My recommendations 2006:Yellow House by Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear: Yellow House
Warp 9/5/2006

It's great to see that Warp Records is finally diversifying their portfolio. For years, their catalog was all IDM all the time: Autechre, Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, etc. While these acts are all great, what will Warp do when IDM falls out of favor? It seems that they are beginning to hedge their bets, and wisely so. Last year they released Maxïmo Park's great (though overhyped) debut, a skittering, spastic post-punk album that was similar in ethic, if not in style, to their established artists. Now, they have released Grizzly Bear's sophmore effort. Yellow House continues the trend of postmodernist genre recombination that some of the year's best albums have exhibited. Americana, psychedelia and post-rock are the primary sources used for constructing Grizzly Bear's sound. If Warp is wise, they will make Grizzly Bear the flagship band of a new cadre of artists, more eclectic and diverse than the label has ever had.

My recommendations 2006:The Tragic Treasury: Songs From a Series of Unfortunate Events by The Gothic Archies

The Gothic Archies: The Tragic Treasury: Songs From a Series of Unfortunate Events
Nonesuch 10/10/2006

I believe that fifty years from now, music historians will look upon Stephin Merritt with the same affection that they do Cole Porter now. Like Porter, Merritt is extremely prolific, having released hundreds of songs under his various guises: The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, Future Bible Heroes and The Gothic Archies. Also like Porter, Merritt can write a flawless pop song seemingly without effort. The Tragic Treasury is full of such songs, all overflowing with the dark, twisted wit of their creator. This gallows humor, which is used only sparingly on other Merritt endeavors, comes out in full force here, as over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek as he can get away with. Listening to The Tragic Treasury is like eating a birthday cake with your hands in the dark by yourself when it's not your birthday; you enjoy it though you get a sense that you shouldn't. This is, after all, a song cycle inspired by a series of children's books written by Merritt's former bandmate (Lemony Snicket was once a member of The Magnetic Fields). However, this is not children's music. This is a mature highbrow lowbrow kind of album - not inappropriate for a child, per se, but it was obviously intended for an adult intellect.

My recommendations 2006:Lunático by Gotan Project

Gotan Project: Lunático
XL 4/11/2006

Available at Emusic

This joint Argentine/French/Swiss project aims to revitalize tango music and stimulate interest in the genre by infusing elements of electronic forms. When I read something like this, I immediately think of the Starbucks impulse-buy area next to the counter where they sell vapid and sanitized "world" music. However, even if it does end up being sold at Starbucks, it certainly doesn't sound boring or watered down. Gotan Project manage to sound authentic to tango tradition and innovative simultaneously - a true feat when trying to meld two or more disparate genres. It's not likely to inspire me to sign up for tango lessons at the local Arthur Murray studio, but it has opened my mind to the potential of tango in hands as capable as Gotan Project.

My recommendations 2006:Supernature by Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp: Supernature
Mute 3/7/2006

Goldfrapp seems to have finally hit their stride. Their previous albums, Felt Mountain and Black Cherry, had some great tracks but were marred by some lackluster songs as well. Not so on Supernature. Nearly every song is as catchy and thrilling to warrant being released as a single. There are a few tracks that exhibit the signature combination of glam and electronica that we have all come to expect from Goldfrapp, but they seem to be growing as well. Supernature demonstrates that Mute is the perfect label for Goldfrapp. They fit in well with classic Mute acts such as Depeche Mode, Yaz and The Normal, while displaying influences from Mute's Grey Area reissues of Can, Throbbing Gristle and SPK. This is an album can be easily enjoyed by indie snobs like myself and musical philistines alike.

My recommendations 2006:St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley

Gnarls Barkley: St. Elsewhere
Downtown 5/9/2006

It seems that Danger Mouse is everywhere these days. Only three years ago, he was completely unknown, and then his controversial Beatles/Jay-Z mash-up The Grey Album made him a household name, among music hipsters anyway. Since then, he became a member of Gorillaz on their Demon Days album, collaborated with MF Doom as DangerDoom, resold altered copies of Paris Hilton's album's packaging with a clandestine remix CD-R inside, and is now working with Cee-Lo Green as Gnarls Barkley. Cee-Lo is a great choice for a vocalist, because he is indeed a soul machine as his last solo album suggests, as opposed to Doom, who may enjoy being called a soul-crushing machine. St. Elsewhere has some of the best the both artists bring to the table: Danger Mouse's wicked humor and even more wicked beats coupled with Cee-Lo's strong and soulful vocals, resulting in a solid album, start to finish.

My recommendations 2006:Night Ripper by Girl Talk

Girl Talk: Night Ripper
Illegal Art: 5/9/2006

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Night Ripper is going to be at the top of many critics' lists this year. Greg Gillis, AKA Girl Talk, constructed Night Ripper entirely out of samples of popular songs. Some would argue that this is completely unoriginal, but that would be completely untrue. Unlike a lot of other mash-up artists, who combine two or three similar songs to highlight their similarities, Gillis takes pieces of dozens of very different songs to create something completely original. It's clear that Gillis loves music. He uses the most energetic and climactic chunks of songs - a great bassline, an infectious chorus, an effortlessly flowing rap verse - to show his audience exactly what there is about music to love. Night Ripper is something you can listen to over and over again in succession and never get tired of it, tapping your foot and bobbing your head the whole time.

My recommendations 2006:In the Maybe World by Lisa Germano

Lisa Germano: In the Maybe World
Young God 7/18/2006

Available at Emusic

Considering that Young God Records was created to reissue classic Swans albums and the solo projects of Michael Gira and Jarboe, the label has had remarkable success at launching the careers of new artists that Gira has discovered: Devendra Banhart, Larsen, Windsor for the Derby, Akron/Family, Mi and L'au, etc. Now, YGR is trying to reinvigorate the career of an established artist who has been tragically overlooked: Lisa Germano. Germano is a phenomenal violinist, pianist and songwriter. After having worked as a session musician for the likes of John Mellencamp, David Bowie and Indigo Girls for many years, she released come critically acclaimed albums that sold poorly, both on major and indie labels. Somehow, despite her talent, she has been criminally ignored by the indie rock crowd. In the Maybe World is a great example of her abilities as a musician and songwriter, but if the lukewarm reviews of this album are an indication, Germano and Young God Records are in for an uphill battle to get her the attention she deserves.

My recommendations 2006:Shattered by The Exploding Hearts

The Exploding Hearts: Shattered
Dirtnap 10/31/2006

Available at Emusic

Shattered is a tragically appropriate title for this posthumous (in more than one sense of the word) album. In April 2003, The Exploding Hearts released their superb debut album, Guitar Romantic, which was received very well by fans and critics alike. The following July, their tour van flipped over on an interstate, killing everybody inside except guitarist Terry Six and manager Rachelle Ramos. Shattered collects all of their recordings that were not included on Guitar Romantic. It shows that their debut was no fluke; every track is an example of the astonishingly catchy and well-crafted post-punk/power-pop that made Guitar Romantic one of the best albums of the decade so far. It's just one more reason to mourn the destruction of The Exploding Hearts and to hope for the best for Terry Six and his new band, The Nice Boys.

My recommendations 2006:He Poos Clouds by Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy: He Poos Clouds
Tomlab 6/13/2006

Available at Emusic

Musicians that work alone, such as Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett, have the luxury of being able to write and record in their own peculiar way, without the compromise inherent in group settings. This isn't always a good thing; independence often leads to overindulgence, as Cex has shown, or to a lack of diversity, such as Kieran Hebden's most recent ouput as Four Tet. Pallett, on the other hand, seems to have the ability of self-restraint, too rare in indie musicians these days. He lets his lap pop/chamber pop compositions roam but knows when to rein them in. His best ideas are allowed to flourish but he doesn't do them to death. He Poos Clouds is humorous, strange and clearly the result of a singular vision, but not so insular as to be soulless. In fact, these songs are often quite poignant. As much as I enjoy this album, I think his next two or three albums will be increasingly better, as Pallett hones his ability to balance independence and empathy.

My recommendations 2006:Drowning in a Sea of Love by Nathan Fake

Nathan Fake: Drowning in a Sea of Love
Border Community 3/20/2006

This gem has not yet seen domestic release, which is a real shame, expecially considering much of the dreck that has been released in the U.S. this year. Nathan Fake isn't going to be accepted by most American music consumers, though, since he is bucking all of the current trends in rock and electronica. As soon as you think that he is following the well-worn paths established by IDM pioneers like Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin, the song progresses for a few seconds, gradually morphing into something that My Bloody Valentine or sunn o))) might envy. Drowning is hard to pin down because it shouldn't be pinned down. Attempting to pigeonhole Nathan Fake is as distasteful as vivisection and only slightly more humane. Drowning should roam freely, unhindered by the cages in which those who see music as something to be tamed might wish to confine it.

Misanthropy day

Whenever I think I couldn't be any more appalled by human behavior, I read the news and get slightly more appalled.

Today I read that Mike Tyson is making a career change. He will be a prostitute at Heidi Fleiss' new Nevada brothel for female clients. I have to question Heidi's judgment here. First, Tyson has shown he can't be trusted around women. Second, any woman who would pay to have sex with Mike Tyson should be admitted to a mental facility for observation, because she is clearly a threat to herself.

I imagine something like a three-tier pricing scale for the modern woman with discerning sexual tastes. First, the Desiree Washington experience, which involves a tiara and forced intercourse. Slightly more pricy, but worth every penny, is the Robin Givens experience, in which masochistically inclined ladies get pummelled about the face while having sex with Tyson. Finally, the Evander Holyfield experience allows the wealthest matrons to enjoy the very finest Tyson has to offer. It's basically a Robin Givens with a special bonus: Tyson gnaws off all the cartilage on the client's face and head. Now, that's luxury!

I have to wonder whether Heidi really considered all her options. If she wants a washed-up celebrity, why not one who is somewhat less, er, felonious? How about Wilford Brimley? He hasn't been working lately. How about the men that have nothing better to do than SciFi Channel original movies, like Lance Henriksen or Judd Nelson? Sure, they aren't much to look at, but there are women with very particular tastes who might go for them. In any case, they are all superior to Tyson in almost every way.

Maybe Heidi wants to exploit the untapped market of women who write love letters to serial killers. If 90s daytime talk shows are any indication, they are more common than one might think. Perhaps the "have sex with a famous misogynist and rapist" angle is a sure money-maker and Heidi is just the first innovative entrepreneuse to exploit this overlooked market and Nevada's premissive penal code to build what will become America's first chain of franchised brothels. Ten years from now, there will be a Heidi's Felon Fuck location on every city block in the country - and three on ASU's Tempe campus.

One good thing will come out of this: Mike Tyson will move out of Arizona. I'm sure his neighbors in Paradise Valley are already lining up to help him pack.

Louis Wain

My recommendations 2006:Transparent Things by Fujiya & Miyagi

Fujiya & Miyagi: Transparent Things
Tirk 5/15/2006

It has been said that Fujiya & Miyagi are at the leading edge of a burgeoning krautrock revival movement. This may be true, but to me they seem to owe more to late 70s Kraftwerk proto-techno, Air, Parliament and DFA Records than they do to Neu! or Can. Actually, a corpus analysis of their lyrics, a shepherd's pie of English, French, German and Japanese, would reveal more about their influences than any of the Tirk Records talking points regurgitated by lazy critics thus far. Transparent Things borrows liberally from the best musical ideas to originate from all of these cultures in the past thirty years. For three years I have struggled to convince people to accept my theory about the origin of new musical forms: out of the current postmodernist recycling of 20th century styles, the first truly 21st century genres will eventually emerge. It seems now that I have been wasting my breath; I should just sit back and let bands like Fujiya & Miyagi prove my point.

My recommendations 2006:Hollinndagain by Animal Collective

Animal Collective: Hollinndagain
Paw Tracks 10/31/2006

2006 could hardly be called a year without an album from Animal Collective. It's been so long since we've seen a full calendar year without one that, for all we know, there may be some kind of Groundhog Day effect at work that would require us to start the year over unless Avey Tare, Panda Bear and co. emerged sometime before New Year's Eve to perform their obligatory calendric ritual. Having realized that their time was running out, not wanting to unnecessarily prolong the administration known as the "madness of King George" for another year, Animal Collective exhumed an extremely limited edition vinyl-only live album from 2001 and gave it a proper release. This is pre-Here Comes the Indian Animal Collective, so don't expect any campfire sing-alongs about winning rabbits and not going to college. The songs are almost completely amelodic (is that even a word?) and often more than a little abrasive, but the hypnotic percussion at the top of the mix draws you in anyway. It's as if they brought all of the elements of music to the performance but reassembled them in a configuration that's completely ignorant of Western musical dogmas. If you require music to have a tune and a melody in order to enjoy it, you will hate Hollinndagain. On the other hand, if you can listen with an open mind, then it might just become one of your favorite albums this year.

What is news-worthy?

When an American citizen commits suicide by self-immolation, a death so slow and agonizing that fewer than ten suicides by this method have ever been recorded in the U.S., in the middle of rush hour on a famous public sculpture in the busy downtown of one of the most populous American cities to protest the most controversial war in which the country has ever been involved only days before the most important midterm election in over a century, shouldn't it make the news?

When Malachi Ritscher burned himself alive on a public works sculpture in a crowded Chicago square on the Friday before the election to protest the U.S.'s involvement in the war in Iraq, not one major news service outside of Chicago covered it. I only found out because of Pitchfork's feature article this morning. If he wasn't prominently involved in Chicago's music scene, they wouldn't have covered it.

When an insignificant celebrity files for dissolution of a brief marriage to an even less significant public figure on the day of any national election, shouldn't it be a mere footnote in the day's news cycle, at the very most?

When Britney Spears filed for divorce from her former backup dancer after two years of marriage on the day of the most important midterm election of my lifetime, it was breaking news on every major television network and news service, overshadowing all of the election-related news that had been reported up to that time.

More evidence that we are living in a society gone mad.

The saddest part of all this is that Ritscher intended to draw attention to the injustice of this war by killing himself in the most spectacular way possible, but he severely overestimated America's capacity to give a flying fuck about anyone who hasn't been on MTV.

America's priorities are fucked up, to say the least.

Congratulations to South Africa!

...on becoming the first nation in Africa to legalize gay marriage.

How many nations will precede the United States, the so-called "land of the free and home of the brave," in this courageous step towards full legal equality?

My recommendations 2006:Cannibal Sea by The Essex Green

The Essex Green: Cannibal Sea
Merge 3/21/2006

Available on Emusic

I was surprised to learn that The Essex Green were part of The Elephant Six Collective, which included bands such as Neutral Milk Hotel and The Olivia Tremor Control. You wouldn't know it from Cannibal Sea, which lacks that schizophrenic quality that pervaded NMH's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea or OTC's Dusk at Cubist Castle. Instead, The Essex Green craft short and sweet power-pop tunes with catchy melodies and great hooks. Despite its lack of experimentalism, Cannibal Sea has plenty to offer and is never boring.

My recommendations 2006:II by Espers

Espers: II
Drag City 5/16/2006

It's ironic that the bands lumped into the music press construct known as New Weird Americana tend to exhibit a high degree of Anglophilia. Take Espers, for example, whose most apparent influences include Incredible String Band, Nick Drake, Bert Jansch and Vashti Bunyan. Like their British forebearers, Espers emphasize sweeping melodies and lavish arrangements that include strings, guitar and vocal harmonies. Though psychedelia has clearly influenced their sound, Espers are unusually succinct, tending not to allow their compositions to noodle and stagnate needlessly, but rather reining their compositions in before they become tiresome.

My recommendations 2006:The Boxing Mirror by Alejandro Escovedo

Alejandro Escovedo: The Boxing Mirror
Back Porch 5/2/2006

Few musicians (outside of gangsta rap) could benefit more from a witness relocation-type program than Alejandro Escovedo. Almost every review of The Boxing Mirror makes a point of reminding the reader that Escovedo's niece is a famous percussionist that once collaborated with Prince, as if our impressions of this record should be affected by this knowledge. Not to knock Escovedo's family, but at the very least he deserves to be evaluated on his own merits. Luckily for him, his merits are plentiful. Escovedo is a gifted songwriter in the Americana/country/blues rock tradition. If he should be compared to anyone, it should be Jeff Tweedy or Howe Gelb. Actually, to be more accurate, they should be compared to him.

Nerd porn!

This animation comes to you from Harvard via Mr. Sun. Click on the inimitable Ms. Raquel Welch below to view:

My recommendations 2006:Modern Times by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan: Modern Times
Sony 8/29/2006

I think that a proper appreciation for music in general should include due reverence for the 20th century's great songwriters: Cole Porter, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, etc. For some reason, though, I never gave Bob Dylan much notice until Modern Times. Having heard the album several times now, I don't know how he could have eluded me until now. Even having released over fifty-some albums, he's still such an amazing songwriter. I initially bristled at some of the styles included here, but Dylan's attention to detail has won me over. From the craftsmanship Dylan displays on these songs and in the diversity of their styles, it's easy to see now how he has influenced, and been influenced by, my favorite songwriters. I will likely revisit his earlier catalogue now, and if Blonde on Blonde and other albums are better than Modern Times as so many fans claim, then they are sure to become some of my all-time favorites.

My recommendations 2006:Yes, Virginia… by The Dresden Dolls

The Dresden Dolls: Yes, Virginia…
Roadrunner 4/18/2006

The Dresden Dolls describe their style as "Brechtian cabaret punk". Being not entirely sure what they mean by "Brechtian", I had to look it up. According to the Wikipedia entry on Bertolt Brecht, his style of theater was intended to "provoke rational self-reflection and a critical view of the actions on the stage." In this sense, I'm not entirely sure The Dresden Dolls describe their music accurately. The way they cause the listener to empathize with their characters is, in fact, very un-Brechtian. I'm totally on board with the "cabaret" descriptor, however. Everything about Yes, Virginia… is theatrical and emotional. Imagine Antony Hegarty's Blacklips Performance Cult performing songs by Kander & Ebb. That comes close to describing the overall tone of Yes, Virginia…

My recommendations 2006:Donuts by J Dilla

J Dilla: Donuts
Stones Throw 2/7/2006

Available on Emusic

It's taken me until the past two years to start getting over the bad taste that was left in my mouth by mainstream hip-hop. I was turned off by the seemingly narrow subject matter and the overt homophobia and sexism in all the MTV-friendly rap and hip-hop that was popular during my teens. However, after reading some appealing reviews of underground hip-hop records from independent labels, I started testing the waters. After a few positive experiences, I got over my preconceptions. Donuts exemplifies what I thought was missing from hip-hop. It's a very strange record, eschewing typical song structures for very short compositions that blend into each other to create a surreal sound experience. It's completely unlike anything I had expected from any form of music, let alone hip-hop.

My recommendations 2006:Destroyer's Rubies by Destroyer

Destroyer: Destroyer's Rubies
Merge 2/21/2006

Available on Emusic

I have a soft spot in my heart for such unabashedly weird artists as Detroyer's Dan Bejar. He is refreshingly unconstrained by the rules of traditional indie rock song writing, letting his ideas roam free without adorning them with artsy bullshit. The results are completely sincere yet schizoid epics along the lines of David Bowie's "The Cygnet Committee". Just when you think you know where the song is going, it unexpectedly darts off in a random direction. Bejar somehow integrates the song and its nearly a dozen independent parts into a seamless, cinematic whole.

My recommendations 2006:The Crane Wife by The Decemberists

The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
Capitol 10/3/2006

In some ways, it's scarier to love a band that's still working and creating than one that no longer exists. No matter how great a band is, it will eventually peak and decline. Every time The Decemberists release a new record, I brace myself for the inevitable. I always fear the worst: that they have used up all their best ideas and the new record will be mediocre. When I heard The Crane Wife, as has been the case with every Decemberists record so far, my fears were assuaged. They seem to be beating the odds, for now anyway. Their sound has definitely changed - it's harder and rougher than it has ever been - but they haven't lost the baroque quality that makes them great. The Crane Wife hasn't yet grabbed me like Picaresque did, but it just might become my favorite Decemberists record so far. If this album is any indication, they haven't even reached their peak yet.

My recommendations 2006:Ships by Danielson

Danielson: Ships
Secretly Canadian 5/9/2006

Available on Emusic

A project like Ships, whose purpose is to gather as many collaborators as possible into one room to make a record, would have failed under the direction of anyone who took themselves more seriously than Daniel Smith. Fortunately, Smith's insistence on making a fun, energetic record succeeded. Many of the collaborators who worked on Ships, such as Sufjan Stevens and Serena Maneesh, can get kind of heavy and depressing on their own, which isn't a bad thing. It just would have been misplaced on a Danielson record. Thanks to Smith's unifying vision, everyone brought a sense of frivolity and their silliest ideas to the table, resulting in the most solid and effortlessly enjoyable Danielson effort to date.

Poo and Milly pictures

Last week, I posted about Michael's new kitten, Shadow. As a result, a couple of readers have requested pictures of Michael's other cats, Miss Milly and Poo Stinky. Here's Poo in the sink:

Here's Milly in bed:

Here they are together:

My recommendations 2006:Idols of Exile by Jason Collett

Jason Collett: Idols of Exile
Arts & Crafts 2/7/2006

Available on Emusic

Jason Collett is a guitarist (but not the guitarist) for the massive Canadian avant-garde indie rock collective Broken Social Scene, but you wouldn't know it from hearing Idols of Exile. In his own words, "... the [Broken] Social Scene thing is based around busting songs wide open," which is why it's so surprising that this solo effort is so straightforward. Idols owes its sound to folk-rock and alt-country and doesn't try to experiment or innovate. It is clear from the consistently high quality of this record that Collett, at least in his solo output, does one thing and does it damn well.

My recommendations 2006:Lantern by Clogs

Clogs: Lantern
Brassland 2/7/2006

Available on Emusic

Most indie rock bands, if they are successful by any standard, succeed by writing witty lyrics or by crafting a distinctive style of playing their instruments. It's much more difficult to compose memorable and affecting melodies. Few bands achieve this feat more than a handful of times in their careers, let alone stake their entire livings on it by recording instrumentals almost exclusively. Those that do can usually expect lukewarm results at best. Clogs are an outstanding exception to this heuristic. Lantern dispenses with vocals on all but one track and relies almost fully on Clogs' formidable compositional prowess. Guitar, strings and drums are more than enough for them to win the listener over; lyrics would only get in the way.

Who says we want to destroy families?

The other great news I have to share with you tonight is that our family has a new member. Michael adopted Shadow, a beautiful male kitten who was rescued by HALO and with whom we both have fallen in love over the past month.

As you already know, I have had Missy since 2000, long before I met Michael. I adopted Sugarfoot just last year, making Shadow our second child together and my third overall. Our new baby will live with Michael, along with his two other children from a previous marriage, Miss Milly and Poo Stinky.

My recommendations 2006:Body Riddle by Clark

Clark: Body Riddle
Warp 10/3/2006

Electronic music is notoriously difficult to describe, so I will have to resort to analogy. Body Riddle reminds me of Hieronymus Bosch's famous triptych, The Garden of Earthly Delights. A smoothly symmetrical pattern is apparent from a distance, but closer examination reveals that each part is deceptively complex. Every tiny detail tells its own narrative but contributes to the overarching theme. In the case of Body Riddle, the surface symmetry manifests as drones and static, while tiny rhythms and melodies frolic in the grass, their nakedness concealed only by geometry. The music gradually drifts from Eden to Hell and back again, every track a delight, but unlike the triptych, Body Riddle is rarely earthly.

Slightly less ashamed to live in Arizona

Last night was clearly the best night for Democrats nationwide for quite a while. There is sure to be lots of analysis of our victory in the House as well as the apparently impending victory in the Senate, so I'm going to confine my discussion to the unexpectedly positive results of last night's election in Arizona.

GOVERNOR

Incumbent Democrat Janet Napolitano defeated Republican challenger Len Munsil by a huge margin.

I had disagreed with Janet Napolitano on the renaming of Squaw Peak to Piestewa Peak on several levels. First, the notion that the word "squaw" meant something offensive was based on somewhat of a linguistic urban legend. The theory was advanced in the 70s based on an Iroquoian word for vagina. However, squaw actually comes from the Algonquian language group and its connotation is along the lines of young, unmarried woman. In itself, the word has come to be regarded as offensive, but many phrases containing squaw are still in common use among Native Americans, such as squaw bread, so its offensiveness is clearly dependent on context. Second, the idea that Spc. Lori Ann Piestewa was the first Native American woman to die in combat defense of the United States is preposterous and cannot be a valid basis for honoring her. In truth, nobody knows how many Native American women died in battle fighting the enemies of the young U.S. The number is likely high because the U.S. has often had support from various tribes in armed conflict. Great Britain and its colonies had Indian allies in the French and Indian Wars, as did the U.S. in the War of 1812. Third, and most importantly, federal law prohibits naming geographical locations after individuals who have been deceased for fewer than five years. Napolitano's insistence upon the renaming, in my opinion, was ignorant of both history and law. Piestewa deserves to be honored, but in a manner that is not vulnerable to lawsuits and does not dishonor potentially thousands of Native American women who died in combat before her.

Having said that, I still like Napolitano overall and prefer her over her opponent. Munsil is the founder of the Center for Arizona Policy, whose mission statement is based on the belief that "Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and gay rights groups ... seek to destroy traditional families and traditional moral values." His defeat gives me hope that Arizona isn't hopelessly stuck in the Dark Ages.

HOUSE DISTRICT AZ-5

Democratic challenger Harry Mitchell narrowly defeated incumbent Republican, former sportscaster and perpetual douchebag J.D. Hayworth. This result surprised me becaused Hayworth has always been popular with the dominant political demographic in this district, middle-aged Caucasian heterosexual (or closeted) Protestent men living in Scottsdale with incomes over $100,000. I think his popularity with the group is due to the fact that he used to be on TV and reminds them of football, the only activity in which it's socially acceptable for them to stare at sweaty, naked men in the locker room and fondle their buttocks. Like a pouty toddler, he still refuses to concede, though the statistical likelihood of the remaining absentee and provisional ballots tipping the scale in his favor is on the same order of magnitude as that of a comet striking the Earth in the next week.

BALLOT INITIATIVES

The results of the following ballot initiatives please me:

• No on 107: Arizona is the only state to (narrowly) defeat an anti-gay ballot initiative this election.
• No on 200: Voters defeated a proposed million-dollar lottery for voters, which would have promoted blind voting and would probably have violated a federal law prohibiting pay someone to vote.
• Yes on 201, no on 206: Smoking will be banned in all bars and restaurants, as opposed to the alternate initiative Prop. 206, which would have made compliance optional for bars and provided loopholes for restaurants. Finally, I can go dancing without contracting black lung disease! 201's slogan should have been "I ordered a Zima, not emphysema!"
• Yes on 202: Minimum wage in Arizona will increase to $6.75 per hour beginning Jan. 1.
• Yes on 204: Pregnant pigs will now have the right to cages large enough to move around and lie down in.

Preview of what's to come

There has been a lot of excitement in the past 24 hours and thus much to post about. Here is what I hope to accomplish tonight:

• A discussion of surprisingly positive election results here in Arizona
• Photos of a new addition Michael has brought into the family
• No fewer than seven(!) new recommendations

Okay, here goes...

One last election day reminder

My recommendations 2006:Milk White Sheets by Isobel Campbell

Isobel Campbell: Milk White Sheets
V2 11/7/2006

Regular readers of this blog will undoubtedly have noticed that my recommendations have, up until just now, appeared alphabetically. The reason for this deviation from my anal-retentive routine is that Milk White Sheets is going to be officially released in the U.S. tomorrow morning and I have already passed Ca.

Milk White Sheets, Campbell's second album of the year, is about evenly split between traditional folk songs and her own compositions. Because of its obvious Britannic leanings, there are surely going to be comparisons to Vashti Bunyan ad nauseam in the music press in the next week. Now, I absolutely love Vashti Bunyan and I would never want to even appear to knock her, but I could never mistake her for Isobel Campbell. Campbell's voice isn't as polished, but it's much more vibrant and optimistic than Bunyan's, most likely due to her relative youth. Additionally, Milk White Sheets has a greater emphasis on the instrumentation than on either Vashti Bunyan album, whose arrangements were crafted specifically to showcase her voice. Campbell wrote and arranged her own music in order to complement rather than supplement her voice. The result is a beautiful album that's even more consistently enjoyable than the excellent collaborative album she released with Mark Lanegan earlier this year.

My recommendations 2006:A Vintage Burden by Charalambides

Charalambides: A Vintage Burden
Kranky 5/30/2006

Available on Emusic

Charalambides lie somewhere in the more psychedelic end of the 1960s revival spectrum. Whereas many of their freak-folk contemporaries favor minimalist arrangements and whimsical ditties, Tom and Christina Carter completely saturate the listener in raga-like song structures and mythic themes. Deliberate and plodding guitar lines and somber drones hold the songs down, which then gradually lose ballast and rise, buoyed by Christina's gorgeous voice. A couple of the songs on A Vintage Burden take nearly twenty minuted to unfurl, but Charalambides manage to keep them interesting nonetheless.

Staying up late

For some reason, I just don't feel like going to bed just yet. It's coming up on midnight. I have to be up at five tomorrow morning. That's less sleep that I prefer to have had on Monday mornings. But that's a small price to pay for the simple pleasures of Goldfrapp's new remix album, We Are Glitter, and warm socks right out of the dryer.

I'm not even really tired. I will be soon, though, since I took some allergy medication earlier. Maybe I have time for a slice of cold bacon pizza. Mmm... bacon.

Kitten blogging

My recommendations 2006:The Greatest by Cat Power

Cat Power: The Greatest
Matador 1/24/2006

Available on Emusic

For years, Chan Marshall seemed to be on the path to self-destruction that so many gifted singer-songwriters before her have taken. The Greatest is evidence that she has turned a corner and is beginning to emerge from the abyss. To be sure, this album is often as dark as her previous efforts. However, her songs contain a hope that her work has often lacked. Songs like "Lived in Bars" address her problems frankly, but show that she is beginning to draw strength from adversity. Moreover, The Greatest is not just her most-fully realized and fleshed out album. It's also, as the title suggests, truly her greatest.

My recommendations 2006:Etiquette by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: Etiquette
Tomlab 3/7/2006


Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is one of the most descriptive names for a musical act I've ever seen. Owen Ashworth manufactures extremely low-budget synth pop, as the first part of the name suggests. As for the second part, if Etiquette is consistent with his three previous albums, it's right on the money. Despite its dark themes, however, you don't need to estrange yourself from everyone you love and induce a state of painful loneliness to enjoy Etiquette. The beats aren't spectacular, but they aren't intended to be. They are intended to serve as a backdrop for the lyrics, which are affecting despite (or perhaps because of) their nearly complete absence of metaphor. This is not to imply that Ashworth is unimaginative. He just uses literalism to recreate the various ego-crushing disappointments we experience in our 20s when we're trying to make it on our own and finding that love, career and life are much tougher than we had anticipated.

My recommendations 2006:Fox Confessor Brings the Flood by Neko Case

Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Anti- 3/7/2006

Available on Emusic

The best reason I can give for recommending Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is Neko Case's incredible voice. It's just exquisite. It has that silky quality that all the greatest female singers have had: Patsy Cline, Shirley Bassey, Annie Lennox, etc. Beyond just having the ability to sing beautifully, Case is a gifted songwriter as well. Actually, storyteller might be a more accurate description. The songs are affecting because they deal in universal components of human experience. If there's any justice, she will become an icon in Western cultural memory of great female vocalists.

My recommendations 2006:Ballad of the Broken Seas by Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan: Ballad of the Broken Seas
V2 3/7/2006

When news broke that Isobel Campbell, formerly of Belle & Sebastian, and Mark Lanegan, former Screaming Tree and current Queen of the Stone Age, were recording a collaborative album, the pairing seemed so incongruous that the result seemed preordained to be a distaster or a masterpiece. Luckily for everyone, their offspring runs closer to the latter. Whereas most duet albums emphasize the complementarity of two voices, Campbell's and Lanegan's seem so perpendicular to one another that it's hard to imagine that they could have been breathing the same atmosphere. Campbell, ghostly and distant, seems to haunt the alcoholic delusions of gravelly and careworn Lanegan. The gulf between them takes on its own character, overshadowing them both. Ballad of the Broken Seas is a troubling and disturbingly seductive experience.

My recommendations 2006:Let's Get Out of This Country by Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura: Let's Get Out of This Country
Merge 6/6/2006

Available on Emusic

Many critics take the lazy route when describing Camera Obscura by comparing them to Belle & Sebastian. However, their home town (Glasgow), dry wit and influenced culled from the early decades of modern pop are where the similarities end. Whereas Belle & Sebastian currently inhabit the period from 1970 to 1972, Camera Obscura roam the late 50s and early 60s. Though Tracyanne Campbell is their sole vocalist, their sound reminds me of the better female vocal groups of that period, particularly The Supremes, in the sense that melody and emotive delivery form the foundation of the songs. Campbell brings to mind, at times, Tracey Ullman's "They Don't Know," which is the acme of the 60s girl-group sound, despite having arrived twenty years to late and not being the work of a girl group. Let's Get Out of This Country is unassumingly lovely and sharp as a tack, just like Campbell.

My recommendations 2006:Roots & Crowns by Califone

Califone: Roots & Crowns
Thrill Jockey 10/10/2006

Available on Emusic

Recently I watched a documentary about Woody Guthrie on the local PBS affiliate. I was surprised to learn that Guthrie and John Cage were close friends and mutual admirers. Though I was astonished at the time, their association makes more sense having contemplated the commonalities between folk and avant-garde forms in music. Both, ideally, begin with that which is near in space and immediate in experience. Having begun to understand this parallel, Roots & Crowns seems like an organic and natural consequence of the paths folk (called Americana now by the music press) and experimental noise have taken in the past five years. Rather than representing the synthesis of two opposing paradigms, Califone propose a grand theory of unification, suggesting that they have always been one and the same.

Neil Patrick Harris to People Magazine: "As a three-dollar bill, Mary!"

Oh, Doogie! Tonight the prayers of millions of 30-something gay men have been answered in the form of Neil Patrick Harris coming out! (Though, Michael has long insisted on this fact, so it's hardly a People exclusive.)

Seriously, though, not that it should really matter to anyone (except Neil and whomever he sleeps with) whether he smokes the pickle. Our culture tends to objectify celebrities, particularly entertainers, in such a way that we almost feel like we own them. Nobody owns Neil Patrick Harris and he owes the public nothing. We don't need to know anything about his personal life.

I salute Mr. Harris for having the integrity to not live a lie to satisfy the public's urge to own him. This can be a scary decision for a high-profile entertainer (and the low-profile ones, too). Especially for the star of a highly-rated sitcom, whose career in network television could be derailed as a result. Even if that does happen, Broadway and independent film will always love you, Neil.

My recommendations 2006:Richard Butler by Richard Butler

Richard Butler: Richard Butler
Koch 4/18/2006

Available on Emusic

I've been a fan of The Psychedelic Furs for over a decade. I've seen them live twice. Nonetheless, I've always felt that the quality of their studio recordings has been choppy. They've had a lot of great songs, but not one record that stands out to me as being great from start to finish. Richard Butler's eponymous debut solo album, on the other hand, doesn't have that problem. While there aren't any tracks that quite measure up to "The Ghost in You," the record is exceptional as a whole. His voice, as usual, is the major appeal to this record. The melodies are almost all memorable. The bonus, however, is the mosaic production. It's like one of those large pictures that, upon closer examination, turns out to be made entirely of tiny photographs. The album is full of microscopic bleeps and flourishes that complement the guitars and Butler's voice gorgeously. Finally, Butler has moved beyond merely writing great songs into crafting a cohesive and superb album.

My recommendations 2006:You in Reverse by Built to Spill

Built to Spill: You in Reverse
Warner Brothers 4/11/2006

Call me a philistine, but I never heard Built to Spill before this year. You in Reverse and Perfect From Now On, their 1997 debut, serve as my only reference points for Built to Spill's oft-celebrated career. I think that being so unfamiliar with their previous work gives me a sense of perspective that some long-time fans have lost. I have read reviews that actually pan You in Reverse for not being on par with some of their previous work. However, when you consider this album as a work in its own right, it is simply beautiful. The music is richly layered, the guitars alternate between blunt and sharp at will and the master volume knob is virtually an instrument in itself. If you give it a chance, You in Reverse will not let you down.

My recommendations 2006:Pink by Boris

Boris: Pink
Southern Lord 5/16/2006

I must hold some wildly erroneous preconceptions about metal, because much of Pink sounds nothing like what I've always understood metal to be. Sure, there are moments with chugging and churning guitars and drums, as one would expect to hear from any random metal band. These are the moments when I look at my watch and yawn. In fact, these moments nearly prevented me from recommending this album. However, there are other moments on the album that approach perfection - moments that are graceful, refined and immensely pleasurable. These are not adjectives I would ordinarily associate with metal. Pink makes me seriously consider whether I should.

My recommendations 2006:The Letting Go by Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Bonnie "Prince" Billy: The Letting Go
Drag City 9/19/2006

The Letting Go is quite possibly Will Oldham's finest work since 1999's I See a Darkness. The addition of vocals by Faun Fables' Dawn McCarthy and strings softens Oldham's ordinarily spartan arrangements. This album is no sunshine-pop affair, however; Oldham is still quite gloomy. Even his tender ballads tend to be depressing. It's a good thing, though, because few artists do pessimism and resignation better than Bonnie "Prince" Billy.

Sick day

I got up about seven this morning only long enough to send an e-mail to my supervisor and coworkers. I went immediately back to bed and slept another five hours.

I didn't get to listen to a whole bunch of music like I had wanted, but I have listened to some. I've been lying on the couch watching reruns on Lifetime and suffering from an awful sinus headache.

I will post one recommendation today. If I feel up to it, I may respond to the ridiculousness in today's news. Better responses already exist than what I could muster, so I may just skip it.