tagged, bagged and lagged

I actually have a valid excuse for my bloglessness of late, living as I do, in a farflung ghetto of Austin sans internet. Since we last spoke, I had an exciting housewarming dance party at my aforementioned new palazzo with Mysteima (as she shall heretofore be known, for it is her true and demonic name). I bought and pitched a tent, that has a bed stuffed inside and which offers me a zany little shelter from reality. I cut a hole in the bottom so I could put in a powerstrip. Thus rendering it basically useless for anything but indoor use, but...do I look like a wisened woodsman? Nein.

Jobs, jobs, jobs. The Pierre Un gig is about to expire, but I have had the unique pleasure of scorinig things that cost over $200 for about $15. I just got hired to work at a music ticketing company to do customer support for a not indecent amount of money, but very minimal hours. I may be looking at answering phones and book appointments for a local salon. Other possibilities are presenting themselves. So, I may be climbing towards a vague sense of financial legitimacy, which I will still plan on tossing in the pooper come summer so I can follow a flight of fancy all the way back across the country.

Ah, to be young, sagittarian and hopelessly unrealistic.

Speaking of, I also completed my application to graduate school. Yes, we are actually talking singular. Since I missed the deadline for University of Texas, which was the fucking absolute dream, I've been wondering if I don't want to try and wait for that window to open back up. We'll see...University of Memphis, it's in your court, beotch!

Also? I have been having unusual dreams in the tent, including being critiqued on the number of errors in my quick-type keystrokes by my most hated academic archnemesis of all! And other things too, of course.

Now, in response to a recent posting of my eurotrashy contemporaire Zach:


the rules: list seven songs you are into right now. no matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to

Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah - Home on Ice - I got this album at the end of October and have listened to it almost every day since - it fucking rules and has such pulse and sensibility and intelligence. Home on Ice is of a slightly slowed down but still rocking wailfest, awesome beat and claps action.

The Clash - London Calling - Lately this song has just been blowing up my world. I hadn't listened to the Clash in a while and started searching for something ton fuel my journey through rush hour Houston...and there it fucking was. Also discovered a strange lyrical shotout from Destroyer's Dan Bejar (one of my faves) to this song, "until this phony Beatle-mania has bitten the dust."

Broken Social Scene - Stars and Sons - Beautiful, long, shifting and shimmery masterpiece from gorgeous popmasters. I've been listening to their album You Forgot it in People a lot, and I think this is the best song on there - unbelievable guitat part, kickass claps.

The Go Team - Huddle Formation - I'm crazy about this entire album, its musical schizophrenia of piling more and more samples into these tight, trippy rock songs - if memory serves, this is the source of the most triumphant harmonica solo of all time. I'm absolutely mad for them, it's like some kind of tripped out Henry Mancini British rock mix. Awesome.

Gorillaz - Dare - I was shocked by the awesomeness of the new Gorillaz album because it took a lot to erase my 'Clint Eastwood' inspired hatred of them, since I had to experience it being overplayed in two continents. This song is dancy, rich, smart and unexpected - the video kicks ass too.

Devendra Banhart - Hey Mama Wolf - Devendra Banhart is another person who I've had an epic mind-changing on. Rejoicing in the Hands was just too creepy and spare, but his new album Cripple Crow is unbelievably good. He pushes out a full eighty minutes of imaginative (dare I say it? I dare!) psych-folk with incredible production, lots of epic instrumentation here. Hey Mama Wolf is a much mellower track, but he threw in some pathos and wolf-howls, so I fell hard.

Black Mountain - Don't Run Our Hearts Around - This is fucking ROCK. Josh had downloaded the first half of Black Mountain's album, and this is absolutely the most memorable and rocking track. Like some kind of reincarnated Led Zepplin with a strang, modern and furious musical sensibility.