Found Sound #3 Streaming Radio

I love music, I have no qualms with admitting that I may even be obsessed, and that there may even be times when this obsession gets in the way of other more pressing concerns. However, there is little in life that I derive as much pleasure from as discovering a new artist or album that is, at least in the moment, better than anything I had ever heard before. Although I have a core group of friends who too share an awareness for the significance of music, close proximity and similar sources have lead to analogous album collections and as a result I sometimes feel like “our” music and the discussion there of becomes stale. When this occurs I have found a great deal of comfort in two radio programs, both of which can be accessed through the world wide web.

The first of which is All Songs Considered, broadcast by NPR and hosted by Bob Boilen. Originally a showcase for many of the tunes sampled in the news show All Things Considered, it has grown into a program discovering and featuring a wide variety of relatively obscure artists. Recently it began presenting live concerts which can be streamed separately or as part of the original program. Artists appearing on the show include The Decemberists, Interpol, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Calexico with Iron & Wine, Lucinda Williams, and my favorite Sigur Rós. Browse their archives for samples from many of the best new albums, over twenty live concerts and some very insightful commentary on music from some of the brightest minds in the business. To access the site click here.

A second program, and one which I have only recently discovered, is Sound Opinions. It is unusual in that the hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot spend much of the time discussing and interviewing musicians. The focus is on the talk about music rather than listening to music, and the shear amount of knowledge contained in the hosts heads about artists, albums and news keeps me busy jotting down note after note for later research on Wikipedia. Fortunately, for those in Minnesota, The Current, MPR’s new alternative rock station, broadcasts the show on Saturday’s at 9:00. To check it out click here.

Further reading...

The St. Cloud Times runs a segment called “Pick 5” every Thursday and featured this week is The Five Best Albums (Legally) Downloadable From the Internet, by yours truly. While I have noticed a few typos it is worth looking up if for nothing else but the links to the music. Featured prominently is the website Archive.org which is an incredible source of live music, so once you are done reading the article head over and browse over 30,000 live shows. Check out my article here.

We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane Part 2

The science world is buzzing today with a wide variety of discoveries. While the decision to revoke Pluto’s 9th planet status may intrigue some a more thrilling and infinitely more relevant discovery concerns stem cell research.


Earlier this month President Bush vetoed a stem cell research bill which had passed the Republican controlled House and Senate. While I was disappointed by this veto, as discussed here, I could understand the position taken by those who oppose the research. Now biologists have developed a technique for establishing colonies of human embryonic stem cells from an early human embryo without destroying it. It would seem this breakthrough would clear the way for new legislation but it looks as though it had little effect on longstanding objections of the White House and some Congressional leaders.

The new technique would be performed on a two-day-old embryo, after the fertilized egg has divided into eight cells, known as blastomeres. In fertility clinics, where the embryo is available outside the woman in the normal course of in vitro fertilization, one of these blastomeres can be removed for diagnostic tests, like for Down syndrome.
The embryo, now with seven cells, can be implanted in the woman if no defect is found. Many such embryos have grown into apparently healthy babies over the 10 years or so the diagnostic tests have been used.

According to Dr. Robert Lanza, vice president of Advanced Cell Technology, “There is no rational reason left to oppose this research.” It seems logical that when the “one life for another” argument no longer is valid it is time to accept the facts and move on. Unfortunately, Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokeswoman, suggested that the new procedure would not satisfy the objections of Mr. Bush. She said, “Any use of human embryos for research purposes raises serious ethical questions. This technique does not resolve those concerns.”
A spokesman for Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas and a prominent opponent of federal financing for embryonic stem cell research, said “You are creating a twin and then killing that twin.” This kind of rhetoric is not only frustrating the progress of science but is also patently false. However, there is no evidence that a single blastomere could develop into a human.

Sadly, it seems as though politics have again impeded good policy and common sense. When the primary reason for rejecting the research is solved, it should be a time of celebration and agreement, instead politicians fall back on even more faulty reasoning to maintain their “conservative” persona. Like so many issues today it is no longer about representing a constituency, rather every day politicians are more and more willing to bow to special interest groups with a disturbing lack of ethical standards.

This research could save the lives of thousands of people, it no longer destroys the embryo and with funding will become safer and more efficient. Hopefully those opposed will think of those who need the treatment rather than the nonexistent “twins” and figure out a way to get some legislation passed.

Primary Movers #1

“There's an old joke - two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly. The... the other important joke, for me, is one that's usually attributed to Groucho Marx; but, I think it appears originally in Freud's "Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious," and it goes like this - I'm paraphrasing - "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member." That's the key joke of my adult life, in terms of my relationships with women.”
~ Alvy Singer, "Annie Hall"

Few filmmakers have had as storied a career or as infamous a private life as Woody Allen. He is, for me, the quintessential artist, varied in influences and styles, able to create some of the most fascinating and unique movies over the past thirty years, all the while playing a three fold part as writer/director/actor. My appreciation of his work has grown from a passing laugh at his early sci-fi spoof “Sleeper” to a full fledged infatuation with his films.

His idiosyncratic characters and cerebral style have resulted in his being nominated for more Academy Award nominations for best screenplay than any other writer. He is also tied for fifth place for number of nominations as director. Not only is he a superb writer/director but he also stars in many of his movies and for his performance in Annie Hall was nominated for best actor.

Although working through his prodigious catalogue is a serious investment of time, I have found it well worth my while. I have seen fourteen of his movies and am glad to recommend nearly all of them. There is no doubt that Annie Hall and Manhattan are a top priority for movie lovers. These films defined the romantic comedy genre without falling into many of the sappy traps so often seen today. Both star Mr. Allen and Diane Keaton and take place in Manhattan, their witty dialogue, brilliant acting, flawless camera work and incredible musical scores make it little wonder they are considered some of the best movies of all time. Below is the opening clip from the movie Manhattan, in it you can here Mr. Allen’s sharp wit and self depreciation that has made him famous.



If you are looking for more pure comedy, Sleeper and Bananas are great examples of Mr. Allen’s earlier work. They show signs of his later greatness with their snappy dialogue but also make great use of Mr. Allen’s impressive physical slap-stick comedy.

With the release of Match Point both critics and fans enjoyed a surprisingly dark and thrilling break from his usual fare. One of the few films shot outside of New York, this film follows the lives of London’s elite and is notable for the first appearance of Scarlett Johansson, who has become Mr. Allen's latest muse. If you enjoyed Match Point, Manhattan Murder Mystery is another one of Mr. Allen’s movies which combines his comedic flare with a suspenseful storyline. Other Allen classics include Stardust Memories, Mighty Aphrodite, Hannah and Her Sisters and Melinda and Melinda.

For anyone interested Mr. Allen has also recently released Scoop, his second effort with Ms. Johansson, to mixed reviews.

So next time you are out wandering aimlessly through the isles at the local video rental store, look up one of the aforementioned films, you won’t regret it.

Aroooo!

A quick note, I feel compelled to direct you to one of the better and more insightful reviews of this years Bonnaroo festival I have read. I think that there is a general perception of the “trust-fund hippies” that attend such festivals, and while valid in a limited sense it does injustice to the general ideals held by most people on the scene. The negativity at the beginning of the article gives way to a soft chewy center so just keep reading.

A Quick One While He’s Away

I was too impatient to wait and post these some other time so here are two disparate and yet equally exciting tidbits.

Firstly, Thom Yorke, of Radiohead fame, gave a very engaging interview on Pitchforkmedia today which is worth a read. I especially like his response to a question concerning whether he has been happier in the past couple of years. He replied, “When we played Bonnaroo we got such a nice vibe, a genuine good feeling from the first beat. Things like Bonnaroo give you the hope that you can do it the other way. I met Phish-- most of their people are involved in Bonnaroo. And it's great. I dream to take some of that vibe and take it around the country...and then Clear Channel trying to fucking shut the gate down.”

As a devout Bonnarooer it was great to hear such a positive statement, especially when he wasn’t even directly asked about the festival. What is so engaging about Bonnaroo is the level of commitment and passion people share for the music, and the artists realize and try to reward it. Immediately as Radiohead took the stage the fans responded with a lot of energy and the band fed on that energy and returned the favor by putting on an incredible set. That kind of give and take is what is missing from a lot of contemporary music and touring in which the band goes out, plays their two hits to raucous applause and then stumbles through the rest of their lesser known material with little crowd interaction. At Bonnaroo people congregate to hear music not hits, and I think the artists really appreciate that sentiment, I have never heard more “Thank yous” from bands than at the festival.

I also found a new artist that deserves a listen. Following in the footsteps of Fiona Apple, Feist and Regina Spektor, Annika Norlin a.k.a Hello Saferide combines idiosyncratic lyricism and uncomplicated compositions to make simple, beautiful music. Below is a video from her forthcoming EP Would you let me play this EP ten times a day, enjoy. To hear a couple more of her songs check out her myspace page.



P.S. Surprisingly Annika Norlin nor Hello Saferide has a Wikipedia entry. This is the first time I have tried to look up a band and the great wiki has been stumped.

Spyware vs. Spyware

Everyone, including you, is at risk from an innumerable amount of internet borne pathogens. They travel through email, websites, downloads even instant messages. Although products are available online and through stores cost is often a prohibitive factor. Unfortunately, without any new software you will find that the old antivirus your computer came with just isn’t keeping up with the plethora of malware being produced. Luckily for us there is a large community of programmers putting out shareware to protect us. Here is a list of the best software I have been able to find.




Windows Defender

This Microsoft program with its full set of features and solid spyware-removal functionality is perfect for protecting your computer. A standard scan and delete program, this one has the monetary backing of a major corporation and it shows. Quick and easy it is ideal for the novice user. What it lacks in power it makes up for in functionality. Download it here.

Ad-Aware

This latest version of Ad-Aware SE runs faster than previous versions, and it finds and deletes even more illicit programs which track your surfing and are likely the cause for all of those pop-up ads. It is one of the most thorough scanners I have used and now it has a more user friendly interface that makes the program more attractive and extremely simple to use. This is probably the single most useful tool for cleaning up your computer and you can download it for free here.

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.4

Spybot - Search & Destroy has been in the antispyware business for a long time and although it does not quite measure up to Ad-Aware it sometimes is able to find a few of those remaining bugs on your computer. One nice feature is that when it scans, the results now appear arranged by groups in a tree, and a sliding panel lets you view information about a selected item to help you decide whether to erase it or not. Another nice feature is the System Startup which lets you review which applications load when you start your computer. You can download it here.


HijackThis 1.99.1

If you have serious problems with spyware, you may want to try HijackThis. The tiny program examines vulnerable or suspect parts of your system, such as browser helper objects and certain types of Registry keys. This program is for computer savvy persons only, make sure you don't check off an item and hit the Fix checked button unless you're sure it's malware. To be safe click the Info on selected item then search the Web for that item's name try searching a tech forum like SpywareInfo. HijackThis is a serious tool for people with a serious problem but if you are careful it may save an otherwise hopelessly infested computer. Download it here.

PopUpCop 2.5.0.65

For those of you who need a pop-up blocker look no further than PopUpCop. Not only is it one of the best programs I have found for blocking all kinds of pop-ups and banner ads, it includes utilities for clearing cached Web files and managing cookies. If you are looking for something to get ride of those annoying pop-ups download it here.

Anti Tracks 6.6.2

As online privacy becomes more of an issue one key factor in the fight against full disclosure is the ability to destroy you web log. Anti Tracks has an exceptionally organized interface where you select which files you want to delete, including ones for Web browsers (IE, Mozilla, Opera), Windows, e-mail, and various applications (such as ICQ or Kazaa). It's also possible to purge folders of your choice. According to sources with a lot more knowledge about computers than me, an added feature is that you can make secure deletions by means of algorithms like DoD 5220.22-M and Gutmann. Anti Tracks seems to be one of the current best bets for anyone who needs a capable way to protect a PC's privacy. Download it here.

Isn't it Ironic?

i·ro·ny
1. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.
2. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning.
3. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect.



After overhearing a caller on NPR this morning I was moved to discuss irony and its over and misuse in many peoples vocabulary. There are many types of irony; Socratic, Roman, historical and cosmic yet all types of irony revolve around the notion of incongruity, or a disconnect between our understanding and what actually happened.

Many of Shakespeare’s plays make use of irony, often employing an audience’s extensive knowledge while leaving the characters in the dark. A classic example is Mark Antony’s speech, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him,” in which he seemingly praises Brutus and his accomplices while in actuality exulting Caesar and denouncing the conspirators.

Another familiar example of irony is Socratic irony in which a speaker feigns ignorance in order to expose their opponents weakness. Although not comparable to the genius of Socrates, Sacha Baron Cohen a.k.a Ali G is famous for his use of Socratic irony. For an entertaining example watch the video below.



Now to the point of this post, the caller that I heard today was recounting an experience he had the previous day, he had left late from work and was speeding home so as not to be late for his fifth wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, in his eagerness to get home he had been pulled over by a police officer and given a ticket. Thinking he was late he was inventing all kinds of lies for his tardiness when, to his relief, he arrived home only to find that his wife was late as well. He went on to say how ironic it was. There is nothing ironic about this story, it may have been unfortunate but to describe mere unfortunate coincidence or surprising disappointment as ironic is incorrect. Much like the unfortunately titled Alanis Morissette song there is nothing “Ironic” about rain on your wedding day, a free ride when you've already paid or good advice that you just didn't take.

After writing this post I was looking around the internet for other common misuses of the English language and was pleased to find this site which highlights and explains many that you have probably heard of and a couple you probably haven’t. I know I have always confused affect and effect. I hope this entry has had a positive effect on you, until next time.

Technical Problems

Well, I was doing alright the first couple of days but I am currently having some technical problems while posting. When I get it figured out I have an article about post-rock all ready. Until then enjoy the picture(fruit of the loom). See you tommorow.

Found Sound #2 Post-rock

Like any kind of addiction, my love affair with music seems to be an ever intensifying habit. With the help of Pitchforkmedia, KVSC, The Current and friends I am always exposed to a plethora of expanding musical choices. Traditionally I have stuck to the jam and indie scenes, although as my interest has increased so has the breadth of my catalogue. One of the newer genres of music to be encompassed is post-rock.


Post-rock is a music genre characterized by the nontraditional use of instruments and high musical density. Oftentimes I try to explain it as classically composed, lengthy prewritten instrumental pieces, performed with traditional rock instruments. Although embraced by most indie rock scenesters it bears little resemblance to anything else. An extermely wide variety of bands fall under the term post rock and as a result most people can find some music they like within the scene.

Sigur Rós is probably one of the most well known post-rock bands. They are often identified by their ethereal sound and the eerie falsetto of their lead singer. They recently released their fifth full length album Takk to both commercial success and critical acclaim. Below is a video to their first single “Glósóli” from their album, in it you will hear the characteristic song structure which starts with a quiet plodding beginning followed by a lengthy build to a cathartic finish.



For many Godspeed You! Black Emperor embody all that is post rock. Working on a near orchestral scale, the eight-piece group creates beautiful soundscapes with their unique use of instrumentation and sounds. They compose large songs with multiple movements, and are known for their engrossing use of art and visuals in both their album packaging and live performances. To listen to or download a live performance by GYBE click here.


Explosions in the Sky are a band out of Austin, Texas making a name for themselves on the scene. They exemplify much of what I love in post rock, beautiful guitar driven compositions which seem custom made for that emotional montage sequence at the climax of a movie. They unlike Godspeed are still actively touring and recording and according to their website will be releasing a new album early 2007. To listen or download an entire concert by EitS click here.

For those of you looking for something completely off the beaten path, you need look no further than Sunn O))).They are an American doom metal band often specified as drone doom. Their sound is extremely slow and heavy, using droning guitars accompanied by feedback and other sound effects to create their soundscapes. There is very little drumming and a lack of any discernible beat. Interestingly enough they were featured in an article by the New York Times, to read it click here.

For something a little lighter but still with a kick Pelican is a good bet. Playing primarily in Chicago, Pelican are known for their dense combinations of different melodies and extended track lengths. Their distinctive sound draws from doom metal as well as post-rock and many other influences. They received a favorable review from Pitchfork and this along with an impressive live show has garnered them a significant following.

I know this is far from exhaustive list, it represents a small contingent of the growing post rock movement, it does however highlight some of the best. If you know of any other great post rock bands feel free to post and let us know.

That does it for this edition of Found Sound, if any of you have requests for future posts let me know and I will see what I can do.