the 'oxygen tank': park ji-sung


the 'football genius': park chu-young


not as in, "i don't play soccer", like "i don't eat onions" or "i don't go above 14th street" or some other snotty negative remark. i mean it like "i do not competitively play soccer and my skills were embarassing when i last played at age 12 and have since inevitably deteriorated so i entertain myself by running for miles and miles alone when nobody can catch watch me."

but the world cup is the world cup! it's like the olympics. nobody luges, but everyone watches the luge. or something.

whatever. it's all about team korea this year (like it wasn't all about them 4 years ago, too, sheeeit). they were drawn into Group G, along with the french, swiss, and the togo-ans. ESPN magazine (i read it at barnes & noble yesterday) favors the french and swiss as #1 and #2 out of that group. haters. you know where my allegiance lies. henry and zidane aside, i think the reds have a fighting chance.

i just subscribed to mobile updates on my cell phone, supposedly they'll be letting me know score updates as each goal happens. you can do this for any team.

who are you cheering for? i mean, besides team USA. support our troops, bring em home.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 10:41 AM |

posting thins out a lot when you don't have internet at your place. getting to a coffee shop with free wi-fi just to check your email is a new experience for me.

where did we leave off?

ok, so after reading my lengthy complaint below, matty was kind enough to offer me his roommate's bedroom for the 2 wk period before i'm able to move in to my own housing. since a hotel would simply be too expensive, this seems to be the next best (aka ONLY) option. his roommate spends most of her time at her boyfriend's place, so it would be an easy arrangement, plus i get to live with matty in brooklyn. the downside would be that it's in brooklyn, and that means we're looking at an hour-long commute, one-way, on a good day. the upside will be i'll be in brooklyn, rather than the bronx.

anyway it seems that the right thing to do would be to offer to pay some rent for the 2 wks there (essentially a very short sublet). so i emailed my program to see if maybe they'd pay for a sublet versus the $99/day in a hotel thing.

that was last week. quite a few things have happened in the interim, things which i should probably not post about on a public blog, since i'd rather not have them somehow track me down, etc, make my life a living hell, you know. i might be persuaded to complain over email, however.

the ending of the story is that i received a call today from the office, and it seems that i'll be able to arrange/pay for a sublet instead of a hotel. so this is good news for matty and me. or me n' matty. wacky shack forever 2006.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 1:58 PM |

expect the blog posts to be a bit skimpy for the next few weeks.

back in madison for a spell, blogging (brogging) from electric earth. since i've cancelled cable and internet in my apartment, i've had to hit up internet cafes for free wifi (fuck a t-mobile hotspot, did you know them shits cost like $6 for 2 hours or something? totes bogues). i'm halfway through a two-day ACLS course which is boring and expensive and mandatory for residency. better to do it now than to do it in late june when i could be having the weekend off to prance around and get mugged in the bronx, that's what i always say.

speaking of the bronx, i received my packet in the mail the other day which tells me about my housing (that was horrible grammar - liz, please fix). looks like i will not be getting lucky and in fact will not be able to move in until july 1, possibly a day or two earlier if i'm lucky. SO. i will need to find a hotel to live in for 2 weeks, since orientation is june 19 and i will be moving out there on the 17th or 18th.

the upside is that my program will reimburse me $99/day for the hotel. the downside is that after cursory examination on orbitz and hotels.com, the only hotels in NYC that are <$99/day are SHIT-TAY. almost all rooms at that price point involve shared bathrooms. some involve shared rooms. as in, bunk beds (the gershwin has a 4 bunk bed/8person dorm room! wtf!).

my residency will begin while i'm in this hotel (whichever one that may be), so i'd prefer to not share a bathroom or a bedroom, since i'll need to dress up and be professional, iron my clothes, shower daily, all KINDS of hassle in a dorm room. also there is pretty much nothing near my hospital in the bronx (except for one hojo which i found, which is NOT near the hospital NOR a subway line, and that means its NOT doable). almost everything listed on the aforementioned sites are at midtown or lower. there's a few at UWS or harlem, but again, those are hostels/dorms with shared yada yada yada.

so that's the downside. in all likelihood it looks like i'll be coughing up another $20-75/day for my own sanity, on top of the $99/day i'm getting from my program. multiply that by 2 weeks and i'm looking at what could be another grand or so.

also the fact that i need to move twice is a downside. and that everybody will be moving on july 1 will be a fucking nightmare.

so i'm trying to sell the car ASAP to help cushion the blows from moving and hotelling. i've craigslisted it, and i sent out an email to the med student listserve. i received 3 genuinely interested responses, 1 joke from alex, and 1 warning from the dean of students telling me that using the listserve for auto sales is inappropriate and illegal (as in, i could do time? really??).

the moral of the story is that i won't be posting much music for a bit. but who knows, maybe you'll get lucky.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 7:54 PM |

the farewell photo set from my camera

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 10:45 AM |

rob and i spent the past 5 days in chicago; it was a whirlwind. pictures will follow.

big thanks to mr. stv slv for putting us up for 5 days/4 nights of hot action. not like that.

to describe it in any amount of detail would require more effort than i'm willing to put forth at this moment. so let's sum it up with some bullet points:

"Lost" (the hit TV sensation on ABC) is like a drug

the islands put on a great live show, you should check it out

busdriver's dj was not as impressive

harold's fried chicken is delicious. try the hot sauce. the coleslaw is forgettable however, it's like a dixie cup of mayo garnished with shredded cabbage

tamales from the traveling tamales guy are awesome. especially with a high life

dropping your digital camera on the lens while the lens is extended will not prolong its life, and actually, will end its life right then and there. think about that one.

just because graham smith is late doesn't mean graham smith won't perform

karaoke gets better the later it gets. and we all sing better the more we drink

there is a smooth-music revolution going on in chicago that i never even knew about. i've never listened to so much TOTO before in my life

the chris ware exhibit at the museum of contemporary art, while brilliant and fantastic, is also a bit overwhelming. the man can write so small

grilled chicken with boursin cheese on a pretzel roll is DEEELICIOUS

one cat is funny, two cats are hilarious. one of those cats being fat is even hilariousier

H&M has quality clothing at competitive prices

smoke-free bars are the bee's knees. coming home from a bar with stinky clothes is the bee's ASSHOLE

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 12:17 AM |

the true story of when i became a doctor

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 6:21 PM |

graduation weekend at flickr

graduation was a flurry of cameras and neverending drizzle. i was tired, i ate too much at dinner, then i stayed out very late with friends at a bar that i never ever go to except for medical functions (i.e., the only other time that i can remember ever being there was on match day).

the next day we hit up a couple of graduation parties and then went to rob's parent's place in wauwatosa for his birthday+graduation party. the food was excellent (the roast beef in particular, oh and also that amazing chocolate cake) and there were several shots taken, and there was an entire band setup in the basement. i may or may not have been jamming out on the drumkit for the better part of an hour or so. we pulled a decent crowd, we got about half of the people from upstairs to come down, playing things which were only simple variations on 4/4 time (since i was on drums, of course).

returning to madison today, i sold off the last of my textbooks for one lump sum, which was convenient. now instead of 27 books laying around i have one hot check burning a hole in my pocket.

off to chicago this wednesday!

Lil' Wayne - Cash Money (from The W. Carter Collection Mixtape)

Juvenile ft. Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Skip & Wacko - Way I Be Leanin' (from Reality Check)

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 12:56 PM |

hasn't really sunken in yet. but i can stay up late and sleep in if i want to.

i think i'm going to eat some chips.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 12:10 AM |

ever.
tomorrow is my last day of medical school.

it's not even really a day at "school" (it hasn't been since third year began 2 years ago), but just another day at the clinic. it will be so ho-hum i can't stand it. and then on thursday i'll go up to madison to pick up my cap and gown (and andy's cap and gown). and then on friday i'll walk across the stage at the union theater which will be filled mostly with my classmates and people i've never seen before.. then later i will walk across the stage at the kohl center which will feature even more strangers and even fewer people who have any idea who i am (BUT YOU CAN CALL ME DOCTOR NOW, BITCHES!!!!!).

so it's been a long painful road through medical school and i can honestly say HOT DAMN i'm glad this is over. what is this, phase 2 or whatever? (if you call undergrad phase 1 and residency phase 3). 4 more years of training, which just HAVE to be better than medical school was. don't get me wrong, i had fun, i made good friends, but i could have done without the constant barrage of exams and tests and competition and stress and worry over applications for this and that and painfully high board exam fees and the entire step 2 CS experience and, most of all, overzealous and righteous preclinical students with ridiculous nicknames that they gave themselves who email the listserve and complain that people are selling used textbooks at prices well below 50% of the retail cost over email and then flood the inboxes with 4-times daily updates of their fucking pro-life group*. not going to miss that. not that i'm bitter or anything.

*there's no one person who's done this, it's just a composite of everything i'd like to complain about right now. that's all. and if you think this is about you, well YOU"RE SO VAIN (sing it carly)

no seriously, i'm going to be done with medical school in less than 24 hours and i couldn't be happier. i received a certificate from the alumni association today, and it had my name printed on it, followed by an M.D. (NICE!) -- also, the letter was addressed to DOCTOR!

wow.



The Sounds (Official) // The Sounds (myspace)

these former paris texas labelmates were dismissed early on as none-hit wonders, disregarded as blondie biters and another notch on the swedish import bedpost, following such luminaries as ABBA and ace of base.

i remember listening to their first album, but i don't remember the album itself. i merely remember the act of listening to it. i don't even know where we are in the discography at this point. is this #2 or #3? who cares. this album is a lot of fun. the first tip-off is that the album art features one of the mis-shapes, chillin with a random shaggy haired chica all nippin' out and shit. IS THAT FUN OR WHAT? where does this cover art even come from? did their art director just raid last night's party or something? anyway. kind of hilarious, in an IRONIC SORT OF WAY, REALLY.

look, i like the album cover. no hate intended. i'm just saying that you shouldn't be surprised if the cover of the next 446 album features emcee high life and brian stanger in a similar position

anyhow, this album is a big pile of new-wave synthesizer, over the top pop melody and huge, huge, HUMONGOLOID choruses which grab you by the throat and put bulletholes in your brain like a prion (look it up). i totally mean all that in a good way. its a very fun, catchy disc. i'm not expecting much from it. i don't even know what they're saying (they're singing in english). maja ivarsson sounds like bjork singing a straight melody, and that is A.O.K. with me, i think it lends itself very well to the sounds' sound. actually, there's one song where they sing about "fucking with your feelings," that part i remember (he's saying they're trying NOT to fuck with them).

the album is produced by the dude that produced the killers album (who are supposedly working on one of the greatest albums of the century or something equally preposterous), so i expect this band to be featured at the bait shop any day now. unless that already happened and i missed that episode.

i bet these guys and girl are totally retarded awesome live. but i wouldn't know. they're touring sweden at the end of this month. that's too far away for me.

The Sounds - Tony the Beat
reminds me of the romantics' "talkin in your sleep." which is a good song. so is this one.

The Sounds - Hurt You
dude. so good.

The Sounds - Painted By Numbers

also i just wanted to say that thanks to bit torrent, i'm all caught up on the O.C., and i must agree with tamz when i say that it has really gotten a lot better in the past few episodes. BIG KOREA, WHAAAAT!!! OPPAAA!!! SA RANG HAE!!! (omg morts)

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 8:23 PM |

operation rehab the right knee continues. i've been running with this strappy thing on my leg and so far i've had no problems. my knee has felt fine so far (haven't gone farther than 7 miles yet) and my hip seems okay as well (nothing that a little ibuprofen with the morning coffee can't fix).

i've been running on the treadmill in my parents' basement, because that way i can closely monitor how fast i'm going and if my leg gives out, i won't be stranded and have to limp several miles home. the big downside is that treadmill running is kinda boring. i'd rather be outside. but it's also more of a cushioned run than the asphalt, so that also needs to be taken into consideration. the upside is that i can watch tv while i run.

it's been a long time since i've watched music videos on mtv. and i mean one after the other, without programming about dudes dating mothers or 15 yr old prima donnas throwing parties or reality tv leftovers wrestling each other in dirty for the entirety of their annual income.

sundays are sucka-free on mtv2, and i was able to catch the end of the countdown somewhere on mile 2. in reverse order, the top of the pops were:

#3: three 6 mafia ft. project pat & crunchy black "poppin' my collar"


easily the best video of the three. white plastic-frame sunglasses (as seen on crunchy black) are the shit. i know i gotta get me some of those for the summer. the blu-blockers are too ubiquitous now, it's time for a change. three 6's video is total classic action, down to the titled intros for each rapper, and little kids playing the roles of project pat, juicy j, dj paul, and crunchy black in the escalade. reminds me of biggie's video for "sky's the limit" (prob one of the best hip hop videos ever) - this is no spike jonze affair, mind you - but still a fun video. bus' a head, win an oscar.

on a related note, check the video for "stay fly", esp the opening shot, with juicy j's verse, which appears to be all done in one camera shot. this video would have been incredible if it stuck with that idea. i'm just saying.

#2: chamillionaire "ridin'"


for a song about racial profiling by the police (note how cham and his girl turn out to be a white couple, who get waved off), the video is quite the light-hearted affair. with a cameo by tiny "zeus" lister as a hulking cop/pro wrestler, i can't help but feel like i'm watching "next next next friday" starring cham, sounding like a cleared-throat hyperarticulate juvenile and looking like a starving 50 cent (starving, probably, because recent g-uniters mobb deep's "blood money" has leaked on napster). krayzie bone kills his verse as far as i'm concerned. also keep your eyes peeled for a couple other bone thugs. this is like where's waldo, only with micro-machine-man-fast late 90s rappers.

#1: t.i. "what you know"


one of the hottest songs to hit the airwaves in a long time, if you ask me. this shit is hot and on fire. the synths destroy on this track. (by the way, this whole album is killer) unfortunately, the video, even though it's directed by chris robinson (he of boost mobile ads and "ATL" fame), is a bit slow and not much really happens. although peep the scantily clad womenses pumping iron in the front yard. also check the spinners on the roller skates. towards the end TI and his crew roll up to his own movie premier (did anyone see "ATL"? i kinda want to still). fun fact: the loaded knapsack in question (the one where he holdin all the work at) is actually a louis vuitton messenger bag. actually it IS a knapsack in the very beginning. speaking of the beginning, mike epps talks about getting a midget pregnant ("got a midget pregnant last night, need some counselin' on it").

well i guess this video has it all. no wonder it's number one.

after the countdown killa cam got on that screen to host the monster mix, which is a show where they mix videos into one another. they started by blending chamillionaire's "ridin" into three 6 mafia's "poppin my collar". not even joking. the next video after the break was "what you know". such variety.

via mr. chrysler (he of the WWB and Tha 446), the entirety (2 hours and 8 minutes!), on google video, of the dipset movie "killa season".

and finally, i would like to direct your attention to lemon-red, whose monthly mix series always does a head good, and this month's contribution from bonde de role's DJ Gorky (find that shit here) is no exception. and check out bonde de role while you're at it. if you're a fan of MIA, you'll love this crazy, off the wall shit.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 6:16 PM |

ohiosnap guest correspondent DJ STV SLV aka MAC G6 aka STV HOLT (STV HOLT!) reports:


note: STV SLV is NOT pictured above


DEVIN DAVIS: official site // myspace page

Natron and I were DJing at Club Foot last week and he asked me if I had heard the Devin Davis album yet. I hadn't, and he had already recommended it to me once, so I felt like a damn fool. He played "Iron Woman" and granted, I was drunk, but I was instantly feeling it. Nate described it as "Kleenex Girl Wonder, but better produced" (sorry, Graham) and I do see what he's saying, some of the songwriting is very similar. It's straight up pop-slash-rock, well-composed and cleverly arranged.

Devin Davis - Iron Woman

Devin Davis - Giant Spiders

Dude is from Chicago and also reminds me a bit of Chicago band Head Of Femur; interestingly enough, Nate from HOF plays bari sax on the album. Feel the sax solo that closes out "Iron Woman." THE SAX IS BACK

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 4:09 PM |

orientation begins on june 19

the housing office will let us know when we can move-in in mid-may

most people don't get to move in before july 1

i called the housing office to ask what i should do, being that i'm from wisconsin and it makes it kind of a long commute to the bronx for those first two weeks.

"stay with friends," (with all my stuff??) she said. "or, you might get lucky"
"all the other interns are in your situation." (that makes it SO MUCH BETTER)


FUUCK

update!

the saga continues: my program will pay up to $99 a day for a hotel room for us to stay in if we can't get a place before orientation. that's nice, but i still don't want to park a loaded u-haul in a hotel parking lot (even in jersey) for almost two weeks. that sounds like an invitation to i-dont-want-to-see-any-of-my-stuff-ever-again. not to mention the continuing costs of renting a u-haul that long.

update! update!

i just noticed that certain u-haul centers give you one month free storage with a one-way truck rental. this looks like my likely option (read: "solution"). this also means that i will be loading and unloading a truck twice as many times as i previously thought. gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 8:28 AM |

i might have iliotibial band syndrome. this is not a fun party trick. but if i run with special straps above my right knee, it should help. i done hurt myself purty good last week. so i'm going to take it easy, do shorter runs at a faster pace, in order to limit the mileage but keep up the ?fitness? (is this even going to work? we'll see) today i ran 3 miles and it felt okay. we'll stick with this for now.

we inherited a new 3rd year medical student at the clinic. he gets to share the work burden. this means my day is easier, which means more boring, which means more time to surf the internet on my preceptor's dell laptop from the 90s. today i spent a good chunk of time looking up NYC running clubs (word to the brothers and sisters in the korean road runners club) and trying to decide if my next phone is going to be this nerd-tacular beast (it's tempting, it really is), or something more... sensible (aka smaller). i stay busy during the day, clearly.


that is not me in the bottom left or wearing the cowboy hat. big ups to asians in cowboy hats though. rocking the bowtie too, natch. looking like an oriental colonel sanders an' shit.

Islands (Official Site) // Islands (myspace)

of course the unicorns were a lot of fun. they combined goofy, tongue-in-cheek lyrics with lazy bedroom production, and sing-song melodies that sounded as if they were sung by creaky voiced 14 year olds pushing the pubertal envelope. i thought they had one of the catchiest and entertaining albums of 2003 with "who will cut our hair when we're gone?" (which is a rather existential title if you stop and think about it, i haven't). they caught some hate for their "2014" ep, which, to be honest, wasn't as great as WWCOHWWG (nobody calls it that) but i found enjoyable nonetheless.

the unicorns imploded in 2004, and lucky for the rest of us, the islands are here. the two holdovers from the 'corns are frontman nick diamonds and drummer j'aime tambeur, and the rest of the cast and crew consist of various members of other hot indie rockers from canadia (arcade fire, wolf parade, wooden stars - although i wouldn't be surprised if broken social scene were somehow connected to this).

the islands preserve the unicorns' brand of psychedelic, experimental basement rock and gentle, urgent melody - which gives them an A+ in my book. the main difference here is that the sound is tidied up much more, with cleaner, sharper production, and more developed (as in, post-pubescent.. just kidding. not really) songwriting. they (the islands) have described this album as having "some dancehall influences, some calypso... It's more diverse and sprawling and ambitious.. A bit more mature than The Unicorns... More of a Neil Young / Brian Wilson vibe running through it."

the track "swans (life after death)" sounds like classic 'corns - dirty guitars and keyboards occupying the upper registers, under earnest lyrics and simple harmonies - but it sprawls (in a good way) over nine minutes (this is the opening track, mind you) into an epic of canadian proportions. "don't call me whitney, bobby" is a bouncy little ditty about skeletons (maybe). on "rough gem," the keyboards dance around a melody that almost sounds like an interpolation of may or may not's "when you were mine," (famously covered by prince in 1980 on his album "dirty mind") but then a second later it doesn't and then there's a plucked violin. "where there's a will there's a whalebone" is another matter entirely, very reminisicent of the unicorns' "tuff ghost" (famously sampled by Tha 446 for the syrup sippin' club banger, "prince of the rodeo"), with the centerpiece being a couple rap verses spit by busdriver and subtitle (most likely influenced by the islands' involvement with th' corn gangg) that has debatable merit. "volcanoes" is my favorite track on the album, with its creepy answering machine intro, swelling slide guitars and bluegrass rhythms giving way to singing violins and those soon-to-be-classic diamonds melodies, and ending with another over-the-top rock and roll flourish.

Islands - Swans (Life After Death)

Islands - Rough Gem

Islands - Volcanoes

04 May - San Diego CA @ Epi Center
05 May - Los Angeles CA @ El Rey
06 May - San Francisco CA @ Slims
08 May - Portland OR @ Loveland
09 May - Vancouver BC @ Mesa Luna
10 May - Seattle WA @ Neumo's
12 May - Salt Like City UT @ Kaya Gallery
13 May - Denver CO @ Larimer Lounge
14 May - Lawrence KS @ Bottleneck
15 May - Omaha NE @ Sokol Underground
16 May - Minneapolis MN @ First Ave
17 May - Chicago IL @ Metro (psst... stv... guest list...)
18 May - Cleveland OH @ Grog Shop
19 May - Toronto ONT @ Opera House
20 May - Montreal PQ @ Le National
22 May - Ottawa ONT @ Babylon
23 May - Waterloo ONT
25 May - Quebec QC @ L'Anti

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 7:51 PM |

graduation is next friday. 11 days away. there's a weekend in there, so that means 9 real days left. and the 9th day is graduation. so 8 days of clinic left. this is how i pass my time during the day.

and here's my american moment:

stephen colbert tears the president a new one, part 1 and part 2 and part 3

(since when did this become a youtube blog?)

woka-chika-woka-chika-woka-chika-woka-chika-woka-chika

they are chipmunks on speed, kids-on-coke bop (spz rmxe), all key-tars and analog knob twiddlings and lap-top comp-u-rock-onica. at first it was a bit difficult to tell if DAT Politics had a girl in their group or if they just sped up their vocals to improbably high-pitched registers. the answer? yes and yes!

Wow Twist is the french electronic freak-out trio's sixth album in seven years. admittedly, i know very little about this group, but i can say that the album's got lots of clicks and pops and square-wave synthesizer and drum machines and yelping and buzzing and fuzzing and such, all while maintaining a tenuous grasp of melody and a healthy dose of repetition, wrapped in megaphone vocals. i think i can feel my teeth grinding. if you think you'd like to spaz out in your bedroom to the spawn of cibo matto, atari teenage riot and the vengaboys, then this might be your ritalin-spiked cup of tea. this is the casiotone for the mentally blown.

check their myspace page for more songs, tour dates, and photos of them in costumes which are not nearly dissimilar enough to discourage any comparisons to hooded klan members. disturbing?

DAT Politics - Viper Eyes

DAT Politics - Turn My Brain Off

DAT Politics - What's Dat

all tracks off of "Wow Twist." the whole album is a lot of weird fun, so necessary.

*disclaimer - all drug use mentioned in the previous paragraphs were for embellishment purposes only and assuredly do not reflect the habits of either myself nor of DAT Politics. i certainly don't know what the hell i'm talking about. if i want to trip balls, i listen to the katamari damacy soundtrack on repeat.

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 9:19 PM |

why am i blogging about music and posting songs all of a sudden? and since when did this become an mp3 blog? (since a week ago, apparently) this is more fun. it's an experiment of sorts, to see how long i can keep up output of this nature (i don't really expect this to last very long once intern year begins) and if i can keep it interesting enough that other people will continue to read it. (also, the last post was an experiment on typing with proper punctuation and capitalization and it was tiresome.)

as it is, my life has enough routine that i get bored easily, and honestly, being bored doesn't make for interesting writing (from myself, anyway). when everything becomes routine and uninteresting, then i go 2 weeks without posting and someone will post a comment that i've been neglecting this blog and then i'll post some rubbish about the movies i saw on tv or something.

I"M TRYING TO FIND A BALANCE (trying to find a balance)

so here's the low end of the see-saw: i saw A&E's made for tv movie Flight 93 this weekend. not on purpose, it was just on after SNL - they ran a special for "saturday TV funhouse" (i lead a busy life) - and once i realized what i was watching, it was hard to turn away. i almost felt like it was my patriotic duty to watch. and it was disturbing. oh lord was it disturbing. i can't say right now if it felt cathartic or whatever. it was just weird. and i can't imagine paying money to go sit in a theater and watch United 93. it's hard to decipher if all the positive talk surrounding the movie is because nobody's got the balls to say "this is a shit movie" or because it really is that good. or is it obvious that i'm drowning in hype because i'm even having these thoughts?

and now the balance:

i don't know a whole lot about metronomy. what i do know is that it's one dude named joseph mount who lives in brighton, and last year he released the curiously titled album, "Pip Paine (Pay Back The £5000 You Owe)." he also dabbles in the odd remix, such as the franz ferdinand one i posted a couple days ago.

i like his remixes a lot. the remix of pal of godin and dunckel and overall french weirdo sebastien tellier's "la ritournelle" transforms the original from a very AIR-like, mellow orchestral number into a nice thick slab of falsetto-laced casio-rock which would make any hot chipper proud.

as far as his full-length album, i think it's a bit of a different affair. for one guy, he can definitely change up the style from song-to-song (and sometimes within a song). "you could easily have me," the lead off track, is wiggly synths and garage rock in a haunted house. "danger song" has a microhouse start, and swells into an 8-bit arcade get-to-the-next-level finish. "this could be beautiful (it is)" is sweet, glitchy lap-pop a la múm. "black eye/burnt thumb" is another interesting merging of lo-fi guitars and vibrating synthesizers over a backdrop of choppy machine beats. and so on and so forth. i'm not going to write about every track.

also also also i hear he plays live with a backing band. dude.

the official site, under construction.

Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Metronomy Mix)

Metronomy - You Could Easily Have Me

Metronomy - Danger Song

this educational lesson brought to you by dr. j around 1:11 AM |