today I walked around Manchester city centre on my own for an hour without anything of note occurring
September 2011
142 posts
Count Five Or Six
Cornelius
“Counting Five or Six” by Cornelius
isn’t it just?
#dreck
OK, that’s it. sorry for the spam.
seems most of the stuff i had was just one liners that didn’t make an awful amount of sense.
there were like five long essay things about how much i suck but nobody wants to read those (plus the previously mentioned thing about reincarnation)
i guess now all that stuff is posted/deleted and my drafts are empty i feel refreshed. i dunno, i’ll just fill my drafts up with more crap….
i never tumblr without at least one beer in me
cthulhu was right
i don’t do drugs anymore as the only person i knew who did them too stopped because he has a girlfriend and a job and a car now
I feel more like an awkward adolescent now than I ever did when I actually was an awkward adolescent
Play
i have “life” and “stuff” tagged
self-immolation for a better tomorrow
I will no longer start any messages I leave in people’s Asks with the words “Hey comely”
“The only girls you find attractive are ones who wear hats in summer”
—my friend Matt knows me too well
#dreck
going to clean out some crap that is festering away in my drafts
i don’t know how much it’ll be, but whatever i do post i’ll tag with dreck
okbyebye
Funeral Song
Sleater-Kinney
“Funeral Song” by Sleater-Kinney
People far more intelligent than I am would probably use this opportunity to use Sleater-Kinney as a springboard to talk about all sorts of things like gender and politics and “punk rock”. Those things are definitely things which need to discussed - and it isn’t like Sleater-Kinney didn’t address such themes in their music - but for me the most important thing was that Sleater-Kinney just wrote really fucking good rock songs, y’know? So when confronted with a really fucking good rock song like “Funeral Song” I’m just going to point out how much of a really fucking good rock song it is and leave it there.
Company In My Back
Wilco
“Company In My Back” by Wilco
Earlier on in the year I had a bit of a Wilco kick which massively changed my opinion of A Ghost Is Born. It’s an album a lot of listeners have tended to remember for its indulgences because, well, there is a lot of them: the guitar solo which takes of 3/4s of opener “At Least That’s What You Said”, the 13-minute drone coda on “Less Than You Think”, the entire ten minutes of “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”. But is also contains a lot of Wilco’s most direct and effecting song writing.
Jeff Tweedy is on some real Lennon/McCartney shit on some tracks, including “Company in My Back”, which has one of the tightest arrangements in Wilco’s entire catalogue and also one of their most direct melodies too. Wilco’s indulgences on A Ghost Is Born make it nowhere near as coherent a statement as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot but that shouldn’t mean listeners ignore strong track like this.
I think you are the only person I know that puts in the effort to use hyperlinks in passing in nearly all of their posts. And that is why I love you.
Oh, Adam, you’re so awesome. Like this monkey.
Motivation [Lil B]
Clams Casino
“Motivation” by Clams Casino
Kinda surprised that the MP3 for this track fits because it sounds so fucking massive.
Clams’ Instrumental Mixtape is one of my favourite things of 2011, so you’d think I’d be able to write a bit more about the best track on it. But, look, I couldn’t. SADFACE
When
Perfume Genius
“When” by Perfume Genius
Mike Hadreas’ music as Perfume Genius is characterised by simple arrangements, straight-forward melodies, low-fi(ish) production, steady vocals and intensely personal lyrics. It is far from an original approach and doubters would say that those characteristics serve as a handy checklist for artists wanting to create faux-intimate music. Hadreas’ skill is in infusing his material with personality, here through his delivery and turn of phrase - both musical and lyrically - and also the inclusion of twisted wordless vocals layered in at the end. The result is that a song like “When” feels strong and warm, rather than falling into the trap of sounding brittle or even affected.
- Like 75% of pictures of this guy are of him topless. Weird.
- I remember one time I came across the last.fm profile of a girl who had listened to every track off Learning like 300 times. This was only a few months after it had been released and though at first I thought it was a bit strange, I can understand why someone might become obsessed with a record like Learning. I like it, but not to that level.
- I doubt this post will get reblogged/liked by as many cute girls as the Field Mice song on Friday, but go on Tumblr, prove me wrong! (Yes I know that said cute girls weren’t reblogging/liking my post by the reblog of the song [minus text, obviously] of some cute guy. I know how Tumblr works. I am at peace. Really. Honest.)
THIRD AND FINAL DRAMATIC ANNOUNCEMENT:
I’m going to bed.
I may play some Scrabble on my iPad before I do.
There’s no point in getting in my way.
SECOND DRAMATIC ANNOUNCEMENT:
I’m going to the toilet.
Don’t try to stop me, I’m serious.
DRAMATIC ANNOUNCEMENT:
I’m quitting Tumblr
Actually, nah
Me & Matt on The X-Factor Boot Camp, pt.2
- me: Wish they didn't all sing the same songs. Sick of hearing "Feeling Good"
- Matt: I wish they didn't sing at all
thiscameron replied to your post: Today my Dad said he thought Panda Bear is better than Grizzly Bear
who’s yr favorite bear/animal musician/group?
I think I would probably agree with my father on Panda Bear being the superior “bear” based musician/group (though I stress I am also a fan of Grizzly Bear).
Deerhunter are my de facto “favourite” group - animal or otherwise - so I guess them, if they count? They aren’t strictly named after an animal so it is a little ambiguous; the same deal with Animal Collective. There are lots of really good bands with animal related names though. The Wrens are probably my favourite band named strictly after an exact animal.
What does everyone else think?
Today my Dad said he thought Panda Bear is better than Grizzly Bear
Awkward Situations I’ve Been In #482
The other day I was using the urinals in Manchester Victoria train station and above the urinal was a poster warning against “cruising” in the toilets, noting that the toilets had long been “a spot” for such activities.
I wanted to give the other men in the toilets a look to make sure they knew I wasn’t up for any of that but I was worried they’d get the wrong impression so I just kept looking down.
EDIT: Hmm, didn’t mean to post this; it was in my drafts folder and I was just tidying it up. Ah well, it is out there. Another wonderful glimpse into the amazing life of Matthew Davis for y’all.
Now I’m watching The Million Pound Drop and playing along online, which I always do well on because I’ve got access to Wikipedia I’m dead smart.
I still think Money Vs. Gravity would be a better name for this show but whatever.
(You people like it when I post about the crap I watch on a Saturday night, yeah?)
It’s difficult to pick a favourite stage in The X-Factor - as it’s the best television show ever - but bootcamp, aka The Bonfire of Hopes & Dreams, would be up there.
End Of The Affair
The Field Mice
“The End of the Affair” by The Field Mice
One of those British indie bands from ~1990 that lots of American indie bands in 2011 sound like.
Not a lot for this because a) I only heard it for the first time this week and b) ITS FRIDAY NIGHT WHY AREN’T I OUT HAVING FUN?!?!?!
Play
The Big Sexy Problem with Superheroines and Their 'Liberated Sexuality' by Laura Hudson →
comicsalliance.com
I posted an incredibly suspect page from DC’s Redhood and the Outlaws earlier today and this is a pretty amazing piece on that book and the latest Catwoman by Laura Hudson over at Comics Alliance which says a hell of a lot more than I am capable of articulating, coming at if from a perspective and base of experience I cannot possibly even begin to imagine.
I keep saying I what I write more stuff about comics - and in particular superhero ones - on here. I don’t think I follow anyone else who reads any (if you do, hi!) so I’m bit cautious of wasting spending my time on stuff nobody will ever read. (well, more so than I do every other day).
However, if I did get my arse in gear and write something about comics I’d probably come up against the very thorny issue of gender in superhero comics at some point because, well, every year it gets more and more pertinent.
Basically, COMICS = (MOSTLY) AWESOME, SEXISM = PRETTY BAD
“I like her because boobs”
—My friend Matt on this girl on The X-Factor
the bestest thing about ITV2 showing the US X-Factor on Thursdays & Fridays is with the UK one on weekends I GET TO WATCH X-FACTOR FOUR NIGHTS A WEEK!
(no bullshit, I love this stuff)
Telegram
Saul Williams
“Telegram” by Saul Williams
A lot of criticism I’ve read about Williams is that he isn’t a good rapper. I’d probably agree with that. The thing is, I don’t think he’s trying to be a good rapper. Williams’ vocals on “Telegram” take elements of hip-hop, poetry, spoken word and even rock music to create a style more intent on making the listener actually listen rather than being clever or working in a purely technical manner on/around the beat.
For me the result is a vocal delivery that is so damn forceful I don’t think it matters that Williams doesn’t work the beat that well or even that he is guilty of making somewhat obvious points in a fairly obvious manner.
(Also, love the Bad Brains sample on this track.)
catfaggot replied to your post: given that the only two “political” beliefs i hold…
did no one tell you it was pro-death penalty/anti-palestine day?
No shit, today is actually The United Nations International Day Of Peace
IRONY
given that the only two “political” beliefs i hold closely - into my very bones - are a) the death penalty is faulty, barbaric and morally wrong and b) Palestine is as deserving of statehood as Isreal, today has been a day of getting VERY ANGRY at the news
New Jack
Justice
“New Jack” by Justice
I know that every Justice song songs the same but, y’know, they have this whole aesthetic and I’m OK with that when in a certain type of mood.
This would have been longer except a) I got a phone call half way through writing this which meant I forgot where I was going, b) I’m kinda ill so not in the mood and c) I don’t even know if I like Justice.
i’m ill
you lot should send me health and stuff
google just tricked me into going on google+ by having a big arrow direct me to it when i went on google’s homepage to search for mediafire links
Nubile Days
Swan Lake
“Nubile Days” by Swan Lake
Swan Lake is a collaborative songwriting project from Destroyer’s Dan Bejar, Frog Eyes’ Carey Mercer and Spencer Krug, from every other band. As you can imagine when dealing with songwriters who are so distinct, the end result of their work together often lacks the individuality that makes their “main” projects so unique. Whilst “Nubile Days” is far form a bad song, it does feel a bit too Krug-by-numbers in the same way his songs on the last Wolf Parade LP felt. There isn’t the sense of wild abandon to the best of his work with Sunset Rubdown nor is there a feeling that Krug is trying to push himself and his art like in this year’s much misunderstood Organ Music album under his Moonface moniker.
I haven’t actually spent a lot of time with the two records by Swan Lake; at the time they were released it was only Krug whose work I was familar. One of my big discoveries this year has been Bejar’s wonderful catalogue - seriously if you haven’t heard Kaputt yet you’re missing out on this year’s best album - so maybe I should give them another listen.
Y’know, along with the other trillion bands I mean to get around to…
Just watched the Parks and Recreation where Andy and April get married.
Actual tears here folks.
