this must be the place

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

back in the hometown, recovering from kville. i had an entertaining weekend and it was difficult to return to the workplace and resume my daily grind. much thanks to my friends in kville for putting up with me and reminding me how much i’m going to miss that place.

one thing that’s been helping my transition back into the working week has been the new album by the arcade fire, “the suburbs”.

it’s got shadows of “funeral”, which drives me crazy (in a good way), but also some of the ghostly vocals and rhythmic pounding that reminds me more of “neon bible”. although the album was leaked a little early (it’s due out August 2nd), i’d have to say it fits the late summer  season incredibly well. the track that will be playing as you sit out on your porch in the hazy dusk with a chilled brew clenched in your fist is bound to be “modern man”, while the song you’ll be stomping your feet and swinging your head to at the next undergraduate’s house party you attend will most likely be “month of may”. while cruising around in your chevy malibu through the back streets just trying to kill time and clear your head, any track on this album could fit your needs adequately. seriously, try it on for size.

this summer it was always raining

sorry for the recent lapse in posts. i endured a major system crash that apparently required me to reformat my entire hard drive. when i asked the tech support crew what may have caused this catastrophe, the support man told me in his english dripping with accent"you must be certain to always shut down your computer properly, ma'am..."

two strikes. first of all, he called me "ma'am". i hate that. second of all, shutting down my computer incorrectly should not result in my having to reformat my hard drive. if that's the case, then something is wrong with the way you design computers. that computer hardly ever wants to shut down properly.

anyways, i figured i'd make a quick post before i try to jet off to kville for the rest of the week. hopefully i'll find some relaxation and entertainment there, assuming i can get there before all the rivers flood and block my access. this damn rainy weather.

finally got accepted to masaryk in brno. maybe now i'll get the paperwork necessary for my visa...one can only hope.

our deal

well, work is already tiring me this week and it’s only tuesday. it’s going to be a long week.

however, i can at least be excited about the new best coast album, “crazy for you”. you can currently stream it from the urban outfitters website at http://blog.urbanoutfitters.com/features/best_coast
if you like what you hear you can also preorder the album.

to me, it feels like a mixture of beach pop and indie low-fi, although it is admittedly much cleaner than what i’d normally define as low-fi or drone. bethany cosentino has departed from her pocahaunted days of drone and embarked on a musical endeavor that rings pure of her love of california. this isn’t your katy perry “california girls” bullshit, either. her voice echoes and floats over relatively simple guitar riffs, and the lyrics tend to center about subjects such as boys, weed, and love. she’s definitely got a sense of humor (as anyone who’s followed her twitter account is certainly aware of), and her playful attitude is evident in the infectious tracks of “crazy for you”.

check it out. what have you got to lose?

also, i watched old re-runs of “boy meets world” this morning as i got ready for work. is topanga actually a real name?

is there a vaccine for this?

great weekend.

watched the world cup final today- i was hoping for the netherlands but i can’t really be too disappointed with a win for spain, either. it was a fun match to watch…a lot of theatrics at times and a ridiculous amount of yellow cards, but also some skillful soccer.

i’m not sure if i’m quite ready to go back to work this week. i think i’d rather just drive to kville and spend the next week there, instead.

at least i’m making money.

the picture for this post is an old one but good one:
blue gill queen.

if you want some good music to check out, may i recommend Alcoholic Faith Mission? they had a great 2010 debut album entitled “let this be the last night we care”. i suggest it to anyone looking for a good listen. may seem sort-of like older broken social scene? at least that’s what kev thought.

i’m worried about you, coop

i’ve been keeping fairly busy with my work. for about 10 hours of the day i am at the office, then i usually either head off to play some pick-up soccer or i go for a run. i spend the evenings alone, studying materials for the optometry admissions test or looking over czech language texts. i’m not sure if i’m making much progress in either area.

at least i’m keeping active and distracted. it passes the days and gives me short term activities to focus on, so i am not as anxious about the mess my life is soon to become. unfortunately, i believe i may have to confront those difficult decisions within the next few days.

this year my fourth of july was seven hours shorter than last year’s. last year i found myself on a transatlantic flight from paris to chicago. this year i found myself drinking beer while sitting with some friends in metal patio furniture in some back yard, talking about whatever. in the evening i didn’t watch the fireworks but i sat in my car while i talked on my cell phone, trying to avoid hearing words i know are eventually going to come but which i hope to postpone as long as possible.

eventually, i am going to have to face reality.

i am leaving america.

with one day leading to the next

first off, i’ve got to give some credit to my brother for the art gracing today’s post. he seems to have gotten into a street art-phase, or something of the like. this little piece is called “hello there”. i like it a lot.

so, this past year i was exposed to the work of David Lynch. it was a rocky affair at first, with my first greeting being the movie Inland Empire.  it’s a curling, crawling, complicated composition, dragging out for an agonizing 180 minutes. don’t mistake me by my choice of adjectives, however: i liked it. it’s not really the type of straightforward movie you can drift in and out of while munching on popcorn and talking to friends. you must devote your undivided attention to it. and even then, you probably are going to be left scratching your head. it lives up to its tagline: a woman in trouble.

a couple of months ago i tried out Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. it felt smoother than Inland Empire, but still had that complicated mise en abyme plotline that leaves your head reeling if you’re not willing to be a little tolerant and creative with the story being pitched before you.

what really turns me on, however, has to be Lynch’s television series Twin Peaks and his movie Blue Velvet. besides the fact that both star Kyle MacLachlan, who is absolutely fantastic, they are a little more approachable than the other Lynch works i’ve encountered. it still isn’t any sort of “invite over that co-worker you’ve been meaning to get to know better and watch a film together” sort of lightness, but compared to some of Lynch’s other films they feel much easier to consume.

i think what truly interests me about Lynch films is that they inspire discussion. you can’t watch one without venturing an interpretation of it, no matter how far-flung or bizarre. it’s perfect material for discussing with a few close friends who share an open mind.

since i don’t really have any friends here in my hometown who share my interest in Lynch, i usually end up going for long runs after watching something by him, during which i roll the plot over and over in my mind and try to sort things out on my own. usually i come home exhausted, sweaty, and still curious what the blue box and triangle key were really supposed to represent.

were they supposed to represent anything at all?