We Will Not Survive This

When we awoke from our afternoon nap, the sun had barely moved. And whatever movement there was from the sun, was to our disadvantage, as it had become only hotter. When you rolled over, and therefore on top of me, you asked me why this was. Why was the sun being so cruel? I told you I didn't know and that it was pointless to talk about, since we cannot control the sun. But it's four-thirty and only getting hotter. I told you to stop saying that word. Hotter. I Told you to tell me a story. You asked me what kind? Where should it take place? I said it doesn't matter, so long as it's in a frozen sea. Where nobody moves. You said why doesn't anyone move? I said it's up to you; it's  your story. You told me that no one moves because they like the frigidness and that being kinetic leads to warmth, therefore, everyone is frozen in place. They are like you and I, only they aren't miserable. They prefer this. They know that they will freeze to death. They've accepted it. I asked you if you if you've accepted it yet. You took a deep breath and moved your orange hair out of your eyes. Accepted what? Our impending doom from the sun? Yes. You paused. Have you? I said I hadn't. If only because I wasn't born into a frozen lake. But I'd rather have that, than this burning plain. Not like it matters. You laid back down, but you pulled away from me. I had lost your warmth - the only warmth I wanted. Then, the sun laid off and started to sink back down. It was starting to get cold. I tried to pull you back over to me, but you remained frozen.

Unbeknownst to them, across town, a hailstorm was rampaging and making its way towards them.

Top 11 Albums of the Year/Best Songs of the Year (A Toast to Walks in the Park, Drunk Girls and of course, Douchebags

So, 2010 was probably the best year for music in awhile (Sufjan releasing a new album! Godspeed You! Black Emperor announcing an end to their hiatus! Thom Yorke starting a band with Fea!) . Therefore, doing a top 10 albums list was an extremely hard task, and last night around one in the morning when I finally came up with one, I discovered that I left off a very important album, and so had to extend it up to eleven. First, though, I'd like to do a couple honorable mentions for albums that I thought were amazing, but for various reasons, did not make the top eleven.

Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
Best Coast - Crazy For You
The Black Keys - Brothers
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II)
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma


And now...

11.

Vampire Weekend - Contra

Paul Simon's biggest fans release another great album. This is very bubbly and made for great listening during the summer. (Don't worry, I'll spare you cliches.) Just listen to "Horchata" or "White Sky", and let your mind take you way back to the summer of '10.

10.

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

It's funny that Kanye West became the toast of Indie town after the release of Fantasy. (Okay, Pitchfork started following him like mad after it was revealed that Bon Iver's Justin Vernon would be included on this album.) This is an album that has topped everyone's end-of-the-year lists, from Pitchfork to Rolling Stone to Paste. And there's a reason for it. Kanye has turned the low-point of his career (interrupting Taylor Swift during her VMA speech back in 2009) into beautiful, dark and twisted art. One needs to look no further than the obvious highlight of the album, the poignant "Runaway". Kanye actually sings on this track, and while his voice may not be the best, it's at least sincere. And just when you think the last tiny piano key has clinked like the champagne glasses in the titular video, a flurry of violins plays Kanye out and it doesn't come off as corny in the least. But before you think Kanye has lost his edge and  is going all apologetic, he quickly reminds us through out the album that his braggadocio is still in tact (take for example the verse, "I got so much head I woke up as Sleepy Hollow"), but it isn't a put-off in the least. The one, two punch of "Lost in the World" (Featuring a Volcano Choir sample) and album closer "Who Will Survive in America?" (Featuring a Gil Scot-Heron sample) made for the best global jam this year. Don't be surprised when Fantasy sweeps the Grammy's.

09.

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

Think Neutral Milk Hotel's classic In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. Now replace the Anne Frank subplot with one about the American Civil War, and add lots of electric guitars. My favorite is the closing track, "The Battle of Hampton Roads". Best bagpipe solo you'll hear all year.

08.

Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

When I saw Sufjan Stevens at the Paramount Theatre on Halloween Eve, he said that Adz (pronounced Odds) was about the relationship between heartbreak and the apocalypse. (He later went on to quip that while, "It's a dramatic viewpoint, it does pay the bills".) So, it's a joke, yeah, but there's also a truth behind it. Anyway, this is a very mature album for Sufjan to make. After retreating from singing after 2005's glorious Illinois, and finally promulgating that the whole fifty states album theme was just a joke (unfortunate, since I was really looking forward to New Jersey: Ode to the Turnpike), it looked Sufjan was done outside of obscure soundtracks for expressways. But, thankfully, we were wrong, and Sufjan came back in more-or-less full swing. Granted, the tear-jerker vignettes that made his last albums so wonderful (Sufjan Stevens is the Sherwood Anderson of Indie) are absent here, they are made up by Sufjan presenting himself at his most vulnerable. You don't need to look any further for proof than the twenty-five minute culmination of Sufjan's entire career, "Impossible Soul". In my opinion, this open diary of a song is the best song out of Sufjan's catalogue. Go ahead, read it. Remember, it helps pay the bills.

07.

Jonsi - Go

I'm a huge Sigur Ros fan, and as a result, this was the release I was most excited about this year. And it did not disappoint. Without a doubt, this was the happiest, most saccharin-injected album probably anyone heard this year. "Go Do", "Animal Arithmetic" and "Boy Lilikoi" were automatic smile-inducers. But the best thing about this album was how majestically it translated live. The imagery was beautiful (a musty journal of animal drawings being caught on fire, then a storm of butterflies fluttering from the scene during "Hengilas"), and if you thought "Grow Till Tall" was great on the album, it was NOTHING compared to the raw intensity of the live version.

06.

Caribou - Swim

It's nice to see Dan Snaith's (Caribou is a solo project of his) finally getting the recognition he deserves. This is one of those albums that is so good, that I don't really listen to his other works anymore - as awesome as Andorra was. I don't know if you've heard "Bowls" yet - and I suspect you haven't - but it is easily the coolest instrumental all year. This was everyone's invitation to the trippiest anthropological rave of the year. (Basically, if you didn't see him at Sasquatch, you missed out.) 

05.

Four Tet - There Is Love In You

Sorry FlyLo, but this was my favorite electronic album this year. It's very interesting because you can dance to it - "Love Cry" and "Sing" - or you can just chill to it - okay, all of the songs  - there was no wrong way to listen to this album. There's plenty of vocal samples and cooing, which I like, because it shows the human element behind the laptop producing these beautiful sounds. Also, the closing track, "She Just Likes to Fight" is the equivalent of going to both an oxygen bar and a burlesque show. An odd description, but it works if you've heard it.

04.

Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

This is Deerhunter's most mature album to date. There's even a touching, albeit odd, tribute to the deceased Jay Reatard. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Microcastle and Cryptograms, but the filler was sometimes a bit too much. Halcyon corrects this problem by simply eschewing filler. And the results are amazing. This is sort of like the In Rainbows of 2010 - no filler, short and just really good rock. This is the kind of album that demands numerous listens - not because it's challenging, but because it's just such a pleasure to listen to. Trust me, "Desire Lines" gets more awesome with each listen.

03.

LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

The Coolest Album of the Year goes to.... this one! A little after the three-minute mark on opening track "Dance Yrself Clean", I knew that this was going to be an amazing album. No other album described hipsters better than this one - if only because James Murphy spent the whole CD making fun of them. If you don't believe me, check out the hilarious "Pow Pow". This is an over-hour long party where drunk girls get surprisingly deep and there's non-stop grooves and hooks. Yet, there's plenty of serious moments on here, as well. "I Can Change" is about changing yourself for someone, or risk being alone forever. But it's sleek 80's synth makes it feel right at home in this party of an album. Unfortunately, this is the last LCD Soundsystem album, but hey, what a badass way to leave the party.

02.

Beach House - Teen Dream

Everything is so warm about this album, yet so cold. The sounds are warm, but the lyrics are practically anything but. Katy Perry's Teenage Dream this is not. I loved this album the first time I heard it and it remained my favorite album of the year until a certain other album came out. Victoria Legrand's husky, yet, sultry voice grace this album like a blanket at the beach. And that's why this such an important example in polarity. It sounded great at the beach during summer, and it's comforting and even dark in winter. And yet, "Walk in the Park" is the best Autumn song since Sigur Ros' "Hoppipolla". Basically, you should go out and buy this, or download it or do whatever it is you usually do when acquiring music. Trust me. I don't think it's possible to not like this album.

01.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Arcade Fire are the J.D. Salinger of Indie music. The way they describe childhood malaise and ennui is staggering. Yet, it's extremely heartfelt and relatable. Arcade Fire have turned a nice, idyllic utopia into a frightening dystopia where "Malls rise like mountains beyond mountains". I wrote a review for this album earlier in the year on my friend Joe and I's website, but I've come to hate that review. It was written in haste. This is Arcade Fire's best album, and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" is their best song since "Crown of Love". Somehow, Arcade Fire brought back disco. And the results were infectious. The rock on this album gears towards the school of the Boss ("Ready to Start" and "Month of May") and yet, it sounds brand new. The Suburbs cements Arcade Fire's status as the most important band in Indie, but that also means that they have graduated and are off into the stratosphere with the likes of Radiohead and Animal Collective. If you've ever waited for a letter, learned to drive, gone to a mall or just found the joys of an empty room because, "When I'm by myself, I can be myself" then this album is for you. Or, if you just like really awesome rock, then this will more than suffice. As long as there are childhoods, The Suburbs will be relevant.

Okay, time for songs. No descriptions because I'm tired of writing now. "Drunk Girls" was the best song of the year. The rest are just others I enjoyed.

LCD Soundsystem - "Drunk Girls"

Kanye West - "Runaway"

Joanna Newsom - "Baby Birch"

Crystal Castles - "Celestica"

No Age - "Glitter"

Sufjan Stevens - "Vesuvius"

Big Boi - "Shutterbug"

Best Coast - Summer Mood

Flying Lotus (Featuring Thom Yorke) - "... And the World Laughs With You"

Caribou - "Bowls"

Jonsi - "Grow Till Tall" [Live]

The Gloaming

Out on a drive in the country at night. There is a downpour, and there has been for quite sometime now. Three days and no sign of cessation. Weeping willows sag interminably to the point that their leaves blanket the road and the drive ends. The driver can get out and physically move the heavy branches, but the driver fears that he may not have enough upper-body strength, so he stays inside the car and weighs out the pros and cons. It's a plausible scenario, given that if they weren't so heavy, they wouldn't have fallen to the ground, and on the road that he is driving on. He could simply drive around the mess, but who knows how long he would have to drive on a marsh English countryside road. That's an endeavor from hell. So he waits for the time being, gauging how important it is for him to continue driving, and whether or not it is worth it for him to turn around and take the scenic route to his destination. How important the destination is, is up to the driver. He is alone. The radio only produces static. The rain is increasing and there are a bunch of trees in the road. He can't call anyone because he doesn't get reception out here, and it probably isn't worth calling anyone over for. They probably won't be able to help lift the branches. After contemplation, the driver thinks that they may be light enough to lift and move just a couple of feet off the road. But that could be an illusion. Perhaps he has gone insane.

He is going to a cocktail party. He wasn't first on the guestlist; rather, an afterthought. It doesn't matter if he shows up or not. But he doesn't want to spend the evening at home. He figures that he cannot now, not with the knowledge that he could've moved the branches out of the way and made it to the party. It could have been fun. It could have been a disaster. Either way, better than an evening alone at home. But he doesn't have to be alone at home; he could go to the pub with a friend, or he could go to the pub and make a new friend. Yet, the knowledge of removing the branches would be too infused in his mind, and he wouldn't be able to enjoy himself, and as a result, his company wouldn't be able to enjoy his or herself. He could move the branches, but they look heavier than when he last looked. The driver should have picked them up when they looked light enough to. It is the rain that is making them look so heavy. Despite what the weather reports say, the rain cannot last forever. Besides, eventually, someone is going to have to use this road. It's in the countryside, but it's not in an obscure location. The driver has driven this road many times. He knows what's on the otherside. The otherside is a cocktail party. He is not first on the guest list; he could be last. It doesn't matter - he wasn't first.

Perhaps the rain will come down so hard that it moves the branches out of his way. It's possible, given how extreme the rain is. But not likely. No, he has to move the branches himself. They're only getting heavier; five minutes ago was the perfect time to move them out of the way. He wants to go the cocktail party, but the trees are in the way, and he is doubting his perception at this point, given the downpour. He doesn't want to go to the cocktail party because he wasn't first on the guestlist, and this is a good enough pretense not to go. A sign from God. The universe does not want him to go. A pleasant evening at home would be nice right about now, but how could he enjoy himself knowing that he could've moved the tree branches? The universe wants him to go the cocktail party. He is having to earn his invitation. The branches are heavier looking now more than ever. It is darker. Even his headlights are doing him no good. There is nothing now but the sound of rain waltzing on his window, and it is the gloaming. He turns off his headlights and waits.

I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun // Incomplete

When Suzanne awoke it was winter time. Someone stole the grass, replaced it with snow and raked up the leaves, and disposed of them in a special hole that was dug in the earth, far from where Suzanne could see it. It was probably Mother Nature, but Suzanne did not believe in such a superstition. No, it was for the best that snow was on the ground, and the naked trees looked more fragile than ever. Suzanne wanted to blow them a kiss, but was worried the tiny egress of air from her mouth might act like a most horrible gust to the trees and knock them over. The trees, after all, were as delicate as her wrists.

It was nine in the morning, a time which she was not accustomed to getting up at. She had no reason to get up early because she was twenty-five and her parents were among the elite. Suzanne went to an art school on the West Coast for a few years - it may have been CalArts, but it does not matter - but thought all the sun and ocean-soaked bodies were proving to be adverse to her creative process. To Suzanne, jumping into the pacific or driving to Orange County was fun for life, but it made for really dull art. So, she had to leave and go back home to Maine, and try painting in the dark because in Los Angeles, when the sun turns off, the city lights turn on. There is never darkness.

"How are you going to paint if there is no light?" Suzanne's old roommate used to ask her when she would hide away in her dorm to paint with all the lights off and a Beach House record playing quietly in the background.

"That's the point." Suzanne would respond with.

"I don't get it." The roommate would say, her intelligence feeling like it had been battered.

"Of course not."

At that point, the roommate would leave, and not come back for several hours. So as to let the artist create. Suzanne's masterpiece from the "Nightlight" Sessions was of a withered and naked tree in wintertime. There were other trees present in the background, but they were clearly not the focal point.

 The viewer's eye was meant to be drawn to a forlorn-looking tree, with its hunched-over stature, as though, like Atlas, it held the world upon its shoulders, but could not bear the cruelness of it, and tried to intervene and help, but when it discovered that its presence made no difference compared to when it was absent, decided the world was better off taking care of itself, and gave it up completely. The bark looked dead and cold. The branches were too skinny to support any weight, so they were barren. It was in the middle, and it was impossible to avoid even if you wanted to. Understandable, since the Human Condition is hard on the eyes in winter time.

TO BE CONTINUED

Some Bull About Facebook

Have you ever accidently added the wrong person before? Yes, you probably have. Well, I'm guilty of it myself (there is a human operating this blogspot), and I forgot my friend's last name before adding her to fb, so I took a wild guess and added someone that sort of looked like her, and it turns out I added the wrong person. Whatever, right?

NOT ACCORDING TO FB (all caps just for the hell of it)

Despite this person not accepting my friendship request (why would she? -- we don't know each other and probably don't have anything in common), facebook still lets me know whever she changes her profile picture. It's kind of creepy, actually. And there's really nothing I can do about it, since I don't know how to "un-friendship request", so now, it's like facebook mocking me probably forever since everything is forever on the internet/facebook sure has a hard-on for situational irony.

Present Tense -- On A Bus

A woman is waiting for a phone call from a man she likes, while riding the bus. Suddenly, while the bus is atop a steep road, for no real apparent reason, the brakes go out, and the bus barrels down the road, veering off to the right and mowing down several trees in the process before flipping on its side again and again. And during all this chaos, while most people on the bus are either huddled up together praying or running around madly, the woman is thinking of the phone call that is yet to come. And probably never will come. At this point, the engine has blown up and everyone is dead. The woman's soul has just left her body, but it is still standing guard over the phone from her past life. She stands there for an eternity - quite possible, since time is irrelevant in the afterlife - and when she sees that her phone is ringing, a miracle occurs and she hops back into her body to answer the phone. Despite the woman being horribly mangled and burnt from the horrific bus crash, she picks up the phone and tries to sound as though she has not been in a tragic accident, but rather, that she is more alive than ever. It is not the man she was hoping to call her, but, rather, a wrong number. The caller apologizes for bothering her, and that she sounds defeated and should take a nap. And the tragic part is that she is now more awake than ever.

A Very Busy Week, Indeed

Hello blogspot world. Sorry to be absent for so long. I had to do a presentation earlier today (well, four in the afternoon... your call) and there was six of us in the group and we had to discuss the film Last Year at Marienbad for the entire eighty-minute course. So, I worried all week about it. I had to do the synopsis and whatnot, and it's very hard to write a synopsis for this film since there is past time, present time and indefinite time. It's very difficult since sometimes, clothes and sets will change without warning mid-sentence. And it's written so that you're never supposed to know what's going on. Ever. I had written a synopsis as a print-out for the class, so they would have some way of following us along, but then my group (thankfully) told me that I put too much analyzing into my synopsis, so I went back to the drawing boards and wrote a new last night, and finished around 1. Then went to bed at like 2:30. My whole day yesterday literally consisted of the film. I even had a dream about the film last night! Which was very odd, since it's a black + white French film, so my dream was black and white, but fortunately there were subtitles in my dream. Anyway, we presented and did a good job because at the end, our professor came up to us, grinning (always a good sign) and told us that we all get an A. While Last Year at Marienbad may be one of my favorite films, it's also the last film in the world I want to watch right now....

12.01.10. (Adventure Time.)

I saw this dude today playing guitar in Red Square, with a cardboard sign asking to make donations to help pay his "bullshit" parking ticket. His sign didn't even say "please + thank you". What happened to manners?

I tried to scare my roommate last night by hiding under his desk (not fun, since I'm six feet tall, and it's cramped under there, especially since I have to hide behind his chair) and then pop out and scare him. I should admit, though, that I stole the idea from him, since he did the same to one of our other roommates. Also, he's taller than me, so I imagine it must have been much more uncomfortable. Anyway, he walks in, but I made the fatal flaw of yelling "booo!" (like a ghost. I don't know why I went there first. Maybe I was in kid mode...) and THEN pushed the chair out from underneath his desk. Next time for sure...

I'll have another story up very soon. I need the nice creative break.

xx