Wednesday, November 11, 2009

BEST ALBUMS OF 2009

For flexing to


So, sometime after I went to North Carolina and ate a giant hush puppy stuffed with pulled pork and slathered in some amazing vinegar based sauce (which, Texas, is nowhere close to being as good as our shit, but still some good shit nevertheless), as well as the best Bojangles chicken biscuits ever, I came to the conclusion that I was getting kind of fat. I mean, really. Like, the fat where you still can sort of wear your pants you wore when you were not fat, but it hurts to button them, and it turns into a kind of corset and you go numb. That kind of fat.

I decided I would work out more often. This began with signing up for another 5k, wherein I developed shin splints and couldn't run for 2 weeks before the race. And truth be told, I didn't really do much besides run down my road for approximately a mile and turn back around. But, I ended up going to the Belmont gym and using the bicycle machine to try to sweat and keep my heart rate up before I did the race (which, I did complete, and yes, my mother did beat me).

I started going to the Belmont gym every day before work, which I've kept up since June, so yay for me. Doing this has given me time to listen to music on my ipod while I'm sweating, and so instead of my usual Best of list, I'm devoting this years list to music that I work out to, because basically, it's all I care about because I'm a giant douche bag who cares little for subtlety in my music these days.

I am basically this kid now. What up, lil' Hercules

So, here's the music I cared about for the past 6 months. Everything else sucks.

1. JAPANDROIDS - 1st 3 tracks of Post-Nothing on repeat

2. MASTODON - Crack the Skye

3. FUCK BUTTONS - Tarot Sport

4. THE JUAN MACLEAN - The Future Will Come

5. MARNIE STERN - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That (Per Chris Sakaguchi)

6. THE MARS VOLTA - Bedlam in Goliath

Everything else put out this year was unworthy of my sweat.


Also, this was my favorite musical moment of 2009. HARDER FASTER STRONGER.

-ed

PS. at least 2 of these are from 2008. Oh well.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Thoughts on being 24 and feeling old.

One of my best friends from high school just had a daughter. There have been other people in my life who have had kids, and I have friends with kids now, but this is the first child that I actually feel like I have an interest or obligation to. And it's strange. My friend and I have been apart for nearly 5 years, only seeing each other sporadically, and keeping in touch through e-mail and phone calls. In my mind and memories, she's still the same girl who obsessed over NSYNC, gave me my first cigarette, and went through countless schools, jobs and homes, going through life at what seemed to me, in my stable college and professional existence, a chaotic and exciting way. Now she's a mother, and it will be interesting to see how that takes with her. I don't think we can know how anyone will react to such a dramatic change in life, even though she's had 9 months to prepare. Luckily, in a strange turn of luck, Tara and I will be passing through where she lives now next week, and we'll get to see her and her new family. I'm sure it will raise even more strange feelings in me, as I'm suddenly very aware of being 24, married, having the same job for over a year, and not feeling even remotely ready to raise children. huh.

-ed

Sunday, February 22, 2009

New Dime Store Keats Songs

I had some spare time this weekend, so I recorded 2 songs that don't really fit in with any of the groups that I play with right now, so they became default Dime Store Keats songs, which is what I fancy calling anything that I recorded entirely by myself.

Download Here

Song 1 - "The Same"
Fairly ridiculous Stones type song, with a 80's synth thrown in over the chorus. Also, I just finished off 2 Dogfish Head 60min IPA's, when I recorded the backing vocals, which apparently renders my voice the same frequency as that Dainelson guy. Huh. Enjoy the stomp.

Song 2 - "Fredonia"
Much lower key, jazzy...continues my frequency of jamming on a riff, thinking of a 2nd part, and the just killing the song after that. The title is in reference to a hotel in Nacogdoches, TX.

Recording Notes - Vocals were done with the API pre I built in college, with an AKG C3000 mic. Guitar tones with Guitar Rig 2 (Nashville Deluxe Telecaster for "The Same", Ibanez AS-73 for Fredonia). Reason for drum loop on "The Same"...some loop I picked up a long time ago from drums in "Fredonia"

-ed

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Bon Iver

I spent a year avoiding Bon Iver. Not through any effort on my part, just a general lack of effort to hear anything by them/him. I didn't want another Iron and Wine.

I wasted a year.

-ed