some kind of internet web-log

New year's new Veirs

One of my favorite ladysingers, Laura Veirs, has a new album coming out on January 12!  You can pre-order the jams on her label’s website (Laura’s autographing all the pre-orders!) and/or go ahead and listen to it now as an NPR Exclusive First Listen.  Jim James has some noted influence and participation, which makes me really happy (and makes my Laura even less likely to listen to this record).  Go check it out!

Fav'd Jams of 2009

Starting a new tradition this year: giving you guys a mix of my favorite new jams of the year!  Some of my yearly favorites usually make it onto my annual wintry mix, but lots of my faves don’t belong on a cold winter record.  I felt like I was holding back some great songs that people should hear, so here’s a good way to get them out!  Most, if not all, of these songs had their initial release this year, and all of them made my year sound better.  So download, listen, and enjoy!

[download]

1. You Cried Me by Jookabox, from their album Dead Zone Boys
2. Oh, Paris! by Dent May, from his album The Good Feeling Music of…
3. Lisztomania by Phoenix, from their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
4. My Girls by Animal Collective, from their album Merriweather Post Pavilion
5. River by Akron/Family, from their album Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free
6. Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, from their selftitled album
7. Tenuousness by Andrew Bird, from his album Noble Beast
8. Fables by the dodos, from their album Time to Die
9. Down With the Shine by the Avett Brothers, from their NPR Tiny Desk Concert
10. I Got Your Back by The High Strung, from their album Ode To the Inverse of the Dude
11. I’ve Just Got To Tell You by Dr. Dog, from their EP Takers & Leavers
12. The Whole Damn Thing by Those Darlins, from their selftitled album
13. People Got A Lotta Nerve by Neko Case, from her album Middle Cyclone
14. So Far Around The Bend by The National, form the compliation Dark Was the Night
15. The Strangers by St. Vincent, from her album Actor
16. One Wing by Wilco, from their album Wilco (the album)
17. Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) by Yim Yames, from his EP Tribute To

[Lovely cover photo by Margo!]

All that comes, it comes here to pass

Do yourself a favor and spend 15 minutes seeing/hearing why the Avett Brothers are probably the best acoustic band in America. 

Infinite Summer

I started reading David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest yesterday along with a few other people.  I read the first 17 pages aloud to Laura, an activity we may continue if we think we’ll have the time, energy, and I the vocal strength.  She hasn’t decided if she’s going to try to read it herself or rely my (possibly sporadic) story times, supplemented with here’s-what-happened-since-last-time synopses.  Should be a good summer.

Strapped

Wilco have released a set of limited edition hand-, Chicago-made guitar straps (and drumstick bag!).  Tweedy, Cline, Sansone, Jorgensen, and Sirratt all have their own strap designs, made from vintage ’70s fabric and recycled seatbelts.  Jeff’s four color-combo owls steal the show, but all the designs look good.  They’re being manufactured by hand just down the street from the Wilco loft in Chicago.  At $65, they’re a little steep for guitar straps, but they cute, so what the heck.

Mmmmmmicro Four Thirds

Looks like Olympus will finally drop a production version of it’s newest micro four thirds camera this week.  Early shots show that it does a pretty good job of staying true to the concept (I still like the concept better), and has obvious ancestory in the Olympus Pen cameras of ’60s and ’70s.  Good job, Olympus!

UPDATE 6/16: It’s official.  Love that OM lens adapter.  This is looking more and more like a camera I may have to get…

We've Been Into Tits Longer Than We Thought?

The world’s oldest known sculpture has recently been found.  And it’s got big titties.

I Am Trying To Break Your Bank

Jay Bennett is suing Jeff Tweedy for $50,000 because he thinks he didn’t get paid enough for his time in Wilco from 1994-2001.  He’s also pissed that Tweedy made him look like an ass in the 2002 documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. 

Isn’t it too late to be mad about this?  If he wanted compensation, why not ask for it seven years ago?  If he wants money, perhaps he should try selling records instead of giving them out for free?

UPDATE 5/24: Nevermind.

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I’m tumblng, y’all.