Yeti Menace

Of course these are based on personal preferences so give them as much credence as one sees fit:

Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill by Grouper

Silent Movie by Quiet Village

Street Horrrsing by Fuck Buttons

The Sea Horse Limbo by aMute

Fleet Foxes S/T by Fleet Foxes

Laula Laakson Kukista by Paavoharju

Saint Dymphna by Gang Gang Dance

Waaves S/T (Woodsist) by Waaves

Rest by Gregor Samsa

Mothertongue by Nico Muhly

Destroying Something Beautiful by Trancelike Void

Dømkirke by Sunn O)))

For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver (the reissue means it can be counted as a 2008 release)

Infinity Padlock (EP) by Nudge

Stainless Style by Neon Neon

Never Never Love by Pop Levi

Los Angeles by Flying Lotus

Skeletal Lamping by Of Montreal

The Ken Burns Effect by Stars like Fleas

Albums that don’t need anymore hyping:

Portishead/Girl Talk/M83/Beck/MGMT/TV on the Radio/Vampire Weekend/Sigur Rós/Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds/Hercules and Love Affair/Mogwai/CSS/Bloc Party/Death Cab for Cutie

Agree to disagree…

Rev. Jeremiah Wright: Cut up some old, colorful Zuba pants and wear them as robes. Yell and scream absurdities all night about a more perfect union. Randomly yell OBAMA! into people’s ears. Learn the catchphrases. Duck for cover.

The Economy: Tape some money and stock certificates to your clothes and then randomly throughout the night fall straight to the ground. Take time getting up.

Casey Anthony: Dress like a slut. Bring a small doll to the party and bury her under the couch. Drink all night, take pictures, and have the night of your life. Call the party host a month later and report you may have left your daughter there and if you didn’t, a Spanish babysitter has her.

A celeb kid: Dress as a Jolie-Pitt kid. There are so many you could probably get mistaken for one. Deck yourself out in Baby Gap and look adorable. (This would only work for people of ethnicity.) How about Suri Cruise? The cutest little angel that in vetro and Xenu could ever produce. How about a Spears kid? Just wander around the party all night looking for your parents. Like the numerous bastard children in Hollywood, the possibilities are endless.

Online predator: Throw on a huge baggy sweatshirt and cargo shorts. Carry a bottle of Mad Dog 40/40 and a pack of condoms in your pocket. Wander around the party asking women their age, sex and location and tell them all the nasty things you want to do to them. Then follow it up with and LOL, wink or smiley face. But stay out of the kitchen…

John Edwards: Find a female friend. Dress her up in hospital scrubs. Drag her around the party while hitting on other women. Tell people she’s fine and you’re only flirting.

Heath Ledger: The Joker will be huge but don’t be just like the rest. Actually be Heath Ledger: don’t show up to any parties, don’t answer your door or phone, just lay in bed and wait for someone to show up.

–Thanx Chris Illuminati @ phillyBurbs.com!

Prop 2 is a November ballot measure that seeks to prohibit the most abusive factory farming practices in California and ensure modest animal welfare standards for farm animals by allowing them simply to turn around and stretch their limbs.

“Thousands of Californians who care about preventing animal cruelty and promoting food safety have thrown their support behind Prop 2,” said Jennifer Fearing, YES! on Prop 2 campaign manager. “The opponents of this modest reform are just a handful of miserly corporate interests that put their profits ahead of consumers and animals. But real people understand that all animals deserve humane treatment, including animals raised for food.”

As of September 30, the YES! on Prop 2 campaign has raised approximately $6.6 million. The donations include funds from The Humane Society of the United States and nine other animal protection organizations, as well as nearly 17,000 gifts from individual donors, with an average gift of $134. Of the individuals who have donated, 63 percent are Californians.

On the other side, the No campaign has reported 172 donations from factory farming corporations, totaling $6.9 million for an average gift of $40,285. Only 36 of these donations, or 21 percent, came from California companies. The contributions come from some of the most disreputable factory farms throughout the nation that have a sordid history of abusing animals, damaging the environment, and misleading and gouging consumers.

Prop 2 is supported by The Humane Society of the United States, the California Veterinary Medical Association, the Center for Food Safety, the ASPCA, the Consumer Federation of America, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the United Farm Workers, Farm Sanctuary, the Cesar Chavez Foundation, California Council of Churches IMPACT, Republican and Democratic elected officials, hundreds of California veterinarians, family farmers, religious leaders, and many others.

The first of only four live performances for the tenth anniversary of SUNN O)))’s creation and the recording of their first album The GrimmRobe Demos was last night. Only Sunn O)))’s core members Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson were on stage. No guests. No vocals. No keyboards. Just them on stage wearing their characteristic ‘grim robes’ (long hooded cloaks). The air was filled with fog and they played at their signature deafening volume.

For the uninitiated, Sunn O))) play extremely slow and heavy, using droning guitars, frequently heavily drop-tuned to extremely low tunings such as drop A and drop B, accompanied by feedback and other sound effects to create dark, ominous soundscapes. Their performances usually last 1 & 1/2 hours.  This is a marathon experience. They did not disappoint last night. Many who began the performance in the front of the stage dismissed themselves after the first thirty minutes, either from exhaustion or boredom (the bored being those who read about them from the New York Times Arts section article but never having listened to any of the discography). Those who held on got to experience mammoth soul shaking set to harmonics that rattled the bowels.

The venue was an interesting choice. Originally, the show was set to be at Safari Sam’s off Hollywood Blvd. At the last moment, the Regent Theater was picked for some reason (either the crowd was too big or too small–the latter being the more probable). The Regent has the dubious honor of being an adult movie theater until 2000. The shell of a building is hard cement with a sloping floor that made standing or sitting an uncomfortable experience yet somehow added to the show.

Nothing more to say. The initiated stand in awe of Sunn O)))…

The strangest feeling as one stood in the audience for their final U.S. show: this was not about the band; this was about the audience. How the audience reacted to hearing the music as if it was played underwater or in the next room really loud. How it was not necessary to actually see the musicians playing since the light show obliterated the view. How every smug, self-satisfied person in the audience stood in awe, not of the band, but of how they were able to withstand the barrage of noise when the final song with its 15 minute sonic explosion was performed. Pity…the Holy Grail remained so because few, if any, actually saw the bloody thing. Nostalgia sux.

Gay, gay, go away: Sarah Palin is a member of the Wasilla Bible Church for the past six years. The radical Christian fundamentalist church promotes a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer. Their catch phrase is Pray Away the Gay.

I don’t like that book:  Back in 1996, when she first became mayor, Sarah Palin asked the city librarian if she would be all right with censoring library books should she be asked to do so. According to news coverage at the time, the librarian said she would definitely not be all right with it. A few months later, the librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, got a letter from Palin telling her she was going to be fired. The censorship issue was not mentioned as a reason for the firing. The letter just said the new mayor felt Emmons didn’t fully support her and had to go.

Watch out Roe v. Wade: Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said that Sen. John McCain’s selection today of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate is further evidence that a McCain presidency will be just another four years of the same old Bush-style anti-choice policies. Just like McCain, Palin opposes a woman’s right to choose. Palin has also stated her opposition to abortion even in cases of rape or incest.

“John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate proves just how rigid and extreme his administration would be when it comes to a woman’s right to choose,” Keenan said. “For 25 years, McCain has opposed a woman’s right to choose, and we know that he will continue to push anti-choice policies in the White House. McCain’s pick of anti-choice Sarah Palin is further evidence that his White House will be just another four years of Bush-style policies. Any remaining doubts about McCain’s extreme anti-choice position should be put to rest when voters learn about the combined anti-choice records of Sarah Palin and John McCain.”

Palin, a member of the anti-choice group Feminists for Life, said during her campaign for governor that she is opposed to abortion, even in cases of rape or incest.

Sarah loves the warm weather: In an interview for the September issue of the conservative magazine Newsmax, Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, said she does not believe climate change is caused by human behavior. “A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made,” Palin said.

McCain, R-Ariz., by contrast, has broken with his party’s dogma by supporting a mandatory program to cap carbon emissions — a point of pride for McCain as he burnishes his independent reputation. Palin’s quote about global warming not being manmade is also at odds with the freshly approved GOP platform for 2008.

Sarah likes her power: Lawmakers will hire someone within a week to investigate whether Governor Sarah Palin abused her power in firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. The legislative council approved 100,000 dollars for the investigation that will find out whether Palin was angry at Monegan for not firing an Alaska State Trooper who went through a messy divorce with Palin’s sister. Accusations have risen that Monegan was fired for his refusal to fire trooper Michael Wooten. The council’s intent is to investigate the circumstances and events surrounding the termination of Monegan and potential abuses of power and improper action by the Governor and her administration.

Finally: Every time Palin appears on television and discusses the “Bridge to Nowhere” fiasco, she uses the phrase “Thanks, but no thanks.” What is curious is that her tone sounds strangely similar to the voice of Principal Victoria from the cartoon series South Park. Prove me wrong on this point….

Well their November 22nd date in LA will be at….the newly renovated Palladium. Interesting. Haven’t been to a show their since (oh god how I date myself with this) Sugar or the 20th anniversary Ramones show.

Go to Stereogum.com to take a look at a series of photos from their NYC show. Good Lord, they brought an actual live horse on stage! Can not wait for this!!!

Finishing up with Mogwai’s new one The Hawk is Howling. Moody instrumentals that rarely rise about the cacophany of past masterpieces (think Young Team–how obvious, huh?). Perhaps in a live setting these pieces will blast through. Yet I keep seeing filmic images as the music plays and will file this away for later…regretfully much later. Oh well, can’t wait to see Fuck Buttons live though…

Of Montreal’s Skeletal Lamping: torrent came in Saturday. Boy was I excited. Then I listened to it. Boy was I confused. Then I listened to it again. Boy was I annoyed and frustrated. Then I listened to it again with no distractions. Boy oh boy.

I had to dig up some interviews with Kevin Barnes to see if I was hearing this correctly or just hearing a rough (really rough) demo that wasn’t mixed yet. Alas…the songs hit the listener with such driving force then then the corner and become something entirely different in tone/texture/speed/context/vocal intonations. Yikes. One listen had me yanking off the earplugs and proclaiming this music to be an aural equivalent of schizophrenia. Songs end abruptly, mix fluctuates radically, there appears to be no thematic flow…and then I read the interview (go to Wikipedia for the link if you’re curious). Yep, this is exactly what Mr. Barnes wants to achieve with this new sound. Will be interesting to see if the audience is there for this. I will be seeing them when they play live in LA (no venue yet but HEALTH is opening act) to see how this will be pulled off.

Saw Bon Iver play last night at the Troubadour for the first of two sold out dates. Haven’t been at the Troubadour since last May when I saw Destroyer play.

Anyone who has listened to Bon Iver’s release For Emma Forever Ago must agree that the beauty of listening to the quiet elegance of this music lies in the moments of hesitant pauses and rising falsetto that dissipates into thin, fractured air. Well, toss that onto the scrap heap when the songs are performed live. I understand that translating ones music onto a large venue requires changes and allows the performer to crack open structures and explore avenues of expression. Just why did it get turned into a pummeling from the drums? This happened with Destroyer’s show and last night it happened again…oh, wait a minute, could it be the person running the sound board? Perhaps. Yet if I were on stage and noticed this, I would seek to correct it. Oh well, there’s always the Fleet Foxes show to look forward to.