”

Poor Carole King.  She writes terrific tunes, and then, inevitably, someone else comes along and sings the definitive version of them. Knowing her luck, next year, Beyonce will record “Really Rosie” and blow us all away.

2.  The Rance Allen Group – “Ain’t No Need Of Crying”

Rance was one of a handful of gospel artists signed to Stax/Volt.  This isn’t really a gospel song, just a hopeful tune.

3.  Bill Withers ft. Grover Washington- “Just The Two Of Us”

I think it says something about a song if Will Smith can ooze all over it, and it can remain intact.  Well done, Bill.  Well done, Grover.

4.  Gladys Knight and the Pips – “Storms of Troubled Times”

Gladys Knight is sorely underrated, and this proves it.  Yes, you can sell a billion copies of something and still be sorely underrated.

5.  The Staple Singers – “Who”

Okay, now this is a gospel soul song.

6.  Stevie Wonder – “I Love Every Little Thing About You”

I defy you to listen to this song and remain unhappy about much of anything.

7.  Gil-Scott Heron and Brian Jackson – “Song For Bobby Smith”

I really like the dumb little story Gil tells at the beginning of this.

8.  Vince Guaraldi – “Thanksgiving Theme”

You should watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving today.  If you forget, watch it tomorrow.

9.  John Cale – “Hallelujah”

I’m not trying to be contrary, this just happens to be my favorite version of this song.

10.  Midlake – “Van Occupanther”

Keep your eyes peeled for a new Midlake record next year!  In the meantime, imagine you live in a cabin somewhere and you don’t have to see another local car commercial for the rest of your life while you soak this one in.

11.  The National – “Gospel”

Hard to pick from The National’s most recent album.  I had to give it a rest so I could let other albums catch up with the play count on my iTunes.

12.  John Hiatt – “Have A Little Faith In Me”

Bill Withers survived Will Smith, but John Hiatt survived Mandy Moore AND Jewel covering this wonderful song.

Short and sweet this week!  Verbosity and volume return next week.  In the meantime, have a great holiday, whether you spend it with family or friends, or just alone at the Egg Rolls House in Inver Grove Heights.

To subscribe on iTunes, just click on RSS at the bottom of the page, and check out the link on the right side of the page.

Ich steh auf diese Stimme.

Wenn hier jemand einen Mann mit einer solchen Stimme kennt, her damit.

there’s no savin’ anything
i’ll swallow the shine of the sun
there’s no savin’ anything
i’ll swallow the sun

but i won’t a runaway
’cause i won’t run
no, i won’t be a runaway
what makes you think i enjoy being led to the flood?
we’ve got another thing comin’ undone
and it’s takin’ us over

we don’t bleed when we don’t fight
go ahead go ahead throw your arms in the air tonight
we don’t bleed when we don’t fight
go ahead go ahead throw our shirts in the fire tonight

what makes you think i enjoy being led to the flood?
we’ve got another thing comin’ undone

but i won’t be no runaway
’cause i won’t run
no, i won’t be a runaway
’cause i won’t run
but i won’t be no runaway
what makes you think i enjoy being led to the flood?
we’ve got another thing comin’ undone
and it’s takin’ forever

we don’t bleed when we don’t fight
go ahead go ahead throw your arms in the air tonight
we don’t bleed when we don’t fight
go ahead go ahead throw our shirts in the fire tonight

what makes you think i enjoy being led to the flood?
we got another thing comin’ undone
we got another thing comin’ undone
and it’s taking forever

i go breaking everything
with you swallowing the shine of the sun
i’ll go breaking everything
with you swallowing the sun

but i won’t be no runaway
cause i won’t run
no, i won’t be no runaway
cause i won’t run
no, i won’t be no runaway
what makes you think i enjoy being led to the flood?
we got another thing comin’ undone
and it’s taking us over

we don’t bleed when we don’t fight
go ahead go ahead throw your arms in the air tonight
we don’t blee
go ahead go ahead throw our shirts in the fire tonight

what makes you think i enjoy being led to the flood?
we got another thing coming undone
we got another thing coming undone
and it’s taking us over
and it’s taking forever

Band: The National.

Listas, listas, listas…

Oh, las listas, que absurdas son pero como mola hacerlas. Elegimos los 50 discos de la década, los 25 míos y los 25 de eldrsaleabailar (próximo miércoles). Ambos coincidimos en algunas referencias, pero sobre la mayoría estamos en radical desacuerdo, he aquí mis 25, con comentarios hirientes propios de eldrsaleabailar.

1. The Strokes – Is This It

Indiegnado: Indudablemente, el disco de la década. Once autenticos himnos que han inspirado tanto a músicos como a simples mortales durante los 9 años que esta maravilla lleva con nosotros.

Eldrsaleabailar: Indudablemente, unos pijos medianías de NY que tuvieron la suerte de vivir (artisticamente) en la década más medianía de la historia.

2. Arcade Fire – Funeral

Indiegnado: Con su instrumentación barroca, sus melodías completamente particulares y diferentes, hizo que, por primera vez, la palabra épica adquiriera un nuevo significado.

Eldrsaleabailar: Uno de los pocos descubrimientos de Pitchfork que me hicieron volver a creer en la música después de los 90

http://musicwebzine.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/morrissey-you-are-the-quarry/

3. Morrissey – You Are The Quarry

Indiegnado: Con este disco, Morrissey volvia tras siete años de silencio. Y lo hizo con el mejor disco que ha firmado en solitario.

Eldrsaleabailar: Grandísimo, guapísimo y con la mejor canción de la década. Un recuerdo para la organización del festival en el castillo de Sohail, espero que no hayan levantado cabeza desde aquel despropósito.

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To Tell

Indiegnado: “Fever To Tell” es un disco de rock hecho en los 00, y cuando digo hecho en los 00 me refiero a que suena de esta decada, no es un revival, ni intenta copiar a nada anterior. Solo ellos consiguieron hacer un disco de rock, aportando algo más en estos ultimos 10 años.

Eldrsaleabailar: Vamos de sobrada en sobrada. Perdonadle, es joven.

5. The GO! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike.

Indiegnado: Ian Parton es el ideologo de esta autentica joya. Creando a partir del mash up sobre discos de los 70 y aportando voces y matices, Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento y que en cada corte crea melodias perfectas. Tremendamente fresco.

Eldrsaleabailar: Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento, Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento, Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento, Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento” ¿QUÉ NO QUÉ?

6.Los Planetas – La Leyenda Del Espacio

Indiegnado: Siempre en progresión, siempre dando un paso más en su música, Los Planetas consiguen en “La Leyenda del Espacio” fusionar el flamenco con el rock, algo que nos intentaron colocar erroneamente con “Omega“. Ellos lo consiguen firmando algunas de las mejores canciones de todo su repertorio, desde “Ya no me asomo a la reja” hasta “Si me diste la espalda“.

Eldrsaleabailar:Lo único erróneo es tu animadversión a “Omega“, pieza clave de la historia musical patria.

7. Death Cab For Cutie – Transanlanticism

Indiegnado: Death Cab For Cutie son uno de los grupos que más vende en america, juegan en la liga numero uno del mainstream americano, algo que empezaron a conseguir tras su “Transantlanticism“, un disco de pop preciosista simplemente perfecto.

Eldrsaleabailar: Me aburren un poco. Para mainstream americano me quedo con Britney Spears.

8.Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Indiegnado: Animal Collective hacen la música que se deberia hacer en el siglo XXI, música actual que aporta algo nuevo y se olvida de esa estupidez estendida del “todo esta inventado” ellos demuestran que no, que aun se puede hacer algo nuevo que no suene mal, algo nuevo, que de hecho suena como nada más suena actualmente.

Eldrsaleabailar: Estoy de acuerdo, lo que no sé es si gracias a dios, nada más suena a ellos.

9. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare

Indiegnado: El debut de Arctic Monkeys fue un golpe de aire fresco en el panorama musical, y supuso un disco que llevo la musica a aquellos oidos que la relacionaban con horteradas varias sin sentido. Pero lo mejor llego con su segundo disco, un disco que no se centraba en el hit instantaneo, sino que buscaba nuevos matices y nuevos sonidos.

Eldrsaleabailar: Los caminos del myspace son inescrutables.

10.La Casa Azul – La Revolución Sexual

Indiegnado: “La Revolucion Sexual” es un disco perfecto, hit tras hit y estribillo coreable tras estribillo coreable, los intentos anteriores habian  dejado grandes canciones, pero no es hasta esta revolucion sexual cuando todo suena engranado y menos organico, pero a la vez, más profesional, un sonido que le va mucho mejor a La Casa Azul.

Eldrsaleabailar: Guille Milkyway es lo más importante que nos ha pasado, si señor.

11. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

Indiegnado: Soplo de aire fresco. Los lideres del afroindie, con un debut mas que interesante lleno de cambios pero sonando siempre a ellos mismos. Increible.

Eldrsaleabailar:Increible, de inicio a fin, yo también caigo rendido y espero que el nuevo trabajo me siga hechizando

12. Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand

Indiegnado: Grandes. Su primer disco es una coleccion de hit tras hit, y con canciones tan míticas ya como “Take Me Out” o “Michael“.

Eldrsaleabailar: Grandes no, gigantes.

13. TV On The Radio – Dear Science

Indiegnado: “Dear Science” es el disco que mejor suena de Tv On The Radio, aunque muchos prefieran el anterior, en “Dear Science” alcanza una variedad de estilos, sonidos y matices que pocos han conseguido en estos 10 años.

Eldrsaleabailar: No me acaban de llegar, pero no se puede negar que no sean buenos

14. The XX – XX

Indiegnado: El debut de 2010. Ellos han demostrado que se puede tener 20 años, un par de guitarras y una caja de ritmos para crear un disco redondo y con un sonido exquisito, 11 canciones llenas de magia.

Eldrsaleabailar: Buff, empezó sin gustarme y ahora me empieza a encandilar, en mi lista no llegarían a tiempo.

15. Capitán Melao – Lágrima

Indiegnado: Si tengo que elegir un descubrimiento personal del underground mas underground me quedo con Capitán Melao. Un disco injustamente olvidado hasta por su creador, que desde entonces no ha vuelto a dar señales de vida al proyecto y con canciones tremendamente buenas.

Eldrsaleabailar: Si es tu disco fetiche nada tengo que objetar, para que no me taches de inmaduro

16. Astrud – Tú No Existes

Indiegnado: “Tú No Existes” es el disco mas pop de Astrud, esa música tremendamente recordable llena de arreglos electronicos y acompañadas de esas letras tan divertidas. Ni que decir que “Noam Chomsky” o “El Vertedero De Sao Paulo” son de lo mejor que astrud han firmado.

Eldrsaleabailar: ¡Increíble!, va el tío y escoge el menor de todos los discos de Astrud de la década, en fin…

17. Amy Winehouse – Back To Black

Indiegnado: La drogada mas mal vista del mundillo rosa, ¡canta! y ademas lo hace de una forma absolutamente espectacular. “Back To Black” es un disco imprescindible dentro del revival soul que se creo, en parte, gracias a ella.

Eldrsaleabailar: Me aburre

18. Triángulo De Amor Bizarro – Triángulo De Amor Bizarro

Indiegnado: El noise patrio, las ganas y la furia de los gallegos, todo eso esta contenido en el debut de TAB, un debut que pronto tendra su esperadisima continuacion. y dentro de ese debut una de las mejores canciones de la decada a nivel nacional, “El Fantasma De La Transición“.

Eldrsaleabailar: ¿Son tan buenos como para estar entre los 25 mejores?

Indiegnado: Rotundo sí.

19. Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Indiegnado: Coldplay son los nuevos U2, los herederos de los estadios, lo llenan todo, incluso un año antes, de locura. Pero esa euforia que se ha desatado en los ultimos años poco tiene que ver con el pop pianistico de los inicios, lo verdaderamente bueno de Coldplay

Eldrsaleabailar: ¡Viva La Vida! , ¡Afroditaaaaa! (Prefiero a dana internacional)

20. Ellos – Lo Tuyo No Tiene Nombre

Indiegnado: El primer disco de Ellos es el mas fresco, y punto. LLeno de himnos bailables y un aire muy divertido

Eldrsaleabailar: Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, ¡por fin algo bueno!

21. Band Of Horses – Cease To Begin

Indiegnado: El primer disco fue un disco aclamado en todos los medios, pero no fue hasta el segundo “Cease To Begin” cuando Band Of Horses alcanzaron su exquisitez musical, canciones pop rock con un aire americano realmente exquisito.

Eldrsaleabailar: Apenas les conozco, será por algo.

22. El Guincho – Alegranza

Indiegnado: Si tuvieramos que el artista nacional con mas proyeccion y que mas fronteras ha conseguido romper, ese es sin duda, El Guincho, por primera vez, un artista nacional no es tratado como secundario, sino que se coloca en las privilegiadas primeras posiciones, y ademas con un discazo absoluto como es “Alegranza“.

Eldrsaleabailar: Absolutamente de acuerdo

23. The National – Boxer

Indiegnado: El post punk ha sido el estandarte mas copiado e irritante de la decada, que si interpoles, editores, y catpeoples insulsos todos, pues bien, The National escapan de esas connotaciones y colocan su “Boxer” como un disco lleno de matices y buenas canciones.

Eldrsaleabailar: Disco precioso, de verdad, para escuchar con alguno de M. Ward.

24. Ladytron – Velocifero

Indiegnado: Viva el electropop de los 00´s y claro, vivan Ladytron. Cuatro discazos en siete años, el mejor, el último, un disco impecable.

Eldrsaleabailar: A mi no me ponen.

25. Sigur Rós – Takk…

Indiegnado: ¿y que seria de la decada sin la bizarrez extrema de Sigur Rós? Pues nada, lo suyo si que es autentica epica, sin el significado negativo.

Eldrsaleabailar: ¿sin?

#2.  The National: Boxer (2007)- Hailing from Brooklyn, but originally from Cincinnati, The National developed a strong following over several years with a welcome brand of baroque-styled pop characterized by lead singer Matt Berninger’s deep Leonard Cohen-like vocals.  2005’s Alligator found the band approaching a zenith with their strongest offering yet.  Somehow they managed to up the ante with Boxer. An enduring collection of songs featuring Berninger front and center along with twins Aaron and Bryce Dessner, and brothers Scott and Bryan Devendorf.  The result is one the best collections of music released in the last 15-20 years.  In every aspect, the album is near perfection.  Songwriting? Check.  Production?  Check.  Musicianship? Check.  Vocals? Check.  Drummer Bryan Devendorf’s muscular playing sets the tone alongside skilled guitar parts, horns, strings, and piano among others.  Berninger explores a variety of different themes such as fake people ["Mistaken for Strangers"], two lovers fighting ["Start a War"], and the sheer jubilation of two people hiding out together away from the rest of the world ["Apartment Story"].  I’m not prepared to say that Boxer is the most important album to come out in the last ten years though and that is why it’s not #1.  Still……its by far my favorite.

Faves: Mistaken for Strangers, Slow Show, Apartment Story, Start a War, Guest Room

Listening to the ‘The Boxer’ by The National. What a spectacular album..I find myself listening in awe to the instrumentation, subtle use of space/nothing, drums.. this and music like this makes me want to rip out my guitar (yet to be re-purchased ater being stolen) and nail the songs…I will. Eventually. Thankyou The National. You are an amazing band. Inspiring. ‘Fake Empire’. Enough said.

The best album cover ever?

Last night on VH1 Europe they did a countdown of the top 25 albums of all time.  Prince made no. 3, and, inevitably, I guess, Thriller made no. 1.  But REM’s automatic for the people made no. 2.  What I found very weird about this, is that people since about the mid 90s have been intentionally forgetting that, between the period 1977-1995, ‘mainstream’ rock, or ‘establishment’ rock, was cosidered by the listening public to be entirely different from ‘alternative’ rock.  At least, that was the case in the US.  In britain, they always seemed to blur the line more, and ‘alternative’ acts often scored top 10 hits, which in the US happened much more infrequently.  But there was still a clear idea that alternative was alternative, and mainstream was mainstream.  And today, people realize this when shopping for music on Amazon:  i.e., “the killers” and DCFC are known to be ‘alternative,’ with ‘emo’ in the latter’s case being a subgenre of alternative:  and everyone has always known that Prince belongs in an entirely different category (of its own–file under ‘weird.’) 

So why are people conflating alternative and ‘pop’ music, to the point where I often hear people lump together alternative with ‘pop,’ so as to distinguish it from ‘R&B’ and ’Dance?’  To do so, I argue, is to entirely miss the point of the ‘altnertive’ movement.  In its heyday, every single person who listened to alternative was aware that it was ‘counter-cultural.’  In essence, alternative contiued the 1960s and 70s trend, which was anti-establishment, and went along with, in some form or another, the popular marxism of the day, which was highly suspicious of corporations, and thus, the record industry.  This of course, presupposes that its listeners have the mental apparatus to appreciate social complexity–to understand society as a system, and/or who are concerned to be articulate about their interation with the world.  Pop music proper, is therefore ‘for the masses,’, i.e., for the majority of people, who, unfortunately, do not have either the will or the IQ power to grapple with complex responses to their environment.  That’s why pop music, e.g. Elvis and Michael Jackson, is generally lyrically incredibly banal.  Both the 60s protest stuff, and, punk, and alternative, and now, things like emo, are thus distinguished by their more sophisticated lyrics.  So, what we are talking about here, then, is music for those who are fortunate enough to have the apparatus and desire to engage with lyrics.  Unfortunately, after 1995, lyrics went out of style (see below) and the entire culture’s level of articulateness, I would argue, has suffered since then.   

By the time that alternative came of age, however, I would argue that it had become much more personal.  While the 60s and 70s Woodstock stuff was decidedly public music – to be performed live, e.g., the doors–and often had impersonal lyrics (e.g. Bob Marley– cryin’ lion zion…. what the hey is that all about?), by the 80s, the goth movement brought music into the bedroom, i.e., into the personal minds of the listener.  Morrissey of course puts it best:  ’When I lay in awe on my bedroom floor,” etc. 

Many people put punk together with alternative, but I see a divergence from the beginning.  Groups like Joy Division and the Cure and Souxsie were always much more cerebral, sensitive, and appealed more to the introspective person, rather than punk, which was often so absurd as to be a simple testosterone fest, despite it’s often radical-marxist lyrics.  In short, I think that punk sucks, becasue though it was perhaps good that someone was doing it, i.e., being socially aware in their music, I believe that their methods, which were essentially violent and anarchist, are inherently self-defeating.  Thus I have never been drawn to it. 

Alternative, on the other hand, foregrounded the individal emotional and (crucially) intellectual response to the world, and thus, can be seen as a re-visioning of the eighteenth-century Cult of Sensibility, which was spearheaded by Goethe, and was then brought to fruition by authors such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Jane Austen, and Keats, who, for the first time in history, asserted that the experience of the individual (particularly of the sensitive individual) truly mattered.  The artist figure, the thinker, the solitary philosopher, was worth listening to, they argued, and this could be anyone–not simply the great.  This encouraged reading and thinking and sensitive people everywhere to stop being deferent to their social superiors, and to really take their own inner dialogue seriously.  This is arguably a very crucial step on the way towards mass democracy. 

And this is why I’m interested in alternative music, from the point of view of this site.  I belive that the 1970s and 80s saw a massive increase in the sensibilities of young thinking people–they grew up in households with more money, for one, and they had more opportunities to travel and to interact with other cultures than ever before.  And they had leisure, and many of them, in Britain and the US, studied the arts, even just in high school, this was done seriously, with an emphasis on text, on poetry and literature, and this encouraged many people once again to take this inner dialogue seriously.  Arguably, the 80s bedroom revolution was quite similar to the romantic revolution which emerged after the french revolution:  a public revolution went bust, and so artist figures, who had been so engaged and so inspired by the public’s prospects, now retreated into their own minds, and continued to hold the ideals of the revolution there, in their own private spheres, until such a time as they might once again find public times propitious for their goals of reform, and remaking. 

This is precisely what the 80s bedroom revolutionaries did, and more.  They saw that the 60s and 70s had failed in many ways to produce anything lasting and concrete, besides a welcome liberalization of society–which should not be underestimated.  But they saw instinctually (I did as a high schooler, and I know my alternative friends did), that the political aims of the hippie revolution were largely unfulfilled, swallowed up by the wave of conservativism brought about by reagan (and thatcher).  And so, we moved inward.  We still had ideals, we still cherished the idea of reform–very much so.  But we also began to realize, through introspecton, that our own selves really truly mattered:  our own emotions, thoughts, etc.  But what made the alternative age different from today, ‘the post alternative age,’ is that today’s emo people, I think, have grown up in an entirely self-serving society, which is almost devoid of the ideal of social reform.  In the 80s, there was still some of that public idealism left.  And it made us idealistic, in the best possible way.  We believed that, by reforming ourselves, we could reform the world, make it better.  (see this website–it’s basically proof that i’m still working in that mode). 

I believe that, after about 1995, these ideals basically died, in a big way, in popular culture, and what we’ve been left with is a culture devoid of public ideals.  It’s therefore all been about the desires of the individual, and thus, is essentially unsophisticated:  it’s all egotism.  Emo people are the intelligent version of the ‘gimme’ school.  But their lyrics are still essentially whining–with no underlying vision.  If you have no social dimension to what you do and think, it’s very difficult for this to be progressive–it is inherently centrifugal, I think.  And then, the less articulate version of this has been the triumph of hip hop, which, for reasons we’ll have to leave for elsewhere, has been almost entirely egotistical and self serving, especially after the few attempts in the 80s to make it political (in which case it was tied to the alternative music ethic– NWA and Public Enemy, e.g., did have much that was political in them–but after about ‘93, any impetus to put the political into music fell away, and hip hop returned to simple braggadocio, and glorification of violence, and domination of women–which, when one loses idealism, is all that’s left).

So, to put a time scale on it: i’d say

1950s:  rock invented, in US and britain.

1960s-early 70s:  protest rock– the first ‘alternative rock.’

1977-present.  Punk.  Angry marxist progressiveness.  Ultimately self-defeating.

1977-1995.  Golden Age of Alternative.  Lyrics were foregrounded, personal experience was foregrounded, but enough idealism remained from the 70s age of popular Marxism, that people genuinely wanted to make the world a better place.

1992- Grunge makes its debut.  Mixes alternative with testosterone rock.  Beginning of the end of alternative music.  After this, sensitive artists begin to avoid lyrics.

mid-1990s.  Age of ‘acid jazz’ ‘house’ – etc.  Club music draws the best and the brighest.  But it is a-lyrical, and so, essentially, the age of social engagement fizzles, quite rapidly.  And with it, idealism.  Idealistic music is no longer fashionable.  The only alternative bands who are still producing major albums are some of what we used to call B-quality bands:  i.e., Radiohead and Bjork.  They sucked compared with the giants of the alternative era, but their manneristic squeaking and shapeless music went well with the new anti-lyrical fashion, and so they became huge.

2000-present.  With internet, a great variety of musical styles, but, it’s still true that, when the lyric comes back into fashion, it is now almost entirely personal.  Political, social, progressive agendas are entirely out, and so the music never rises above the purely juvenile.  Whereas Morrissey and Ian Curtis’ poetry has the power of Wordsworth to engage us, and incite us, to think idealistically, the (admittedly good) lyrics of Death Cab for Cutie, or worse, the banal lyrics of the White Stripes, and the Yeah yeah yeahs, never rise above the purely personal of the high school student’s poetry:

‘yesterday i saw a couple/kissing by the train platform/they were so beautiful/i wondered where they were going.’

Etc.  This is drivel–because it’s purely of personal interest.  It has no idealism, thus, no universalism, and that is the essence of good poetry.

So, my argument, then, is that grunge killed alternative, and after that, we hear people talking of ‘rock being in the shitter’ (trent reznor, 1999–unfortunately his album of that year did nothing to rescue it–the inspiration had died–the age of idealism was largely over).  And until the culture once again recovers idealism, it will continue to stay in the shitter.  Read around on this site, and you’ll see how idealism and moving, real, gripping, engaging art have always been entirely intertwined with one another. 

Thus, all of the following albums, from 1977 to about the grunge era (let’s say 1995–though i do include some grunge), are filled with idealism, even if their lyrics do not explicitly sound that way at all.  And a few albums that come after this time have managed to keep some of that idealism, and so they are included here as well.  Even the industrial music which was a subgenre of alternative in the latter part of this period was not anything like ‘white zombie’ or ’tool’ which came later, and which are genuinely antisocial, antihumanist, and violent–and thus antidemocratic.  I would argue, then, that Skinny Puppy is highly idealistic and progressive, while Maynard what’s-his-name’s “Tool”, which dominated the 90s niche formerly held by bands like Skinny Puppy, replaced it with an entirely anti-idealistic, self-destructive, even psychotic atmosphere, which I argue, still holds the dominant position in our society today (see my post on violence condoning torture for more on this).   Ok, then without further ado (and knowing that we’ll have to discuss these choices at a future time):  here would be my top 25 alternative/industrial albums of all time (and it’s basically ridiculous to put them in order, I think):

Dead Can Dance-  Serpent’s Egg, or Spiritchaser; 10,000 Maniacs – Our Time in Eden; The Cure- The Top; Joy Division- Substance; New Order – Substance; Belle & Sebastian – Tigermilk; Depeche Mode – Violator; Pixies – Doolittle; Loreena McKennitt – The Visit; Smashing Pumpkins – Gish; Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes; The Smiths- Louder than Bombs; Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs; The National – The National; REM – Document or Automatic for the People; Skinny Puppy – Mind:  The Perpetual Intercourse; Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas; Sundays – Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic; Ministry - Live:  In case you didn’t feel like showing up;  Moby – Play; St. Germain-St. Germain (a-lyrical, but idealistic); Coldplay – Rush of Blood to the Head; Death Cab for Cutie – Plans; Enya – Watermark; Sarah McLachlan – Fumbling Towards Ecstasy; Nine Inch Nails – Downward Spiral or Pretty Hate Machine.  Lisa Gerard – The Mirror Pool.

Ok, that’s 27.  But what most of these have in common, is that they are beautiful, sublime, epic, and/or highly idealistic.  They are not essentially violent (even Ministry-I’d argue), but essentially the opposite–egalitarian, democratic, progressive, empathetic.  They strive for the good, the beautiful, the just.  And so they receive the Platonist’s seal of approval.

The public broadcaster revamped the evening newscast — for at least a day or two.   But old habits die hard, and it’s easy to see the format sliding back to what it was before, when at least everyone got to work sitting down.   Of course, I can remember when radio announcers got to work on chairs, and then suddenly, U.S. stations decided the DJs could think better on their feet.

So we have a new set and some new music, but the French CBC still gets more financial numbers each night and fewer preemptions for special events.

And if I have to hear the phrase, “Canada’s most-watched political panel” one more time, I think I’m gonna retch.

When you’re young you have this image of your life,
That you’ll be scrupulous and one day even make a wife.
And you make boundaries you’d never dream to cross,
And if you happen to, you wake completely lost

–lyrics from “Special Two” by Missy Higgins

***

In 5 years I’ll be 29.

Right now 29 feels like this magical age–an age that conjures images of freshly cut tulips, brownstone apartments, a vague and not-too-stressful media job, and an adorable little dog named Nino scampering down the leafy path of a gorgeous Queen or King West park.  

Last night I started thinking about what I wanted from life.  As I tried to drift off to sleep, rather than playing my usual Alphabet Game that helps calm a busy mind (here’s how you play: pick a topic and then go through the alphabet, thinking of a word that starts with each letter. Don’t think too hard though, or you’ll only make your mind busier!), I began to play that game I never play called Five Years From Now … Game, causing me to wonder what it really is that I want, hope for, and dream about, and if these hopes are useful in helping me achieve things or if they’re airy wishes which disappear in the cold air like dandelion fluff.

Five, six, seven years ago, I dreamed some pretty big dreams.  Like most kids about to embark on that scary, exciting venture of post-secondary education and “officially” becoming an adult, still sheltered by the loving arms of my supportive parents, I believed in the possibility of my wildest dreams.  I was going to get my education.  Be a professor.  Visit orphanages in Romania and maybe come back with an orphan.  Start my own magazine for teen girls specializing in healthy self-esteem and body image.  Give talks about eating disorders and self respect.  Sing in a band.  Travel extensively and then write about my experiences for a popular magazine column.  Have a successful writing career including poetry, fiction, children’s books, magazine and newspaper columns, and movie screenplays.  Entertain an eclectic group of friends and handsome gentleman in my spacious attic apartment in an old, yet well-kept Victorian home somewhere close to downtown Toronto (I believe the area I was thinking of was the Annex, but I didn’t know it at the time).  Get married.  Have a couple kids.  Live the life.  Very specific, I know, but I’m a writer and think in detail.  Can you blame me?

What happened?  I’m 24 and I’m an intern, living in my sister’s apartment, not sure where I’ll be in a month or what my situation will look like.  Which is not to say that I’m unsatisfied with where life has taken me and ungrateful for everyone’s support, because as my boyfriend always says, “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade,” but I wonder where those dreams went.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to stop thinking about my future in such grandiose ways, shedding a sense of entitlement with the reality that putting too much stock in these fantasies can only result in disappointment and ungratefulness.  This is why I rarely play the Five Years From Now … Game.  

I’m in this awkward middle place between feeling insignificant, underqualified, talentless, and anxious about the future, and staying positive, continuing to dream dreams, believing in the impossible, and trusting my future with God.  Admittedly, some days are much better than others.  

I suppose a lot of my dreams have stayed along the same lines with some minor modifications.  Here’s a visual representation of my current dreams. 

Please tread softly.

Is it weird that the first thing I think about when I think of the future is puppies?  Or a hypoallergenic kitty so my family members can still come visit me?  That before relationships, career, living arrangements, I think of dogs?  That I can think of no bliss quite like sitting on a couch with a good book and a hot cup of tea or a novel being written on my laptop and a cute animal curled up at my side?  If you know how much of an animal lover I am, and how dogs make me go insane with their cuteness, then this should come as no surprise.

apartment story

I’ll leave the large house with the white picket fence to the dreams of others.  I’ve never wanted the magazine-perfect modern house with 5 rooms and 2.5 bathrooms.  Even many years ago, I wanted the apartment.  Ever since I read Margaret Atwood’s deliciously addictive The Edible Woman, I’ve wanted to live in the city, in an attic apartment on the top story of a Victorian house on a quiet, tree-lined street just a few minutes away from the heart of the city.  It’s always been the city, never the small town or the country.  The city is where it’s at, and where I want to be.  Toronto.  The Annex, Trinity Bellwoods, Leslieville, Bayview/Davisville, High Park, Roncesvalles.  They’ll all suffice.  Heck, I’d even take Hamilton if I really, really have to.  But no question, it’s got to be the city.  My dream apartment is spacious and sunny with eclectic, colourful furniture, an old-fashioned bathtub with the little brass feet, hardwood floors, bright colours, art on the walls, a tiny yet functional kitchen (I’m not much for cooking!), a bedroom with space enough for a queen-sized bed, plenty of room for all my books, sloping ceilings, ideally a cute little porch for reading and breakfasting.  And by myself.  I could definitely live well on my own for a couple years and long for this.

I would be lying to you–and myself–if I told you I didn’t want to get married someday.  Opinions on people who get married really young (ahem Christians, ahem small townies ahem), and the fact that in the city, people tend to put their careers first and as a result, end up getting married much later aside, I do want to get married at some point.  It’s something I’ve wanted since I was a little girl and hey, I’m a freaking romantic!  Even though I’m now one of the only people in my grade school graduating class that isn’t married and/or a parent, a point that makes me both embarrassed and causes me to roll my eyes (I went to a Dutch Christian Reformed School, so what do you expect?), I can’t ignore the little tune in my head that sometimes goes “dum dum dum DUM! dum DUM dum DUM!” 

I’ll he honest with you: it’s an area of my life which requires major trust in that thing called “God’s perfect timing.”

gotta raise 'em right!

Babies.  I’m divided on this issue.  I’ve always wanted to be a mom, but feel kind of guilty admitting that because by city standards, I’m still a baby myself.  Back home, where many friends/acquaintances are popping out the babies like nobody’s business, I’m practically an old maid.  It’s weird.  Some days I see bratty, wailing dictator/demons with perpetually snotty noses and ear-piercing shrieks on the streetcar and I’m like, Heeeeelllllllllll no!  I value my sleep, my sanity, and my independent life far too much to have it ruined by a spoiled little urchin.  Other days, I see these adorable little bundles of cooing, angelic, pint-sized goodness and my biological clock starts ticking loudly.

In any event, I’m probably becoming an aunt today and can barely contain my excitement!

the keys go tacka-tacka-tacka-tacka

 A full-time writing career.  This has not changed since I was 3.  As to what form this takes, I’m pretty flexible.  I’m working on it.  It’s a never ending process, and one that has not just magically materialized.  It actually takes work to find a career.  

Here are some more images which, in some way, relate to my dreams, however abstract:

“The National” (CBC) among others ran this story in April 2007 that I found noted on a lost page…

Kryptonite has been discovered on earth…

But first let’s go back to 2006…I think they said it was ‘06…in the movie ‘Superman Returns’ a military crate was labelled with an obscure list of elements that comprised the green crystalline meteorite contained within (a piece of super boy Cal El’s home planet Kryton which in theory travelled here with him…hense, ‘Krytonite’).

Back to today, 30 years later Canadian metallurgists Pamela Whitfield and Simon Le Page from the NRC are asked to complete the analysis of an unknown mineral (and if I told you where it was found I would have to kill you, you know the deal).  They complete the testing and confirm the results.  They send the list of composite elements to their client who in turn searches the internet for the ‘ingredients’ and comes up with the ‘recipe’ from the movie.  Coincidence?

While movie watchers may be dismayed by the colorless, seemingly harmless pale whitish stone, true comic book fans will acknowledge the ‘fact’ that kryptonite comes in many colors, including white.  There is some serious contention for conspiracy theorists here isn’t there?   How could such a story be so easily discarded and swept into public TV news obscurity?  Could it be? Real?  The whole Canadian connection a coincidence?  Did one of ‘his’ followers in 2006 leak the document that ended up in the movie? Did that stone fall from the heavens as the last remnant of the lost planet? Is Superman listening? Are you out there? 

A priest once told me that coincidences are ’someone’s’ way of staying anonymous.  What do you think?

Meanwhile back on earth…according to the CBC, 30-40 new minerals are still being discovered every year.

V M Husten: I am worried

Fall On Me: So am I.

VMH: …

Fall On Me: Baby, we’ll be fine.

VMH:

…

H: Need to go to the loo.

K: k.

…

K: You have a bladder like a 90 year old hamster.

H: Love is a hamster from heaven.

K: ?

H: When I was a teenager, I was into, and oh nvm, Bukowski had this title …

K: In the 60’s, when you were even then trying to be young.

H: Fuck you. Anyway. “Love Is a Dog From Hell”, it was called. Somehow, it stuck.

K: Sure.

Dream of …

Nowt more.

Nowt less.

Californication.

El mejor post-punk de la década

Con “Boxer” conocí a The National, un grupo neoyorkino con cuatro discos a la espalda, y un quinto que si no sale en estos últimos meses de 2009, nos llegará en 2010. “Boxer” es el mejor disco que han publicado hasta el momento, en el que las melodías consiguen transmitir más emociones, y el más perfecto instrumentalmente.

El disco se abre con la mejor canción “Fake Empire”, un piano, una base rítmica alejada de lo típico y suaves arreglos que van encajando con la canción y con la voz de Matt Berninger, un cantante con una voz impresionante, una voz grave llena de matices. Esta estructura es la que se repite durante las doce canciones del disco, cada canción con una melodía especial y diferente.

Destacan entre los temas “Mistaken For Strangers” la más potente quizás, o la base rítmica llamativa de “Brainy”, la suave sutileza de “Green Gloves” apoyada en una guitarra acústica y arrastrada por una melodía, simplemente, estupenda. O la emotiva y en progresión  “Slow Show”, al igual, la épica “Ada”.

El disco tiene un aire triste y melancólico, debido quizás a la grave voz de Matt Berninger y a determinados arreglos de viento, que suenan tristes y ceremoniosos. Un álbum que no entra a las primeras escuchas, necesita tiempo para fermentar, pero una vez en su punto, es de lo más disfrutable dentro de ese post-punk que tanto ha marcado en la década.

The time-honored tradition of the All Things Go Mixtape has returned, albeit in a new form. Instead of its themed predecessors, the new ATG mixtape will be released each month and will stay somewhat within a general motif or mood, but will not be constrained by a specific theme.

We kick the new monthly mixtape series off with the November mixtape, which features a cozy combo of memorable bands and warm, fuzzy newcomers. We start off with Little Red, a band I keep thinking I’ve posted about, but really never got around to it. “It’s Alright” sounds like it was birthed out of the early sixties pure, unadulterated soulful pop era. Next up is “Lust For Life” by new indie darlings, Girls, followed by The Dodos “Walking”, which is one of the band’s more perfectly crafted melodies. Justin Vernon delivers the fourth track, “Island, IS” with his new side project, Volcano Choir (which I discussed here). TV on the Radio’s “Crying” clocks in at number five, and was a song that I completely let slip through the cracks until very recently, and the same goes for all of Dear Science,. What a mistake that was.

The second half of the mixtape gets a bit more interesting, starting with Wave Machines’ bouncy “I Go I Go I Go” followed by quite possibly my favorite song on the mixtape, Faded Paper Figures’ “Logos”. I don’t know much about the group (other than that they sound quite a bit like Fujiya & Miyagi, Postal Service, and heaven), but I love what I’ve heard thus far. The National’s “Guest Room” is an absolute classic, and finds its way onto the mixtape as the eighth track. The last two tracks, “Half in Love with Elizabeth (Delorean Remix)” and “Two Weeks (Fred Falke Remix)” are a bit more synth-driven than the rest, but I wanted to share with you two of my favorite remixes in the whole wide internetz. As usual, you can grab the mix as a .zip or download each song individually.

.ZIP: All Things Go November Mixtape [mediafire]

MP3: 01: Little Red  – “It’s Alright”
MP3: 02: Girls – “Lust for Life”
MP3: 03: The Dodos – “Walking”
MP3: 04: Volcano Choir – “Island, IS”
MP3: 05: TV on the Radio – “Crying”
MP3: 06: Wave Machines – “I Go I Go I Go”
MP3: 07: Faded Paper Figures – “Logos”
MP3: 08: The National – “Guest Room”
MP3: 09: Mystery Jets – “Half in Love with Elizabeth (Delorean Remix)”
MP3: 10: Fred Falke – “Two Weeks (Fred Falke Remix)”

The All Things Go mixtape has returned.

Love,
Zack

Blargh.

—Jason

Spa secrets

The National Newspaper

When you Google “Dubai spa”, more than 4,130,000 results pop up. Yet despite their ubiquity here, quantity does not always guarantee quality. A shoddy back room behind the hair-washing station with Thai chimes, a Carrefour candle and a CD of whale noises playing in the background does not a spa make. So how do you know where to go?

Well, when you book, you should ask the following questions. Is there a hot spring or mineral bath? A sauna or a stint in a steam room is the perfect warm-up pre-pummelling. (Let’s not forget that the original spa in the eponymous Belgian town made its name because of its restorative mineral waters.) Is there a chill-out area where you can have a cup of something herbal and a snooze pre- or post treatment? Amrita spa at Raffles Hotel, Amara at the Park Hyatt and Emirates Palace, and the Talise Spa, Madinat Jumeirah, all have five-star facilities to help you relax, as well as pretty gardens.

Full article:  http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091114/MAGAZINE/711139986