A Chronicle of Early Failures, Pt. I

Yes, it has been a week, almost, since I have updated this page. In that time I have experienced enough delight to fill a half-empty glass with poop. In case that doesn't mean anything, consider:

•Today I finally worked up the courage to send my latest sestina to McSweeney's, from which it was rejected no less than 30 minutes after I first emailed it to them. At the very least, they are prompt. At best, they are exclusive. Piss. Lesson learned: my sestinas still blow.

•On Friday I had a brief meeting with my writing professor, at which time I was castigated for indirectness and lampooned for assholiness. Deserving? Maybe. Cold? Brisk. Lesson learned: my sestinas still blow.

•Last night, Muscle Shoals and I played our first gig to lukewarm reception and multiple fuckups. We also played to $40, which mediated the pain of butchering horribly a two-guitar rendition of "Starman". Lesson learned: not as many fans of outer space as I had initially supposed.

STAGE I: Anger, resistance to the unachieved. Universalization and otherization of what has not been done, blame, etc. Punk rock.
Joy Division - Failures (Of the Modern Man)

STAGE II: Despair, realization of the lack of what has not been achieved. Droning sensation in the temples, blood swells.
The Dead Texan - A Chronicle of Early Failures, Pt. II

STAGE III: Acceptance, contemplation. Eno.
Brian Eno - Failing Light

Buy Brian Eno Ambient 2: Plateaux of Mirror

Buy The Dead Texan s/t

Buy Joy Division Substance

I've got the beats to make you bang bang bang

Well, this was dropped magically into my hands during my Marathon shift, and I thought you all should hear it so you can get as excited about the forthcoming release of Out Hud's full-length as I am. Keep in mind: this is the second B-side from the single. Holy shit. The first 5 minutes are gold, and the turn at 3:11 is magic.

Out Hud - Put It Away, Put It Away, Put It Away, Dad

So, it sounds a bit like a S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D. outtake, which is fine with me. And, of course, it could be truncated by a couple of minutes in the last third there. But, let the intro take you, realize this is the second B-side, and get the record soon.

Buy it here.

Wrens documentary

I can't remember from whom I followed the link trail to this preview, but rest assured that it was not my own insatiable appetite for curiosa that drove me towards finding this clip for you.

Hey kids, it'sThe Wrens - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart stylee. Someone is doing a Wrens documentary (not that I follow who or what exactly is going on). Looks kind of fannish, but it is Wrens footage. Let me be honest, my favorite part in the preview is where they show several copies of Secaucus being held up by the lead singer. Fuck; do you think if I wrote him, he'd send me one? Probably not.

Also, Pitchfork's Editor Ryan Schrieber is featured (apparently pretty heavily, from the looks of it) in the documentary, in all his glorious Wrens fandom.

Otherwise, I haven't felt much like updating this recently, and don't feel much like doing anything big today. If anyone would like to let me know that you're reading, I might be sprung to a sense of duty. At the moment, though, I'm not gonna. I'm going to eat a sandwich.

Absolutely, my favorite place to go and get a drink on any night of the week (except Monday) is Nick's Bar on Tulane Avenue in Mid-City. Originally, the best selling point was the relative cheapness of the drinks, but very quickly I became enamored with the jukebox. Now, it skips half the time and occasionally just refuses to play what you pick, but it does have one of the better selections in the city. And, up until about 2 months ago, the following song would come on and I would think, every time, "Is this some Wilco track from A.M. that I've never heard?" Of course, I finally went and dug through my rarely-listened to records. There it was:

The Replacements - Unsatisfied

Yeah, I know. Don't look at me weird, I was born a year after this record came out. Somehow, I acquired it but never made it past the first couple of songs, which means I missed what is, to date, my favorite song on the record.

Buy it here.

And to think, today I was going to post a track from Arular, which is getting all the online hottness that you could ask for. I think M.I.A.'s hype machine is doing fine without my 10 hits a day, thank you.

MOUNTAIN GOATS!

I am totally fucking psyched about the Mountain Goats coming up on April 9 at the Parish. Oh man. Oh man oh man. And, in honor of that blessed news, one of my favourite tracks:

The Mountain Goats - No Children

Maybe anathema to some Goats fans, but I think this song is one of their best. Compared to the majority of standard Goats tracks, this one's a Brian Wilson-esque sound orgy, but I really like it. No, Tallahassee isn't their best album, in my opinion (I still think All Hail West Texas will be damned difficult to top) but it does have some great tracks.

Anyway, totally looking forward to that.

You can get the CD, um, anywhere. It's around. And worth the look. It's called Tallahassee. This is called "being really fucking lazy".

I must apologize

Well, if anyone cares, I've been terribly remiss about updating this blog-thingy. However, I've also been tremendously blown away, to the point where I'm calling the single of the year right now. You can get it if you go over to Stypod and check the Feb. 28, 2005 entry.

The track is called "Kiss Me Again and Again" and it's by Polmo Polpo, a Canadian DJ who has released a few 12" on his own label Audi Sensa, some of which were later compiled onto a release called The Science of Breath for the magnificent Alien8 Recordings (check out that album cover, BTW). A lot of his stuff seems to be what they might call "Deep Ambient Disco" if they called it things like that. As it is, I don't know what they call it. But his full-length on A8 garnered comparisons (from A8, incidentally) to one of my favorites from last year, Tim Hecker.

He also released a full-length on Constellation Records, best known as the home of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, or wherever they've decided to locate the exclamation point these days.

But this EP/single (clocking in at 21 minutes) is another beast altogether, out on heretofore unknown (to me) Intr-Version Records. The very first thing that hit me when I heard this track was Arthur Russell in big bold thinking letters. This track actually takes from Dinosaur L's "Kiss Me Again" - produced by Russell and released on his own Sleeping Bag records on their 24-24 Music LP in 1983(?). But Polmo Polpo's version takes from all segments of Russell's composition. I think the closest analog that I can draw his the track "Let's Go Swimming (Walter Gibbons Mix)" that was rerelased on the World of Arthur Russell comp last year - which is excellent and should be purchased through Soul Jazz Records.

Anyway, this track moves through funk, experimental pop, traditionally "indie" melodies, etc, seamlessly over the course of 21 minutes and riding a big, unfailing dance beat. The production is impeccable - you can follow every movement in this track and still be surprised where you end up. Within 10 minutes after I'd heard this over at Stypod, I'd bought the disc - which apparently is only available in a limited run of 500. I'd suggest you go get it right this minute. Intr-Version helpfully lists US stores that carry it on their website.

But if you need a little help, buy it atForced Exposure.