Let's Be Naive Together...

The Man Who Abandoned His Blog...

2008-07-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

It was March, the sun was shining and a man was leaving great concerts, beautiful girls and good friends behind just to go back home and hug his comrades, whom were the main reason of his return. Now this return is necessary, after working like crazy in several projects, Riccios found some peace of mind and now some time to work in this blog, so let's start being naive!

As you may know, every single story in this blog has its soundtrack, this time is not different: Speaking of returns, I'm back in Chi-Town and there's a lot of fun I've been experimenting with my friends, summer is here and it's always sunny even if tornadoes or electrical storms threaten us, so here you have new songs about comebacks and returns, it's like a loop, from here to there and beyond, if it feels like home, then you're back!

The Notwist - Gone, Gone, Gone (Taken from The Devil, You + Me LP)

Mystery Jets - Veiled in Gray (Taken from the Twenty One LP)

The Radio Dept. - Closing Scene (Taken from the Freddie and the Trojan Horse Single)

Born Ruffians - Hedonistic Me (Taken from the Red, Yellow & Blue LP)

Moto Boy - What It Was Like To Be With You (Taken from the Self-Titled LP)

The Dodos - Red and Purple (Taken from the Visiter LP)

The Last Shadow Puppets - Calm Like You (Taken from The Age Of The Understatement LP)

Fleet Foxes - Blue Ridge Mountains (Taken from the Self-Titled LP)

Tindersticks - All the Love (Taken from The Hungry Saw LP)

Norfolk & West - Arrangements Made (Taken from The Unsung Colony LP)

James - I Wanna Go Home (Taken from the Hey Ma LP)

The Good Life - You Don't Feel Like Home To Me (Taken from the Help Wanted Nights LP)

I'm riding the train and then there's a loop and also here's a loop to enjoy!

The Man who got abandoned at the airport...

2008-02-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

1:39 PM Central Time/11:39 AM Pacific Time:

There was a lot of people interested in picking me up at the airport in San Francisco but nobody showed up. Right now I'm sitting in front of the "Baggage Claim" area, but I'm not sad at all. Actually, for the very first time (since I arrived in Chicago), I'm feeling good: a nice weather and beautiful girls passing by with suitcases and sunglasses, the rays of the sun are delighting my face and they make my hair look so golden. Even though I'm on my own, San Francisco is already looking good.

My wife Sierra Mac is in critical condition, a lot of scratches and a bended metal. The story is quite an odyssey and pretty stupid by the way. But I'm safe and the blizzard stopped. From now on I will just enjoy looking at the girls, laying down on the sand and feeling the breeze after a long long time of being covered in snow.

Oh! I gotta go, there's a geek girl looking for help... Nobody's helping me, I know, but that doesn't mean that I can't spare a hand... or an eye!

In the meanwhile enjoy these songs that were organized in three sets:

1. California: "Find Yourself Here" you told me that and I'm trying to do it. I love your beaches and I know I cheated on you by telling the world, "My heart is divided by two states: California and Illinois..." but I've had it with the snow that froze my heart. The good thing is that you're already taking care of it... but don't melt it!

Low - California

The Magnetic Fields - California Girls

The Decemberists - California One Youth and Beauty Brigade

+++As a plus, a beautiful cover by the prodigal sons of California, The Beach Boys sing to The Mamas & the Papas - California Dreamin'

2. Airports: I'm not an oilman therefore I can't be traveling that much... but right now I feel like I've been drinking up so many milkshakes at so many places without finding peace in mind or something to make me feel special. I'm bouncing from place to place, from "ticketing and checking" to "immigration" to "customs" to "ticketing and checking". Once again, I'm not an oilman, therefore I'm not rich so I can't be traveling this much. Everybody seems to be in such a hurry all the time, running from gate to gate, I hate to be an outsider... stop staring at me. And without you guys, I'm feeling like to be place at the "lost and found" room.

Karate - Airport

Crystal Skulls - Airport Motels

The One AM Radio - The Echoing Airports

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Airport Samba

Sondre Lerche - Airport, Taxi, Reception

3. Some Songs to Explain the State I'm In: I remember when you sent a "Messenger" to tell me something about "The Dream You Left Behind" and that I was doing the same so I sent you a reply with a "Morning Bird" telling you not to cry now and wait for me, there's still a shine of "Light"... and then it's when "I Was Hit" that "There Is a Light that Never Goes Out" and it's called "Hope".

"Don’t run just walk and walk and walk
Don’t loose yourself to decorate
Somewhere on your wall
Cause somewhere in your mind
You know you are doing fine."

I can hear you Kazu. I'm walking and I won't keep trying to do things flawless just to impress someone I don't give a fuck about... I apologize, my behavior was out of line, but I guess I'm really doing fine... at least not that bad.

Micah P. Hinson - The Dream You Left Behind

Please Quiet Ourselves - The Light

Blonde Redhead - Messenger (feat. David Sylvian)

The Sleepy Jackson - Morning Bird

The Submarines - Hope

Minus Story - I Was Hit

The Divine Comedy sings to The Smiths - There is a Light that Never Goes Out

+++As a plus two beautiful covers I just missed to post the last time,
Beachwood Sparks sings to Sade - By Your Side
Bang Gang sings to The Supremes - Stop! In the Name of Love

When I listen to this song, you come to mind...

2008-02-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

That's why I'm singing!

So don't get mad at me if you think the song doesn't fit you at all or it was a bad pick I did. Enjoy.

Julie "Amá": Gepe - Celosia
Mai: Aidan John Moffat – The Boy That You Love
Ceci: Led Zeppelin - All My Love
Coco: Robert Francis - Little Girl
My Dad: Beach Boys - Friends
Canito: We are Scientists - Nobody Moves, Nobogy Gets Hurt
Maza-pán de la Rose: The Decemberists - O Valencia
Bilbo: Chabelo - Adios Superman, Bye, Bye, Bye, Bye
Grabiel: Slayer - Criminally Insane
Devo: Metallica - Blackened
Daniel "Compartner": Electric President - Insomnia
Nacho: Muse - Showbiz
Hobbit: Supergrass - Moving
Oscarín: Death Cab For Cutie - Someday You Will Be Loved
Me: William Shatner - It Hasn't Happened Yet

I'm freezing my ass off and I'm missing you all so damn much! Wait for me, I'm almost done. I'll be there in a couple of months, I swear... Are we still friends?

Listening to:

Manic Street Preachers feat. Sophie-Ellis Bextor - Black Holes for the Young (from The Everlasting Single)

My all time wish is...

2008-02-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

TO BECOME IMMORTAL AND THEN DIE...

Bon Iver - The Wolves (Act I & II)

Someday my pain, someday my pain
Will mark you
Harness your blame, harness your blame
And walk through.

With the wild wolves around you
In the morning, I'll call you
Send it farther on.

Solace my game, solace my game
It stars you
Swing wide your crane, swing wide your crane
And run me through.

And the story's all over you
In the morning i'll call you
Can't you find a clue when your eyes are all painted Sinatra blue.

What might have been lost -
Don't bother me.

BUT I FELL FAR, FAR AWAY FROM GRACE...

Cover Vs. Original

2008-01-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

Beyond judging what's better-if the cover or the original song-the matter lies on "enjoying the song per se", what it says, and specially, how different and beautiful sounds the remake.

Covers are sometimes jokes but almost always, a tribute. So let's cut the mumbo-jumbo and start with our second session of Pirate This...

Pulp - Bad Cover Version This is not a cover but a bad cover version of love and it's not the real thing. Nice way to open the curtains.

Centro-Matic Vs. Beach Boys - Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) You know I grew-up listening to The Beach Boys with my father. I've seen Brian Wilson and he's my hero after my father so if I say that Centro-Matic's cover of "Don't Talk" is a great one, you have to believe me in this one. Will Johnson sings so passionately that you're gonna stop talking and looking for a shoulder. Everything is revived in this song.

Death Cab for Cutie Vs. The Smiths Vs. Stars - This Charming Man: This song is a classic and there's two bands fighting for the prize for best cover. Death Cab For Cutie's version is kinda fast and happier than the original one, while Stars' version is more mellow and naive, exchanging the guitars for a sweet electronic ambient with piano and dreamy voices (letting a guitar sample of the original song go from time to time). Who's more charming?

The Trashcan Sinatras Vs. The Smiths - I Know It's Over Francis Reader sings a lullaby... the background is cozy so let me suck my thumb.

The Shins Vs. The Postal Service - We Will Become Silhouettes Shine and leave behind the synths, robots are eating you... so grab your guitar and join The Shins in the picnic.

Ben Folds Five Vs. The Flaming Lips - She Don't Use Jelly This cover is perfect if you're waiting to be seated at a fancy restaurant. Do you want fries with your caviar?

The Flaming Lips Vs. Radiohead - Knives Out Wayne Coyne's voice gets better with the time. The guitar makes sound everything in this song distorted, even Wayne's vocals. It has suspense, so come and haunt me.

John Vanderslice Vs. Radiohead - Karma Police Electronic is the new Karma. The best song in Stereogum Presents... OKX: A Tribute To OK Computer.

Ben Lee Vs. Modest Mouse - Float On If you want to make a song "pop" even more, call Ben Lee. Girls dig him and you will (secretly).

Ian Brown Vs. Michael Jackson - Billy Jean It's like listening to The Stone Roses on acid.

Readymade Vs. My Bloody Valentine - What You Want What I want is more SHOEGAZE!!!

The Dandy Warhols Vs. Blondie - Call Me Could Courtney Taylor-Taylor be more queer? Yes. Listen to this song... I wish we could watch him sing and move...

Nick Cave Vs. Pulp - Disco 2000 Let William Shatner joins you Nicky, it's for the greater good.

Teenage Fanclub Vs. Pixies - Here Comes Your Man Almost the same, except that there's no girl voice... Still good because it sounds like a remastered song.

The Arcade Fire Vs. Ary Barroso - Aquarela Do Brasil Alexander used to love this song... Our mother should just named him Brazil. Old Classics in Modern Hands.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Vs. Olivia Newton-John - Let's Get Physical They even share the dash. Definitely Sophie is fancier and prettier... oh! and she has a good voice.

The Detroit Cobras Vs. The Strokes - Last Night Last night I heard a cover but I can't remember who was singing... damn alcohol!!!

Spoon Vs. Yo La Tengo - Decora I don't know why Yo La Tengo stopped playing this song... then Spoon took it away from them and made it theirs, "Decora" now sounds like an original song by them.

The Decemberists Vs. Joanna Newsom - Bridges and Balloons I used to give new music to one of my teachers in Film School and I remember that one day he said something about Joanna Newsom, "I like her, but she sounds like Björk and sometimes I can't stand her at all, it happens the same with Mercury Rev, I can't stand his voice for too long..." So I know he loves The Decemberists, I asked Colin Meloy to sing "Bridges and Balloons" for him. (Just for the record, I'm not gay).

Ted Leo Vs. Kelly Clarkson Vs. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Since U Been Gone/Maps Since U Been Gone is one of those well produced songs that got stuck into your brain walls for days. If you add it a cool guy like Ted Leo, you got a great catchier acoustic version of it. He takes the "Maps'" riff rip-off from the original song to give it a nice twist.

The Arcade Fire Vs. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps Arcade Fire loves to sing good songs. This time a sadder version of "Maps". A quiet song with simple arrangements. We don't care if their voices sound all the time out of tune, that's the beauty in it!

Tv On The Radio Vs. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Modern Romance We just can't get enough YYY's. This cover sounds like Sigur Rós in black.

Seabear Vs. Undertones - Teenage Kicks This is a classic for every single generation. The good thing is that now Teenage Kicks with a sweet twist.

Scissor Sisters Vs. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out This band got it all wrong covering Pink Floyd, now they pulled it out... A decent "lounge cover".

A sign of a better time...

2008-01-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was dramatic and the past days were full of teen angst(even though I'm not a teen, I wish) but today is certainly a good day, I woke up to a great cover of the Undertones' classic "Teenage Kicks" by Seabear fading in... the sun is shining and that's a sign of a better time.

So enjoy this tunes that'll make you happy... at least I know everything's not lost!

Seabear - Teenage Kicks
The Mountain Goats - Sax Rohmer #1
The Morning Benders - Last Today
The Magnetic Fields - Please Stop Dancing
The Coral Sea - Look At Her Face

While My Banjo Gently Weeps...

2008-01-23T10:43:00.000-08:00

The beautiful sound of the banjo, 3 songs to make you feel part of the Country side.

Norfolk & Western - Terrified (from Dusk in Cold Parlours on Hush Records): Definitely one of my favorite bands. I love the mixture between the happy banjo, the ferocious guitar and the haunting synth.

"Mystified by the kitchen’s wares
Cupboards full of all your favorite fruits
When you forced me to her bed undressed,
her photo on the dresser glared at me

It was then, I noticed you were scared. Scared you’d be there soon
Waiting for a ring, I never heard you sing again"

Great Lake Swimmers - Your Rocky Spine (from Ongiara on Nettwerk Records): Goosebumps!

"The mountains said I could find you here
They whispered the snow and the leaves in my ear
I traced my finger along your trails
Your body was the map, I was lost in it

Floating over your rocky spine
The glaciers made you, and now you're mine
Floating over your rocky spine
The glaciers made you, and now you're mine."

Akron/Family - Running, Returning (from the Self-Titled album on Young God Records): Thom Yorke goes folk, therefore his name is "Thom Folke". The sound is rising!

"Sooner, or later
Everyone will know
Within the shadows
In there light will grow
And love is on its way
It's more than I can see

Running, returning
On and on it goes
To a place
Where love begins to grow
And I am away
To where I've always been."

So go out with your earphones and enjoy the banjo while the raindrops keep falling on your head!

A Night at the IHOP

2008-01-21T10:39:00.000-08:00

Every single time I feel like I’m going down I go to IHOP, I don’t know why, maybe it's because I think I’ll meet my soon to be wife there... or maybe it’s because of all the memories I made in that branch; L.A. and Chicago, to be quite specific.

The other night I went to IHOP at 1:00 AM and once there I started imagining a scene (probably not as great as Jarmusch’s); me and her, trying to settle our wedding date, out of the blue, she starts crying and she says, “it’s not the best time for us, we have to break-up...” and she leaves. I’m sitting still at the table, I’m frozen solid, then she’s walking out and by the time she’s passing through the window, she says, “I love you” but there's no sound and I can read her lips, as if she was walking away in slow motion; my heart is breaking 3000 frames per second.

Then the waitress interrupted me, asking me if I was ready to order, I said yes and I ordered pancakes with a milkshake as usual, she took my order and left. Then I look out the window to see if she was coming back or there in the car, crying. Was it real or I made that memory? I’m always lying to myself to be happy and if you keep repeating a lie, you’re going to believe it really happened.

10 minutes later, the waitress set the mood with the food, therefore I started eating... The more I ate, the more my face was happy. Then a song by Sufjan Stevens popped out all of a sudden, “Chicago” was playing and I couldn’t been happier. The song fitted like a glove, was it a coincidence? I don’t know but it felt good:

“I fell in love again
all things go, all things go
drove to Chicago
all things know, all things know
we sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
in my mind, in my mind.”

Sufjan Stevens - Chicago (From Illinois)

Then the song kept sounding in my head as an endless fade out. So stay classy Chicago and lay me down in the hallowed ground.

Listening to the Radar Bros. - Lake Life (from the forthcoming Auditorium 1-29-08)

Watch out, here comes teenager Robert Francis

2008-01-18T19:27:00.001-08:00

I was reading Coco's blog and I saw a post about a guy called Robert Francis. She put the song that gives the title to the album so I proceeded to download it. It caught my attention, the voice is a mixture between Josh Ritter and Ryan Adams; the whole record is mellow and teen angst is in the air. Then I think:

"Coco's birthday is coming and she wants the album so bad (actually she couldn't find it in the torrents or any other software around), I think I'm gonna buy her the album as a present, hope she likes it."

She said that she needs it to start fresh this year. Right now I'm glad I got her the record because "Little Girl" is haunting me and "I can't seem to do anything right anymore...", I couldn't agree more.

"You said you wanna be outside and you wanna feel alive
I said I didn't wanna move I just want to survive.
So I sit here waiting for the sun to come
And I watched it rise like we never done
I wanna kill myself just to kill the pain
And then you know you'd feel like you're the one to blame..."

***I think this song belongs to our mix-tape below this post.

Quoting Andy Vietze from Crawdaddy Magazine:

"Considering Francis was still a teen when he put this record together, his world-weariness and gifts as a musician are rather stunning. He did have many advantages, though, growing up in a musical household with siblings in indie bands (his sister Julliete Commagere is in Hello Stranger) and family friends like Ry Cooder, who lends guitar here. Francis was Chili Pepper guitarist John Frusciante's only guitar student, and he learned his lessons well. He plays everything from six string to banjo to drums to glockenspiel—and he does so well."

So buy the record One by One. I know you will thank me just like I thank Coco for writing a post about Robert Francis. Amen!

Robert Francis
One by One
Aeronaut Records
2007

Track list:

1. Mama Don't Come
2. Good Hearted Man
3. Little Girl
4. Love For Me
5. Dakota
6. One by One
7. Alice
8. Pilgrims
9. The Devil's Mountains
10. All Of My Trains

P.S: HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY COCO!

Songs about love, pain and indifference.

2008-01-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

This is my first "old fashioned podcast". I won't try to get you to listen something you probably would hate for an hour, so instead of making a modern podcast with the whole mix and a tedious voice, I'm gonna give you the melodies. It's going to be a virtual mix-tape, like in the times of yore. No strings attached.

Our first "Pirate This" session, has a common topic shared with this blog: "Love, "Pain & Indifference". Hope you like it.

--- JUST CLICK THE ARTIST-SONG AND YOU WILL GET A DIALOG BOX PROMPTING THE "SAVE AS" TO DOWNLOAD THE FILE. ---

Sally Shapiro - He Keeps Me Alive: A cover from paisano/compadre Nixon. The original song is mellow and sung to a girl. This cover version is good if you like your mornings with synths.

"…but I'm still happy when I get to hold his hand
he says I can hold it but we're just friends
and I try and I try to be satisfied
after all, he keeps me alive…"

Earlimart - Answers & Questions: Two guys from L.A. trying to communicate. Nothing happens. Silence is underrated.

"I'm wide awake I'm watching you
All night long, tell me what to do.
I'm wide awake I'm watching you
All my lies they tell the truth."

Jens Lekman - I'm Leaving You Because I don't Love You: More from Sweden and it's Sweet-en. Barry White's soul lies beneath Jens' heart. If you're running out of love with someone, sing to that someone this song.

"...so pick up your asthma inhaler
and put it against your lips
and oh those lips I've loved
that I was dreaming of
they're so red and soft
I'm so sorry I couldn't love you enough
I'm so sorry I couldn't love you enough
I'm so sorry that I'm leaving you
because I don't love you
I am leaving you
because I don't love you"

Moving Units - Dark Walls: Yeah, he/she will do anything for you, so if you're passing through very difficult moments, let the walls clear opening your door to that person. At least he/she will kill a dragon for you.

"Give me your heart
Give me your soul
I am your lover
You are my own
I wanna save you
I wanna keep you here
I wanna pave you
Until the road is clear."

Mount Eerie - I Hold Nothing: Phil Elverum sings to her wife that he doesn't care if he's poor as long as she's with him, holding each other's hands. In the end there's no place to spend our money where we live.

"In a generous way:
I give long walks to the dogs.
I put commas and periods in songs.
I give closed eye to the day.
I give peace to the long decay.
We do not need to fear dying."

Sean Lennon - Parachute: Love is like a soup, eventually it will finish. If you have a big pot, it's gonna last too long. So let's enjoy life together before we breakup.

"Cause if I have to die tonight
I’d rather be with you
Cut the parachute before the dive
Baby don’t you cry
You have to bring me down
We had some fun before we hit the ground."

Smog - Rock Bottom Riser: If you have love, then, everything's not lost. Uncomplicated...

"I love my mother
I love my father
I love my sisters, too.
I bought this guitar
To pledge my love
To pledge my love to you.

I am a rock bottom riser
And I owe it all to you
I am a rock bottom riser
And I owe it all to you"

Emiliana Torrini - Heartstopper: Someone has a crush on me, but I have a crush on somebody else. Like Interpol said: "It should be me"... I'm insecure, I can't sleep, too much coffee running through my veins, I think it's him... an impossible love.

"Outside your house
To make a scene
In my head you grabbed me passionately
But the lights are out
And in an hour I walked on home
In the pouring shower
Lost my keys in front of me
My neighbor's smile he's handing me
The blackest coffee you will ever see

And my heart stopped beating."

Deftones - Cherry Waves: "This is a story about being in the middle of the ocean with someone saying, 'If you were to sink underneath the waves, then I'd swim after you. Would you do the same for me?. It's seeing how far the trust goes." - Chino

"And the waves suck you in, and you drown
If like you should sink down beneath
I'll swim down, would you?
Is that what you want?
You?
Is that what you want?"

Joseph Arthur - Honey and the Moon: Not the best time for them to be together. Probably too much honey. She wants different things and he doesn't want to be with her all the time. We all got scared, at least once in our lives.

"Don't know why I'm still afraid
If you weren't real I would make you up now
I wish that I could follow through
I know that your love is true and deep as the sea
But right now everything you want is wrong
And right now all your dreams are waking up
And right now I wish I could follow you
To the shores of freedom where no one lives"

Jay May - Gray or Blue: This song is easy to understand because it happened to someone I know, except she's not talented at all... and you know those persons involved. Just read the next lines of the song.

"You haven't written to me in a week
I'm wonderin' why that is
Are you too nervous to be lovers
Friendship's ruined with just one kiss?
I watched you very closely, I saw you look away
Your eyes are either gray or blue
I'm never close enough to say

But your sweatshirt says it all
With the hood over your face
I can't keep starin' at your mouth
Without wonderin' how it tastes
I'm with another boy (he's asleep, I'm wide awake )
And he tried to win my heart
But it's taken
Time"

Say Hi - Spiders: You're hanging out with a girl and you can't tell her how you feel, you just can sing things about her. You don't feel you have a chance with her, there's a lot of stuff going on. You think she wants something else and she deserves better.

"And I haven't asked for much since I met her,
some courage and maybe some heart.
But Jupiter, please, will you raise your fists
and mend all that keeps us apart?
There's the thing with her father,
the thing with me broken,
her new jealous ex and the press."

Bon Iver - Skinny Love: Love going sour, probably it's too late to do something about the relationship. I've been through that before, it sounds familiar to me. The "I love you but I don't think you care" thing.

"I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines

Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?"

The Besnard Lakes - For Agent 13: To me the whole album sounds like a love conspiracy, and it brings a set of imagery to my head, it's like a movie, there's dialogues between the guy and the girl, she has to go on a mission: relationships between agents can't really work. The end of the song is just beautiful and it reminds me to Pierrot Le Fou: "it's your life and it's your love."

"my baby, don't go
nothing is fair in love and war
my baby, don't go
I'll write you a love song
my baby, don't go
I'll love you whenever I'm wrong."

Now It's Overhead - Estranged: Sometimes when love's gone it makes you feel distant, thinking about the good old times but in the end you don't miss your ex-partner, you just miss the feeling and then you just want to be loved so bad.

"Oh I fear a change coming on
I feel estranged love is gone
I so bad want back what we had
I so bad want love."

A Toys Orchestra - Danish Cookie Blue Box: It's all about the mementos. It's like when you smell the plastic wrap on the toy's box and it reminds you when you were a little boy, playing with your friends and being happy. This song is about that and it brings you a big smile.

"I dreamed the winter sun
Turns your eyes into diamonds
Your little sugar heart
Melts into my tears
I dreamed I bring my heart to you
Closed into a tin box
...it was an old danish cookie blue box."

Nixon - If You Ever See: Again, something once was nice now it's sour. At least we have our memories.

"But if you ever see
What you mean to me
Then it would be easier
My memories remain
of you and me in the rain
Wishing they were sunnier."

Britta Persson - You're not my Boyfriend: Desperate to attract attention? This is what I call an unbeatable song about trying to make someone else jealous.

"You are not my boyfriend,
well a lot of people ain't
The fact that you do not want me
makes me not wanting you.
Next time I make out it won't be with you
I could not have done it different,
I always have to say it all
How could love be hidden?
In a way I am proud
I want you to feel something,
if not love, hate will do."

Korgis' - Everybody's Got To Learn Sometimes: He's nice, she's a cold hearted bitch. (The cover version by Beck has better arrangements, but this one is the original and it was made with the heart so give it a chance.)

"Change your heart, look around you
Change your heart, it will astound you
I need your loving like the sunshine
And everybody's gotta learn sometime
Everybody's gotta learn sometime
Everybody's gotta learn sometime."

The Frames - What Happens When the Heart Just Stops?: I guess there's no love to give anymore. Breaking up is painful.

"So what happens when the heart gives up
But the body goes on living
The blood crawls to a slow and stops
And flows away

Well we got no-one to meet
No love we would beseech
We only have ourselves to blame for everything
The was no answer in the dust
And I'm missing you so much
And now you're sleeping
And I'm leaving"

The Sun - Must Be You: Another breakup song, except that this one is about trying to deal with it... also is danceable. Bring the rock on... even if it's heart-breaking.

"You forgot your dagger when you left
Six inches deep, buried in my chest
And if you come back to pull it out to look at the blood
I'll slap your hand away, at least I loved, loved you.

Why's the sun always out when I'm feeling blue?
It must be you."

The Subways - No Goodbyes: Nothing lasts forever, that's why we have to make the most of when we're with someone we love.

"when every single day
will never feel the same
a single minute can't be wasted.

Tell me, tell me there's no goodbyes
tell me, tell me there's no goodbyes
tell me, tell me there's no goodbyes
tell me, tell me there's no goodbyes."

Edson - Birth! School! Dole! Angst!: Like the title, it's just a phase honey, so don't worry, I'll be back someday. We all had experience the sensation of being with someone just because we don't want to be alone.

"I never meant to live a lie - no I
I still believe in honesty and I tried
To tell you about a year ago - honestly
And now I have deceitful written all over me

You don't have to worry
You don't have to cry
There will be another time
You don't have to worry
This is not goodbye
You don't have to worry, I'll be fine."

Mirah - Don't Die in Me: While Mirah's gently guitar weeps, she's trying not to let the memories die because she cherishes him no matter how hard he hurt her. Getting over is not easy at all.

"Did you forget how much you once loved me
And if you want something back
All the things that got cracked
When I felt like you lied to me
And all the million mistakes
And the kicks in the face
But i don't want you to die in me
So when you say what you want
That you need what you got
Don't forget to be kind to me
I don't want you to die in me"

New Order - 1963-95: I personally like the Arthur Baker remix better than the original version and definitely amongst the rest of the remixes. Cheating on someone is like an assassination attempt and the gifts just an excuse to make it right or buy her love back. But like New Order once said in "Crystal","Here comes love, it's like honey you can't buy it with money." Stephen Hague said, "the only song about domestic violence you can dance to".

"It was January, 1963
When Johnny came home with a gift for me
He said 'I bought it for you because I love you
And I bought it for you 'cos it's your birthday, too'
He was so very nice, he was so very kind
To think of me at this point in time
I used to think of him, he used think of me

He told me to close my eyes
My gift would be a great surprise
I saw tears were in his eyes
He never meant to hurt me
Oh, God, Johnny, don't point that gun at me
There's so many ways our lives have changed
But please, I beg, don't do this to me
Johnny, don't point that gun at me
Can I save my life at any price?
For God's sake won't you listen to me?"

Minipop - Like I Do: This is in the same line as "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, corny and naive... yet beautiful. It's simple, You won't find someone who loves you more than I do."

"Who loves you
Like I do."

Bloc Party - Selfish Son: The girl is not interested in you, accept it, you're nice, she wants someone to treat her bad. Do you want to get her back? Be an ass!

"I took it too far, I took it too far again
Night bleeds into day
I took it too far, I took it too far again
I nearly lost you

I can be cruel, I can be cruel
To you
I can be cruel, I can be cruel
To you, my love"

The Raveonettes - Lust: Let's face it, she will go to hell just to be with him. I think she's just horny.

"I fell out of heaven
To be with you in hell
My sins not quite seven
Nothing much to tell
Lust I have and crave
A saintly boy I'm not
I'll take it to my grave
Beside it cursed I'll rot."

The Good Life - So Let Go: The kind of relationship I hate: lack of communication, drama, fights and after all, they repeat themselves that everything will be alright. They love pain!

"We could try and patch things up
Siphon out the bad blood
We could set our pride aside
Ignore our egos for the night
And make love
But we won’t
But we won’t
But we won’t
We won’t."

St. Vincent - Marry Me: This is the title of the album too and it started as a joke, quoting a gag from "Arrested Development". The song is just innocent, it's like when we were kids playing the Bride and the Groom. Make me yours, tee hee hee! (Little school girl laughter).

"Oh, John c'mon we'll do what married people do
Oh, John c'mon we'll do what Mary and Joseph did without the kid

So Marry me, John
Marry me, John I'll be so good to you
You won't realize I'm gone
You won't realize I'm gone."

Young Galaxy - The Sun's Coming Up and My Plane's Going Down: The quietness in this song kills me. I saw them last night and I almost cried. Sometimes you need to fix some parts in your life and come clean to the person you love... sometimes it's too late, she's with someone else or probably dead.

"Some feelings are so simple
but too hard to state
and I know it's too late to say it
but I've changed my ways
I didn't know how to reach you
how to show myself.
I could give you what you wanted now
but you're onto something else
the sun's coming up
and my plane is going down
the sun's coming up
and my plane is going down."

Destroyer - Painter in your Pocket: They were not meant to be together. I posted that before so you should go there instead. The healing process is on...

"I didn't stand a chance.
I didn't stand at all.
You looked ok with the others.
You looked great by yourself.
It was 2002 and you needed reminding to stay alive.
And so did I, but at least I tried to fall upon that sword and never look back...

Where did you get that line?
Where did you get that look?
Where did you get that penchant for destruction in the way you talk?
Where did you get that ride?
Where did you get that rocket?
Where did you get that painter in your pocket?"

Destroyer - Foam Hands: As a plus, this beautiful song from the forthcoming Trouble in Dreams. I can't wait any longer. Dan Bejar just misses her soft hands all over his face... She's gone because he wasn't paying attention...

"True love regrets to inform you
there are certain things
you must do
to perceive his face
and the stains on the wall

I didn't know what time it was at all
I didn't know what time it was at all
Foam Hands.

Since you've been gone
Since you've been gone
Me and the King have been steadily growing
apart -- he lives down the hall.

I didn't know what time it was at all
I didn't know what time it was at all
Foam Hands.

I'm not the kind to tell you what is true
And what is to-tally out of control

I didn't know what time it was at all
I didn't know what time it was at all
Foam Hands."

Double or Nothing...

2008-01-14T02:34:00.000-08:00

...he said, so I nodded. I wasn't sure because the previous night, betting on the Jaguars cost me 20 bucks, so that night I told him if he wanted to bet on the Colts and I'll go with the Chargers (Oh yeah, Sunny San Diego). He accepted so 20 bucks will be on, again. I was watching the game and the chargers were 4 points behind and I was kicking and screaming, what are 20 dollars less in my pocket? The answer should be, "A lot, if you lost your credit card. Bilbo Douchebaggins."

So I decided to take a bubble bath and relax, everything was lost, at least, that's what I thought, because when I went out from the bathroom and saw the scoreboard, I realized that my team went up a hill and the 4th quarter was almost over... 20 bucks back in my torn pocket.

I called Eddie and asked him if he liked the game because I did, then he invited me to bet again, this time he let me picked the team so I chose The Giants, he said, "Fine, I'm with The Cowboys. Double or nothing, baby." Double or nothing; betting is like a disease and my body was suffering of it.

I forgot to watch the game because I was editing a video so my cousin gave me 40 bucks and I was staring at her, so she added, "Oh! Eddie sent you that." So I was out of my mind, bouncing from wall to wall, happy that everything was over and that it was time to go in rehab... It's going fine except that the Doctor asked me, "Do you want to bet that you're not going to make it?" and I said, "You bet I will." So that cost me the 40 dollars and a month more in the clinic.

The song/girl stuck in my head...

2008-01-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended to the Abbey Pub just to see the Von Bondies but I saw more than that: my ex-girlfriend, so the song came to mind and now it's bringing her back to my heart... She couldn't say hello, she just stood there dancing and I was holding myself to break into tears or just to jump on her and kiss...

"I didn't stand a chance.
I couldn't stand at all.
You looked ok with the others.
You looked great on your own.
It was 2002 and you couldn't be bothered to say, 'hello' or 'goodbye'.
Or stand the 'test of time' - you did, I just tried to separate an ocean from these tears we cried...

Where did you get that line?
Where did you get that look?
Where did you get that penchant for destruction in the way you talk?
Where did you get that ride?
Where did you get that rocket?
Where did you get that painter in your pocket?

I didn't stand a chance.
I didn't stand at all.
You looked ok with the others..."

She left and I guess it's truth, she has a penchant for destruction, except that she didn't talk at all, she just played bull's-eye with my heart... the dart still is embedded into my heart. I guess I didn't stand a chance nor I will, you really look okay with the others. I'm gonna stumble on that birthday cake I bought for you!

Click the track to download the song and feel like I do: Destroyer - Painter in your Pocket.mp3

The Lost Uncle...

2008-01-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

Last night I found that I have another uncle in Chicago but he's not part of my mom's family, he's part of my dad's. He won the lottery, around $150,000 usd-ick!, still, he's single, lives on his own at the ghetto, owns an aqua blue Crown Victoria, works 12 hours per day... and definitely, he's very generous.

I arrived at my uncle's house for his son's birthday and I was shaking hands and kissing everybody in the living room and the kitchen, then my uncle said when I was shaking hands with a guy, "he's your uncle, he's cousin of your dad, his name is Enrico", so he said: "How's your dad? You look like a beatle" and that was the moment when I realized that he was cool.

A few minutes later I was at the table, chatting with my aunt and my cousins, my aunt told me that my lost uncle won the lottery and that he has no family so I said tenaciously, "I'll be his son, let me go and give him a cold beer to celebrate that we found each other". Joke on joke, it was fun, then, my lost uncle threw me a hundred-dollar bill and he said, "go and have fun nephew", it was an awkward moment, I didn't know what to say, I barely know the guy but I like the way he spends his money, I think I'll tell him to go on a trip to Europe.

I guess you don't appreciate a member of your family until he's rich.

Stop giving me that look Benjamin Franklin, I didn't do anything wrong...

Don't look to the sky, look to the ground!

2008-01-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Man down, man down...

The sky is gray, I feel like looking at the floor all day... suicide is caused by psychache.

I try... I try... I'm trying to be talented... nothing happens...

"You are talented. It's just a matter of getting yourself out there, you're starting from scratch. Everything you received, you will earn." Jackie said... The sky doesn't seem that gray after all.

Where we end, we start. Except there's no "we", I'm on my own... There's no girl to whisper in her ear:

"When finally zombies take us over
promise me we'll be bitting each other
floating away together, it's you and me
fighting at the end of the world..."

I want to improve... but I'm battling my demons. I guess they're scoring at getting me down. I have to get out of this house...

...

...

...

...

...

.................................. I'm back and now there's a little voice inside my head telling me that "it's not the end of the world. At least you're trying."

"There's a light at the end of the tunnel..." my grandma used to say... I guess it's truth.

Thinking about...

2008-01-05T00:49:00.000-08:00

...how lazy I am and that I'm always waiting for new things to happen to me out of the blue like in Mexico City. I think I really need to earn every single piece of my next achievement because I don't want to turn into some lazy bump.

I'm laying down in the snow, watching carefully, thinking of my imaginary wife, my imaginary kids with my not imaginary dog, who's licking my face. It's hard to be a kid and to be someone with tons of obligations. I have to get an imaginary house for my imaginary family... it makes me sick, I can't support them, I'm useless, just like the last human being on earth surrounded by zombies.

I just want to quit everything, I just want to be free...

"I don't wanna be like other people are
Don't wanna own a key, don't wanna wash my car
Don't wanna have to work like other people do
I want it to be free, I want it to be true"

...New Order's "Turn my Way" reached its end and I'm calmed, I think I'm gonna lay here for a little bit longer... I wonder if she's coming!

The Dark Knight

2008-01-04T01:35:00.000-08:00

Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer: unbeatable duo. There's a phrase stuck in my head, "Why so serious?", posters all over Chicago (I got the chills), in the end, that was the main location for the film; I live in Gotham City but I ain't Batman, maybe Dick Grayson.

It sounds lame, but I'm a geek and I grew up with Batman, he's real, he has no super powers, he's just... extraordinary... tenacious, that's it. The Dark Knight Returns is one of my favorite graphic novels of all time along with The Watchmen and I know for a fact that the story of this movie is going to be just in the same line that the literature I just mentioned, and to prove it, there's a scene in the trailer, a classic one, where The Joker is hanging his head out the window like a child or lines such as:

The Joker: Starting tonight... people will die. I'm a man of my word. And just then, the creepy laughs, a classic in the comic.

The Joker: [to Batman] You've changed things... forever. There's no going back. You see, to them, you're just a freak... like me! Dark lines, Frank Miller style.

Mayor: [regarding The Joker] What do we got?
Lt. James Gordon: Nothing. No name, no other alias. Clothing is... custom. Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint. It sticks with the mystery's intensity of the graphic novel.

The Joker: [after Rachel knees him in the groin] Ooh, a little fight in you. I like that.
Batman: Then you're going to love me. The humor is here... The world needs The Batman... so Joker, let's put a smile on that face! An instant classic.

Four days after my birthday, July 18th, that'd be my present, the opening night of The Dark Knight. Hopefully, here will be a screening before, just to kill the wait.

In the meanwhile, enjoy the trailer and a 6-minute piece of the movie's intro. It's kinda crappy, but your undies are going to be the same when you've finished watching it.

...The wind is blowing, there's no heroes, just one vigilante... no need to tell you his name, you know he's watching you.

103 Gotta Love-Albums of 2007

2008-01-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

After a year or so, I came back from dead to post the 103 best albums of 2007. A year that brought us tears and joy, happiness and sadness, love and hate, sex and mayhem. I always see myself as a naive person but 2007 made me lose some of my innocence, but I don't close the window through my heart, I still believe in the humankind, the thing is that if I had to choose between a human being and a dog, I would stick to the idea of loyalty... and that's something a dog understands so perfectly.

I know I sound like a querulous brat but in the end that's how I roll and I miss you all, Chicago is treating me good, even the weather is acting kind to me, the wind often whispers in my ear how special I'm not and that life is cruel and I have to keep trying... on and on and on. I'm seriously thinking about the idea of opening a Suicide Club, it's nothing like the movie, it's just an outlet club, something to give vent to. The marvelous band Piano Magic said it once, "Music won't save you from anything but silence." So let's share music, it'd be the best for all of us to remember each other, it's like movies, sometimes I feel I'm part of them, sometimes I just feel them as a voyeuristic tour but in the end something we love to share and feel together.

Beautiful beats eating the insides of my ears as rabid bunnies trying to devour the tips of my toes as if they were carrots. Good and Bad, that's life but if we stick together, everything will be alright!

P.S: I'll quote Ryland Bouchard as the end of this tedious post and just to look a little less dumb, "When the world is sick and dying, rise up." So I will, you'll see, wish me luck fellows!

P.S.2: Don't pay attention to the numbers, every single album was made with heart and soul, not made to be compared! ...wait for the list of the best films that 2007 gave us.

1. Manic Street Preachers - Send Away the Tigers (Columbia)

2. Say Hi (Formerly Say Hi To Your Mom) - The Wishes and the Glitch (Euphobia)

3. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar)

4. The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse? (Jagjaguwar)

5. Irene - Long Gone Since Last Summer (Labrador)

6. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian)

7. The Good Life - Help Wanted Nights (Saddle Creek)

8. Iron & Wine - The Sheperd's Dog (Sub Pop)

9. Luke Temple - Snowbeast (Mill Pond)

10. Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls (Too Pure)

11. Midnight Movies - Lion the Girl (New Line/Scratchie)

12. Dolorean - You Can't Win (Yep Roc)

13. Josh Rouse - Country Mouse, City House (Nettwerk/Bedroom Classics)

14. The Electric Cinema - S/T (Sugarlow)

15. Young Galaxy - S/T (Arts & Crafts)

16. Apostle of Hustle - National Anthem of Nowhere (United Artists)

17. Piano Magic - Part Monster (Important)

18. Liars - S/T (Mute)

19. Jennifer Gentle - The Midnight Room (Sub Pop)

20. Bishop Allen - The Broken String (So Hood)

21. Earlimart - Mentor Tormentor (Shout Factory)

22. Laakso - Mother Am I Good Looking? (V2)

23. Blonde Redhead - 23 (4AD)

24. Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up (Jagjaguwar)

25. Gepe - Hungría (Quemasucabeza)

26. The Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills (Bud Fox)

27. Art Brut - It's a Bit Complicated (Downtown)

28. Richard Swift - Dressed Up for the Letdown (Secretly Canadian)

29. Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian (Absolutely Kosher)

30. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup (Ba Da Bing!)

31. The National - Boxer (Beggars Banquet)

32. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away (Sub Pop)

33. Page France - ...and the Family Telephone (Suicide Squeeze)

34. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position (Polydor)

35. A Northern Chorus - The Millions Too Many (Sonic Unyon)

36. The Sea and Cake - Everybody (Thrill Jockey)

37. The Bird and the Bee - S/T (Metro Blue)

38. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum)

39. Jesse Sykles and the Sweet Hereafter - Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul (Barsuk)

40. Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara (Nettwerk Music Group)

41. The Go Find - Stars on the Wall (Morr Music)

42. The One am Radio - This Too Will Pass (Dangerbird)

43. Minus Story - My Ion Truss (Jagjaguwar)

44. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are you the destroyer? (Polyvinyl)

45. Low - Drums and Guns (Sub Pop)

46. Menomena - Friend and Foe (Barsuk)

47. The Apples in Stereo - New Magentic Wonder (Yep Roc)

48. Ronderlin - The Great Investigation (Tomt)

49. Montt Mardié - Pretender (Hybris SW)

50. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends (French Kiss)

51. Saturday Looks Good To Me - Fill Up the Room (K)

52. The Most Serene Republic - Population (Arts and Crafts)

53. Nyles Lannon - Pressure (Badman)

54. Film School - Hideout (Beggars Banquet)

55. The Broken Family Band - Hello Love (Track and Field)

56. A Place To Bury Strangers - S/T (Killer Pimp)

57. White Rabbits - Fort Nightly (Say Hey)

58. Mirah and the Spectratone International - Share This Place: Stories and Observations (K)

59. The Go! Team - Proof of Youth (Sub Pop)

60. The Fiery Furnaces - Widow City (Thrill Jockey)

61. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover (Jagjaguwar)

62. John Vanderslice - Emerald City (Barsuk)

63. We All Have Hooks for Hands - The Pretender (Afternoon)

64. Seabear - The Ghost That Carried Us Away (Morr Music)

65. Minipop - A New Hope (Take Root)

66. The Ladybug Transistor - Can't Wait Another Day (Merge)

67. The Detroit Cobras - Tied & True (Bloodshot)

68. The Mary Onettes - S/T (Labrador)

69. The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army (TVT)

70. Secret Mommy - Plays (Ache)

71. Dr. Dog - We All Belong (Park the Van)

72. Bracken - We Know About the Need (Anticon)

73. The Postmarks - S/T (Unfiltered)

74. Pelle Carlberg - In a Nutshell (Labrador)

75. The Ponys - Turn the lights out (Matador)

76. The Rosebuds - Night of the Furies (Merge)

77. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (SMG)

78. Club 8 - The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming (Labrador)

79. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin (Sub Pop)

80. PJ Harvey - White Chalk (Island)

81. St. Vincent - Marry Me (Beggars Banquet)

82. New Buffalo - Somewhere, Anywhere (Dot Dash)

83. Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers (Nonesuch)

84. Lucky Soul - The Great Unwanted (Ruffa Lane)

85. Lasse Lindh - Jag Tyckte Jag Var Glad (Groover)

86. At Swim Two Birds - Returning to the Scene of Crime (Green Ufos)

87. Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)

88. A Toys Orchestra - Technicolor Dreams (Urtovox)

89. The Black Lips - Good, Bad not Evil (Vice)

90. Rogue Wave - Asleep at Heaven's Gate (Brushfire)

91. Sleeping States - There the Open Spaces (Misra)

92. Stars - In our Bedroom After the War (Arts & Crafts)

93. Moving Units - Hexes for Exes (Metropolis)

94. Lovers - Sleep With Heat (Orange Twin)

95. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)

96. Joseph Arthur - Let's Just Be (Lonely Astronaut)

97. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (Merge)

98. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Epic)

99. Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond (Play It Again Sam)

100. Kings of Leon - Because of the Times (RCA)

101. Ash - Twilight of the Innocents (WEA)

102. Battles - Mirrored (Warp)

103. Radiohead - In Rainbows (Self-Released)

+++ If you want to share, go ahead, be my guest, send me a message...

69 Gotta Love-Albums of 2006

2007-01-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

These albums are just my taste in music, at least 2006's and if you don't like'em, don't talk about'em BRAT! 2006 was a good year and the things coming for 2007 will let us taste more than a sample, such as: Apples in Stereo's New Magnetic Wonder, The Shins' Wincing the Night Away, The Postmarks' Self-titled, Pelle Carlberg's In a Nutshell, Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Some Loud Thunder, Calla's Strenght in Numbers, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists' Living with the Living, Of Montreal's Hissing Fauna are you the Destroyer?, amongst others...

So let the good times roll my hard rockin' amigo!!!

P.S.: There's no order so don't pay attention to the numbers.

1. Irene - Apple Bay (Labrador Records)

2. Mewithoutyou - Brother, Sister (Tooth and Nail)

3. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - The Letting Go (Drag City)

4. The Black Neon - Arts & Crafts (Memphis Industries)

5. CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy (Sub Pop)

6. The Thermals - The Body, the Blood, the Machine (Sub Pop)

7. Carla Bozulich - Evangelista (Southern Records)

8. The Divine Comedy - Victory for the Comic Muse (EMI/Parlophone)

9. Envelopes - Demon (Brille)

10. Girl Talk - Night Ripper (Illegal Art)

11. Guillemots - Through the Windowpane (Universal)

12. Home - Sexteen (Brah)

13. Half-Handed Cloud - Halos and Lassos (Asthmatic Kitty)

14. The Islands - Rough Gem (Rough Trade)

15. Irving - Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers (Eenie Meenie)

16. James Dean Bradfield - The Great Western (Sony BMG)

17. Joanna Newsom - YS (Drag City)

18. Seachange - On Fire With Love (A is for Artist)

19. The Legends - Facts and Figures (Labrador Records)

20. Micah P. Hinson - The Baby and the Satellite (Jade Tree)

21. Monster Movie - All Lost (Graveface)

22. Neil Young - Living With War (Reprise)

23. Nicky Wire - I Killed the Zeitgeist (Sony)

24. Beachwood Sparks - Once We Were Trees (Sub Pop)

25. Ratatat - Classics (XL)

26. Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire (Capitol/EMI)

27. Saturday Looks Good To Me - Sound On Sound (Redder)

28. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas (Dangerbird)

29. Sparklehorse - Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain (Capitol)

30. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming (Absolutely Kosher)

31. Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis (Rough Trade)

32. The Submarines - Declare a New State! (Nettwerk)

33. Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea (Fat Possum)

34. The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief (Labrador Records)

35. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time (Sub Pop)

36. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country (Pastel Music)

37. Clearlake - Amber (Domino)

38. Cursive - Happy Hollow (Saddle Creek)

39. Danielson - Ships (Secretely Canadian)

40. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies (Merge)

41. Eagles of Death Metal - Death by Sexy (Downtown)

42. Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton - Knives Don't Have your Back (Last Gang)

43. The Dears - Gang of Losers (Arts & Crafts)

44. The Hidden Cameras - Awoo (Arts & Crafts)

45. Love Is All - Nine Times that Same Song (What's your Rupture)

46. M. Ward - Post-War (Merge)

47. Ms. John Soda - Notes and the Like (Morr)

48. Readymade FC - Babilonia (Peacefrog)

49. The Robot Ate Me - Good World (5RC)

50. The Subways - Young For Eternity (WEA)

51. The Research - Breaking Up (EMI)

52. The Veils - Nux Vomica (Rough Trade)

53. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (4AD)

54. Viva Voce - Get Yr Blood Sucked Out (Barsuk)

55. Young People - All at Once (Too Pure)

56. Lilys - Everything Wrong is Imaginary (Manifesto)

57. The Evens - Get Evens (Dischord)

58. [ingenting] - Mycket Väsen för Ingenting (Labrador)

59. The Bees (US) - High Society (Roar)

60. Oh No! Oh My! - Oh No! Oh My! (Self-Released)

61. Loveninjas - The Secret of Loveninjas (Labrador)

62. Bears - Bears (Self-Released)

63. Caroline - Murmurs (Temporary Residence)

64. Darren Hayman - Table for One (The Track and Field Organisation)

65. Dosh - The Lost Take (Anticon)

66. Montt Mardié - Drama (Hybris)

67. Swan Lake - Best Moans (Jagjaguwar)

68. The Charade - A Real Life Drama (Skipping Stones)

69. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (Capitol)

¡Emperor X y Applied Communications en México!

2006-12-11T01:16:00.000-08:00

El próximo gran show con Emperor X y Applied Communications directos de Florida y New York.

Los esperamos en la Faena el 22 de diciembre a las 10 de la noche, habrá buena música y buenas bandas.

Mexico City/México D.F.

Coming Soon... maybe not that soon!

2006-11-10T14:42:00.000-08:00

Rizos Fella Pictures proudly presents:

Mutual Appreciation a film by Andrew Bujalksi, starring Justin Rice of Bishop Allen.

5-25-77 a film by Patrick Read Johnson, starring John Francis Daley of Freaks and Geeks.

Chumscrubber a film by Arie Posin, starring Jamie Bell of Dear Mary and Billy Elliot

Me and you and everyone we know a film by Miranda July

Sunshine a Psi-fi film by Danny Boyle, starring the same guy from 28 days later, tee hee hee (Cillian Murphy)

Fifty Pills a film by Theo Avgerinos, starring Lou Pucci of Thumbscuker.

The Hamster Cage a film by Larry Kent, music by Alden Penner, former member of the unicorns.

Last Kiss a film by Tony Goldwyn, starring Zach Braff of Scrubs.

Spider Man 3 a film by Sam Raimi, starring Toby Maguire

Hey, do we know it's almost Christmas?

2006-11-10T14:10:00.000-08:00

Just for the season's mood!!!

A Peter Griffin Christmas!

A Sufjan Steven Christmas!

A Mew Christmas!

A Flaming Lips Christmas!

A James Dean Bradfield Christmas!

A Brian Wilson Christmas!

Watch, douchebag!

2006-11-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

Some videos with good music!!!

Sean Lennon's "Dead Meat" from the Friendly Fire Album

Half-handed Cloud's "You Wouldn't embarrass me would you?" from the Halos and Lassos album

Cloud Cult's "Transistor Radio" from the Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus album

M. Ward's "Chinese Translation" from the Post War album

The Radio Department's "Worst taste in Music" from the Worst taste in Music ep

Yo Momma's Playlist!

2006-11-10T03:11:00.000-08:00

Knock yourself out!

Bishop Allen - Things are what you make of them (Mp3)(Melodía del grandioso álbum "Charm School" de Bishop Allen)

Sometimes People Fall Out Of Love

2006-11-10T02:21:00.000-08:00

Yun Kyung:
We will meet in our dreams.
Ian The Rizos Fella:
I hope so. My dreams are not that beautiful! I'm always chasing bad guys and then turning into one of them
Yun Kyung:
My dream is always a nightmare
Ian The Rizos Fella:
No, we are living a nightmare, sleeping is the only way we can be safe!
Yun Kyung:
The world is so much better with you in. It's time to dream, maybe you can smile in your dream.

Is love something real? Or now is not more than a simple psi-fi resource, but why? Because of the technology, people are turning into some kind of robots, there are no feelings anymore, what's wrong with humanity? I won't tolerate this, this is my manifesto, so be it...

Music was made with love and now it is just a generated sound sequence by machines. But do we think machines are perfect? Or do we miss the human simplicity? But is love something tangible? I don't even know what tangible is...

Oh please stay awake, and then we can escape from desperation's hands, but please stay awake and stop turning your heart into some kind of bad machine, please, stay awake, I love you...

The story of the Naive Kids: Kuku & Juju

Kuku: "You used to be nice to me. There's so many things I want to show you. There's so many things I want to whisper in your ear. There's so many things I want to sing about you, but you don't let me, do you?

Human-beings are not allowed to record any kind of memory, the law forbid so because it's a way to supress the feelings and make this world perfect, a world ruled by humans acting like machines controling machines. Kuku and Juju escaped from the government, they stole a video camera and started to feel something inside of their bodies, something weird. Their memories are back on track so they begin the journey of giving emotions back to the humankind.

Juju:
Sometimes I picture the scene we meet
Kuku:
Can you describe it for me?
Juju:
we meet somewhere, only we know. There's nobody who knows us. We recognize each other without any words, then we smile, we take a walk, just walk aimless, we see same things, we listen same sound.
Kuku:
I think You're beautiful, don't you?
Juju:
I don't Know.
Kuku:
I love Doubts.
Juju:
I always doubt.
Kuku:
So do I and it's beautiful.
Juju:
But not everyone seems to think the same.
Kuku:
Are we they?
Juju:
We are so near to become them.
Kuku:
If I'm near to become them, I won't doubt to dynamite my head.(I won't doubt to blown myself up.)

Kuku's Monologue:
If there's no love in your life or you are ordinary, get blown away, don't shoot yourself, don't poison yourself, don't drown yourself, explode yourself instead.

Kuku:(After Juju's disappearing)
I want to say the best punishment is to let me die slowly.
There's nothing worst than being ordinary and still breathing.
I mean it, I'm dying in slow motion...

I want to be adored!

2006-11-10T02:00:00.000-08:00

Tokyo Pop es una editorial en los Estados Unidos encargada de publicar novelas gráficas, ánime y libros de arte, todos con una excelente calidad y una gran variedad.

Devil may cry 3 salió a la venta en Octubre del año pasado y es sorprendente ver como un grandioso juego de Capcom es adaptado a una novela gráfica fantástica, lo cual no es el caso de adaptaciones como Mega Man o Rival Schools.

Dante es el protagonista de esta saga y se dedica a destruir demonios, pero su pasado no lo deja en paz, ya que es de ascendencia “demoníaca”, hijo del nada simpático Dark Knight Sparda (que salvó el planeta tierra, sellando el portal del inframundo hace ya casi más de 2000 años). Dante tiene una misión que será muy bien pagada: encontrar a Alice y salvarla. Pero hay alguien rondando el pueblo y tiene la misma cara de Dante, su nombre es Vergil, su hermano gemelo. ¿Cuál es el objetivo de Vergil? Este es el primer tomo donde comenzará a escribirse el destino de dos hermanos…

Ahora el otro lado de la moneda de TokyoPop: I Luv Halloween una historia que se desarrolla alrededor de un vecindario en temporada de día de brujas y protagonizada por Finch, un niño que junto a sus amigos, reciben en la primer casa de la noche, manzanas con caramelo… Ellos le atribuyen a esas manzanas malditas, el no haber obtenido buenos dulces en toda la noche. Su plan es tomar venganza en contra de la anciana que simplemente no entiende el motivo principal y único de halloween: obtener los mejores dulces. I Luv Halloween es una historia de horror/humor única que tiene que ser leída por niños y adultos.

El sitio web de TokyoPop es “http://www.tokyopop.com/index.php” donde podrán encontrar una gran variedad de títulos excelentes y a un gran precio, desafortunadamente TokyoPop no envía a nuestro país, sólo a Estados Unidos y Canadá, pero, Anime International es una compañía que envía a todo el mundo y donde podrán encontrar un extenso surtido en manga y libros. “http://store.animeinternational.com”

Miergarín reaches rock bottom!

2006-11-10T01:38:00.000-08:00

Aquí les dejo muchos videos sobre un mismo atentado, el primero es la versión original... ¡RIP Edgar!

The last of the Geeks...

2006-11-10T01:36:00.000-08:00

Videojuegos Por Adrián Orozco

Hay un sinnúmero de videojuegos que echan mano de la narrativa del cine y de la literatura, por ejemplo, Zelda: The Windwaker donde el "incidente desencadenante" es el secuestro de Aryll, la hermana del protagonista y héroe: Link.

Internándose en el desarrollo del supuesto tema principal, Link va derrotando enemigos y obteniendo aliados, los cuales serán parte fundamental en la búsqueda y rescate de su hermana.

Link terminará por convertirse en el legendario héroe que derrote a Ganondorf y haga que la paz regrese al mundo. Zelda: The Windwaker, una historia de amor y acción, ingenua y sincera, con una temática sobre el deseo de poder y dominación a costa de los buenos sentimientos e inocencia de los otros.

Lo importante, se dice comúnmente, es contar una buena historia, pero tanto en el cine, como en los videojuegos o la televisión, no se ha visto una evolución o innovación en estos últimos años, y es que los expertos coinciden en que casi todo se ha descubierto en cuestión de lenguaje.

Tal vez lo más interesante de los videojuegos, al igual que de las películas, es que no se arriesga la vida, aunque se genera mucha pasión por la historia y los personajes, por ser parte real de la ficción.

En este sentido, los géneros son muy importantes, ya que pueden reconocerse elementos de la narrativa, técnicas de filmación, los temas y sus convenciones, las situaciones y los personajes. Y es que así como de un libro puede hacerse una película, también hay adaptaciones del cine, televisión o anime a las consolas de videojuegos, jugando con los géneros y maneras de construir historias en las que el usuario es un poco espectador, actor y hasta director, ya que deben tomarse decisiones a cada momento. También existe la adaptación del videojuego al anime/novela y del videojuego al cine, como es el caso de Resident Evil, un videojuego que a su vez fue inspirado por la trilogía de George A. Romero "Los Muertos Vivientes".

Otro elemento importante a la hora de construir un videojuego son las voces de los personajes y la música, como en una buena película. En Metal Gear Solid, además de contar con una excelente trama y una estructuración similar a la del cine clásico de acción, posee un modo de juego bastante completo y realista al cual hay que añadirle un soundtrack envolvente a la trama y un doblaje de primera.

Algunos videojuegos han contado con la participación de músicos importantes, pero no con creaciones nuevas, como es el caso de Def Jam Fight For New York, que cuenta con temas de Ice T, Outkast, Methodman, Redman, entre otros. Otros han corrido con suerte, como es el caso de Omikron the Nomad Soul, que tiene una banda sonora original por David Bowie.

Pero, hasta ahora, los juegos más populares son los de primera persona (First Person Shooter) y los de acción, como: Halo 2, Doom 3 y Half-Life 2, como juegos de primera persona, y GTA San Andreas, Max Payne y BloodRayne para los de acción. Estos juegos cuentan con narrativas distintas entre sí, pero con un común denominador: violencia extrema, clasificados M (Mature).

Y es que lo que hoy en día sigue siendo el factor de venta, tanto en televisión, como en el cine y los videojuegos, es la violencia; Bart Simpson refuerza esta teoría cuando dice a Lisa: “Prométeme que si algún día dejo de amar la violencia, me darás un balazo”.

Otro elemento en el que los medios coinciden y que ya no es raro ver en los videojuegos, son los "cinemas", que consisten en cortes de la historia para explicar algún suceso o el final de algún capitulo, sin duda éste es un factor determinante en los videojuegos, ya que obtienes un combo: juego e historia, los cuales dan como resultado una interacción rica, determinante y clara.

James Newman en su libro Videojuegos comenta que para el ojo inexperto los videojuegos son tan incomprensibles como el arte abstracto o la música experimental.

Newman también pone especial atención sobre el aspecto de la narrativa en el videojuego.

“Todos los posibles elementos de un videojuego deben servir para constituir su ‘historia’, mientras que el ‘punto’, es un dialogo con la simulación”.

Newman concluye, haciendo referencia a una diversidad en cuanto a géneros y temáticas, y no a la superficie gráfica del producto, que el futuro de los videojuegos no será distinguido por su uniformidad, sino por su diversidad.

Hideo Kojima, productor de la saga “Metal Gear Solid” respondió en una entrevista en 1998.

“No tratamos de dar a Snake mucho carácter, porque nosotros buscamos que los jugadores sean capaces de protagonizar el rol principal. Snake no es una estrella de cine. Él no es alguien que el usuario vea, más bien es alguien que el usuario puede habilitar. Jugar con Snake da a los jugadores la oportunidad de ser héroes.”

Y esta posibilidad de investir a alguien es otro de los aspectos que llaman la atención de la lógica de los videojuegos. Chris Klaus, co-fundador de los Wunderkind, la mayor empresa de Atlanta en cuanto a sistemas de seguridad de internet, se embarcó en una segunda aventura: Klaus Entertainment Inc., industria que está desarrollando un artefacto que funge como un multijugador masivo para los programadores, es decir, así se ahorrará tiempo y dinero, ya que los programadores actúan sobre esta interfase básica, sin necesidad de crear nuevas. Klaus define a los videojuegos como una industria que está por encima de la cinematográfica, según los cálculos dados en el 2003: 239 millones de videojuegos vendidos sólo en Estados Unidos.

El futuro del videojuego es incierto y no me sorprendería en lo absoluto que en unas cuantas décadas, los creadores de las tramas en los videojuegos se unieran con las compañías diseñadoras para hacer la consola más potente jamás vista, dándole así al videojuego una textura peculiar tanto en narrativa y estructura, así como a las gráficas un sentido de fantasía más real que lo real, absolutamente segura y manipulable, increíble, pues, ¿para qué jugar un videojuego donde las personas son comunes y corrientes?

2005-08-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

How Naive I Am!!!

Ser niño es divertido...

2005-08-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

Hace poco me hicieron un regalo bastante peculiar y vaya que me gustó, así que aquí les va la historia de una banda llamada "Eyeball Skeleton" y esta conformada por Charlie Brown (bajo y voz) JJ Brown (voz y guitarra)y el padre de estos dos niños (guitarra, beats!!!). El nombre de la banda surge por la unión de dos nombres creados por Charlie y JJ "eyeball" y "skeleton" respectivamente. Vaya que es un sonido simple, y no por eso carente de creatividad, contiene letras divertidas y es un disco que no puede faltar en una fiesta para mover el skeleton a gusto.

¡Oh! Cuan hermoso es ver que los padres fomenten la educación musical de sus hijos, pero mejor aquí les dejo una prueba sobre lo grandioso de este trío originario de Maryland.

Eyeball Skeleton - Eyeball Skeleton (Mp3)(Chequen la primer rola de este disco)