Monday, January 30, 2012

Playlist #34


1. What Goes On by The Velvet Underground
2. Survival of the Fittest by Mobb Deep
3. My Mistakes by Eleanor Friedberger
4. Heaven by Eleanor Friedberger
5. Scenes From Bensonhurst by Eleanor Friedberger
6. I Won't Fall Apart On You Tonight by Eleanor Friedberger
7. Atmosphere by Joy Division
8. Everybody Works So Hard by The Wake
9. Wurlitzer Jukebox by Young Marble Giants
10. Drown by The Smashing Pumpkins

Monday, January 23, 2012

Playlist #33


1. La La Love You by the Pixies
2. Gouge Away by the Pixies
3. Daytona 500 by Ghostface Killah Ft. Raekwon
4. Heart of the City by Jay-Z
5. Counting Stars by Nujabes
6. Devil in a New Dress by Kanye West Ft. Rick Ross
7. St. Vincent (I put nearly all of her songs onto my iPod, didn't really want to list 'em all. Wow, I really regret not having gotten into her any sooner, what an oversight. Better late than never though. Some awesome, multi-instrumental art rock shit. Sonic Youth if they went indie pop, Bjork with an electric guitar, a more abstract Devotchka with a female lead; beautiful woman with a beautiful voice.)
8. Black by Pearl Jam
9. Garden by Pearl Jam
10. Everything Man by Talib Kweli
11. Soon the New Day by Talib Kweli Ft. Norah Jones (Never got into her solo stuff, but the trend has been that I love anything she's featured in. Especially her appearances on Rome. Oh, and Madlib just kills this beat.)
12. Backwell by Beak> [Geoff Barrow's (Portishead) side project. The album is for the most part instrumental and is all over the place. There are hints of post-punk, industrial, post-rock and is reminiscent of Portishead and Radiohead. Consistently somber with unique sounds that give it life. All in all, really good stuff.]
13. I Know by BEAK>
14. Battery Point by BEAK>
15. The Cornubia by BEAK>
16. Dundry Hill by BEAK>
17. West Coast Calamities by Ariel Pink (Lo-fi, psychedelic, legitimately sounds like something from the 60's.)
18. Every Day I Die at Miyagi's by Ariel Pink
19. Alisa by Ariel Pink
20. Officer Officer by Anika (This singer got together with BEAK> to create this album, and that's what it essentially sounds like, BEAK> with a singer and with dub as a foundation. The singing is pretty androgynous, but it seems fitting. She's also signed to Stones Throw, which certainly deserves a thumbs up.)
21. No One's There by Anika
22. I Go To Sleep by Anika
23. Masters of War by Anika
24. Cold Outside by Raekwon Ft. Ghostface
25. Sonny's Missing by Raekwon
26. Jewelz by OC

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Playlist #32


1. Saucer-Like by Sonic Youth
2. Unwind by Sonic Youth
3. Little Trouble Girl by Sonic Youth
4. The Devil by PJ Harvey
5. When Under Ether by PJ Harvey
6. The Piano by PJ Harvey
7. Horses in my Dreams by PJ Harvey
8. We Float by PJ Harvey
9. The Letter by PJ Harvey
10. Slow Drug by PJ Harvey
11. Floating Vibes by Surfer Blood (An indie surf rock band, much like The Drums or like a better, more mellow Wavves.)
12. Harmonix by Surfer Blood
13. Anchorage by Surfer Blood
14. I'm Not Ready by Surfer Blood
15. Miranda by Surfer Blood
16. Best Night by The War on Drugs (Folky and shoegazy with an obvious Bob Dylan influence, especially in the singing. A mixture that really works.)
17. I Was There by The War on Drugs
18. It's Your Destiny by The War on Drugs
19. Metaphysical by Handsome Boy Modeling School
20. How High (Original) by Method Man and Redman (Easily an all time, top 5 hip hop song for me. Meth and Red's tag-team game is and will always be one of the greatest.)

Monday, January 9, 2012

Einstein

              Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Is satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor: Where does satan come from ?

Student : From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student :Yes

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smell your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theatre became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

The student’s name – Albert Einstein.
I’ve been seeing this post flooding my Facebook feed as of late, and it elicits a sigh and a head shake from me every time. Not sure about its new found prevalence, because it's so outdated that I remember seeing MySpace bulletins about it. I’m usually good about not being the godless asshole that always looks for an argument with religious folk, but I had a few points of contention with this one. Firstly, evidence points to this little exchange to be fabricated; even though it “sounds smart”, don’t be so quick to share just because any credible argumental ammunition for your case is exceptionally sparse, at least a simple Google search should be in order. I mean, it’s pretty much propaganda as far as I’m concerned... And if that wasn’t enough, Einstein was a self-declared Agnostic, on several occasions. From a quick read-through, the hypothetical student’s argument had more holes than a Wiffle ball. What exactly is he arguing for anyway? How his argument of duality that was supposed to contend the professor’s claim of an evil God transitions into the “brain argument” which concludes in the student “proving” faith, is beyond me. Another classic case of changing the subject; though creative, if I may add. And that brain argument? What are we, in the fucking fourth grade? If you cut open the professor’s head, I guarantee you, there WILL be a physical, tangible, visible brain sitting there. Regardless of whether cold is not the opposite of heat, but the absence of which, does it really matter? And I apply this to a good God and a bad God, because bad is the absence of good, it suddenly justifies bad? And because He’s not finite, He’s just simply not allowed to be labeled without the labelers being “flawed? Oh, and his little quip about evolution, which almost rivals the “brain argument” in stupidity. Of course no one has seen evolution at work, because it’s a process of chance mutations, tedious adjustment and adaptation, that takes an inconceivable amount of time. Besides, from a logical standpoint, is evolution not a millionfold more sensical than anything in the Bible? Noah’s Ark? 600 year old man, big-ass boat, 8.7 million species, uhh, food chain? C’mon… Not trying to do away with anyone’s faith, keep your faith for it doesn’t bother me as something like gay marriage doesn’t (or rather, shouldn’t) bother you, but don’t use this contrived nonsense to do away with my lack thereof.


Sunday, January 8, 2012

Playlist #31

 
1. Teenage Riot by Sonic Youth
2. Extortion by Mobb Deep Ft. Method Man
3. Eye For A Eye by Mobb Deep Ft. Nas & Raekwon
4. Y by The Pharcyde
5. Otha Fish by The Pharcyde
6. Brag Swag by Elzhi
7. Elmatic (Entire mixtape) by Elzhi (One of the greatest technical lyricists out right now. This is his Illmatic tribute, where he raps to reworked instrumentals of each beat on the original album. As mentioned before, dude's flow is crazy; quick and multisyllable-laden, almost like a more well-enunciated Kool G. Rap.)
8. Feel It All Around by Washed Out [Heard about Washed Out on Pitchfork when Within and Without was getting all sorts of praise but initially overlooked it. Recently got into Portlandia, which uses this track as their theme song, and immediately got a hold of his other stuff. Whatever chillwave is, it seems to wholly exemplify his kind of music. Also ambient with a shred of hip hop; the transition of summer into winter (fuck autumn) in audible form.]
9. Within and Without (Entire album) by Washed Out
10. Something Came Over Me by Wild Flag

Monday, January 2, 2012

Playlist #30

 
Was yet another comparatively boring and mediocre year for my jaded, cynical, and unaccomplished self. But don’t pity me. I’ve had a year more privileged than 90% of the world, and I’m more than grateful for that. Don’t be a bullshitter, try to make good on your arbitrary resolutions, and let’s cherish this next one. Happy New Year. Now onto my playlist...

1. Cross Bones Style by Cat Power
2. Salty Dog by Cat Power
3. In This Hole by Cat Power
4. Novelty by Joy Division (Another JD favorite. This one's off of Warsaw.)
5. 5th Echelon by The Jet Age of Tomorrow (A sub-group of Odd Future. That distinct, synthy OF sound infused with a Kool Keith-esque spaciness and sort of the mellowness of golden age East coast hip hop.)
6. Thump Thump by The Jet Age of Tomorrow
7. LunchBox The Jet Age of Tomorrow Ft. Vince Staples & JQ
8. Welcome Home Son by The Jet Age of Tomorrow Ft. Casey Veggies & Tyler, The Creator (Similar to Veggies' "Ridin' Roun Town", but still nice.)
9. Poisenville Kids No Wins/Reprise (This Must Be Our Time) by EL-P Ft. Cat Power
10. The Diamond Sea by Sonic Youth (A Sonic Youth classic. I do opt for the 6 minute version though.)
11. Hey Joni by Sonic Youth
12. Silver Rocket by Sonic Youth
13. 'Cross The Breeze by Sonic Youth
14. Hoarfrost by Sonic Youth
15. Sunday by Sonic Youth
16. Sonic Nurse (Entire album) by Sonic Youth (Only main SY album that I never gave a legitimate listen; skimmed through it, preoccupied. Bought this shirt the other day, so I felt obligated to give it a full listen, and turns out that I like the whole album.)
17. Star Power (Acoustic) by Sonic Youth [I actually like this version better than the original. To me, this embodies the hypnotizing aspect of their down-tuned riffs, without any of their trademark distortion (which I dig, though). A bit similar to Thurston Moore's latest album, which is primarily acoustic, and more universally appealing, in my opinion. Check it out.]
18. Lifeboat by Lovage (Can never go wrong with Dan the Automator. Classic-ass album if I may say so.)
19. Fingerbib by Aphex Twin
20. Smoke a Sack by Three 6 Mafia (Wanted to make the list an even 20, so I pressed shuffle on my iTunes. Turns out I have 5 different Three 6 songs that start with the word "smoke".)