The big news!

A short story I finished earlier this year will be published in this month's issue of Aphelion!

www.aphelion-webzine.com


The piece is titled "Shirasawa's Promise", and I really hope you like it, because I thoroughly enjoyed writing it.

It is indeed a Happy Holiday so far!

2012: Going... going....

And just in case you were curious...

I worked out the math, complex algorithms and what not, and numbers 25 - 11 were as follows:

25.  Saint Vitus - Lillie:  F-65

24.  Spectrum Road - [Self-titled]

23.  Deerhoof - Breakup Song

22.  Old Man Gloom - No

21.  Marillion - Sounds That Can't Be Made

20.  Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse

19.  Baroness - Yellow & Green

18.  The Evens - The Odds

17.  Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah!  Don't Bend, Ascend!

16.  High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis

15.  Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind

14.  Storm Corrosion - [Self-titled]

13.  Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

12.  Tift Merritt - Traveling Alone

11.  Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light, Vol. 2 

Top 10 Albums for 2012

Should have some news about a short story publication later this week...  so check back.  Soon.  And often!

Until then, here's my top 10 albums of 2012, an eclectic list, as always:

10.  Jodis - Black Curtain

9.  Giant Sand - Tucson

8.  Melvins Lite - Freak Puke

7.  Oren Ambarchi - Audience of One

6.  Alejandro Escovedo - Big Station

5.  Dinosaur Jr. - I Bet on Sky

4.  Neurosis - Honor Found in Decay

3.  Dwight Yoakam - Three Pears

2.  Rush - Clockwork Angels

Honorable Mentions...  Tift Merritt - Traveling Alone, Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball and Storm Corrosion

And now the envelope please...

1.  Calexico - Algiers  What can I say?  This album just really worked for me.

And thanks for reading along this year.  It's been a good one!  And assuming we all survive past Friday -- 12.21.12 -- we'll try to do even better next year.

Stay tuned...

...big news (at least to me) coming soon in this space!

Right here!  Big news.  Here.  This space.

Just checking in

…and oh yeah, I've been doing a lot of writing recently.  I’ll need to post an update on that later, but here’s what’s been spinning while I’ve been busy… 

Can't seem to get enough of Calexico, Pat Metheny or Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson these days.

Calexico – Carried to Dust and Algiers

Iron and Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean

Pat Metheny – One Quiet Night and Day Trip

Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antartica

Okkervil River – I Am Very Far

Porcupine Tree – In Absentia and The Incident

Bruce Springsteen – Magic and The Promise

Storm Corrosion – [Self-titled]

Tortoise - A Lazarus Taxon

Steven Wilson – Insurgentes and Grace for Drowning

Good ole Texas music!

…they’re not all from The Greatest State, but their music – at least on these albums – definitely fits the mold.

Alejandro Escovedo – Real Animal

Joe Henry – Blood from Stars and Reverie

The Jayhawks – Mockingbird Time

Robert Earl Keen – Ready for Confetti

Lyle Lovett – Natural Forces

Old 97’s – The Grand Theatre, Vol. 1

Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back

Gillian Welch – The Harrow and the Harvest

Wilco – Wilco (The Album) and The Whole Love

Dwight Yoakam – Three Pears

Led Zeppelin

Celebration Day

On repeat, repeat, repeat...

Jazz drummers, pt. 2!

Still not a complete list by any means,... and still not in any particular order, other than alphabetical by drummer… 

Here are some more great drum spots that have been working for me lately!

Art Blakey

Cannonball Adderley – Somethin’ Else

The Jazz Messengers – At the Café Bohemia,Vols. 1 and 2

Hank Mobley – Soul Station

Joe Chambers

Bobby Hutcherson – Happenings

Roy Haynes

Pat Metheny with Dave Holland and Roy Haynes – Question and Answer

Billy Higgins

Dexter Gordon – Go and Gettin’ Around

Herbie Hancock – Takin’ Off

Lee Morgan – Sidewinder

Elvin Jones

Freddie Hubbard – Ready for Freddie

Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil

Philly Joe Jones

Miles Davis Quintet – Relaxin’ and Steamin’

Paul Wertico

Pat Metheny Group – First Circle, Still Life (Talking) and Imaginary Day

Favorite jazz drummers!

Great interview with Billy Martin in this month’s Jazz Times! 

Got me thinking about some of my favorite jazz drummer records… 

Definitely not all, and definitely not in any particular order.  Just some very good -- make that great! drum parts on several of my favorite jazz albums.

Rashied Ali

John Coltrane - Expression and Interstellar Space

Art Blakey

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – Moanin’

Elvin Jones

John Coltrane – A Love Supreme

Billy Martin

Medeski, Martin & Wood – Shack Man

Max Roach

Duke Ellington – Money Jungle

Sonny Rollins – Saxophone Colossus

Antonio Sanchez

Pat Metheny Group – Speaking of Now and The Way Up

Tony Williams

Miles Davis – Miles Smiles

Eric Dolphy – Out to Lunch

Herbie Hancock – Maiden Voyage and Empyrean Isles

Beautiful day in the 'burbs...

The soundtrack looks something like this:

Black Flag - In My Head

Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond

Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch

Fugazi - The Argument

...and this just in from The Dept. of Unsolicited Advice:  Get your holiday shopping done early!  It's already gettin' crazy out there.

The old stand bys...

…metal, jazz and prog! 

            Boris – Attention Please and New Album      

            Cave In – White Silence

Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach – Money Jungle

            Peter Gabriel - Up

Horseback – The Invisible Mountain

            Jesu – Conqueror

            Rush – Moving Pictures

            Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

Monday morning playlist

Soundtrack for a beautiful autumn morning…  Too bad it had to be a Monday.

Black Sabbath - Sabotage

Blackfield – Blackfield II

Boris – “Looprider”

Miles Davis – In A Silent Way and The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions

               Pink Floyd – Ummagumma

               Radiohead – “Bloom”

               Rush – Moving Pictures

Steven Wilson – Insurgentes and from Grace for Drowning:  “Deform to Form a Star”

Saturday Night Long Players

 Earth - Earth 2 (Special Low Frequency Version)  2006 2 LP pressing on Sub Pop Records...

High on Fire - The Art of Self Defense  Vinyl Re-pressing w/"The Usurper" single, a nice little Celtic Frost cover.

Melvins - Gluey Porch Treatments  An import vinyl pressing... and good stuff!!!  Hard to find early Melvins on vinyl without taking out a second mortgage.

Om - Conference of the Birds Original pressing and still one of my all time favorite albums!

On repeat....

Lot of the same old faces on the playlist this week.  That either means I’m stuck in a rut, or these are some really great tunes!  I’m going with the latter. 

            Anathema – We’re Here Because We’re Here (especially “A Simple Mistake”

     and “Universal”)

            Autechre - Oversteps

            The Beatles – Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper

Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

Al Green – “Let’s Stay Together”     

           

            Neurosis – Live at Roadburn 2007

Nine Inch Nails – Ghost I - IV

            Oceansize – Self-Preserved While the Bodies Float Up

            Opeth – “Coil”

            Hans Zimmer – Inception (Music from the Motion Picture)

Weekend "work"-list

A buddy of mine mentioned a few of these (Boards of Canada, Mogwai, Tortoise) during lunch on Thursday; so I dug them out and gave them a spin over the weekend…  good tunes!

Boards of Canada – Campfire Headphase

Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy

Mogwai – Happy Songs for Happy People, Mr. Beast and Hardcore Will Never Die…

No-Man – Schoolyard Ghosts

               Porcupine Tree – In Absentia, Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident

Rush – Clockwork Angels

Tortoise – TNT, It’s All Around You and A Lazarus Taxon

Steve Wilson – Grace for Drowning

Got a lot of work done, and also did a fair bit of listening while I was at it.

Scenes from the apocalypse...

...happy Halloween!

Autumn music

It doesn’t feel like Fall (with highs in the 80s?!), but at least it’s starting to look like it...

Got in a nice run yesterday.  Noticed where the tops of the trees are starting to change.  Lots of yellows, oranges and rusty browns in the top third of the canopy, but the lower two-thirds are still summer green.  It's definitely the best time of year! 

Some Autumnal music – at least to me -- from last week:

Bohren and der Club of Gore – Dolores

Boris – Smile

Cat Power – Jukebox (yes, again this week!)

Fennesz – Black Sea

Jodis – Black Curtain (even better than Secret House...?)

Pat Metheny – Quiet Night and PMG – The Way Up

Pelican – City of Echoes

Radiohead – Hail to the Thief and In Rainbows

Back to work!

I’m finally caught up on school work, and for the moment, I seem to be reasonably caught up at “the day job".  So it’s back to work on “The Hobby”.  Wouldn’t it be nice if The Hobby and the day job were one and the same?!  Feel free to comment on that in the section below...

…but, please no comments about baseball.  It’s going to be a long time until spring.

And now for a “back to work” playlist:

           

            Boris – Pink and Sun Baked Snow Cave

Ben Folds Five – The Sound of the Life of the Mind

Tim Hecker – An Imaginary Country

Isis – Oceanic, Panopticon and Wavering Radiant

Neurosis - A Sun That Never Sets

            Oceansize – Self-Preserved While the Bodies Float Up

  

Porcupine Tree - In Absentia and Warszawa (Live)

Hans Zimmer – Inception (Music from the Motion Picture)

* Yes, I did get Jodis' Black Curtain and Marillion's Sounds That Can't be Made this week, but haven't had a chance to spend much time with them yet.  I'll definitely do some recon this week and report back on those two.

           

Rainy day playlist...

Oren Ambarchi - Audience of One

My vinyl copy arrived this week!  Great stuff, and as I mentioned before, my new fave by Ambarchi (was Tima Formosa)...

Cat Power - Jukebox

My old fave by Chan Marshall!  Still haven't heard the new one yet, but this one got me through the weekend.

Eyvind Kang - Athlantis

...where to start with this one?!  A more recent discovery, but it grows on me with every listen.  Multiple "wow" moments on this disc.  And yes, it is spelled "Athlantis" on the album cover.

Fennesz - Black Sea

And what would a rainy afternoon be without Fennesz?

Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country and Ravedeath 1972

Can't seem to get enough of these two this week.  Rain or sunshine.

Karp - Mustaches Wild and Thrones - [self-titled]

Jared Warren, Joe Preston, why not?!  A couple of oldies, and definite goodies.

So much work to do!

… that I needed a mid-week update on the old playlist in order to get re-motivated.

Big Business – Mind the Drift

Converge – Axe to Fall

Kevin Drumm – Imperial Horizon

Fennesz – Black Sea

Tim Hecker – An Imaginary Country

High on Fire – The Art of Self Defense (2012 Reissue)

Scott Kelly – The Forgiven Ghost in Me

Prurient – Bermuda Drain

Weekend Playlist

Boris - Flood  A recent acquisition...  I've wanted this one for a while now.  Great stuff!

Melvins - Electroretard  Another recent one, for me at least...  and more great stuff!

Aethenor - Deep in Ocean Sunk the Lamp of Light  Ever wondered what an Aphex Twin and Sunn O))) joint LP might sound like, well...  Not sure if that's what Stephen O'Malley and crew were going for here, but it reminds me of a cross between RDJ's early ambient works and recent Sunn O))) albums.  Incredible!

Boris - Soundtrack from the Film "Mabuta no Ura"  Another recent acquisition.  More good stuff.

Amon Duul II - Phallus Dei  File under "way out there" but... amazing!

Jesu - Silver EP   More music from that sweet spot between his self-titled LP and Conqueror.  These were mountaintop days for Broadrick, in my humble...

Boris with Merzbow - Rock Dream   More Boris!  More great stuff!!!

Oh yeah...  I didn't include a photo, but the new Ben Folds Five album is working for me too!  Picks right up where The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner left off.  I know, I know, it seems out of place with all of the above "heavy stuff", but hey, I listen to what I like... 

The (New) Usual

It may seem random to note the following, but I am just under 6 feet tall.  And...  just over 200 lbs.  I wouldn't mind if a few of those pounds were re-distributed a little, but when I graduated Marine Corps boot camp in 1992, I weighed 185. 

In other words, I haven't let myself go over the last twenty years.  I work out 1 to 2 times a week, and try to run as often as I can, which usually ends up being about 3 or 4 times a week. 

I'm not bragging at all, on any of this.  I'm only laying the groundwork for my next few paragraphs...

That much activity requires fuel, and by fuel I mean 2,500 - 3,000 calories per day, depending on the day and the workout.  Obviously, a long run (~ 6 miles) would be a 3,000 calorie day.  But anyway...

In terms of fuel, I have my favorites in the area:  It's hard to beat the burgers at Huey's, or their shrimp po' boy for that matter!  And the fajitas at La Perla Tapatia are always a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10.  The sushi at Osaka is some of the best I've ever had.  I also love the sopa de pollo at El Mezcal, the Chile Colorado at El Porton.  The pizza at Russo's!  The brisket sandwich at Captain John's!

But, let me stop there before I get too excited.

Today, I would like to add a new item (and establishment) to the proverbial list of "usual places".  Drumroll please...

At the Java Cafe on Forest Hill-Irene in Germantown, they have breakfast sandwiches... and not just any breakfast sandwiches.  We're talking oh-my-gosh, call-home-and-tell-Mom-about-'em breakfast sandwiches!  And they make them just about any way a person can imagine. 

Sometimes I want egg and bacon on thick cut sour dough bread (toasted of course).  Some days I want two pieces of sausage (homemade?) on a bagel.  Wonderfully fresh bagels by the way.  Sometimes I just want a BLT for breakfast.  Yeah, they'll do that too, with thick slices of beautiful plump red tomatoes.

Are all of these options incredible?  Yes!  Are they healthy?  Well, they're probably a lot better than whatever grease-soaked thing the fast food place wants to hand out of their sliding glass drive through window.

So anyway... the new "usual" for breakfast out -- for me, at least -- is Java Cafe!

(And no, this isn't a paid endorsement.  It really is that good.)

An all Hydra Head playlist!

These are by no means my favorites from Aaron and co.  Just the ones that have been working for me lately.

The Austerity Program – Backsliders and Apostates Will Burn

Cave In – Planets of Old and White Silence

Daughters - Daughters

Jesu – Heartache/Dethroned

Keelhaul – Triumphant Return to Obscurity

Old Man Gloom - No

Pelican - Australasia

Pyramids/Horseback – A Throne Without a King

Other than that...  Still keeping my head down.  Lots to be done!  Not enough hours in the day.  Not enough days in the week.

But I did take a break last week to watch The Green Mile Wednesday night on AMC.  And then again on Thursday night!  Great movie.

Homage

hom-age [om-ij]

noun

1.       Respect or reverence paid or rendered.

2.       The formal public acknowledgment by which a feudal tenant or vassal declared himself to be the man or vassal of his lord, owing him fealty and service.

3.       The relation thus established of a vassal to his lord.

4.       Something done or given in acknowledgment or consideration of the worth of another.

Source:  Dictionary.com

For me, the word 'homage' means gratitude.  And respect.  An acknowledgment of reverence towards another person.  Appreciation for things they've done that have mattered to you or the people around you.

Please excuse the poor quality of some of these images, but I wanted to pay homage, show some respect for all of the incredible ways in which Hydra Head records impacted my life over the years.

A Boris album, with art from Stephen O'Malley, released on Aaron Turner's label...  Add all of those together, and how could it not be one of my favorite releases of all time!  Thank you for this one.  Sincerely.

 ...and where to start with all of the various Jesu LPs, EPs, splits and other (e.g. Greymachine).  Again, thank you!

...and for bringing Cave In back to us...  Thank you.

...and for all the other Turner related projects...  Old Man Gloom, Jodis, Mammifer, etc.  Thank you.

...for taking us to the finges of what we thought music could be -- everything from Oxbow to Xasthur to Ocrillim (shown), thank you again.

...and for introducing us to bands like Pyramids, Daughters, Knut and Keelhaul, stuff we might not have heard otherwise...  thank you.

And for all the other releases...  everything from Pelican to Big Business, Botch to Cavity, Bergraven to Prurient, and all that I've missed...  Thank you.

Still Workin'!

More music for keeping my head down and getting things done! 

Oren Ambarchi – Audience of One (This is my new favorite by Ambarchi.  I especially love the last two tracks.  The transition from “Passage” to “Fractured Mirror” is sublime in every sense.)

John Fahey - America

Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972 ("In the Fog" - all three parts!)

Locrian & Mammifer – Bless Them That Curse You

Melvins – The Bride Screamed Murder

Neurosis – Through Silver in Blood, Sovereign and Given to the Rising

Pyramids/Horseback – A Throne Without A King

Shrinebuilder – s/t

And when I've not been workin', I've been reading.  The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy…  So far, one of the best books I’ve ever read.  Ever.  Period.

Fingers crossed!

Finished two new short stories over the extended weekend...  Labor Day indeed!

Spent the evening tidying up the formatting and adding nice little cover letters.

Then I closed my eyes, and hit "submit", as in "submit your story here". 

Such a funny word.  It hardly describes what it means to send one of your darling creations over the wire to some gifted, but underpaid, underappreciated editor, who will incidentally be more than just a little tired and fussy when he or she opens your original and oh so special little attachment.  Editors!  I feel for them.  I really and sincerely do.  It's a wonder anything gets published!

...and substantive proof that every writer is at least 51% optimist!

Oh, and while I was in the mood for formatting and typing up cover letters, I decided to send Shira out for another spin on the digital waves.

...workin'

This is a playlist for keeping my head down and getting things done (more on that later)! 

Boris – Attention Please and Heavy Rocks (2011 Version)

Ludicra - Tenant

Mastodon – The Hunter

Melvins – The Bride Screamed Murder, Sugar Daddy Live and …

... Melvins Lite – Freak Puke

Neurosis – Live at Roadburn

Old Man Gloom – No

Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage

Apple pie!

An eclectic playlist for the 40^th anniversary of my first day, kicking and screaming in this cold, hard world…

Blackfield – Welcome to My DNA

Cave In – White Silence

The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace (Expanded Edition)

Gentle Giant – Octopus

Jesu – Heartache/Dethroned

Jodis – Secret House

King Crimson – Islands

Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane

Oceansize – Self-Preserved While the Bodies Float Up

…but hey!  We gots pie, so it’s all good!!!!

Just in case you missed it...

Interpol Staff Meeting, 17 August 2086

http://365tomorrows.com/08/20/interpol-staff-meeting-17-august-2086/

A very happy playlist!

Over the weekend, a sci-fi piece I wrote was accepted for publication!

That made for a very happy playlist:

“Falling Grace” – Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, et al, Quartet Live

“New York, New York” – Cat Power, Jukebox

“Career Opportunities” – The Clash, Live at Shea Stadium

“Of the Mountains” – Dan Deacon, Bromst

“Numina O” – Deerhoof, Offend Maggie

“Honey Bee, Let’s Fly to Mars” – Grinderman, s/t

“Sea Within a Sea” – The Horrors, Primary Colours

“Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye” – Steven Wilson, Grace for Drowning

Pre- and post- NYC playlist

What’s been spinning pre- and post- NYC trip:

Jazz

Miles Davis – Sketches of Spain

Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto – Getz/Gilberto

Wayne Shorter – Juju

Punk (and Post)

Ramones – Road to Ruin

Fugazi – Repeater

The 90s

Dinosaur Jr. – Green Mind and Hand it Over

Pixies – Trompe Le Monde

Tom Waits – Bone Machine

…and PJ!

PJ Harvey – Stories from the City…

Scenes from NYC!

Just a few of the many, many wonderful things the Mrs. and I saw in NYC last week....

People often describe things as "breath-taking" or "awe-inspiring"...  So much so that those words have become cliched and trite.  Of all the places I've been, of all the incredible things I've seen, the 9/11 Memorial was the first to truly take my breath away.

Central park on a beautiful summer day...  Now I understand why New Yorkers love their city.

I mean... it ain't Texas, but...

 

...it is an incredibly beautiful place.

Forget Occupy Wall Street -- Manchester United took over the NYSE while we were in town!

And...   a life-sized Lego stormtrooper at FAO Schwarz...  heh heh...  Too cool!