It's the Worst Blog
Living the good life, fighting the good fight, and writing the worst blog.
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Julian Casablancas - ”11th Dimension”
“Everybody sees me but it’s not that easy/ standing in the light field waiting for some action.” This line, accompanied by what sounds like a 14 year old Iron Maiden freak attempting the Batman theme song on the bass guitar, begins “Juicebox,” the first single released from The Strokes’ First Impressions of Earth. And what was my first impression of First Impressions?
I am never going to listen to this band again.
It’s a claim on which I’ve made good. Knowing that First Impressions exists has been enough for me to turn my back on the truly great Is This It? and it’s very listenable (from what I remember) sister, Room on Fire. Like walking in on your girlfriend and a tearful, naked Glenn Beck in your bedroom, First Impressions was enough to not only dump the band, but burn the photo album filled with memories from that great vacation you took to Honolulu. I have guiltily viewed their recent demise with gleeful spite. My initial reaction to the news that frontman Julian Casablancas was releasing a solo record: scoff. My initial reaction to its title (Phrazes for the Young): a Monty Burns laugh. My initial reaction to its first single, “11th Dimension:” unadulterated awe.
The drums keep the song poppy and light while the synths bounce around in the foreground. The tasteful Strokesy guitars know their place behind Julian, who returns to full-yearning precocious punk mode. The lyrics are still stupid, but I’m dancing too much to care. C’mon girl, I forgive you for the whole Glenn Beck thing. Come back to me. I’ll take you with open arms.
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The Whigs - “In The Dark”
This is a brand new track off of The Whigs’ forthcoming album of the same name, which comes out early January. This song is definitely a departure from the band’s signature blend of southern and indie rock. I’m really digging this ‘new’ sound and look forward to hearing more off In The Dark. Enjoy!
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The XX - “VCR”
This post has been a long time coming. I’ve been listening to their album (also available in MP3 format) for weeks, and so have at least two other members of Tuneage and almost the entire internet. So what’s the hold up? Well let me put it this way: which fucking track do I post? The whole album is just great.
With the level of hype breakout artists recieve from bloggers, it’s easy to be cynical, but The XX — a band with an average age of just 19 — are one of the most deserving recipients of the hype that I’ve heard in some time. You’d be a fool to skip this one.
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zoee:
Minus the Bear - Pachuca Sunrise
This is a city for not sleeping
And the clocks are set by feel
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Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - “The High Party”
When preparing for a 1200 mile drive there are several things that you must check: make sure your car is in order, have plenty of snacks ready and make sure you have plenty of upbeat music.
My recent choice was everybody’s favorite indie/punk/rock band, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. If their energetic music is enough to keep me going through the expanse of the American plains then it can do just about anything.
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Fanfarlo - “These Walls Are Coming Down”
I first heard about Fanfarlo when NPR highlighted their song “Fire Escape” just before 2008’s SXSW. The English band with a Swedish frontman finally hit the studio this past fall to record their debut album, Reservoir, and I’ve been holding on to this post for a while until it was closer to the release of the album.
True to the cut I heard back in 2008, Fanfarlo makes upbeat pop music that employs a few lesser-used instruments (such as violins, mandolins, and trumpets) which often give their music a grandiose, hopeful quality I find very appealing. This track settles into the middle of the excellent debut record, which I believe was released in May (although finding an official date has been harder than I would have expected), and is available now directly from the band for a measly $6.
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“God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent — it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks, please. Cash and in small bills.
Robert A. Heinlein (via vruz)”
Heinlein’s objection is serious, common, and ancient. Theologians even gave it its own word. It’s the theodicy question. If God is all he’s cracked up to be, how can he allow such horrible things to happen? Over the centuries, people have given a slew of possible answers.
One answer was that we indeed live in the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire brilliantly mocked this answer in Candide when the ever optimistic Dr. Pangloss teaches Candide that he thus lives in the best of all possible castles. As you might imagine, Pangloss’s life doesn’t go to well. The castle is burned by the best of all possible raiders. His ship is sunk by the best of all possible hurricanes. Etc..
Another answer (by somebody who was genuinely a serious theologian who will roll over in his grave by my mangling of his views) is essentially, “We suffer because it builds character.” It’s sort of like, “Eat your vegetables boy, they’re good for you.” Perhaps we weren’t created simply to be coddled. Maybe the world is an immense machine to bring out the best in us.
Another answer might have to do with balance. Is it possible to have joy without suffering? Would we want it? Maybe we’re happier when the stakes are a bit higher.
Back when I had the answers to everything, my explanation involved free will. Can we truly make meaningful choices if the result is always, “Yay! Everybody gets a puppy.” I suppose God could have created a mechanistic happy land where nothing is ever less than perfect. But maybe God had something in mind other than a scaled-up version of the It’s a Small World ride. Isn’t pain a necessary consequence of free will? Would we want a world without pain or would we simply want a world with less pain?
And yet…my elderly professor of Jewish law told us, “If you have to have that many reasons, none of them are right.” We could spend hours discussing each of these—but at the end of those hours, nobody would be persuaded much one way or another. People have struggled with this question for a few thousand years and continued to believe. Cleverly restating it won’t change anybody’s mind.
I’ve written on the topic before. Then as now, I noted that noting the flawed nature of the world requires the assumption that one possible world is better in some substantive way than the others. To me, this would strongly hint that we’re more than a bunch of atoms clumped together in a morally irrelevant way.
For now, I’ll simply add that the whole endeavor is rather presumptuous. It certainly assumes that we have the moral authority to complain about something. It also assumes that, despite our actions, we actually know what is best for us. In many ways, the problem isn’t really the suffering. It’s that we don’t understand why we have to suffer. Does the thought that God could know everything when we know so little offend us?
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Mos Def with The Roots on Jimmmy Fallon. The Roots are so amazing live. They’re the closest thing to a rap jam band, and it’s fantastic.
Mos Def Guest Stars On Late Night With Jimmy Fallon | Live Show
Deastro - “Parallelogram”
Two words I don’t generally use together are “anthemic” and “dream-pop”, but in Deastro’s case, both are apt. Detroit-based Deastro, also known as Randolph Chabot, produces upbeat, synth-driven electro-pop that’s sometimes dream-poppy, sometimes anthemic, and sometimes even a little shoegazey. This song, the first single from Deastro’s upcoming full-band album Moondagger, has a kind of Russian Futurists cum m83 feel to it and is a prime example of that anthemic dream-pop that’s so elusive. Moondagger will be released in June on Ghostly International, but if you can’t wait until then, I highly recommend Deastro’s debut album, Keepers.
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I can’t think of any other way to describe the Coral’s music except to call it fun. The UK band’s music style varies fairly wildly—at times it’s poppy, other times a little psychedelic, and I’ve even detected a hint of sea shanty before—but it’s always fun and upbeat. This song, a perennial Monday favorite, comes from The Coral’s 2005 LP, The Invisible Invasion. If you can keep still while listening this song, you might want to check your pulse.
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