The (s)Wheat Spot!

Video Gold

Who likes videos???

New Franz Ferdinand vid [via aol music] - Very Funny.

Ok Go - A million ways

Which video has a better use of Four Guys Dancing Around?

posted by paul @ 8:28 AM 4 comments

Sculpted with Love

So for the past two days, I've been in San Antonio for work at UTSA.

Funny place, that San Antone. All over campus there is a, how do you say, different style of campus decor.

First, the sculpture:




And last, but not least, I found this fresco on the wall of the University Center:



Love my job.

Stream New Kanye West CD - Late Registration

Stream New Death Cab for Cutie - Plans

[Links via AOL Music]

posted by paul @ 11:29 PM 0 comments

Weekend Recap

So, I was out of pocket for a few days for a Texas tour this weekend.

I went to Dallas for my friends Matt and Lindsay's wedding. They're Austinites, but they met in Minneapolis, and there were lots of Minneapolites there. A few of them are in some pretty good Minneapolis bands.
I met Linnea from Coach Said Not To and Robin from Valet. Robin and I had a good conversation about Craig Finn of The Hold Steady, a Brooklyn band, originally based in Minneapolis. Apparently, the crowd at Hold Steady's most recent show in the Twin Cities was a veritable who's who of the Minneapolis music scene. Not bad.

Robin also entertained me with tales from his youth spent in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Fascinating stuff about the IRA and terrorism.

Since Linnea and Robin were such friendly and interesting folks, I decided to check out some of their songs. I think you'll like them, I do.



Check out some of their tunes:
Valet - Havana
[apparently written after Robin's trip to Cuba, which he absolutely loved]

Coach Said Not To - Shadow Puppets

posted by paul @ 3:46 PM 0 comments

Kanye's Workout Pets

So, yesterday, stereogum posted info about a semi mash-up of Kanye West's best stuff and 'Pet Sounds' by the Beach Boys [which is only the 2nd best album of all time, according to Rolling Stone's Top 500 albums of all time] by a guy named Lushlife.



Some of the highpoints:

The New Workout Plan

Slow Jamz

Diamonds

Obviously, it has the best impact when you are familiar with both sources.



What are your thoughts?

A Beach Boys original from Pet Sounds:

Beach Boys - God Only Knows

posted by paul @ 2:07 PM 0 comments

"Hallelujah was a Hoodrat/Now you finally know that."

Concept Album Alert!



I got The Hold Steady's "Separation Sunday" [itunes, insound] off of emusic.com back in April or May, and I was really intrigued by the intricately crafted lyrical acrobatics, the song-by-song story development, and the obvious underbelly of youth culture/Christianity dichotomy running throughout the album, but the classic rock guitars really turned me off, and I never absorbed it.

Then yesterday, I heard
NPR's story on The Hold Steady, and I was reminded about all of the things I love about this album. I mean, any album that remains listenable, but also needs Annotated Lyrics is definitely a unique piece of work.

The album follows a girl named Hallelujah [Holly for short] through her days as she dances on the wire between sin and grace. She is equally pulled by the world, filled with drugs, parties and shady characters, and the Church, filled with grace-soaked sinners and saints, partying priests and redemption. Fascinating stuff.

I mean, anyone who can write a song about a Catholic girl "coming to" in a confessional booth after blackout night of partying is onto something.

Check it out for yourself.

Song and Annotated lyrics to "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night"

Song and Annotated lyrics to "Cattle and the Creeping Things"

Your Little Hoodrat Friend [regular ol' impy three]

posted by paul @ 2:15 PM 2 comments

Zombies Everywhere!

Previous Zombie post

So, we went down to the Erwin Center about 15 minutes late (we were like zombies waking up this morning) to find...

Nothing.

Just a bunch of American Idol hopefuls, post-tryout.

You can imagine how hard it was for us to ask one of them if they had seen any zombies.

Us: "So, how'd it go?"

Ameircan Idol Hopeful, Post-Tryout: "Fine. I sang, they said I had a good voice but wasn't what they were looking for."

Us: "Sorry, man."

[pause]

Us: "Oh, say, did you see any zombies?"

A.I.H,P-T: "Real zombies?" [puzzled expression]

Us: "Well, not real zombies. But real looking ones?"

A.I.H,P-T: "No, I don't think so" [slowly backing away]

Us: "That's too bad."

A.I.H,P-T: [quickly walking away backwards]

Us: "Let's go get some taquitos!"

Sufjan vs. Kanye - Zombies Walk

update: M. C. T. B. has another telling of the story

posted by paul @ 9:54 AM 3 comments

RIP Bob Moog

BBC reports on the death of the inventor of the synthesizer, Robert Moog.



I remember the first time I saw a band use a Moog synth live was Stereolab at the Liberty Lunch (RIP) in Austin back in 1997. Ever since, I've been in love with the sound. This guy changed music a lot.



What are some of your favorite bands that use a Moog synth?

I like Air, Stereolab, the Rentals... (just getting the ball rolling)

Stereolab - Lo Boob Oscillator

Stereolab - Sunny Rain Phase [via Fluxblog]

posted by paul @ 7:34 AM 0 comments

Idol Hands...

So, this is so uncool even to post this, but I have to:



Tomorrow, Zombies are descending on American Idol tryouts.

If I can force myself out of the house on a morning off, I'll get some video/photo footage and pass them on to you.

Is the fake zombie thing clever, or stupid?

The Zombies - Time of the Season

Sufjan Stevens - They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Our Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhh!! [Live in Denver] [thanks Music For Snobs.]

posted by paul @ 9:39 PM 1 comments

Returning the Favor

So, my sister decided to jump on the blog bandwagon. Check her blog out. Or I'll beat you up.



She started things off in grand fashion, giving me some (probably undeserved) props. See, I can't be all bad!

Other blogs of note:

Quite possibly the best blog I know of, by Randy

Truman's Blog - He doesn't post much, but I'll call him out on that, and maybe he'll get on the ball.

gorilla vs. bear - A Good Music Blog

Music Spectrum - Music Blog with a Christian bent

I'm totally loving these bands right now:
Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah [World Wide Inter-web]
Home On Ice
Upon this Tidal Wave of Young Blood
Over and Over Again (lost and found)

Of Montreal [Interweb]
So Begins Our Alabee
The Party's Crashing Us
The Repudiated Immortals [a great track about life and God from a different perspective]

posted by paul @ 7:34 PM 2 comments

Backstroke of the West

Check this out!

Apparently, some dude bought a Chinese DVD of Star Wars Episode III, and the rest was mistranslation history.

Some of my favorites:





You and I know this stuff happens all the time, and now someone has documented it for us on www.engrish.com. Apparently, the Japanese are the worst perpetrators of English mistranslation, a la "All Your Base Are Belong to Us!!!"



In other news, my housemates and I made the news about a stabbing that happened at our house twenty years ago:

The house at 704 West Elizabeth, painted lavender now, with an overgrown aloe vera plant flopped toward the street, is home to three recent college graduates who knew nothing of what happened there 20 years ago and could hardly imagine so many strangers packed into their three-bedroom, one-bath residence.
Courtesy of the Daily Texan

And FYI, it's an overgrown Yucca plant, Mr. Smarty Pants reporter, and we live in a 4/2!

posted by paul @ 3:17 PM 4 comments

Emo-klahoma!

Every time I go to Oklahoma, it's cloudy. Now, I refuse to believe that a state in this part of the country can always be cloudy, but something's up with that. My friend Chris just says that Oklahoma has 'emo weather.' I don't usually use 'emo' to describe weather, but in this case it fit. Even in the middle of August, I felt like I should have brought a sweater. To Oklahoma.

To add to the 'emo-ness' of the weekend, I decided to rock Oklahoma bands on my iPod while in state. The Flaming Lips, Blakely and Cheyenne are a pretty good soundtrack to a rainy weekend in OKC. The irony was that all weekend, John David from Pilotdrift (who have a new album coming out 9.20.05 that sounds amazing!) kept talking about going to visit Wayne Coyne (the Flaming Lips' frontman), and once we got back to our hotel Saturday night we realized that we had both been listening to 'The Soft Bulletin' by the Flaming Lips throughout the weekend. Emo/Synchro.

So, on with the promised OK pics. When I was on my way out of OKC, the clouds were low, the rain was gently falling, and it only made sense for me to take a visit to the OKC Bombing Memorial.



Iron & Wine - Waitin' for a Superman (Flaming Lips cover)



The Flaming Lips - Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen Cover)



Blakely - Rachael's Song (I actually met the girl this song's about at the wedding.)



Dig the New Song from Cheyenne on their Myspace Site: As Long as I Can
Cheyenne - You Were the Sound"

posted by paul @ 10:09 AM 0 comments

Album Leaf Video

So I was in Oklahoma all weekend at my buddy Dan's wedding. It rained all weekend, but it was a great time. I'll post some pictures of my time in OK tomorrow.

Until then, here's the video for "On Your Way" mp3 from the Album Leaf's new album In a Safe Place on Sub Pop.


Enjoy

posted by paul @ 1:57 PM 0 comments

Mice On A Girl

Check out the Video for Beck's song Girl off Guero.


Motion Theory directs, giving it a Mad Magazine, Al Jaffe look.

Notice the Scientology "all drugs are bad" propaganda? Maybe I'm paranoid. But Beck is a Scientologist, even if he's not as crazy as Tom Cruise was at his most publicity hungry.

Speaking of, isn't it weird that with 'Batman Begins' and 'War of the Worlds' at the wane of their box office run, we're not hearing any crazy rants about drugs and stuff from TomKat? Hmmm...

posted by paul @ 12:20 AM 0 comments

Wonder-Ful

Yesterday I met my friend Sean at his summer job, a little special place all San Martians have come to know and ignore, namely, Wonder World.

Holla.



Sean was quite the tourguide through the attractions: a cave,



the antigravity house,





and the observation tower.



I know of no Wonderworld songs, but here's a cover of Wonderwall by Cat Power.

Enjoy!

posted by paul @ 11:11 PM 0 comments

Top 5

High Fidelity might be the most re-watchable movie outside of the original Star Wars Trilogy in the history of film. I'm not sure, but I'm asking around.



The first time I ever saw that movie, it was like stumbling upon a group of friends who you fit in with but have never met. They like the same things as you, use the same slang as you, watch the same movies, etc. You know you're going to be fast friends within fifteen minutes.



Not too long after, I went through a period where I felt a lot like Rob (John Cusack's character), and I felt really good about it. Then later, I felt the same way and felt a little pathetic. Either way, I've never felt so much pathos with a movie character.

elliott smith - waltz #2 (off xo - Kill Rock Stars). This isn't in the movie, but it's a treasured song that reminds me of the time in my life when I first watched the movie. Enjoy!

It's got a permanent place in my Top 5 of all time, along with Good Will Hunting and the Godfather. I might be able to put "Lost in Translation" in that category too, but it's too new to say, and that would only leave one liquid spot in the Top 5, which would almost warrant a new Top 5-the "other" Top 5 (the transitory set).

That Top 5 would probably contain (in no particular order): Road to Perdition, About a Boy, Batman Begins, Saving Private Ryan and Say Anything, maybe.

What's your All-Time-Permanent-Top-5 (and if you like, your Liquid-but-still-really-good-just-always-up-for-review-Top-5)?

posted by paul @ 11:22 PM 2 comments

This Mobile Life

Wednesday, fliers were posted on every car windshield on our street to inform us that there would be a house being moved down our street, and we needed to move by 11pm or be towed. We waited with anticipation wednesday night, to no avail.

Thursday, my friend Chris parks his car on the street, and we think little of it. We go to a movie, and in the middle get text messages saying that the house was being moved that night. Once "Hustle and Flow" was finished (Grade: a solid B), we headed home just in time to avoid towing (it would have been on our dime) and catch the house being moved down the street.



Apparently this is more common than I knew. People can save thousands of dollars by moving old homes into the country, renovating them and then selling them. Who knew?



Since I thought it was a crime that they changed the night of the move (wed. to thurs.) on everyone, and then still saw fit to tow people out of the way, tow them back to where they were parked, and then ticket them for the cost of both tows, I thought I'd give you the new Fruit Bats song "Lives on Crime" off their new album on Sub Pop, Spelled in Bones.

I listened to this album for free on Sub Pop's website, until they took it off once the Album was released. You can get it at Sub Pop now. It sounds a little like the Shins: low-key, original indie pop with unique lyrics and a penchant for nostalgia. Recommended.

Fruit Bats- Lives of Crime

When you think about it, people who tow cars for a living live "lives of crime": they steal cars for a living, then extort money from you in order to give it back.

posted by paul @ 11:04 PM 0 comments

The Reason for my Silence

So, the (s)Wheat Spot! has been a veritable ghost town for the month of July. The reason? I was in Colorado, and I was really busy with a conference for 6 weeks. Chances are, if you're reading this, you probably know that, though.

Here are some pics from my summer, coupled with albums I listened to all summer, just so you can share in my experience a little.


Album: M. Ward - Vincent O'Brien (from Transfiguration of Vincent - Merge Records)


Album: Cheyenne - You Were the Sound (from I am Haunted, I am Alive - The Record Machine)


M. Ward - I'll Be Yr Bird (from Transistor Radio - Merge Records)


Akron/Family - I'll Be on the Water (from Akron/Family - Young God Records)


Album: Sufjan Stevens - The Predatory Wasp of the Pallisades is Out to Get Us (from Illinois - Asthmatic Kitty Records)

posted by paul @ 11:01 AM 1 comments

My birthday

So, Now I'm 26. Today! I had a quad-city day: woke up in Denton, had lunch in Dallas with my friend George, met my friend BV in Waco, then had dinner with a lot of folk in Austin.

If you want to give me a gift, join emusic.com.


It's awesome, and it's pretty much the only way I get music anymore. It's $10/month and it has Vice Records, Yep Roc, Merge, and Matador stuff on it. Not much mainstream stuff, but still pretty good.

If you want to try it out, you can get 50 free downloads, and then cancel within 2 weeks for no charge. If you do it through an invite from me, I get 50 free downloads too. So if you want to try emusic out, post a comment with your email address, and then delete it (I don't want your email address floating out on the internets for all spammers to see, but I'll still have it when you comment). I'll send you an invite, and then you click the link and, voila! 50 Free Downloads.

posted by paul @ 9:20 PM 1 comments