The end of summer is almost here for those of us who live in Southern Texas. It has it's character, you can see it all around you; the yellow grass, the brown leaves falling from the trees, the dark skin slowly losing it's gold. I look forward to the fall when the sun isn't as hot, people will walk freely in the sunlight, and we will pull out our long sleeves.

Roisin Murphy "Sow into you"
International Pony "Leaving Home" (Akufen remix)
Ultramarine "Saratoga"
D*Note "The Garden Of Earthly Delights"
Jazzanova "What a..."
Heavy "Unbelievable"
The Matthew Herbert Big Band "Everything's changed"


Put these songs on your music player and go for a walk.

---Mr. Mark

An Emotion Dam


A year and half or so ago, when the new Half Priced Books opened, I spent quite a few hours sitting on the floor digging through their $0.98 Clearance discs. Through this excavation I came across a lot of promo CDs by artists on Mute Records. One of them was by a band from Liverpool known as Mountaineers, a classic example of a band that throws everything at the wall and walks away with a mess on their hands. On their only full length, ironically titled Messy Century, you will find elements of electronic psychedelia, Brit-pop folk, hip hop, and the occasional radio-friendly anthem-esque chorus. Most of these things never really jell. So you might wonder why I would take the time to write about this band, two reasons: their album is in fact interesting and might be more appealing to someone else, and there are 3 really good songs placed back-to-back right in the middle of the album. Not only were these songs good enough for me to hold on to the CD for, but I guess II also thought that they are worth writing about.

I Gotta Sing
Belgique Limb
Want To Write You

-Popkoff

Writer’s Block


It’s been a while since I’ve posted something new, so today we get two posts in one. First off, they say that downloading music is wrong, but let me present this for your consideration. A month ago I had never heard of Peter Bjorn & John, a Swedish pop rock duo in the same vain as Belle and Sebastian or Camera Obscura. Then I came across the song "Young Folks," on this mp3 blog The Torture Garden, and I loved it. So, I downloaded the whole album, Writer's Block, and surprisingly I loved it as well. So then I looked the CD up on Amazon to see how much it was running there and to my surprise, it’s still not available in America, and the imports are like $25. Long story short, a month ago I had never heard of them, and now I’m chopping at the bit to buy their album at my local record store.

(Right Click, Save Target As)
Objects of My Affection
Young Folks (feat. Victoria Bergsman)
Amsterdam

The second thing on my agenda today is another duo that Peter Bjorn & John remind me of (especially the song Objects of My Affection, which has the same "little drummer boy" quality to the drums), Damon and Naomi, formerly of the popular indie group Galaxie 500.


The Wondrous World of Damon & Naomi was released in 1995 on Sub Pop and is often referred to as "new psych," but it’s really just folky strumming over interesting atomospheric sounds. It’s pretty...like a pony.

(Right Click, Save Target As)
The New Historicism
Tour of the World
Life Will Pass You By
Who Am I

-Popkoff

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting New York City. It was everything I expected it to be and more. The absurdness of Times Square, the faded glory and stateliness of Jamaica Queens, the amazing 10 city block flea market in the heart of NYU on Saturdays, vendors with their knock off's and amazing seafood in Chinatown, subways so intricate you wonder where they all go, the grit and history of Christopher Street after dark, the lushness of Central Park, and of course; SOHO, NOHO, Greenwich Village, the East Village, Tribeca, Washington Square Park. I really loved it.
My pictures:









My soundtrack:
Right on for the Darkness - Curtis Mayfield
Could I be falling in love? - Syl Johnson
Whatever U want - J*Davey
Tres Bien - Jazzanova

---Mr. Mark

"The smoke of my own breath,
Echoes, ripples, buzz'd whispers, love-root, silk-thread, crotch and vine,
My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing
of blood and air through my lungs,
The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore and
dark-color'd sea-rocks, and of hay in the barn,
The sound of the belch'd words of my voice loos'd to the eddies
of the wind,
A few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching around of arms,
The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag,
The delight alone or in the rush of the streets, or along the fields and hill-sides,
The feeling of health, the full-noon trill, the song of me
rising from bed and meeting the sun." - Walt Whitman


Everything's Changed - The Matthew Herbert Big Band
Aquaworld - Shelby Gaines
So Sound - NB [Neil Badmington]
Whole World - Aloe Blacc

---Mr. Mark

I'm Just Remembering...

The power of familiarity is often thought of negatively as it relates to music. It's usually the scapegoat that explains why people sometimes listen to bad music, but I think in some cases it can be a positive force. I bought “Bright Flight” by Silver Jews sometime in 2003 while I was employed at CD Warehouse, I would often put it on while working. I remember the initial attraction being the detached slightly ironic vocals and the nonsensical lyrics. It was a bizarre funny album that just made me want to sing along.

When I listened to it again recently for the first time in at least a couple of years, I had a much different attraction to it. It was like I bumped into an old friend by chance, and not only were things not uncomfortable, but they were in fact glorious. The nonsensical lyrics now meant much more and seemed comforting; the ironic vocals were replaced with a genuine bittersweet country sadness. I was taken back to a different time in my life, and more importantly I was reminded of how good that time in my life was. I've spent too much time recently allowing the present to reshape the past.

Time Will Break the World
I Remember Me
Tennessee
Death of an Heir of Sorrows

Drag City Records
-Popkoff