GOOD IS DEAD. [The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd]

By now, most students have had the pleasure of an unforgettable professor from hell...the kind that returns assignments with the scent of brimstone still lingering.
Meet professor Sorbeck: an art teacher at a state college in the late fifties. The graphic design prof is your typical, grade A nutcase who (like it or not) will probably teach you something.
One memorable chapter describes an assignment for which the prof hauls students to the middle of nowhere with nothing but a piece of cardboard and a marker. The goal: get yourself home using nothing but these supplies.

Here's how it'll work. The class will hide behind those trees, out of sight of the traffic. One at a time, you will stand at the side of the road, with your sign. A car comes by, you get picked up, it's an A. It keeps going, you drop one letter grade. ..Four cars and no luck, you fail

The narrator is a decent character, but you'll want to be his sidekick's best friend. Himillsy is the kind of twisted, unstable, free spirited liberal arts student that oozes cool. Zippo lighters almost too heavy for her scrawny arms, Raybans, and men's oxford shirts draped on her beanpole frame...did I say best friend? Hell, deep down you want to be Himms.

All praise aside: the ending leaves something to be desired, but it still serves as an entertaining read.

Apologies for the lack of posts!


http://i-rock.wackiness.org/bejaromatic/

go. read. hit refresh. repeat.

Moon Child

On April 15, Anthony Gonzalez will be releasing his moniker's, M83, new full length album, entitled "Saurdays=Youth". WHat the artist is attempting with his fifth studio album is to reconnect himself, and the audience with an inherent feeling of your earlier years, ones filled with stupid decisions, glorious memories, and feelings of freedom and lack of responsibility.

"I loved being a teenager," says Anthony Gonzalez, who is M83. "That's when I discovered music and started to take drugs and party with my friends." That time of discovery – and of course the era in which Gonzalez was a teenager – greatly impacted the making of "Saturdays=Youth."

"On this record I wanted to have the feeling of a teenager mixed with this period of the Eighties."

The music can be summed up as explosive electro-gaze, where riveting vocals pierce through a backdrop of harmonic, electronic patterns that scream with passion. This is definitely something to keep an eye out for in your local music store.

Seven Minutes in Heaven (The Epics)

In light of procrastination I've compiled my 10 favourite 7 minute epics. Special mention to Sigur Ros, Broken Social Scene, Explosions in the Sky, Bright Eyes, Dredg and City and Colour. ready, set, 

10. Mae's The Sun and Moon ( The Everglow) With 17 seconds to spare, Mae pulls together a melodic ending to The Everglow with the help of a piano (and you know how I'm a sucker for the piano.) Unlike most lengthy tunes, redundancy is not an issue, which I appreciate.

9. Anberlin's (*Fin) ( Cities)- This song wraps up their most recent release ever so effectively. The build up to the end of the song can be only

 be described as satisfying.  

8. Jimmy Eat World's Goodbye Sky Harbour (Clarity)- This song comes is as an eight on the epic-ness level and a one on the length level. J.E.W really pushed it with 16 minutes, but luckily they pull this song together exceptionally. This song is an effective completion of one of, if not their best album.

7. Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism ( Transatlanticism) - An eight minute title track is original to say the least, but what I truly enjoy about this song is the simplicity of both the lyrics and piano.  Sad, but not to sad. Mellow, but not too mellow. And of course Ben Gibbard never fails on the feel-good tunes.

6. Of Montreal's The Past is a Grotesque Animal ( Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer?)-I got into this song on the way to New York last summer, after realizing that I had skipped over this song every time I listened to the CD. Clearly a mistake. Of Montreal. 12 minutes. Need I say more?

5. mewithoutYou's The Cure for Pain ( A->B Life) Oh, the joy of finding hidden tracks. mwY threw in a bonus acoustic track " I Never Said I was Brave" about 7 minutes after The Cure for Pain. The completeness of this track (nevermind my life) is compliments of Aaron Weiss and his brilliance. Screaming and acoustic guitar, and you don't even have to change the track. 

4. The Decemberist's The Island: Come & see/ The 

Landlord's Daughter/ You'll Not Feel the Drowning ( The Crane Wife) - As clearly indicated by the title, the Decemberists one-upped mewithoutYou with the three song wonder. Summer never sounded so good. 

3. As Cities Burn's Of Want and Misery: The Nothing that Kills (Son, I Loved You  At Your Darkness) I was quite disappointed that this wasn't played when I saw them at St. Andrews, though the fact that it is almost 7 minutes may be a reason. When ever I listen to this song I feel so sad at about 4 minutes in because I always think its over. Lucky for me, Cody and the gang continue this epic for another 3 minutes and conclude the album. This by far is one of the best album closers I've heard. I wish it was an hour long.

2. Neutral Milk Hotel's Oh Comely (In an Aeroplane Over the Sea)-NMH did 7 minute epics, and they did them right. I had this song on repeat for about 2 hours yesterday, and that in itself should be enough reason for the number 2 spot on this list. How appropriate that this song was the influence for mewithoutYou's We Know Who Our Enemies Are. Incredible.

1. Lovedrug's It Won't Last (Pretend You're alive)- Lyrically brilliant. Dramatic. Instrumentally genius. If I never had to shut off this song, I wouldn't. For the past 4 years Lovedrug has been my favourite band, and this album has yet to let me down in any way. It Won't Last is the closer of the CD ( basically) and is certainly the best closer I've heard. Michael Shepard underlines the brilliance of this album with dramatic his guitaring and his philosophical lyrics. I'm lost for words.

Winter, Winter, Winter

The the midst of midterms, papers, and ridiculous labs, roll down your windows, put on your freakin sunglasses and blast "Everyone chooses sides" by the Wrens. Fuck christmas in july, how about labour day in march.



(and after i hook up chris with some good ol' lovedrug, were even for this)

New City and Colour!

... is pretty mediocre. And why would I update to discuss mediocracy? three reasons
1) Dallas Green's first tour for his debut release "Sometimes" was the first concert I attended. Emotional attachment
2) Brandons a slacker, so Ive taken control of this blog. Plus no one reads this so the likliness that I will recieve complaints is very low.
3) Dallas green is extremely good looking. (yes thats a reason.)

Okay, so.. "Bring me your love" is about as emo as it sounds. I'm probably the last person to critize an artist for being emo, but this album sounds like Dallas' best attempt at folk rock ( "indie" as he labels it on his myspace. Oh, if you could see my rolling eyes right now) and I hate to say it, but sappy folk rock does not mix for me.

The fact that Dallas is as sad as ever is not surprising, unless you havent heard his first release. Yet unlike his debut, the songs are somewhat distingushable thanks to the utilization of various horns and a harmonica. Im not sure if thats a good or bad thing, I'll leave that up to you. Either way the London, On. date is still sold out, which means someone needs to transport me to Toronto ( just in time for my birthday * cough*) to see him again. I'd appreciate it if he played " Confessions" ( not an Usher reference) or "What Makes a Man" ( No emery reference). See where I'm going here?

exactly.