Aziz Sucks.

• Tuesday, May 1st, 5:39 AM : I am confronted with further proof that I’m doing this all wrong, and amateurishly. So, my more literal, less meaningful current listenings are now (unreliably) broadcast via the Last.fm feed hanging out in the sidebar. Things I’m gushing about at the moment are scattered throughout the Twitter feed, albeit bereft of exposition. Things about which I have a fair bit to say I’ll just blog about.

So, then, what use for this page? I shall reply with a story: it is said that when Abraham Lincoln was swamped by paperwork, he would use his trademark stovepipe hat to store some of it. When his hat grew too full, he would dump its contents onto the floor and hang a sign near the pile that read: “if you can’t find it anywhere else, look here.”

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

• Thursday, February 8th, 6:16 AM : Silversun Pickup’s Carnavas. First impressions: it’s not much more than spacey alt-pop, interestingly recycled (as opposed to something fresh with solid influences). However: somebody in that band is openly reaching for Kevin Shields-style guitar glory, and gets closer than many; regardless of songcraft, I’m kind of a cheap whore for dense, shoegazey fuzz.

• Monday, January 29th, 6:13 AM : Okay, this is absurd: pretty much since my Birthday, it’s been a constant background of Queen. That’s fine. Good, even. This past week, however, Auntie Rachel and I have been passing various bits of Greatest Hits I back and forth like a fabulous, absurd cold. Nothing else has had a chance to worm its way in for more than minutes at a time. Moral: when you catch Queen, you catch it bad.

• Friday, January 19th, 1:27 AM : Poe’s “Angry Johnny.” I missed it the first time around, but caught it on the second pass (i.e., the alternative-themed XM Station Lucy, which we play at work a good deal).

• Thursday, January 18th, 12:19 AM : …promise not to tell anyone? Sarah MacLachlan’s “Sweet Surrender,” for pretty much two days now. Sorry about neglecting this bit…hopefully the Twitterings off to the right have been of some entertainment.

• Saturday, January 6th, 6:59 AM : Kraftwerk’s Tour de France album. I mean, I already kinda wanted a bicycle; this pretty much cements it.

• Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007!, 3:00 PM : Among my Christmas gifts: Queen’s Live At Wembley Stadium. Thanks, Auntie Rachel! Highlights include a blistering rendition of “Tie Your Mother Down,” tragic-in-hindsight Mercury banter, and an odd medley of classic rock n’roll (e.g., “Tutti Fruti”).

• Saturday, December 30th, 3:47 AM : Comically, having unearthed the very roots of my CD collection, it’s been Prince’s Batman Soundtrack and Kris Kross’ Totally Krossed Out, which, kitsch factor aside, are both pretty sweet albums in their own right.

• Monday, December 25th, 2:03 AM : To an obsessive degree, Queen’s “Somebody To Love.” Queen is damning proof that dippy-ass college a capella is a complete waste of time: if you can sing the harmonies, fucking play instruments. Bombastic even by Queen’s standars, “Somebody To Love” is as close as I’ve heard the group come to a Disney choir (there’s even a bit of washout in the sound), replete with a beautiful desperation that sets this song apart from the bulk of their harmony-driven, muscular catalogue.

• Thursday, December 21st, 5:24 PM : “Look, I don’t care what anyone says. [Boyz II Men's] II was an amazing album.” - Auntie Rachel.

• Thursday, December 21st, 6:34 AM : With a settling-in of actual, wintry cold comes the corresponding assortement of (my favourite) bands. At the moment, the headphones are bumping the 10-minute-plus Superpitcher remix of M83’s “Don’t Save Us From The Flames,” which is probably as close to a slowcore reworking of the track as can be found.

• Tuesday, December 12th, 12:59 AM : Oh man, I’d forgotten about Mew! I’ve yet to give Frengers a listen (with apologies to Hana), but And The Glass-Handed Kites remains excellent.

• Saturday, December 9th, 2:06 PM : Lots of Boris on the way to work, and lots of Scissor Sisters while I’m there (armed with a new pair of cheap earbuds).

• Wednesday, December 6th, 4:18 PM : An odd smattering of insidiously catchy singles, notably Salt-n-Pepa’s “Push It,” Skee-Lo’s “I Wish,” TLC’s “Creep,” and Tori Amos’ “Cornflake Girl.” You bet your life it is.

• Monday, December 4th, 3:38 AM : The new(ish) Mouse On Mars, Varcharz. While dense, and at times downright aggressive, it still manages to remain oddly playful. Thanks, Mouse On Mars!

• Wednesday, November 29th, 4:37 AM : Everything on random, in search of mixtape fodder. Notable for being absolutely awesome: Portishead’s live version of “Glory Box,” from PNYC. The stellar extra-long delay-noise solo into dead halt compels some members of the crowd to break etiquette and cheer before song’s end; these people are heroes.

• Saturday, November 25th, 4:02 PM : Behind the bustle of Thanksgiving and in step with the mellow pace of Vermont: Low’s The Curtain Hits The Cast, notably “Coattails.”

• Wednesday, November 22nd, 3:46 AM : Tori Amos’ Little Earthquakes, surprisingly enough. An unlikely album for me to enjoy, given its singer-songwriter-as-diva aesthetic and ostensible lack of variety, but it’s undeniably good. Oh, and also Brian Eno’s Music For Airports. If I ever crack my way into the music industry, I owe that man my firstborn, I think.

• Sunday, November 19th, 3:02 PM : An odd mix of Idaho (another so-called slowcore act, and a stellar one at that) and pre-concert OKGo in preparation for tonight’s show.

• Thursday, November 16th, 3:23 AM : A rediscovered summer album: Elbow’s Asleep In The Back. Given my weakness for BritPop, tight, inventive-yet-accessible albums like these reinvigorate my love for the genre. Coldplay’s X & Y still sucks, though.

• Tuesday, November 14th, 4:26 PM : …the girlfriend has had “Rocky Raccoon” stuck in her head for nigh unto 72 hours, which is unsafe and maddening: she just capers around the house singing whatever random bits pop into her head (often it’s the ragtime piano). It’s kind of grim. A quote: “this is the sort of thing one calls in sick to work for.”

• Saturday, November 11th, 12:31 AM : …six tracks into DJ Shadow’s The Outsider, and I am one underwhelmed panda. I don’t look to Shadow (or anywhere, really) for pop-rap, and to hear this from the same cat who brought me “Changeling,” well…at least I have two other new CDs to listen to.

• Thursday, November 9th, 5:39 AM : More Jesus & Mary Chain. I expect to spend perhaps the next week listening to Psychocandy, and very little else. The way things have been, I’ll spend the next three days alone listening to “Just Like Honey” and recalling that final, wrenching scene of Lost In Translation.

• Tuesday, November 7th, 2:42 AM : Oop, sorry about the lapse…the past week has been mostly aforementioned: Mew, the Cocteau Twins, the Jesus & Mary Chain, and Mindless Self Indulgence’s You’ll Rebel To Anything, with a lot of working on a couple of mixes. The drive to and from Pittsburgh, though, was mostly just Everything On Random, with an exception for Nirvana’s Unplugged In New York. “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” makes a good bit more sense after realizing it was penned by a convicted killer.

• Sunday, October 29th, 1:54 AM : Orbital’s landmark techno (in the original sense) album Orbital II. Among the finest driving albums I could name. I listened to it to the exclusion of most other music during the Summer of 2003; I actually had to make myself stop and listen to other music.

• Saturday, October 28th, 2:17 PM : Björk’s “Bachelorette.” Last Spring, I wrote most of a Top 10 Of The 90s list with extensive commentary. This song was #2. It is one of my favourite songs of all time, and nothing shy of devastating.

• Friday, October 27th, 7:42 AM : A fall-welcoming, mope-friendly trio: Beck’s Sea Change, some collected Smiths singles, and Elliott Smith’s XO.

• Tuesday, October 24th, 4:30 PM : Working on a few mixes, for both occasions and people. The fall-themed mix is going decently, though it’s hard to distinguish between Very Autumnal Music and Generally Cold-Complimenting Music. Suggestions encouraged! (Think “Carolyn’s Fingers” as this mix’s inspiration.)

• Monday, October 23rd, 5:12 AM : Alan Sparhawk - Solo Guitar. Presently in the middle of “Sagrado Corazon De Jesu (Second Attempt).” Only rarely is this the rich, warm Alan Sparhawk of Low: most of this has sounded like a sallow, bitter Daniel Lanois so far. Proper commentary forthcoming, I should hope.

• Sunday, October 22nd, 11:51 AM : Slowdive - Catch The Breeze. The one Slowdive album I didn’t have! It was basically a completion-of-discography driven acquisition. No surprises yet, though “Catch The Breeze” is as lovely as ever.

• Friday, October 20th, 5:15 AM : The Jesus And Mary Chain - Honey’s Dead. Fairly standard pop songs with scrumptious noise scattered throughout. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, as best as I can tell, really want to be them; Oasis never will.