finally we are no one

Cheap Pinot!! and No. 9

2005-09-18T01:11:00.000-04:00

Finally, a good, cheap Pinot Noir!!!

We have several wines by Villa Mount Eden at the shop, and this is the first one I've tried, though Josh heartily recommends their Cabernet ($14.99). The 2001 "California" Pinot (sourced from all over, apparently) is very light, incredibly easy-drinking, yet still has a personality. The nose is bright and full of tart berries (cranberry!!). On the palate, it is smooth as silk, with more lovely berriness and black cherry. Not much earth or spice, so if it's complexity you're looking for, well, you'll have to pay more, to be honest. But this makes a great everyday wine. It's $11.99, which in the world of Pinots, is pretty cheap.

Last night I got to try some of the '02 Marquis Phillips No. 9 Shiraz - wow!!!! Gorgeous, dark intense color, lush smells of deep dark fruit. The coolest thing about this wine was its finish - a little slap of white pepper that you never smelled/tasted coming!!! really fun. Very indulgent. I think it retails for about $34-$40, and is becomming hard to find. I hate quoting "scores," but if you must know, it got a 96 from Robert Parker. I'd give it about a 93, personally.

8 Awesome Wines I Can't Afford (and 1 that I can)

2005-09-08T23:52:00.000-04:00

I recently got to taste some amazing wines, most of which I can't afford to enjoy on a regular basis . . . but if you are so fortunate, you should check them out!

FOXEN Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir (2003)
WOW! Pinot noir has never been one of my favorite varietals, but when I find one I like, I LOVE it!!! I really loved the Siduri we used to carry at tayst, and now the Foxen is my new favorite. It's a small production winery, and was supposedly featured in Sideways (though I dont remember that part), as well as on the cover of John Cleese's new wine course video (well it's not on this cover version, and I haven't watched this yet, but anyways . . . "")
But all that crap is really not important. What is important was the amazingness of this wine . . . so complex!! Tons of bittersweet chocolate, a nice white pepper spice, and notes of game on the finish. Medium body. I hate wimpy, lite pinots! This wine was elegant and refined, yet still bold. It retails for about $30. Not bad!
I also tasted 2 pinot noirs made by Caymus which go under the moniker Belle Glos. The first, the more moderately (about $27) Santa Maria Valley '02 was way too light for me, though nice and acidic and crisp. The second, however, was great, though I still prefer the Foxen. It was the Clark and Telephone Vineyard, also '02. Really dark color, nice fruit, very velvety and rich. Not quite as "badass" or manly as the Foxen. But still really nice. And most astounding, the Caymus rep told me that the winemaker is the son of Chuck Wagner . . . and that he is only 22 years old. Tres impressive!!! It's about $37 retail.

In addition to the pinots, we the rest of the Caymus wines today. Needless to say, it was a good day!! I thought that the ever-popular Mer Soleil and Conundrum were nice, but you can find better/comparable wines for less ($30-something for Mer Soleil (a chardonnay; thankfully not overoaked and some bright tropical fruit, very good) and $27 for Conundrum (a Rhone-style white blend, slightly oaked, young and middle aged women go nuts for this stuff)). The Mer Soleil Late, a late harvest Viognier, was very nice - it was like a honeyed apple juice. Very indulgent! yet lighter than a sauterne or muscat. The winner was of course the '02 Caymus Special Selection . . . this cab is really complex, with lots of chocolate, and just the right amount of oak and fruit. Basically, it is rich and balanced. The perfect hybrid cab. I find it very interesting that this wine, though 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, was not single vineyard, as that is sort of the industry standard for charging a crapload for a wine. But it makes sense, as explained here. Now I see why my coworker, Josh, is so crazy about Caymus. Though I'm not sure it's worth $129.99. But if you've got it to spend, fab. If not, come talk to me and I can get you something amazing for half that.

In conclusion, a few awesome Italians:

I recently revisited an old favorite, the Solo Maremma Micante at dinner at tayst the other night with my uncle. I love this mostly-sangiovese Italian wine - it's medium bodied, and, please dont take this the wrong way, has an almost syrupy quality - gorgeously overextracted, super-ripened fruit that just melt in with the earthiness of the rest of the wine. Also a bit of floral qualities. Gorgeous, and it was perfect with the awesome "BLT" dish (bacon-wrapped pork with stewed tomatto and collard greens). It's only $16.99 retail - well worth it.

We also tasted the Allegrini Amarone at work - wow. Deep, deep extraction . . . jammy in that elegant, yet slightly rustic Italian way . . . never-ending finish. Allegrini is a producer in the Valpolicella DOC of Italy (in the north east, near Venice; the most used grape is called Corvina). Valpolicella used to be known for producing tons of swill to be used in cheap Italian restaurants, but they are starting to turn around, and Allegrini is one of the wineries leading the revolution. One unique thing about the Valpolicella region is that the grapes are dried to concentrate the sugar content. In amarones, all the grape sugar is fermented out to alcohol so that the wine is slightly bitter. We sell it for about $65. Worth it. Definitely.

Une Livre Qui N'est-ce pas Merde

2005-08-16T21:56:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading A Year in the Merde, by Stephen Clarke.

At first I really did not like this (fictitious) account of a British man's year of living in Paris. Then it started growing on me, and I couldn't put it down! The main character, Paul West, is hired by a company in Paris to spearhead the opening of several British tea rooms. Initially I found his assessment of french people (and women!) biased and sexist rather than humorous; everything seemed a bit too caricatured. But I guess I grew to accept the author's shortcomings with characterization, because as the book went on, I really became engrossed with the story itself. The best thing about this book for anyone who has ever dreamed of living in Paris is the little vignettes of what it is like, such as the fact that some vital group is always on strike (such as the street/sidewalk cleaners, which is why Paul is often stepping in merde, i.e, poop!), or how to not look like a tourist (very useful!). I don't want to get too into the stroyline, because there are some twists and turns I wouldn't want to spoil.

I definitely recommend this to all francophiles! Great beach reading, so hurry up cause summer is almost over! (thank god; could it have been much more unpleasantly hot?)

Mathieu!

2005-08-16T21:17:00.000-04:00

J'aime Mathieu Boogaerts!

Finally I bought the new Mathieu Boogaerts album,Michel, and it is soooo lovely! Just what I wanted to hear: mellow ballads in his hushed voice. Listen to a bit of the lead track:

Une Bonne Nouvelle

I got it off itunes to avoid the shipping fee from france. this is the first entire album i've bought digitally - it kind of sucks not having the artwork. i am very much a collector type. But I am also the broke type. So this will have to do!

He says that his biggest influences are a Belgian singer named Dick Annegarn and Bob Marley. There is definitely an element of both in his music: a debt to classic chanson, as well as a slightly jamacain feel in the laid back beats. The first song I heard of his was on a compilation of french music; the song, "ondule" is also on his album Super from 1996, which is the only one of his I have so far. One of the songs on that record, "Bon Bon" is one of the prettiest songs I've heard in a long time, and goes on almost every mix tape i put out! I guess he is like a non-depressed French Elliott Smith, though there are probably better comparisons.

Check out the video for his song "Bien," also from Super. Haven't you ever put on one of your favorite songs and just sang along, played along on your guitar, and acted stupid? that's basically what he does here, except i guess the irony is that he is doing it to his own song. It's cute.

(see also: my post in may about french singer M!)

Jim White: Full of $H^#

2005-08-03T01:31:00.000-04:00

Austin and I actually walked out of Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus the other night at the Belcourt. Alt-country musician Jim White leads some documentarians around the arm pits of the south, spitting out completely contrived and stupid things about how southerners "are," and how studying these ignorant, isolated people one can discover one's own spirituality. In fact White proclaims this as his religion! Interspersed with very staged performances by alt-country artists like the Danielson Famile, which to me, took away from the film even though I don't mind these artists. Jim Ridley's review in the Nashville Scene was right-on:

"Between White's cultivated folksiness and the usual Southern Gothic gawkfest, though, it struck me as close to insufferable--starting with White's suggestion that the filmmakers select a suitably low-class rental car to tour the region so they can gain the trust of poor people. ... the movie seems faintly dishonest when it isn't outright condescending."

I too have often felt fascinated by rural decay, and there is some beautiful photography in the film. They would have been better off just filming that and sticking cat power and jim white's songs over it. The plastic jesus sculpture hanging out of the trunk was just one examlpe of grossly obvious, heavily planned and in the end trite "symbolism" that permeates the film. Ugh.

(The New York Times review was much more fawning; i wonder if it is because they aren't from the south? And interesting idea; did we dislike it because we are so familiar with (and often scornful or indifferent to) the ignorance and decay that the movie fawns over? I don't know; debate amongst yourselves!)

Too much of a good thing? WINES!

2005-08-03T00:30:00.000-04:00

I love wine, but tasting 37 different wines in one sitting?
This happened on Sunday; we had a wine shop meeting and tasting. Of course, when faced with so many wines and having to remain lucid enough that tasting them isn't pointless, I had to spit every one of them out! It's a bit painful to have a wonderful champagne in your mouth and not get the full enjoyment. Oh and to make it even more exhausting, it was a blind tasting! I did pretty good up until about the mid 20s, when my palate just kind of gave up. But it was still a good experience!
Here are some of the highlights, all of which, of course, you can come get at the wine shop!

Sparkling
Steve threw us for a loop by tasting us on Korbel; UGH! It was super cheesy and just gross. Instead, for inexpensive bubbly, we have a much much better $8.99 cava from Spain that is great.

The highlights of the champagnes were the Roederer Estate (from CA) and the Roederer Brut Premier (FR). The Brut Premier is only $34.99, and the Estate is only $25ish. Great value for the quality!

But my favorite of all was the Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc from CA. 100% chardonnay, it was a deep golden straw color, showed super dried fruit with refined, elegant bubbles. YUM! And it's totally affordable as well.

Whites
Benton Lane Pinot Gris - usually I'm not the biggest fans of pinot gris - it seems the ones Ive had have been ultra steely and lean. Not this gorgeous Oregon one though! it was slightly effervescent with nice melon (which gave it a slight roundness), apple and pear. The finish was flinty and cleansing. Great!! And only about $15.99

I was surprised by the Columbia Crest Riesling. I (along with the others) thought it was definitely German due to its petroleum undertones, but nope! Really good stuff, for not that much ($15ish). Columbia struck again with its Columbia Grand Estate Chardonnay. I usually don't like chardonnay, but this one was ok to me! It had toasty and apple notes, and tropical fruit on the finish. And for only $11.99... yeah!.

Other good whites: The Catena Chardonnay (Argentina; $17.99): light, yet substantial. The Huia Pinot Gris (New Zealand; almost as big as a chardonnay! very complex and well-made! $17) was great, as was the Astor Kabinett Riesling (Mosel; $16.99).

Whites big losers: Franciscan Oakville Chard ($16.99; ever rolled down your window while driving through the country and smelled what could only be skunk? put that in a glass with some woodchips...) and the Kris Pinot Grigio. God I hate pinot grigio. Why so many women love it, I have no idea.

Reds

Pinot Noir

Paradise Ridge Pinot Noir (Sonoma, CA, about $20 i think) zingy and snappy! Very light bodied and fruit forward; combines old world elegance with a jammier new world style.

Panther Creek Nysa Vineyard Pinot Noir (Oregon). Wow, very Burgundian in style, yet still has some new world qualities. Very rich for Pinot. A gorgeous, floral finish. Single vineyard. Great!! ($49.99)

Zinfandel (Red)

I discovered something very overrated: Ridge! My least favorite of the zinfandels we tasted. (their Independent School '03, if you were curious).

I liked the Rombauer '02 best; it really tasted like old-vine zin to me, jammy and velvety yet a bit gnarly.
The others, however, favored Paradise Ridge's zin, which was a more middle of the road zin (less sweet, a bit more pepper).

Red Blends

We tasted two great red blends that are really affordable and made by fantastic winemakers: St Francis's Red ($9.99) blend, and Gustavo Thrace's The Third Bottle ($12.99). The Red was a lot softer than The Third Bottle, which had a bit of spice to it. Both are good values! If you drink Folie a Deux's Menage a Trois, try the Red instead next time!

Shiraz / Syrah

All the shiraz we tasted was pretty excellent (excluding the nasty and terribly over-priced Penfold's Thomas Hyland).

The highlights were the amazing Novy Page Nord Vineyard Syrah '00 (CA; $29.99), a Cote Rotie-inspired wine with a musty nose that didn't prepare one for the lush waves of dark fruit to come!

The Gemtree Uncut Shiraz (Australia, forget the vintage), which was voted by Decanter Magazine as being the best syrah/shiraz in the world, was also fantastic! It had that Australian minty/eucalyptus quality, and definitely could use decanting. For only $24.99, you gotta try this one if you're a shiraz person.

Cabernet

Some really great cabs! Even with my tongue withered at this point, I still enjoyed them a lot.

The big surprise was how good the $15.99 BV Napa Cab was! Definitely a more European style.

Also great (but more pricey) was the Whitman '01 Narcissa from Washington State ($35.99; actually a blend of cab merlot and cab franc). It definitely needed a few more years though it had nice red and dark fruits with a bit of menthulyptus (no idea how to spell that!) and a tinny bit o jamminess.

The Justin '03 Cab from Paso Robles ($21.99) had lovely hints of orange muscat and raisins! I wasn't expecting it to be so jammy, but it was really nice.

The biggest star of the evening was the Elyse '01 Tietjen Vineyard Cab ($51.99). Amazing nose: roses and dried black cherries. The mouthfeel was unbelievably velvety, and the wine had lovely accents of chocolate. Steve says it should be aged for about 5 years; I can't imagine how good it will get by then!

Yeah, it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

Back in the (photo)Shop...

2005-07-22T00:18:00.000-04:00

I got really into graphic design when I was a senior in high school and worked on the yearbook staff. That was the first year our school did a cd-rom yearbook in addition to the print one, and i got to go to yearbook camp (way better than band camp!) and learn Photoshop. I loved it immediately. I got Photoshop for Christmas that year, and all through college experimented with different design projects and whatnot, making web sites for fun, mix cd/tape art, or just random things. Then college ended . . . and I kind of fell off the boat. I think I got really lost and became lethargic and I guess depressed (they say a sign of depression is losing interest in things you once loved? god do they have us programmed or what?). I thought I had just lost all interest in it.

But lately, I have been a lot happier - and my interest in design has had a resurgence. I am going to try to get my website (fauxhemian youth) updated and in better shape, and maybe try to solicit some design projects for some desperately needed $$$.

Most recently I did a poster for the WRVU benefit on Saturday (which you definitely need to come to - only $5 at the End and some great local bands! More info and the poster at wrvu's website.). We are also going to be handing out flyers for our individual shows; here's what i did for my show.

See ya Saturday!

Orange In

2005-07-21T23:50:00.000-04:00

oh dear, it has been a REALLY long time since I've posted! Sorry!
I was without internet for a bit (thanks comcast!), and have been very tired from the new job . . . lifting cases of wine all day is hard work.

On the music front...

NEW BROADCAST!!!!!!!!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAY! I love this band so much. Their new EP is called Tender Buttons, which is also the name of a book by one of my favorite authors, the expatriot, queer, montmartre-livin, bitchy, and grammatically incorrect Gertrude Stein. I wrote a senior independent study paper on a poem from the book, called "Orange In." See what you think:

Go lack go lack use to her.
Cocoa and clear soup and oranges and oat-meal.
Whist bottom whist close, whist clothes, woodling.
Cocoa and clear soup and oranges and oat-meal.
Pain soup, suppose it is question, suppose it is butter, real
is, real is only, only excreate, only excreate a no since.
A no, a no since, a no since when, a no since when since,
a no since when since a no since when since, a no since, a no
since when since, a no since, a no since, a no, a no since a no since, a no
since, a no since.

Yeah. I love the playful use of pure phoenetics.

I've heard 2 tracks from the new broadcast ("I found the F" and "Goodbye Girls"), and was very happy with both. They're pretty different; "I found the F" is more akin to traditional Broadcast sound, but it does feel evolved in a way. "Goodbye Girls" is really cool, kind of a departure: all electronically-produced synth/drum tracks under layered, ethereal vocals. The epitome of their mod 60s meets 21st century aesthetic. I love that their sound could fit into a 60s sci-fi film, yet feels contemporary to us today. And I should mention, too, that they are down a member. It's weird because I've always adored their music, but they're not a band I've ever actually gotten into, like learning their members' names or bio or whatever. I just enjoy the music, and that's all I want. It doesn't seem like the loss of 1 member has changed much. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album!!

THANK YOU WARP RECORDS for bringing me broadcast, jamie lidell, and the new Prefuse 73 "Reads the Books" EP, which I've also been enjoying a lot lately.

The Good News

2005-06-27T19:08:00.000-04:00

Well, you can read about the bad news below . . . the good news is that I already have another job! yay! I'm going to be working for Steve at the Wine Shoppe in Green Hills! I am very excited . . . as you can tell from this blog, wine is among my passions, and it will be nice to take a break from waiting tables. Plus I've been wanting to move to a 9-5 schedule. So come on over, and let me enhance your alcoholism!

Redundant

2005-06-27T02:19:00.000-04:00

To speak in "The Office" metaphor:

They are closing the Swindon branch, and Slough is incorporating Swindon. David Brent warned of redundancies, and unfortunately, I have been made redundant.

I'll miss everyone there, and wish them the best of luck with the green hills restaurant . . . please go eat there (the food is sooo delish) and help out good people.

Ummmm . . . what's next? Tonight at least, listening to mood lightening music (jamie lidell), and taking a trip and multiplying . . . trying to at least go under with a smile :) Reading the latest David Sedaris book (hi-larious; it finally came out in paperback. highest recommends).

Almost as good as gyros

2005-06-24T03:55:00.000-04:00

Greek wine? WTF? Well, I think it's only natural seeing as they had like, gods dedicated to the stuff.

This is the only greek wine I've ever had, but I do love it!
It's by a winemaker called Boutari, who grow grapes in the Peloponnese region of Mantinia (which is an A.O.C.). The varietal is Moschofilero, and it's a tart, tangy "dry" white (I put dry in quotes because that's what the label says, but I get a lot of fruit off it and some definite sweetness). Moschofilero is a native grape, so you won't get it from Italy. It reminds me of some of the sweeter Austrian varietals, like Scheurebe (which itself is a mix of silvaner and riesling, i think i mentioned it before here), which has a *gorgeous* aroma. It also has a bit of terroir: a definite mineral taste almost akin to the "cat pee" of wines like pouille fumes or alsatian pinot gris. The nice thing about this wine is that the finish is crisp and quick, making it go pretty quickly! I find myself really loving whites that have these qualities; a slight sweetness with lots of lovely aromatic floral qualities. If you too love these things, I recommend my faves: gewurtztraminer, viogner, scheurebe, and roter veltliner. I also love the Boutari because of the price: and it's gone down! A year ago it sold retail for about $21, but the bottle I am enjoying right now was only $11! woohoo!

I'm thinking of doing some wine pairings with poor post-grad staples. For example, the other day, I drank a lovely Turkey Flat Rose from Australia (hearty for a rose, really herbal, nice for a lovely afternoon in the park!) with a Strawberry NutraGrain bar, and it went really well.

Next I'll be sharing recommended pairings for Mac&Cheese, as well as other favorites of mine such as Ramen Noodles and PBJ.

boring "courtney's life" post, with some music stuff too

2005-06-20T01:10:00.000-04:00

had a fun weekend; worked friday night then went to a going-away party for WRVU DJ John Turner (he does "The Stretch" on Tuesday afternoons; he'll only be gone for a few months, but any excuse to party right?); it was fun, got to meet a lot of new people! Drank a lovely red Rhone recommended to me by the very helpful Rob of Nashville Wine and Spirits (in Belle Meade). Very supple and just enough fruit: was great for a cool summer night dancing to fantastic grooves provided by D-Funk.

Saturday night I was off (yay!) and Austin and I went to a little family get-together, then to John Brassil (another WRVUer) and his girlfriend Lisa's party, which was very fun. Spent a lot of time talking with the girls (lisa, Anette and Lizzie), which was nice. In fact, we were having such a good time that we neglected to go to what had been our main objective for the night: the robot ate me at the Muse. Oh well . . . . maybe next time they're in town (because bands come here so often!). I drank some nice Rose Cava (sparkling spanish wine) which was also good for patio party sipping :) And it's pretty cheap too.

Tonight was a crazy night at work; we had no bartender and the place almost filled up all at once (as it tends to do). So things got pretty chaotic. And it was one of those nights where we were out of everything, it seemed. But it was all ok once it was over.

I've been reviewing some CDs for WRVU . . . the Animal COllective Prospect Hummer EP is INCREDIBLE. You must listen to it. Really dreamy and innocent and lush and sparkling, glimmering acoustic amazingness. We finally got a package from my favorite promotions company we work with, Triage, and the animal collective was a part of that, as well as new stuff from Jaga (formerly Jaga Jazzist ... they dropped the "jazzist" so as not to be pigeonholed into any one genre), Mice Parade, Roots Manuva, and a couple awesome new french things that you will surely hear on Tuesday (one of which is electro french hip hop, it's pretty crazy!). We also have a new double CD from Morr Music fave Lali Puna, all remixes and rarities. Really good stuff.

So there should be lots of great new music on the air soon. If the DJ sucks I fully encourage calls saying as much; I'm sick of hearing Dave Matthews on MY radio station! And then a 10 minute talk break of stupid inside jokes. That is totally wrong and ANGERS me! I have to look over all the DJs playlists, and it's so disappointing that so many student DJs nowadays are really unadventerous, and it's like pulling teeth to get them to play anything other than Bright Eyes and the Postal Service on their shows. Sheesh. In other WRVU news, I am working on a project to load lots of old classic as well as new indie faves onto our "radio robot," aka the automation that takes over when no one is on the air. It's a loootttt of work, obvs. But it is so nice not to hear dead air on WRVU anymore - yay for technology! My radio robot shall be better than all the kid DJs! It will take over and crush those who play John Mayer with its huge radio robot feet! MUWAHAHAHAHA!
Back to the labor-atory . . . .

PS in addition to missing the RObot Ate Me, I also missed the Shout Out Louds and the Dears! :( ANyone go to either show? Let me know what I missed!

Mixed Up

2005-06-17T01:28:00.000-04:00

I mentioned a mix I recently made in the post below; here's the tracklisting. I am very happy with this mix. I was up all night doing it, but it was worth it. I like the flow; for the most part it's pretty mellow and a bit sad, but peps up a bit on the bside. Most of these are requisite "courtney mix tape" tracks, and if you've ever gotten a mix from me, you're probably familiar with many of them. I worked in some new ones here, and they kind of added a new spin to the old faves. This is gonna be a long post, as I am amped up on caffeine (see last post as well), and feel like writing about each track! Please beware, my writing skills are minimal.

SIDE A

Broadcast "Look Outside"
[from their breakthrough The Noise Made by People. Broadcast have been one of my favorite bands forever; i love their retro-futurist sound. their most recent album was amazing. I saw them open up for the sea and cake a few years ago, and it was like, the sea and who? yawn. bring back broadcast!!!]

Modern Jazz Quartet "Django"
[this is in my top 5 songs of all time; so beautiful, it makes me cry.]

Nouvelle Vague "In a Manner of Speaking"
[i love love love this french "concept" band: they do bossa nova ('new wave') style covers of new wave 80s songs. This one was originally by Tuxedo Moon; i've never heard the original, but their version is achingly beautiful; lyrically, it's kind of like what Extreme were going for with their hit "more than words;" if only i'd slow danced to nouvelle vague in middle school!]

Martial Solal "New York Herald Tribune"
The strings here kind of mirror when your heart just drops. This appeared in Godard's Breathless as the main theme, and was used to good effect in the recent Bertolucci film the Dreamers, which I loved. It really captured the romance of cinema.

Sebastian Tellier "La Ritournelle"
Off his second album Politics. I loved his first, L'incroyable Verite for its film noir sound, but Politics I found to be disturbingly weird and too cheesy for me to want to listen to it a lot. I think he's an amazing musician, but I dont know, songs about safaris, followed by songs about Master Rico from Starship Troopers sound a bit too Broadway for me. However, this song is a rare gem on the album; possibly one of the most beautiful love songs ever, with an incredibly long intro that pays off big time. Gorgeous, simple lyrics. *Sigh*

Velvet Underground "Ocean"
Off Loaded, this song is so dark and menacing and kind of mystical. really beautiful, with cellos in the background; one of the more dramatic songs the velvets did, i think.

Brian Eno "Golden Hours"
I love Eno's Another Green World. This song is kind of baroque, with this really nice guitar "etude-ish" part near the end and awesome counter-rhythm throughout. It builds nicely and is kind of majestic in the same way as "Ocean," but not as menacing . . . it almost should come before "Ocean" if this was a thematic tape, cause it's like the sunlight before the dark and dangerous night swimming. But this, like most of my tapes, derive their track order based on sonic flow, not story-board.

Pit Er Pat "Emergency"
Pit Er Pat played at the Basement a few months ago with Jensen Sportag, but I was practically at death's door with flu, so i couldn't make it. But I heard they were awesome. THey're on Thrill Jockey, a sure sign of quality; i like the rhythms behind their music, as well as the warm rhodes organ that predominates musically. Frail female vocals, and awesome handmade merch. Pit er Pat are true artisans.

The Books "A Little Longing Goes Away"
From their latest album Lost and Safe, this track sounds so much like pinback to me for some reason. really soft vocals and subtle, warm harmonies; urgent plucked guitar/banjo? that's almost modest-mouse-like. know what i mean? this is why i never pursued a career as a music journalist :) To me this track is atypical of the books; i generally think they oversample, but this track features few (obvious) samples, and it's really gorgeous and a true song to me.

Caribou "Hello Hammerheads"
Caribou = Manitoba; I saw Manitoba in Montreal a year ago with Prefuse 73 and Four Tet, and they were definitely the best. They had to change their name for some reason. I love their new album, the milk of human kindness. it's the perfect marriage of acoustic and electronic. The vocals on this track, which is a very sad meditation on leaving someone, really sound like Elliott Smith. It also has urgently strummed/plucked guitars that kind of echo the books track.

Gonzales "Gogol"
I blogged about Gonzales a few months ago (i think in my very first entry, in fact!); he used to be kind of electro-clash, doing tracks with Miss Kitten and all those guys; then he comes out with this gorgeous solo piano album that's sort of jazzy, sort of satie, and just altogether amazing. I am a fool for solo piano that's kind of dark. To me, it definitely reflects his native Spain.

Blonde Redhead "Melody"
This is from their most recent album Misery is a butterfly. I hadn't listened to them much before this album, but i am so in love with it. It's dark, and lush, and actually reminds me of pit er pat with its emphasis on complex rhythm and muted organ.

Kim Hiorthoy "In Real Life I am Useless"
Hiorthoy is a man from Norway who is also a graphic designer and film maker; i first discovered him in Manchester's Pelican Neck Records (the actual store version of Boomkat.com, though I didn't know about Boomkat then, just kind of stumbled on the store while exploring the maze of crazy retail that is Affleck's Palace.) They were strongly recommending this comp (one of those awesome record stores where they write little recommendation descriptions on stickers and put them on the records!) called Pro Bono Publico, which also features Pan American, Iso68 and Corker/Conboy. It's all instrumental post-rockish, kind of jazz too; But Kim really stood out; he does this kind of minimalist music with really nice melodic lines sometimes featuing treated electronic piano (such as this track), or straight up electronic sounds. He also utilizes a lot of found sound and conversation. His stuff is really amazing; I highly recommend Melke as a starting off point.

Mum "The Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records" (Ruxpin remix #2)
Mum have been one of my favorites ever since I head finally we are no one (hmm sound familiar? ;-) ). They have this beautiful child-like sensibility, and their music is warm and lush and just makes me happy. I've got a couple Mum remix albums, one on Morr Music and another on some weird label. This is off the latter, and the remixer is also Icelandic. Dreamy.

SIDE B

Schumann "Waldszenen: Bird as Prophet (op 82)"
Ahhh more lovely solo piano. This track is light, delicate and airy but with a sense of foreboding heaviness.

Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright "Ode to a Friend"
I was so happy when I found out about this collaboration, as I love both Tiersen and Wright. The Amelie soundtrack by YT is one of my favorite soundtracks ever, and Wright is one of the best live performers I've ever seen. She has a huge, unique voice and is a great pianist. I hear a lot more of Wright than Tiersen in this particular track, but it's very lovely nonetheless.

Erik Satie "Gymnopedies No.1"
Pure pure beauty. Coming from a guy who wore the same gray velvet suit every day. I wish I could just have a courtney uniform and stick to it. Unfortunately I couldn't commit to such an endeavor. Though it would be nice to have some severely distinguishing idiosyncracity, um, not to mention immense talent :)

Society of Rockets "Little Road"
A gorgeous solo guitar and male vocal song; i'd never heard of this band: this was a random download that turned out to be really beautiful. It's evocative of night driving or a lullaby. It's weird because it's not usually the type of music I go for, but something about this track is so engaging and makes me all whistful.

Slowblow "I Know You Can Smile"
Slowblow are from Iceland; I first heard them in Montreal when I was in Atom Heart Records (a great little music store if you're ever there) and they were playing the soundtrack to the film Noi Albinoi, for which Slowblow did the score. Its very stripped down music that is lovely in its simplicity. One of the girls from Mum duets on this track, off the 2004 self-titled album, which came out on Mobile records - i love this label. They released a comp called Asthmatic Worm, which compiled tracks using accordions or melodika and featured Pole, Mum, DNTEL, Matthew Herbert, etc. It's awesome. And the packaging rules: it's like a little book. They also released a comp called Feedback to the Future, of all shoegazer stuff. Check it out. But back to slowblow, they are great. And the film Noi Albinoi is also worth seeing if you're into Icelandic culture (though it paints it as being quite bleak!)

Vitaminsforyou "Quand Peanut Fait Dodo"
A gorgeous, lush instrumental featuring some nice electronic effects and humming. It sounds like a little mountain stream to me. Vitaminsforyou are from Montreal. They're really good; if you like stuff like telefon tel aviv, you'd love them.

High Llamas "Calloway"
Their most recent album Beets, Maize and Corn was very different from their previous material in my opinion: it was this incredibly lush, epic, meticulously orchestrated pastoral symphony, whereas their older stuff was kinda kitschy 60s throwback-oriented (though i like that stuff too). This album is a start-to-ender, and i just love it so much. I remember listening to it driving through the quebec countryside and it was perfect.

Mathieu Boogaerts "Bon Bon"
A gorgeous guitar-based track that's kind of bouncy yet melancholy. I find Boogaerts' sound to be unique in a way I can't really describe; I also love that unlike the majority of male french singers, his vocals are hushed and fragile, rather than full of bravado and are almost ridiculously deep. One of his biggest influences is Bob Marley, but I like how he works it in really subtly, without doing full on raggae or dub. He has a new album out that I'm dying to get.

The Russian Futurists "Let's Get Ready to Crumble"
I love the muted lo-fi-ness of this track, which is actually pretty big and lush! it's upbeat and fun, kind of messy (in a good way!) it's all about losing control and having fun, and because of it's squashed, echo-y sound, it kidn of reminds me of either being underwater (think the pool aerobics in lost in translation) or really drunk and only sort of "being there." :)

Salvatore "Easy"
This was another random download that worked out very well; no idea who this band is, but this track is so dreamy and "wooshy;" yet again to use lost in translation as a reference point, it's like a slower version of that music that was playing in the bar they went to with charlie brown with all the images swirling on the ceiling. this would have been perfect for that soundtrack.

Of Montreal "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games"
I blogged earlier about seeing them live; this song has been in constant car play for the past couple weeks. it's so bouncy and fun and uplifting. . . . "let's pretend we don't exist . . . let's pretend we're in antarctica . . . maybe i'll never die, i'll just keep growing younger with you, and you'll grow younger too, now it seems to lovely to be true, the best things always do." Ahh the bliss of first falling in love, or really bonding with someone, enjoying life, etc. Yay!

Nouvelle Vague "Just Can't Get Enough"
Another from the Vague, felt I should include a more recognizable cover so their genius may be fully felt. plus fits in great with the sunny vibe in this section of the tape.

Jamie Lidell "Multiply"
I also blogged about him earlier; i got an advance of the record, and yeah, it's all awesome. go get it. you won't regret it. More positive thinking "I'm so tired of repeating myself, beating myself up . . . wanna at least go under with a smile..." The Best Motown Song Never Written.

Daedelus "Minor Detour"
This track is so nice; it features strings of the "see dick and jane" era ad, or 50s romance film kind of variety with some lovely flute melodies; really nice rhythm established using pops and crackles (discarded sounds, the core element of IDM). Kind of sets the scene for a couple of vintage numbers...

Nat King Cole "Quizas Quizas Quizas"
Cole did a whole album of Spanish songs that is really cool. I first heard this track in the amazing Wong Kar Wai film In the Mood for Love (please dont be scared off by the gay title; probably a bad translation!). This track is kind of tango-y. I've always loved Cole's smooth voice; I remember my mom would always play either him or Johnny Mathis in the car on trips, and it's kind of a warm feeling when I hear them.

Francoise Hardy "La Maison Ou"
My favorite Hardy track; it kind of builds throughout, and i really like the instrumentation. It was from an era when a lot of the songs sounded pretty generic, but i think that this one is very well done. Nice strings and strummed guitar.

Animal Collective feat. Vashti Bunyou "It's You"
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous; Lush layers of trembling harps/guitars/something stringed and Bunyou's warm voice. Unfortunately, as happens with tapes, this song cuts off :( But it seemed a nice way to end the tape.

Ok so hope you enjoyed this virtual mix tapes; wish i could put up some mp3s, but still haven't figured out how to do it without exceeding the bandwidth of the server i post them on. Hmmm. Oh well. If you want a copy of the tape, I'll make you one, but you gotta make me one in return! them's the rules!

Also, Thurston Moore has a book out about Mix Tape culture; i am dying to read it, but couldn't find it anywhere around town. Guess I'm gonna have to order off the internets.

One of my favorite places...

2005-06-17T00:47:00.000-04:00

In this age of coffee-obsession, every indie person must have their favorite non-starbucks stomping ground. Of course, mine also serves beer.

I really love JJs Market and Cafe on Broadway (next to Noshville). I've been going there since my freshman year of college; it was introduced to me by a native nashvillian who also introduced me to belle & sebastian; do i even need to tell you that i was in love with this boy?! JJs has this relaxed yet intellectual vibe that I love; it's pretty quiet, so reading or working on school stuff is very possible, but there are still hushed conversations going on if you want to be social. They have a great selection of bottled beer in the market part, and many ppl just sit working on their laptops sipping a Rogue Ale, or read Rilke while enjoying a coffee (by the way, I also think their coffee is the best in town). It's this cozy, relatively long room with really high ceilings and nice tables, chairs and old furniture; there's always either jazz or classical music on. It's a very calming place for me, and by far one of the places i would miss most if i ever left nashville. I went earlier tonight when i got off work and had a latte, listened to a recent mix i made for a friend (i have this backwards-ass method of mix tape making: i make a mix on my ipod then run the ipod through my receiver and tape it that way; technologically backtracking!), read a magazine, and felt so much better. Now I'm ready to tackle the awaiting army of dirty dishes and strewn clothing that are encamped in my apartment, ready to take it over any day.

(In an aside: I don't think either of them will ever read this, but congrats to Angus and Molly, JJs regular and friends I met through aforementioned freshman year dream boy - they got married this past weekend!)

(note: my favorite coffee place ever is called cafe intermezzo in atlanta. different vibe (it's a bar and restaurant as well), but wonderful: feels like an 18th century salon. beautiful half-rounded ceilings and several different rooms, a nice patio out back, and a huge huge drink menu of everything from coffee drinks to wine to various libations. i miss that place!)

Stupid Bandwidth

2005-06-11T14:41:00.000-04:00

Ok so I realized how little I really understand about how this "internets" thing works . . .

What the heck is bandwidth?

Whatever it is, I have grossly exceeded mine with the mp3 downloads. that blows. I so wanted to run a cool mp3 blog . . . guess I'll just have to figure out a new way to do it, or expand my bandwidth allowance (or something?). Unfortunately, til then, I had to take down all the older mp3s. But I am going to try to maybe have one available at a time, maybe for a couple days, then take it down and put something new up. We will see if that works.

If you're a seasoned mp3 blogger, please tell me how you deal with this problem!

Ted Leo Show

2005-06-09T18:17:00.000-04:00

Saw Ted Leo + the Pharmacists last night at the Exit/In - it was a really cool show! The first band, the Lucky Guns, had the whole grungy 70s thing down: hearing them from outside as we approached the club, i was like "what the *&$^ is this crap?!" then seeing the actual band and having my skeleton shook made it a little more palpable somehow. Think dazed & confused as far as the look, heavy rock like dead meadow as the sound. Most everyone else hated them, but i ended up getting in to it a bit. They were just so sweaty and grimy and banging their heads like there was no tomorrow, you had to give them some respect.

The Lucky Guns

Middle band, the Oranges Band, were good, tight, but ultimately wore out their welcome by playing the same song over and over for what felt like forever.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, photo by John Brassil

They were great! SO energetic and fun; all the indie kids were trying their hardest to dance. I saw a lot of people singing along to every word. I've never really heard much by TL (most memorable was his live cover of kelly clarkson's "since you been gone" mixed with the YYY's "maps" (showing how much "Since.." ripped "maps" off!), but alas, though someone in the crowd shouted for it, he did not play it.) I'm definitely a full-fledged fan now!

Do New

2005-06-09T18:11:00.000-04:00

Got a lovely new style today, thanks to Carmen at Studio Gavin: she is sooo awesome! Go see her for your next hair cut (um that is if you have a lot of disposable income, or are fiscally irresponsible comme moi).

Trois Chansons, Toutes Les Femmes!

2005-06-06T03:46:00.000-04:00

To whet your appetite for tomorrow's 91 Montmartre, here's a few french songs, from women of various eras (and only 66% french!).

Julie D. "Aiko Aiko"

From the Ultra Chicks compilation series (vol. 6), this is a cute cover, exemplifying the dime-a-dozen (sorry, julie) singing girl of the "ye ye" movement. I'd been listening to this kind of stuff for awhile, so it was quite a pleasure to recently see a new print of Godard's Masculin, féminin: 15 faits précis on the big screen, which features real-life chic chanteuse Chantal Goya playing the teen singer Madeleine.

For more infor about the ye-ye scene, this site is great!

In the more smokey, bohemian jazz clubs of post-war St Germain, we have the smooth vocal styling of Juliette Greco.

Juliette Greco "La Javanaise"

For a full biography, check out radio france internationale.

And now for something more contemporary:

One of my daily mp3 blog visits is Fluxblog, and a few days ago he featured the Rogers Sisters (girl garage post-punk, sort of DIYish, and there is 1 guy in the band) doing a song in french!

Check it out here.

If you dig the french, tune in to 91.1fm tomorrow from 12-1pm Central time, or listen at wrvu.org.

Chateau Potelle: 0 out of 2 is Bad

2005-06-06T03:19:00.000-04:00

I think I may have given up on Chateau Potelle, which many people love and is quite esteemed by many critics. But I am starting to think it is just not for me!

First I had their Mount Veeder (a sub-appellation of Napa) Syrah. I think it was 2001 vintage. It is a very earthy, old-world style, with lots of tobacco, leather, pepper and stinky soil! Very terroir-driven for CA. While I did enjoy it with food (lamb in particular), I just found it too unforgiving on its own!

Tonight I opened a bottle of their 2001 Paso Robles Cougar Pass blend (Syrah, Zinfandel (i thought it was zin at first; it's in the new, "official" CA zin bottle shape), Cab Sauv and Merlot). I was pretty disappointed . . . I found it to be thin bodied, acrid and overly acidic.. It did have nice bright cherries, chocolate, raspberries and plum, but it was a task to dig those scents out of the overwhelming alcohol smell, not to mention a general rotten kind of thing going on. In fact, with both this and the Syrah, I often can't help wondering if the wine is corked. It's definitely better on the palate than the nose, with some nice cinnamon and spices coming through, but still, as a whole it just didn't do it for me.

However, since so many people enjoy these wines, and as they are priced moderately, I encourage you to make your own evaluations.

Even with the above disappointments, I am still hankering to try their Riviera Rose. If I can find a bottle around here, I'll let you know if it saves Potelle's dwindling place in my cellar!

Cabin Fever

2005-06-02T18:52:00.000-04:00

I spent memorial day out at Austin's parents' cabin in Cottontown (yeah it's really called that), TN! It's a beautiful place, very peaceful and relaxing. For awhile I'd kind of lost the shutterbug, but it's coming back, and I took some nice shots while we were out there. I especially love the ones of the kittens :)

Click the above to see the rest!

And coming soon at the cabin: The 2nd Annual 4th of July party and Monsters of Amateur Fireworks!!!!!!! If you were there last year, you know how much fun we had :) So make plans to come this year!

Peirano Estate Wines: 2 out of 3 Ain't Bad

2005-06-02T16:56:00.000-04:00

When we first tasted the 2003 Peirano Estate Petite Syrah at work a month or two ago, I immediately loved it! It was velvety and jammy yet structured and definitely not a wussy wine. It reminded me a lot of zinfandel. And it's from Lodi, one of my favorite appelations in CA. They're not overpriced like Napa or Sonoma, and as it's further north, I find the wines that come out of Lodi to be somewhat more supple and refined. I'm not sure of the retail price on this, but the restaurant price is about $8.75/glass.

So, I was excited to find a 2001 Peirano Estate Cabernet Sauvignon while browsing the other day! 2001 was a great year for California Cabs. Even more exciting was the price: $9.99!!! I was a bit skeptical (how could it be good and be so cheap?), but when I got home and drank a bit, I was thrilled: it's a great value. Probably the best cab i've had at that price point, in fact. And good enough to break out when you have friends over, or any time.

I've also had their Viognier, which I was not so thrilled with; it was one of the only viogniers I've had that was oak aged, and the oak just leapt out of the glass. I found it to be unbalanced; viognier is such a floral and usually rather heavy-bodied grape, that i think oak-aging it is overkill: it drowns out the subtleties of the taste and weighs it down. But that may just be me; if you know me or have read this blog before, you know i am not a fan of oakey wines. So, if you like chardonnays, you might give this a try for something different.

All in all, I think Peirano Estate Vineyards are producing excellent wines, and you should check them out!

Music News: Summer Hits, Bewildered Radio, and WRVU

2005-05-30T16:29:00.000-04:00

Lots going on in the exciting world of music!!

First, one of my best friends from WRVU, Dave, who now lives in London, has started up an internet radio station on Live365! It's called Bewildered radio, and right now the only DJs are Dave, another WRVU DJ Walker Starling and me. Dave and Walker's shows are full of hip, upbeat summer music - really good stuff. They both have such great taste! My show is a compilation of some french music - not all french, but having some relation to french (for example, Luna's Dean Wareham and Laetitia Sadier doing Serge Gainsbourg "Bonnie & Clyde." So be sure to listen up!! The link is on the left, under the "Listen!" heading. If you like my french stuff, listen to my radio show Tuesdays 12pm-1pm on WRVU - different french stuff each week. I think my next playlist for Dave's station will be regular music, to kind of fit in better with the flow of the station. Here are my two favorite tracks of the summer so far, which will defninitely be included!

Weird War - "Illuminated" [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

What is more summer than rockin' 70s music by War, Bowie, T-Rex or Iggy? Rockin' psych-indie that wishes it were in the 70s - namely, this awesome track by Weird War. They're on Drag City, and contain former members of the Makeup, Love as Laughter, Nation of Ulysses, and Scene Creamers. This song just makes me happy, and I think it will do the same for you.

Jamie Lidell - "Multiply" [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

My other track of the summer (so far!) is a single from England's techno-soul-god, Mr. Lidell. Firstly, I am so excited to see Lidell going in this direction. His last album on Warp (Muddlin Gear) was unique in that it used his amazing voice as a layered instrument to enhance these really jarring electronic tracks - but it's never as brilliantly showcased as I thought it should be, and many of the tracks on that album are just too intense (read: unlistenable) for my wussy ass.

So backtrack to Mutek 2004: Austin, Benji and I got to see Jamie live! He was the highlight of the festival for me. He is this little British white guy, but when he opens his mouth, holy crap! The most soulful, gorgeous voice imaginable. He wore this crazy pouffy tape suit (as in the picture above), and sampled live radio, then sang over it, did some ridiculously amazing beat boxing, layered his own vocals, and created these amazing compositions using those elements, all live! It was so refreshing after three days of watching "performers" hunched over their laptops, just triggering samples. Lidell was a burst of energy and sheer, unadulterated talent. He did one track which he said was going to be on his new album - it was a crooner-style ballad. Now, I had heard him sing on Matthew Herbert's Big Band album, which was awesome. So i'd heard him croon before, and have been anticipating this new album ever since. I was so excited when I finally got to hear the title track, "Multiply." It is straight up soul, and even better to me in that the lyrics are expressing a lot of what I'm feeling these days. Please enjoy, and don't miss the album of the same name when it comes out this June!

Things are going well over at WRVU . . . the last music director is a great, cool guy; but he definitely got way overwhelmed with trying to balance school, his band Prom Night (I think that's it, either that or Prom Date - they're good, you should check them out!), and etc. Soooo I've had to do a lot of work to try to get us caught up with stuff that is a few months old as well as new stuff. A lot of promotions companies and labels were about to cut us off their mailing lists - i'm glad that that didn't happen! I've gotten to listen to a lot of awesome new music so far, and will post on the outstanding stuff. It takes up a ton of time, but I've really got nothing but time, and I've been looking for something useful to fill it with. So this has been perfect, and I've been feeling so much better about everything lately. Yay! In addition to my french show, 91 Montmartre, I'm doing a weekly top 10 rotation show, kind of like what Dave did when he was music director. It's basically just what it sounds like: the top 10 records of the week, as dictated by spin counts and word of mouth from the DJs, and as reported to CMJ in our weekly top 30. SO listen up!!!

The End of an Era ... Kind Of

2005-05-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

Well, this will be my last week working at tayst restaurant. I've been there since it opened in January of 2004, and I've learned a lot there. I am sad to be leaving, and don't really have a 100% job lined up yet, though it's most likely I'll be going full time at Basante's in Green Hills. Which will be great - i love the people there, and will already know the menu and etc. I will miss all my friends at tayst; we've been through a lot together!

I really need to figure out what to do other than waiting tables.

Back in Action, Back in Nashvegas

2005-05-30T02:01:00.000-04:00

Finally, here is my NYC update!!

I have been so busy since I got back, with work, and more importantly, with getting WRVU back up and in shape, music-wise. More about that later though.

So I had been feeling pretty bored and lacksadaisical lately, and I think my trip really helped alleviate some of that. Travelling has always been one of my favorite things to do. I went to visit good friends of our family, Tuija and her husband Jussi, who are Finnish. Tuija stayed with us as an exchange student when she was 16 and I was 6, and has always been the big sister I never had. She had her first child, Alton, 10 months ago, and they moved to Brooklyn a few months ago (they had lived in NYC before, but their VISA expired and so they moved back to Helsinki. Now they have permanent residency). So I was very excited to see them!

Alton is the cutest baby I have ever seen! Adorable, and very well behaved for a 10 month old! Their apartment is in a brownstone in the Carroll Gardens area of Brooklyn, which was very quaint, quiet, yet trendy and inviting. The main drag, Smith St, had some great shops and bars. I was impressed! And their apartment itself was very roomy, with a fantastic view of lower Manhattan.

Tuija has always been notorious with our family for her marathon walking abilities, and on this trip I walked more than I have in literally years. It was exhausting, but felt great to go to bed at night! I've been so listless lately, I kind of forgot what it's like to really be alive. god that's cheesy, but true! when your body aches, it sucks, but it's also incredibly rewarding. So I am determined to slowly grow out of my slothly ways. Granted, it is much easier to do lots of walking in NYC than in Nashvilly, but I am trying to at least be active and go do stuff, even if i can't walk there.

So where did I walk so much? Tuija and I (and Alton, in his stroller) explored I think the whole of the East Village and Lower East Side. It was really cool! We also went around the DUMBO area (forgot what that stands for...), which is in Brooklyn right by all the bridges that connect it to Manhattan. Such a cool area!!! Click on the above picture to see my photos from the trip.

One day I went around by myself in the Lower East Side, which was fun, but kind of lonely after awhile! I checked out some really cool bars and clubs that Melody Nelson recommended to me. I was really impressed with this gorgeous restaurant called Libation. It was crazy: I went in at about 8-8:30 on a Tuesday, and it was deserted! But I had a great glass of Albarino and a lovely Apple Tart and talked with the very nice bartender, Tim. He is a photographer, check out his stuff. It was nice to have my loneliness quelled with some conversation, at least for a little while, and even though he had no choice since I was his only customer!

After that, I went to a show at Rothko. I don't even remember who the bands were, they weren't very memorable. But it was a pretty cool venue.

OF course, I had to do some shopping while there. I had intended to get a bunch of cool stuff from tiny boutiques in the lower east side, but when i actually went in these tiny boutiques, the prices were waaaay outa my range. And the clothes, though handmade, looked so ultra-bohemian, I saw it as a strange contradiction: you have to be rich to look bohemian. Crazy. So I went to one of my fave stores, Urban Outfitters. Still not cheap, but somewhat in my price range. I also got some cute chinese beaded slippers at the Pearl River Mart. As for record shopping, I went to the hallowed Other Music, but aside from a few local CD-Rs, one of which I got for Austin (and it's really good!), most of the things they had I could just get here at Grimey's. Oh well, it was fun browsing and being around all these other music nerds.

All in all, my trip was way too short, and I can't wait to go back. I loved riding the subway with my iPod (certain music just sounds cooler in that setting! ultra urban). I missed out on going to the new MoMa, because the morning I tried to go was the same day I was leaving, and at 10am, there was a line wrapped around the building! There is nothing I hate more than crowded museums. Having to elbow your way in to read the info on a painting . . . screw that. At least I would have had my iPod to drown out the uninformed chatter of the other patrons (how many times have i heard, in response to modern art especially, "I could have done that! it's just a white square!" even though I too think Albers is a fraud :) I'm a hypocrite, yeah!). Soooo I went shopping instead. It was weird because before that day, I was so overwhelmed by both my exhaustion and the immense amount of choices stretching in front of me on Broadway, Houston, Ludlow and etc, that I essentially froze and couldn't buy anything the first two days. But luckily I got over my paralysis on the last day, and got the cute things aforementioned.

Tuija was an amazing host, and she is a great mother! I was so honored to get to spend her first mother's day with her, and can't wait to visit my "big sis" again soon :)

As I mentioned, the trip exhilerated me, and I've been trying to keep with my schedule of getting up earlier and doing more! The music directing has been a huge help. Stay tuned for more on that!

Click the above pic for more pictures!

Off to NYC

2005-05-07T15:27:00.000-04:00

Well, I am leaving tomorrow morning for Brooklyn! I'll post stories/pics when I return.

Only news at the moment: got to wait on Kurt Wagner last night! Kurt is the singer in Lambchop; he's been in to the restaurant a lot, but I think I'm the only one there who knows who he is. I also waited on some local newscasters, but I had no clue who they were until someone told me. I really, really hate the local news. Sensational, sentimental garbage. Sorry newscasters. They were very nice. I just don't respect them as "journalists." Oh well. So to celebrate my brush with indie rock celebrity, here's a little lambchop song for ya: The zero 7 mix of "up with people," from Nixon. (While Zero 7's actualy album got really played out and is kinda stuck back in 2001-02's lounge/downtempo/chillout thing, they have done 2 of my favorite remixes: the lambchop one, and a remix of Radiohead's "Climbing Up the Walls.") I highly recommend Lampchop's latest release(s) as well! Is A Woman is really mellow and beautiful, while Aw Come On / No You Come On rock a bit more. PS: Kurt is really nice.

Lambchop "Up With People (Zero 7 mix)" [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

See ya next week!

Hendry Wines

2005-05-04T20:50:00.000-04:00

Probably the most consistently wonderful wines I've tasted have come from a tiny company in Napa called Hendry Wines.

The winery was founded by George Hendry, a former designer of particle accellerators! (I've noticed that a lot of my favorite wines were made by really unusual winemakers, such as Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat (freak!) or Mat Garretson (see earlier post) tend to be fairly against the norm!). What I've found outstanding about Hendry wines is that there seems to be a very sophisticated elegance to them. To me, they have marked floral components (which is why I think their logo is so appropriate: the simple barrel with flowers growing out of it). There is an old world restraint that balances perfectly with new world varietals such as Zinfandel, which tend to be a bit more in-your-face and fruit-forward. I have had the 2001 Block 7 Zin (fabulous), the 2002 Block 7 Zin (unfortunately, I found this vintage disappointing when I drank it over the weekend; perhaps it wasn't ready to be drunk, though I've heard that it wasn't a great year. I have heard, though, that 2003 was supposedly a much better year, so watch out for its release!), and the 2001 Block 28 Zinfandel (which has been my favorite of all the Hendry Wines I've tried). I can also recommend the half bottles of Malbec and Petite Verdot on current release. I've never had any of their whites (though they make an unoaked chard that i'd love to try!). Their wines are pretty pricey (well, for my poor ass!), so I generally save them for special occaisions. Also, here in TN we are at the whim of our local wine retailers, as we are not allowed to import wine ourselves (how i long to buy wine of my fave makers' web sites!).
In news of that kind, however, if you live in Nashville, make the Wine Shoppe at Green Hills your first stop for wine; our bartender/wine manager Stever will be starting there soon as a manager, and I really respect his taste in wine, and owe pretty much all of the wine knowledge I've acquired in the last year and a half to him. He introduced me to all 3 winemakers I mentioned above, so I'm sure he will stock them at the store. Here's to Steve and George Hendry! Thanks for enlightening my palate!

Now go drink some vino! (of course for this purpose I always recommend tayst first, but the new wine bar on 12th south, Rumours, is also nice. definitely younger and hipper crowd, but the wine list isn't as good).

M / I.A.

2005-05-04T04:42:00.000-04:00

M: The New, Hip, French Munster?

I give you M, aka Mathieu Chédid. With his weird, even gimmicky personal style, you might expect the same of his music, but not so. It is graceful and lovely; his voice has a Jeff Buckley-esque falsetto at times, and the melodies are quite pretty. Some songs have a bit of a raggae influence, such as this one, probably my fave from the album:

M "A Tes Souhaits" [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

Wait, another look at the hair:

Here's what little I know about him: he is a huge star in france, "dressed in pink suits and adorned by his trademark M-shaped hair-do he enters ever larger stages through the heart-shaped hole of a giant inflatable guitar. Once safely on stage, M fires up an enormous glamrock-superstar show." (txt via le pop liner notes).

Check out the gorgeous music video for "Ma Melodie," perhaps one of the most perfectly suited videos for a song I've seen in a long time!

M "Ma Melodie" [video]

And in other news of the M variety...

Over the last week I have fallen in love with the M.I.A. album Arular.

While I like hip hop and stuff with slick programmed beats, I generally don't go for much hip hop. Or spoken-ish vocals. Like I really want to like AGF, and while I respect her, could never get past her vocal stylings (um and the general obtuseness of a lot of her stuff). M.I.A. is a really smart female producer who is also fun! The beats and all remind me a bit of Missy Elliot. I like a lot of the messages on the album ("Pull up the people, pull up the poor"). And the music just feels so fresh and original, though it's tough to place what exactly it is about it. I've been listening to it almost nonstop. It's that kind of album that just gets you pumped. The album also never gets boring cause each song has a different feel. From hard/serious to playful to raggae to asian . . . it's just awesome. Check it out:

M.I.A. "Sunshowers" [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

Of Montreal

2005-05-04T04:13:00.000-04:00

Just caught the tail-end of the
Of Montreal show tonight at the End . . . had to work :( But what I did see was great! Really upbeat and danceable, and I think almost every hipster in Nashville was in attendance. The place was more packed than I've seen it in a long time. During the encore, they did a cover of "alright" by Supergrass, possibly one of my favorite twee indie songs ever! Very fun. I haven't heard the whole of their new album yet, but what I have heard I've liked very much. It's in rotation at WRVU, so all you Nashvillians call in and request it. Afterwards we went to the Gold Rush, which was my first time there ever. I'd like to go back more often; it had a very low key, cool vibe.
Tomorrow night is the Shins; I am off work, and if luck abides, I'll be able to get a ticket and go! So in honor of them and Of Montreal, here is Of Montreal covering the Shins' "Know Your Onion!," as well as Supergrass doing "Alright."
Of Montreal "Know Your Onion!" [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

Supergrass "Alright" [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

Sorry for the lack of posts lately; I really have no excuse. But as I doubt anyone ever reads this, I don't feel too terrible.

I guess the biggest news of late is that I am going to get to be music director (again) at WRVU this summer! I have missed doing it soooo much, and am ridiculously excited at the prospect. Expect lots of gooood mp3s starting in early June!

poison!

2005-04-07T00:54:00.000-04:00

Ok so it wasn't as severe as pictured above; This past Sunday I was poisoned by a fierce opponent on the tennis court - not a Russian politician, but the evil Sun. The sun hates me - i will never be tan. At first I thought I was just really burned. Then yesterday and earlier today I developed large puffs near my inner eyes, making me look crosseyed, and a lovely puff between my brows, causing a fetching cro-magnum (sp?) effect. A steroid shot in the bum this morning fixed all that, and I am feeling better. So wear sunscreen ok? And don't mess with Russian politicians. The End.

Icy Demons & Sexy Comedy

2005-04-05T14:10:00.000-04:00

I discovered a really cool band last night; they are called icy demons. Austin bought their album, Fight Back!, a few days ago, and we listened to it driving around. it was 70 degrees, windows down, and the music was a perfect accompanyment. it has elements of tortoise with a bit of pit er pat, who they released a split 7" with, and that was how Austin heard of them (jensen sportag, Austin's band, played with Pit er Pat at the basement a few weeks ago). largely instrumental and kind of haunting and freaky, but kind of in a cute cuddly monster way. there's a great track on the album that features cheesy synths with live spoon playing - awesome. check out this track, one of the more mellow on the album:

Icy Demons - "The Silent Hero" [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

I also recently acquired the new Montag album - it's very nice! Warm clicky/glitchy electronica in the vein of mum or vitaminsforyou, but with a lot more vocals than on his previous album, as well as more acoustic instruments. Their newest album Alone, Not Alone is on carpark records, a consistently high-quality label. I heard their last album a year or so ago; it was on gooom disques, a french label who also released M83 (for whom montag arranged strings and collaborated with on their 2 most recent albums). Montag are from Montreal, my favorite city! Here's a track off the new record:

Montag - "Angels, Country + Terrain Connu" [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

Austin and I also watched a couple movies last night:

1) Sex Is Comedy, by Catherine Breillat (Fat Girl, which Austin says is very twisted, but that I need to see it).

Overall, it was ok, but it is one of those "making a movie is so freakin hard! watch the director try to meet deadlines and deal with obstinate actors!" movies, which i've never been a big fan of. It reminded me of Truffaut's Day for Night. I liked the way it was shot, but it didn't really hold my interest, and I really don't have much else to say about it!

2) Hannah and Her Sisters, Woody Allen.

I <3 woody! Really great acting in this one (Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey, etc). And there was a lot of great underlying "Allen voice;" Lee's artist boyfriend had some fantastic lines, such as "People ask 'How could something like the holocaust happen?' when they should be asking, 'Why doesn't it happen more often?'" and "You don't match art to a sofa!" The small subplot about Allen's hypochondriac character's search for a religion in order to rediscover God was great; it concluded with my favorite scene of the film: Allen, after nearly killing himself, walks around the city all day in desparation, and gets so tired that he goes into a theatre just to sit down, and finds himself watching an old b&w comedy film that he has always loved. As he watches the film, he realizes that you don't need a religion to find meaning or happiness in life. I think it was extra touching, honest and meaningful because it seemed so close to reality: Woody Allen rediscovering himself and life in a dark movie theatre. Beautiful. I really do think he is one of the best directors of the 20th century.

It's Spring: White On!

2005-03-31T15:52:00.000-05:00

Finally . . . the weather has turned gorgeous and sunny. Time for white wine!

I tasted 2 winners yesterday, either would be great for Patio Sippin'!

Von Buhl 'Armand' Riesling Kabinett 2003, Pfalz, Germany

If you know me, then you know that I love Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers. Many people are under the misconception that they are necessarily sickly sweet wines, but this is often not the case at all. They are not everyone's cup of tea for sure, but well made ones have nothing in common with the "sweet" character of, say, a white zinfandel. They are complex and creamy, yet crisp and lively. This Riesling was no exception.

I first noticed its slight effervescence and bright berry smell (actually reminded me of sticking your nose into a box of trix cereal - for me a very good memory!). The sweetness of the wine is balanced by a very high acidity and minerality. Sometime try biting a lemon then taking a sip of a high acidity, sweet wine such as this: the lemon gets your palate adjusted to the acidity of the wine, allowing you to taste the rest of the wines characteristics, and see just how creamy and rich it is! This wine would be great with mussels or spicy cuisine.

9.5/10

Adelsheim Auxerrois 2003, Willamette Valley, OR

This was my first time tasting an Auxerrois, which is a varietal that comes from Alsace, and was a medieval cross between Pinot Noir and Gouais blanc (which is actually a terrible grape to drink on its own!). There are probably only 500 acres of Auxerrois grown worldwide. Its characteristics are comparable to Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay.

The nose had a lot of peach, melon, and lemon zest, as well as pear and honey. In the mouth, it felt creamy and there was a lot of toasty vanilla, which was due to this vintage getting really ripe and being high in sugar when fermented (usually vanilla comes from oak aging, but this wine was in all stainless steel (to my delight; I hate over-oakey wines!)). Oak aging tends to make a wine "bigger," and i can't imagine how big this wine would taste had it seen oak!

Overall I found this wine to be very nice and approachable, yet complex enough to be interesting. I especially liked that this wine is big-bodied enough to be a chardonnay alternative, since I am not the world's biggest chard fan. I want to check out some of Adelsheim's other wines, as they sound very interesting and include a Tochai Friulano and a Deglaee (dessert-style pinot noir).

8/10

I also bought a bottle of Garretson's new "Tennessee" blend yesterday! They call it their 2003 "Volunteer Cuvee," and it's from Central Coast, your basic Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend (or "GSM," the main Rhone red grapes). The back label reads: "Dedicated to my family and good friends in the great state of Tennessee, the Volunteer State." The winemaker is from Georgia originally, and also has wines dedicated to Georgia and Alabama. Weird huh! I can't wait to try it; I love this winery. They make an amazing Viogner, a very cool and unique rose, and many other cool things. They are dedicated to making soley Rhone style wines, and I like their philosophy. Read more about them here.

happy drinking!

Better Late Than Never...

2005-03-31T14:18:00.000-05:00

So I've finally come around to the Arcade Fire. For awhile I was so annoyed by all the indie world hysteria about them as the new saviours of music. I listened to a couple mp3s and played a track on my show a while ago, but wasn't blown away at the time. Then I saw their record for $9.99 a couple weeks ago and broke down and decided to really give it a chance, and voila, it's been on constant rotation ever since. It's really lovely and oddly powerful at times; a great "whole record," i.e., it's one that is great to listen to all at once, in sequence.

It was only natural that I should like this album: they are from Montreal, one of my favorite cities, and i've been listening to a lot of bands from there recently, such as the Dears. Also, their album was recorded at Hotel 2 Tango, which is where Godspeed You Black Emporer record (and I think they own it), as well as many other Constellation Records artists(Constellation being one of my favorite labels a few years ago when I was really into dark post rock). At many points it shows a certain old world, french sensibility, such as the lovely use of violins and accordions, which is right up my alley. Yet it still rocks.

Vive la revolution!

Check out this, probably my favorite track on the album:

Neighborhood #2 (Laika) [mp3 removed due to bandwith overage, :( ]

rainy easter!

2005-03-27T20:45:00.000-05:00

It is a rainy, chilly sunday . . . also easter. was supposed to go to a barbecue for jesus (hah), but instead had a quiet day of contemplation.

And here is some appropo contemplation music:
Gonzales - "Gogol"
This is off of Gonzales' most recent album, the simply titled Solo Piano. And that's what it is . . . very simple piano melodies that I find very haunting and complex in their own way. They're antique and romantic and a bit gothic. Hard to believe that this album came from a man who used to collaborate with many electro clash artists like Miss Kitten, as well as the German label Kitty Yo. I have always been a big fan of piano music, everything from Schumann to Satie to Rachel's. This is perfect rainy night music, check it out!

Anyways, so, I had a very contemplative day which i guess is appropriate for easter even though I am not christian. I was watching TV earlier and there was an ice skating show on ESPN, but it wasn't just performance after performance . . . it was a very well-done and informative behind-the-scenes look at the World Figure Skating CHampionships that were (I guess recently?) held in Moscow. Of course they showed the poverty of many Russian families trying to give their children skating training, which was quite touchng and sad. They also pointed out how many people were better off during communism because the state sponsored atheletics and it gave many kids the chance to become national heroes. Now with capitalism there are few very rich and most very poor, and it is even harder for the poor kids to have a shot at greatness. Of course, it goes without saying that things were not good either with communism, but it seemed many of the people they interviewed may have been happier then. While I do not think that socialism can in reality work, perhaps for certain economies it is almost a better choice than capitalism, or perhaps a more gradual transition is needed. I do not know that much about Russia or its transition into "democracy," but it is something that has always fascinated me and perhaps I should read some more about it.

After watching that, I went to the Belcourt and saw the film Born Into Brothels, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The situation in the red light district of Calcutta is terrible, and I felt so sad for these kids. Yet they were very inspiring, as was the woman who led the project to give them cameras and teach them photography in an attempt to better their lives. Many of their photos were truly fantastic, such as this one:

Both this film and the show I mentioned above about Russia made me feel quite lucky to have been born in this country, and even more lucky to have been born into the middle class at that. It feels cheesy to sya, but our lives are so full and rich, we should never feel ungrateful!
For more about the Kids with Cameras project, visit their website.
Here is another picture by one of the children in the film, very appropriate for today: