Fractionals

I've got a short review of Aarktica's new and excellent In Sea up today at PopMatters.

I love love love the Onion's AV Club website, so getting linked there (scroll down to "Death and Destruction") is a nice surprise, even if it's 'just' their Chicago branch. Two things made me kind of wince, though:

1. Dude, if you're going to mention Evan Chakroff's name with regards to the original review, why make it sound as if the Stylus Hivemind wrote the On Second Thought and not, oh, I don't know, me? ("Stylus would go on to revise his claims"? Seriously?)
2. "Baby P-fork"? Not only is that woefully wrong and misleading, but around these parts it'd get you a punch in the mouth stern talking to.

My review of the new album by Ben Frost is up today at Resident Advisor.

I don't know how I'd missed the fact that Andrew WK has a Twitter, but it's a form uniquely suited to the man; as long as he's posting stuff like this, I'll be reading.

Feel good hits of the 23rd of November, 2009:

TV on the Radio - DLZ
Pavement - In the Mouth a Desert
The Beatles - A Day in the Life
Future of the Left - Arming Eritrea
Tammi Terrell - All I Do Is Think About You
Fever Ray - I'm Not Done
Radiohead - House of Cards
Phantom/Ghost - Perfect Lovers (Unperfect Love Mix)
Captain - Broke
The Dodos - Undeclared

For some reason it didn't occur to me that my review of Boredoms' Super Roots 10 EP would go up in Resident Advisor's singles reviews instead of the albums section, so I missed it when it was published back in October. Here it is.

Normally I try and write something for Remembrance Day (part of which this year was spent drinking beer at the local A.N.A.F. Club, where I believe we will be visiting quite often in the future), but I've been too gloomy to do so. This has a good deal to do with why. Weirdly enough, I think I'm more comfortable with my mortality than with the mortality of others.

In grade school my twin brother and I were friends with one of the sons of the teacher Gord talked about, and we used to go over to their place for sleepovers, usually spent hopped up on sugar playing SNES Mario Kart and listening to the Offspring (I think I just dated myself). In high school, I took computers with Ms. Thielman for five years, and everything Gord says about her as a teacher is absolutely true. Getting a phone call from my mom earlier this week letting me know that she was suddenly diagnosed with liver cancer - which only gave her two more weeks after she found out about it - was a nasty shock. It's bad enough when one of your old teachers die (there's something rather unique about that particular pain), especially if they're related to an old friend. But cancer is supposed to be slower. It's supposed to at least give you one last chance to talk to the person, to let them know how much you appreciated them. I found out about this the day Ms. Thielman died. I really, sincerely hope that she knew how much those of us who knew her as a teacher and as a mom liked and valued her. And I hope my old friend who I haven't seen in years is holding up okay.

(via Fluxblog)

Andy Falkous is a genius. Why do I not already own both Future of the Left albums? I can tell you why I didn't see them (arrrrgh) when they played Toronto last week - lack of money. Next time. Please let nothing get in the way of a next time - I never saw Mclusky live either.

So today my first review over at Blurt went up; it's on the new Jesu EP.

Feel good hits of the 9th of November, 2009:

The Dears - Expect the Worst/'Cos She's a Tourist
Gomez - Sweet Virginia
Engineers - Song for Andy
Against Me! - Thrash Unreal
Sloan - People of the Sky
R.E.M. - E-Bow the Letter
Low - Sandinista
The Rolling Stones - Can't You Hear Me Knocking?
Red House Painters - Song for a Blue Guitar
Los Campesinos! - Miserabilia

If you've ever wanted to watch Sweet Pepper break a cinder block on Orbax's groin using a sledgehammer, have I ever got a video for you. I have the most interesting drinking buddies.

My review of the new, good Slaraffenland album is up today at PopMatters.