A Riot is the Language of the Unheard - MLK

Coyote

Happy Martin Luther King Day! For many, today was a day to sleep in until noon and then watch two movies before putting your pants on and eating a microwaved dinner. I unfortunately had to pass on this holiday do to it being a "required" work day. I would like to thank the large soulless ecommerce company I work for for granting me this day to work for I truly would have squandered it with my freedom (probably doing everything above minus putting my pants on).

Anyways, tomorrow we get a new president. That should be fun.

Sage Francis - Makeshift Patriot


Derrick Harriot - Message From a Black Man

Its Cold, theres War and still plenty of Kids

This morning I set my ipod on shuffle as my brain was too tired to listen to NPR. I came across a track I hadn't heard in a while. Its "Hang me out to Dry" by Cold War Kids. I really don't know anything about them but I like the song so I posted the video below.




The next track I came across was Hotcha Girls by Ugly Cassanova. The ole' ugg as I like to call them was a Seattle mainstay for me and my Spokane transplant buddies for probably over a year. There's something comforting, beautiful and yet disconcerting about their whole album. It's like when you wake up and you feel uneasy but you don't know why. And then a friend comes over and hands you a 40 of Pabst and you both melt into the couch for the rest of the day. Its days and weeks like these that bring back the uneasiness and confusion that I sort of miss about the old days but not really.

Actor Puts Out Good Record

Coyote

I am shocked. An actor has put out a good record. No, it's not Billy Baldwin or Kevin Bacon. Indie film superstar Jason Schwartzman has put out a sweet solo record under the name Coconut Records. This record apparently came out 1 year ago, but appears to have only recently surfaced to the blogsphere (perhaps people were spending too much time listening to the Fleet Foxes and their boring, but somehow respected "music" put them in a slumber until now). Now I know the kid from Rushmore was part of Phantom Planet, but he was only the drummer and being a drummer in a pop band is like being a male pornstar. You are a necessary component to complete the project, but technology is always looking to replace you. Apparently Mr. Schwartzman's brother, Robert, is also the lead singer of the pop band Rooney. A friend of mine texted me a week ago to tell me that he just walked past a Hollister store in a mall and the band Rooney was playing live. I know, it's shocking that such a mediocre band from 5 years ago would be playing shows in a mall now. The mall show for bands in the past 10 years is the equivalent of the casino show for classic rock bands. Anyways, now that I have completely digressed, here is some of Jason Schwartzman's fine music that may or may not have been influenced by Weezer's the Blue Album:

Coconut Records - Back to You

Coconut Records - Nighttiming

Best Albums of 2008!!!

Coyote

Happy New Year

1) MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

http://www.myspace.com/mgmt

2) Cut Cpy - In Ghost Colours

http://www.myspace.com/cutcopy

3) Crystal Castles - Self Titled

http://www.myspace.com/crystalcastles

4) Benji Hughes

http://www.myspace.com/benjihughes
http://rapidshare.com/files/145573244/benji_hughes_-_a_love_extreme_2008__sharedmusic.net_.rar.html (password: sharedmusic.net)

5) Dutchess and the Duke - She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke

http://www.myspace.com/thedutchessandtheduke
http://www.mediafire.com/?azhdda2gb3a

6) Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream

http://www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound
http://rapidshare.com/files/174371116/Walking_on_a_Dream-Upped-by-Quarantine.rar

7) Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend

8) Sons and Daughters - The Gift

http://www.myspace.com/sonsanddaughters
http://rapidshare.com/files/85317724/Sons_08.rar

9) Faded Paper Figures - Dynamo

http://www.myspace.com/fadedpaperfigures
http://rapidshare.com/files/140892543/Dynamo__www.indiepassion.blogspot.com_.rar.html

10) Dr. Dog - Fate
http://www.myspace.com/drdog
http://rapidshare.com/files/121535476/Fate.rar

Coyote

Currently I am stranded in Seattle due to a blizzard. So I have spent my day watching movies. Unfortunately, one of those movies was "Let the Right One In," a movie that is currently on the top 250 list on IMDB with an overall rating of 8.3 out of ten. Apparently the people who vote on IMDB are goth kids who got picked on in high school (I know it's hard to imagine that goth's were outcasts in some high schools in America). Anyways, here is the entire movie in a nutshell (spoiler alert!): a 12 year old vampire girl and her father kill people so she can drink their blood, but unlike other horror movies she has a romantic relationship with a boy her age who is constantly getting beat up in school. That's it. That is the entire movie. I know if someone told you the plot to Donnie Darko (a genuinely good movie) it would sound stupid as well, however this movie really just pushed the envelope too far. A talking bunny that tells you to burn down buildings, I have no problem with that, but a 12 year old vampire girl falling in love with this little twerp who brings nothing to the bargaining table except for a Rubics Cube which he lets her borrow. Big deal. I've given tons of girls Rubics Cubes. This movie blows.


The Vampires - Han Yu Qu



Arcade Fire - Vampire

It's coooooooooold Outside!

Coyote

The winter always makes me think of Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde record. All of the songs sound like they are being drowned in snow. Even on the cover of the album he looks like he is freezing his ass off.

So tomorrow I leave for Minnesota, the home of Bob Dylan and the freezing cold. It seems like wherever there is terrible cold weather there is a lot of drinking going on (Russia, Wisconsin, Tibet,...etc). I know, there is a lot of drinking happening in Mexico, New Orleans, and that shit ass state where Ponce De Leon thought he found the fountain of youth (the nude beaches in Miami can be very deceiving), but there is a key difference. These warm places are where tourists come to drink and party. In cold places people are not drinking in order to sleep with one another. They just have drinking problems (Wisconsin has the highest rate of alcohol abuse in the US, Russia has the highest rate of alcoholism in the entire world). It's not because drinking keeps you warm (it actually opens up your capillaries and makes your core temperature colder) or that there is nothing better to do in these cold places (ie. Wisconsin Dells (a water park in the midwest), Hockey in Russia, and in Tibet....well there is nothing to do in Tibet except drink or meditate, but 2 out 3 examples is not bad). So why do people in cold climates drink until it is a problem? Answer: Because the cold sucks. Drinking doesn't make you warmer, but it does make you forget how bad it sucks to be cold.

Bob Dylan - Stuck Inside of Mobile


Bob Dylan - Just Like a Woman

I got drunk

Sorry kiddies, I over did it the other day which came at the expense of my marvelous blog postings which I know were sorely missed as per all the fan mail I received.

An old friend came by the bar, the drinks kept being poured and my will power quickly melted away into a glass of Olympia and Old Crow. It's one of those situations where you know its a bad idea and you know you will pay for it in the end but friendship and camaraderie superseded the warning signals.

A few months back I caught a History Channel program that was going over the multiple levels of hell as people of the middle ages believed them to be. What struck me was that many of these people were not necessarily evil, it was simply that they loved too much. Adulterers, drunkards, liars, the power-hungry were all possessors of great desire beyond reasonable moderation and as such society judged them to burn in Hell for all time.

I personally don't believe Hell exists in the afterlife for many reasons. If anything hell exists here on earth, perhaps at a Hannah Montana concert or your local Wal-Mart. I recommend checking out the most recent This American Life entitled "Heretic" about a big name preacher who loses his belief in Hell and faces the consequences.

Anyhoo, the tracks I have for you today are a fancy hit from the fancy boys of Vampire Weekend. I like the song because its complex, much like my religious beliefs or lack thereof. At a few points in the song I hear a little Peter Gabriel.

Then of course a John Denver classic and then a little Hell on Earth for you.



Vampire Weekend - Ottoman





John Denver - Please Daddy Don't get Drunk This Christmas




Hannah Montana - Best of Both Worlds