Somebody, please give me an appropriate German adjective starting with 'T'!

So, I promised more about my recent karaoke experience in Tucson.

Upon arriving in town Saturday afternoon, I checked the internet via my phone for a gay bar in the area. I found there was a place with five minutes' walking distance called IBT's, which apparently stood for It's 'Bout Time (though, technically speaking, shouldn't it be It's 'Bout Time's?). Though, after my performance, Ich bin taub might be more appropriate.

When I arrived, I found there was karaoke on the patio. I made chitchat with a nice Iowan boy named J___ while various patrons belted out country ballads and duets from Grease (yes, gay karaoke is exactly like its straight counterpart). The karaoke mistress asked several times if I planned to sing. On some level I wanted to try it, but the notion of singing in public has always terrified me. I'd prefer to be naked in public than sing in public. I finally asked to see her book and started scouring for an appropriate song. I talked myself out of singing and then back into it several times. Finally, I selected "Blister in the Sun" by The Violent Femmes. It was a perfect choice- it had only a few very simple verses and Gordon Gano's original vocal wasn't exactly virtuosic, so mine couldn't be that bad in comparison. I also related to the song well, as there was a time in my adolescence when I frequently got high as a kite, which slightly increased the likelihood that I just might stop to check someone out. Additionally, I occasionally failed to comprehend the causal factors leading to stained sheets, though I suspected that body and beats were involved somehow.

Just before the karaoke ended at about 6 P.M., the karaoke lady called my name. I took the microphone and suggested to all in my audience that if they became thoroughly smashed in the first eight bars before the first lyrics started, it would be highly appreciated and mutually beneficial. I proceeded to tackle two full minutes worth of lyrics with the efficiency of the Japanese and the ardor of a Zen master. Soon it was over and my audience clapped languidly, showing an appreciation appropriate for a toddler's macaroni mosaic. My phobia was conquered, and ich bin verhältnismäßig sicher, daß niemand taub wurde.

J___ went on to help me consummate the traditional American college dormatory experience later that week. I promise to not elaborate on this further.

What's new with me

I have decided, with some reluctance, to discontinue my Recommendations 2006 project. I just have too many things on my plate right now and have to focus on preparing for my GRE and on my classes this semester. I have removed the links on the right side, but all existing recommendations will stay. The podcast will return this Saturday. It will be in two parts and consist of tracks from thirty or so of my favorite albums of 2006, but it will not be a countdown. After that, I will post a new podcast every week or two. I will not post daily lists of what I've been listening to, but I will cull the tracks from the albums I've listened to during the week.

I have dropped one of my classes because the bookstore screwed up on the books repeatedly. I decided that the difficulty I was having getting the right editions was more than it was worth to me. I'm still taking the two music classes and enjoying them quite a bit.

I will pay for my GRE on 1/31 or as soon as my tax refund is deposited into my checking account, whichever comes first. I plan to take the exam on 2/1 or as soon as possible thereafter. I am not killing myself trying to prepare; I've decided that I will review every few days, take the test and accept the results. I always do really well on standardized tests and taking one practice test after another wasn't helping my scores anyway.

My most exciting news is that I am losing weight steadily and more quickly than I had anticipated. I haven't had access to a decent scale until recently, so I can't be sure the total amount lost. Michael lent me his electronic scale last Sunday and I have lost eight pounds since. I am now 216 lbs. with a BMI of 28.5, which means I am no longer medically obese. I am still 27 lbs. overwieght, but I might be within a "healthy" weight range within a month if I continue what I am doing. Realistically, I know that my rate of weight loss will probably level off soon and continue at a slower rate, but I am still hoping for the best.

That's all for now. More later.

Coachella

Couldn't you just plotz?! Seriously, I would love to go to this one. As soon as I get my tax refund, I'm going to look into transportation and hotel costs.

Has anything more wonderful ever happened in the history of humankind?

Pitchfork is reporting that Björk's new album is due in late Spring.

A new Björk album is a wonderful thing indeed, but more wonderful than, say, George Eads showing up at your door unexpectedly with a pizza and a massage table? More wonderful than a giant pie filled with smaller pies? More wonderful than warm underwear right out of the dryer?

Yes, a Björk album can be more wonderful than all those things combined, but only if said album includes at least one duet with Antony Hegarty. Luckily for the entire human race, it will have two.

Now, if only George Eads would show up at my door while I'm listening to the new Björk album...

My recommendations 2006:Rather Ripped by Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped
Geffen 6/13/2006

I often wonder how Sonic Youth has managed to rebound from a seemingly terminal mid-90s lull to release three of their best records in quick succession. I think that, having perfected their distinct sound, they have postponed further innovation until they have fully explored the space they've created. On Rather Ripped, they wrestle tried-and-true archetypes from the last fifty years of pop into submission and refract them through their own cracked prism. Their characters retell ancient stories on squalid, dystopian stages. The stamina of Sonic Youth's career is largely due to solid musicianship and a knack for literary themes.

My recommendations 2006:Disco Romance by Sally Shapiro

Sally Shapiro: Disco Romance
Diskokaine 12/1/2006

Numerous reviews of Disco Romance have labeled the work of Sally Shapiro and her producer, Johan Agebjörn, as italo disco. Truthfully, I don't know enough about the various genres of dance music to evaluate this claim, but I am skeptical. I don't think that electronic music is ever that cut-and-dry, such that one can categorize it based on objective and indisputable criteria. It more vividly reminds me of the music that was being played at my favorite clubs in the early 90s than anything by Girogio Moroder. I was sixteen years old, had just come out and was full of hope and fear. I remember the music as jubilant, romantic and anthemic, just like Disco Romance. I can't be sure whether my memories are evoked by genuine stylistic similarities, or if my emotional reponse to the record just reminds me of what I was feeling during that period of my life. Either way, Disco Romance's emotional content adds charm to an already superb record.

My recommendations 2006:28 After by Black Devil Disco Club

Black Devil Disco Club: 28 After
Lo Recordings 11/21/2006

Available at Emusic

If 2006 has taught us anything, it's that an artist's long hiatus isn't necessarily an obstacle to excellence. Case in point, the French duo Black Devil Disco Club, whose 1978 debut, upon its reissue in 2004, was met with skepticism regarding whether it was an authentically vintage release. It simply sounded too advanced to be the product of analog machines. 28 Later is, as one might guess, Black Devil Disco Club's first release in nearly thirty years and is just far enough removed from anything else today that it's equally difficult to believe that it was made in 2006. Unlike virtually all dance music created today, 28 Later's percussion is pushed into the background, allowing soft plastic bits of treble to twitch and squirm unimpeded. At moments, it sounds like two different DJs spinning in adjacent rooms. When 28 Later is reissued in 2034, it is likely to be met with the same disbelief as its predecessor.

Resolutions

No, I haven't fallen off the edge of the Earth. I've just been in that perfect intermediate state between busy and lazy, such that I haven't mustered the time or energy to blog.

My GRE plans are still on track, thanks in large part to a good friend that repaid me a significant chunk of money that I had lent her a couple years ago. Consequently, I was able to pay a couple of bills early and create room in my budget to pay the $130 for the exam fee out of my next check.

Classes start again on Tuesday. I was able to acquire all but one book. The campus bookstore never had it sent from the East campus, despite the request I made over a month ago. So now I have to contact the East campus bookstore myself and I expect it will take about a week to get it. In the meantime, I have found that the previous edition is available electronically and at very low cost from a vendor endorsed by the university. I hope this will suffice until I can get the correct edition.

Supervisory Academy has been postponed indefinitely while the course is revamped. I have been assured that there will be a Spring session but it has not been scheduled yet. I hope so, as any significant delay will hurt my chances of getting hired for a supervisory position.

Michael completed the Walt Disney World Marathon last week. Needless to say, I am extremely proud of him. I know that it took a tremendous amount of resolve to train for and complete this marathon. I find his determination to accomplish his goals incredibly attractive.

I am finished selecting the remaining albums of 2006 that I will recommend. I am going to try to finish the recommendations in the next few days and record the next podcast next week.

Though I'm not usually the kind of person that makes New Year's resolutions, I have been trying, with great success, to make some changes in my life in the interest of improving my health. This is largely the result of having calculated, much to my terror, my BMI. For the first time in my life, I am borderline obese. Among the changes are much more water, much less caffeine, no red meat, fresh fruit every day, breakfast daily and drastically reduced sweets. For the last two weeks, my typical day generally includes about three or four liters of water, a bowl of cereal with skim milk and blueberries, a turkey or tuna sandwich, sushi (non-authentic), an apple or two and two or three cups of fat-free yoghurt. When I get home from work, I am usually not hungry enough to eat a full dinner but I snack on fresh fruit throughout the afternoon and evening. My fridge is stocked with apples, oranges, clementines, apricots, peaches, cherries and whatever else I'm in the mood for.

This has led me to the hypothesis that I may be lactose intolerant. I always thought I had digestive discomfort because my diet was terrible. It turns out that I am still experiencing discomfort but only after having cheese or milk, as far as I can tell. This week I am switching from skim to soy milk and refraining from cheese. Yoghurt, I think, is still okay because of the acidophilus. If I start feeling better, I will likely make it a permanent change.

Last week I read an article about the strategies used by those who have successfully lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off. It appears that my plans already include most of these strategies, which gives me hope for success. The last part of the equation, of course, is exercise. Historically, I have not been very good at sticking to exercise. However, a coworker directed my attention to a website that has an easy plan for beginners. It starts out with walking and builds up to running. I hope to start it soon. I know I can handle the walking; I already walk almost everywhere as it is, and quickly, too. Hopefully, I won't have too hard of a time transitioning to running.

That's all I can think of for now. I will start posting a lot more, I promise. Keep an eye out for more recommendations over the next few days.

My recommendations 2006:Palo Santo by Shearwater

Shearwater: Palo Santo
Misra 5/9/2006

Available at Emusic

Shearwater is Okkervil River's quieter, more introspective alter ego, with Jonathan Meiburg taking the frontman's reins from Will Sheff. As is often the case with those that suppress anger, Shearwater is slow to come to a boil but lashes out forcefully, often with a sincere expression of disappointment, rather the disgust displayed on Okkervil River's Black Sheep Boy (a superb album in itself). Palo Santo represents an alternate perspective, another way of reacting to the same affronts. Shearwater illuminate a darker, perhaps more slippery path to catharsis, every bit as tranformative as the one traveled on Black Sheep Boy.

My recommendations 2006:Serena-Maneesh by Serena-Maneesh

Serena-Maneesh: Serena-Maneesh
Playlouderecordings 5/9/2006

Available at Emusic

A lot of people are needlessly hung up on the supposed virtues of originality, many to the point of giving glowing reviews to unlistenable albums that happen to be weird and giving bad reviews to gorgeous ones that tread familiar territory. On occasion, an album like Serena-Maneesh comes along that does little more than rehash a done-to-death genre, i.e., shoegaze, but does it so well that critics are tripping over themselves trying to explain why they love it, all the while making excuses for its familiarity. Frankly, all I care about is whether it's enjoyable - and in this regard, Serena-Maneesh is a superb album. After all, shoegaze is really hard to fuck up - one part reverb, one part feedback, two parts soft male/female vocals buried in the mix - and in competent hands, it can still be stunning. Despite a few rough edges, Serena-Maneesh have shown that they are at worst great imitators, and at best potential innovators.

My recommendations 2006:Pieces of the People We Love by The Rapture

The Rapture: Pieces of the People We Love
Universal 9/12/2006

Most assume that The Rapture make dance music with rock instrumentation. I disagree. I think they make rock music that's danceable. When I listen to Pieces of the People We Love, I hear similarities to The Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division, Gene Loves Jezebel and The Cult, reimagined through the lens of Peter Brown's "Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me?" and Giorgio Moroder. It seems that The Rapture's mission, as their name would suggest, is to subvert gloomy and cerebral musical paradigms into something joyful and visceral. Though The Rapture lament that nobody's dancing, they manage to get even the most cynical feet moving.

My recommendations 2006:We Are the Pipettes by The Pipettes

The Pipettes: We Are the Pipettes
Memphis Industries 8/29/2006

Available at Emusic

This could have been terrible, and conventional logic dictates that it should have. After all, when is the last time a female pop vocal group did anything interesting? The Supremes, ca. 1967? While The Pipettes are every bit as manufactured as The Spice Girls, the former's aim is to elevate public tastes to their own threshold, instead of pandering to existing standards. Rather than blindly (blandly) resurrect a long-dead genre wholesale, or even inflecting modern indie pop with Phil Spector-esque production, The Pipettes inhabit the overlapping portion of the Venn diagram of both. Instead of presenting an artificial fusion, We Are the Pipettes is completely organic, as if from an alternative timeline in which the Shangri-Las segued directly into Iggy & The Stooges.

My recommendations 2006:Writer's Block by Peter Bjorn and John

Peter Bjorn and John: Writer's Block
Wichita 6/29/2006

2006 has been an excellent year for Swedish bands, intriguing uses of rhythm sections and songs with whistling. Peter Bjorn and John's Writer's Block is (so far) my favorite example in all three of these categories. While Writer's Block isn't this trio's first album, it might be considered a debut of sorts, as it represents a radical reorganization of the band. Peter Bjorn and John have abandoned the hierarchical order of a conventional band, in which one or two members control the creative direction. For their latest album, they have promoted all three members to principal singer and songwriter. This is manifest in the astonishing diversity of the songs. Despite the seemingly random directions they take, the songs still exhibit a consistency that proves that Peter Bjorn and John share similar creative visions and ambitions. Much like the cover suggests, their combined talents shown on Writer's Block completely dwarf most of their peers.

My recommendations 2006:Fundamental by Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys: Fundamental
Rhino 6/27/2006

When I am burned by a band I love, it's very difficult for me to trust them again. Take, for example, Pet Shop Boys. The release of Very coincided with my coming-out at the age of sixteen. I fell in love with that album and it came to represent that period of my life in my memory. I soon had all of their albums and EPs. Bilingual took some time, but I warmed up to all but one or two songs. Then they followed it up with the absolutely abysmal Nightlife, which contained about a dozen of their worst songs ever, one decent single and a perplexing duet with Kylie Minogue. Since then, I have largely ignored their output for fear of being subjected to something even worse. However, the past two years have been marked by a series of return-to-form albums by artists I had given up on years ago, so I felt intuitively that I should give Fundamental a chance. I'm glad I did. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have finally made maturity work for them, drawing upon the strengths of their first four albums and innovating musically as well. Almost every song ranks among their best early material, easily making Fundamental their best album since Very.

My recommendations 2006:Now You Are One of Us by The Paper Chase

The Paper Chase: Now You Are One of Us
Kill Rock Stars 6/6/2006

Available at Emusic

The Paper Chase is a deceptively benign name for a band that makes such creepy music. Paranoid and macabre, Now You Are One of Us could easily replace any of Goblin's scores for Dario Argento's giallo flicks. Man-eating houses and body-snatching aliens stalk the listener at every sonic turn, while the unnervingly familiar reanimated corpse of a Cat Stevens melody gorges itself on your temporal lobes. Now You Are One of Us is among the most twistedly imaginative albums of the year.

My recommendations 2006:Ys by Joanna Newsom

Joanna Newsom: Ys
Drag City 11/14/2006

Available on Emusic

Unless you have been living alone deep in a subterranean cave for at least a month, you have probably already heard everything there is to know about Ys, so I'll just give an executive summary. Joanna Newsom is a classically-trained harpist and a San Francisco native (her cousin just happens to be one of my personal heroes, SF mayor Gavin Newsom). Her 2004 album, The Milk-Eyed Mender, turned quite a few heads upon its release and expectations were high for the follow-up. While writing the songs for Ys, Newsom realized that she would need a string sections, so she recruited Van Dyke Parks to handle the arrangements. Ys lives up to the praise it has received and then some. Newsom weaves five lengthy musical parables, all based on actual events from one year of her life. I have seen several reviews that describe Ys as difficult on the first few listens, but I disagree. These five songs are immediately lovely and shimmering and gorgeous and any number of other adjectives along those same lines. Ys is not just a phenomenal album, but it is a beautiful experience that everyone should seek out at least once, like the ocean or the auroras.

My recommendations 2006:Dial 0 by My Robot Friend

My Robot Friend: Dial 0
Soma 5/29/2006

Available at Emusic

My Robot Friend, aka Howard Robot, offers fun and frivolous electronic dance music. Nobody could credibly accuse My Robot Friend of taking itself too seriously, as the subject matter vacillates from the sublime to the absurd and back in the same breath. Drugs, orgies, break-ups, bears (of the large, hairy, gay variety) and the decline of Western civilization are some of the most prominent topics tackled on Dial 0. Like many John Waters films, Dial 0 handles these subjects deftly with a perverse, and often juvenile, sense of humor.

My recommendations 2006:Bring Me the Workhorse by My Brightest Diamond

My Brightest Diamond: Bring Me the Workhorse
Asthmatic Kitty 9/7/2006

Available at Emusic

Classically trained multi-instrumentalist and Sufjan collaborator Shara Worden is likely to find her way into my pantheon of singing goddesses, among the likes of Neko Case, Nina Simone and Alison Moyet. Her vocal style and range have both been described as operatic, and for good reason; she studied opera at the University of North Texas. The influence of opera is easily seen in her songwriting as well. The songs are theatrical and histrionic (in a good way.) Bring Me the Workhorse will surely appeal to fans of Sufjan Stevens, Antony & The Johnsons and Nine Simone.

My recommendations 2006:The Looks by MSTRKRFT

MSTRKRFT: The Looks
Last Gang 7/18/2006

I was saddened by the news that Death From Above 1979 had split this past August. Though it was a little too harsh for me at first, 2004's You're a Woman, I'm a Machine grew on me and was in heavy rotation on my iPod by the end of 2005. Its abrasiveness, the very aspect which had originally put me off of it, became its most endearing quality. The same can be said for The Looks, the debut album of MSTRKRFT, DFA1979's partial reincarnation. Though MSTRKRFT create dance music, as opposed to DFA1979's noise-rock, they still sound as if they are felling redwoods. The Looks is reminiscent of the Ibiza-via-Manchester acid house of Technique-era New Order, and even The DFA (despite the well-publicized acrimony between The DFA and Death From Above 1979 over forcing the latter to change its name).

My recommendations 2006:The Fountain: Music From the Motion Picture by Clint Mansell

Clint Mansell: The Fountain: Music From the Motion Picture
Nonesuch 11/21/2006

About a month ago, I posted about my excitement about this collaboration between Clint Mansell (formerly of The Pop Will Eat Itself), Kronos Quartet and Mogwai. As high as my hopes for this score were, the end result surpassed my expectations. I went to see The Fountain with a friend two weeks ago and I was so impressed by how well the music complemented the emotional arc of the story and the visual palette that I immediately downloaded the score upon arriving home. Kronos Quartet are, as usual, adept at conveying the protagonist's grief, while Mogwai illustrate his desperation. This is a definite must-have if you are a fan of either. My only gripe is that the Antony Hegarty vocal version of "The Last Man" is not included. For now, you can hear it on Clint Mansell's Myspace page.