February 2011
Watch“The Wilhelm Scream” by James Blake
The truth of the matter is that I can’t imagine the video looking any other way. Sort of repetitious and hazy yet still going somewhere, moving to an end point, struggling to push forward a clear idea (or image) in the midst of many things happening at the same time.
Tidbits for the James Blake Fangirl: →
He is 6 feet, 5 inches, which is a height I’m not used to in Chicago. Some people would probably think this is not important to point out, but I do, so there it is.
Didn’t vote in the last election
He loves Arthur Russell (I knew it!). He describes Russell as “the definition of avant garde meets pop; someone who can make such personal thoughts seem so attractive to other...
January 2011
New Hercules and Love Affair!
“Painted...
1 tag
“You’ll miss having the knowledge that it will all eventually end. All of this...”
– “Things You’ll Miss About College” from Thought Catalog
A life bummer that I definitely didn’t need to be reminded of in the dead of winter in Chicago.
Watch“Valentine” by Jessie Ware and Sampha
Let’s talk more about the resurgence of independent r&b, probably influenced, in part, by the unsurprising recent popularity of the XX. If we live in a post-modern, nostalgia-fueled society, then my generation has reached a point that is somewhere between 1994 and 2000, the height of modern r&b. It seems silly to feel nostalgic for...
Watch(via transientnodes//slowly-but-surely)
Pretty sure I just came up with the next Chicago house jam. You can thank me (or perhaps these squares) later, after you’ve had the best night at the club, ever.
In case you haven’t tried it yet, click on a square to begin the fun/time warp.
Personal Notes on James Blake
At first, I thought it was about the lack of lyricism, the direct quality in the phrases and the instrumentation. But now, James Blake’s voice wraps around me, all smooth-like. There is an assuredness evident beyond his age. Or perhaps, the way he sings is exactly of his age - the soulfulness competing with the energy and exhaustion of the world around him. After having settled with the...
New Cut Copy!
“Blink and You’ll Miss...
What is out of control
The girls with faces that tell different stories than the stories that are true, are the girls I understand. I am one of them, navigating a world that sees them as wise when inside they struggle to remain young, meaning fresh and also free. At work, a new employee told me that he thought I was 28, not an old age, but certainly older than what I am.
“It’s the way you carry yourself,...
New Cut Copy!
“Take Me Over” by Cut...
Tottering
The girls, usually so thin, walk around in shoes that are beautiful and stupid. They are on the verge of falling, and a small, dark place in my heart is filled with glee. I can not afford those shoes, which on the shelves look perfect but in pictures on their snap-able limbs, look wrong. Their legs are so thin, too thin, that the shoes look more like weapons, an everyday act of self-inflicted...
1 tag
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“Throughout, Keenan’s voice was one of the richest things Broadcast had going for...”
– Nitsuh Abebe remembers Trish Keenan of Broadcast
What I Know Now
It has been a while since I combed my hair and large clumps gathered around the teeth in one long pull, I thought as I looked down this morning.
It has been a while since I wandered around the shops willing to spend the cash I try to save, I thought as I stood at the cash register this evening.
It has been a while since I came home and changed and lay in bed doing much of nothing at all...
“Holidays” by Miami Horror (featuring...
Gone Shopping
Mom: What’s the name of the vintage store you always go to? Me: Your closet?
Mom: I like that sweater. Where’d you get it? Me: Your dresser drawer?
Mom: Have you seen my brown belt? Me: Yeah, it’s on my waist.
“She Wants” by Metronomy
This is a...
Saving Face:
My mother said I am incapable of going out without getting into an argument with strangers which is not entirely true. I’m incapable of going out with Amy or Colleen without getting into these arguments. Both are “mother bear” types, girl’s girls. They stick up for their friends. In turn, I’ve learned to do the same. A certain need to save face also determines my...
New Lykke Li!
“I Follow Rivers” by...
A Break
That moment in the middle of the night when you realize you’re all alone and it will stay like that for a while. Maybe you’re in the middle of dancing to a Drake song, like I was, and despite the fact that the room is packed you feel overcome by the internal solitude that threatens the overall joy of a rather uncomplicated evening. What I’m saying is that there’s something...
Reader
At the end of A Gate at the Stairs, our narrator says, “Reader, I did not even have coffee with him,” a variation on a common phrase which, at 23 years old, I prefer to read as “Girl, I did not even have coffee with him,” thus solidifying my relationship with the protagonist of the story. It’s like we had just been talking smack for the past 200 pages, an activity I...
“Out Getting Ribs” by Zoo Kid
One of...
“When the federal government releases its official 2010 census data in the coming...”
– “Face of City Has Changed Dramatically, Census Estimates Show” - Chicago News Cooperative