Squatch

I haven't written on here for a while. It's been a pretty good 2008 thus far. Valentine's day is over (*the last time I had a legit valentine was in the 4th grade. Her name was Emily Bounds. I bought her a stuffed bunny rabbit) and it seems like February is moving quickly.
I'm currently in Seattle where we are recording our new record. I feel really great about how it's all going...I think people that hear it will be pleased (hopefully). Seattle is a wonderful place. I've met some great people and seen some sweet places. We are staying at a hotel called Pike Street Suites that's pretty nice. Our studio is right down the street and so are plenty of cool bars and places to kick it, so that's pretty right on. We're right down the street from Pike Market where they throw fish.
New Zealand was awesome. We went there at the end of January to play a festival called Parachute Festival. It was the most beautiful place I've ever been. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to move there someday.


While in Seattle, I've spent a great deal of time at our producer's computer listening to songs on his itunes with him and the other dudes. Aaron (producer) has a pretty great taste in music. He's dug up old songs that I used to be in love with and given them new life and also shown me bands from a time when the music world was a different place. Some of my favorites that I've really enjoyed listening to lately:

(artist/album)

Ride-Tarantula

Budapest-Too Blind To Hear

Red House Painters- Songs for a Blue Guitar

The Breeders- Pod

Larry Norman-Best of Volume 1

The Pixies- Doolittle

Elliot Smith-XO and Figure 8

Tom Petty-Into The Great Wide Open

Posies-Frosting on the Beater

Sixteen Horsepower-Sackcloth 'n' Ashes



I haven't seen any good movies lately. None in theaters at least. We watched the Pixies movie the other night. I got the Sigur Ros movie and watched it. It was bad ass. I saw I Am Legend. (if you know me, then you know I hate Will Smith. I can't handle him...there is something inside of my brain that can't let me appreciate Will Smith.) I saw it because Robert paid for my ticket with a giftcard he had and I just wanted to go see a movie. It was pretty awful. Pretty stupid.

The Seattle Supersonics. For life.

.....wanna buy me a soda?..

Picture time.......






These are my new drums. They are a C&C custom kit that I ordered in September and received last week. They sound like heaven.

Here is a picture of a "Body Farm" in Knoxville TN. Apparently, forensic scientists take dead cadavers and leave them in different designated spots of these woods, or the "farm", and watch them rot. Creepy on a lot of different levels.



















I love that this is in Tennessee by the way. Tennessee has fields for corn, plants for whiskey...and farms for dead people.









This next picture is an "outdoor recreation" center for inmates on a death row prison somewhere in Ohio. There is only one chin-up bar in the segregated cells. The inmates are allowed one hour in this per day and are allowed to bring nothing in the rec-center.
































Must. Buy. Now.





























I leave a week from today for New Zealand. The downside is that the flight is 18 hours long...the upside is that I'm going to
the LOTR set.






Currently listening to:

Jonezetta MS demos

Pixies-Doolittle

Sonic Youth-Goo

Pavement-Slanted and Enchanted

The Shins-Wincing the Night Away

Radiohead-In Rainbows (disc 2)

The Vines- Highly Evolved

merry

christmas

Best of 2007

{                _ Perfect             *            Match_                     }

+ + 

I look forward to this time every year. I think I've done this for the past 2 years?...maybe 3.

 I realize this is meaningless to most, but I think about this all year. Like Rob Gordan (John Cusack's character) in High Fidelity, I find some sort of comfort in ranking music that I enjoy. Don't ask me why. 

This list is completely my opinion and does not reflect the opinions of anyone else. If you like it, great. If you don't, I don't care. 

Here we go: 

 

                   :50- Eluvium - Copia

:49-   Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion

      :48-  Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob

:47- Rogue Wave - Asleep At Heaven's Gate

:46- Chromeo - Fancy Footwork

:45- Calvin Harris - I Created Disco

:44- Film School - Hideout

:43- The Hives - Black And White Album

:42- The Glorious Unseen - Tonight The Stars Speak

:41. Liars - Liars

:40- As Cities Burn - Come Now Sleep

:39- The Kooks - Inside In/Inside Out

:38- Eddie Vedder- Into The Wild Soundtrack

:37- Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain 

Release

:36- Kings of Leon - Because Of The Times

:35-  The Shins - Wincing The Night Away

:34- Crowded House - Time On Earth

:33- Battles - Mirrored

:32- The White Stripes - Icky Thump

:31- Kanye West - Graduation 

:30- Ryan Adams and The Cardinals - Follow The 

Lights EP

:29- Editors - An End Has A Start

:28- The National - Boxer 

:27- Justice - †

:26- Do Make Say Think - You, You're A History

 In Rust

:25- müm - Go, Go Smear The Poison Ivy

:24- Blonde Redhead - 23

:23- Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City

:22- Travis - The Boy With No Name

:21- Yeah Yeah Yeah's - Is Is EP

:20- M.I.A. - Kala

:19- Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future

:18- Metric - Grow Up And Blow Away (Re-Issue)

:17- Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

:16- Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger

:15- Iron And Wine - The Sheperd's Dog

:14- Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests 

of Josh Ritter

:13- LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

:12- Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

:11- Feist - The Reminder

:10- Band of Horses - Cease To Begin

:9- Interpol - Our Love To Admire

:8- Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends

:7- Explosions in the Sky - All Of A Sudden I 

Miss Everyone

:6-  Menomena - Friend And Foe

*5.-- Wilco - Sky Blue Sky 

*4.-- Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 

*3.-- Modest Mouse - We Were Dead 

Before The Ship Even Sank

*2.-- Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim

*/* 1 */* -  Radiohead - In Rainbows

Ron Paul runnin thaangs

Everyone be sure to watch this video by MGMT. I think it rules.

Here's my listen-to-playlist of this week, Wednesday Dec. 5-Tuesday Dec. 11:

(this will include band, record and song. may be current or older.)

`1--Menomena-Friend or Foe: Muscle'n Flo

`2--Ingrid Michaelson-Girls and Boys: Die Alone

`3--Josh Ritter-The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter: The Temptation of Adam

`4--Do Make Say Think-You, You're A History In Rust: Bound To Be That Way

`5--M83-Digital Shades, Vol. 1: Coloring the Void

`6--Les Savy Fav-Let's Stay Friends: Patty Lee

`7--The Beatles-White Album: Helter Skelter

`8--Massive Attack-Mezzanine: Teardrop

`9--Neil Young-Freedom: Rockin' In The Free World    (this one's for you, Ron Paul)

`10--Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Fever To Tell: Maps

`11--1990s-Cookies: Pollokshields

`12--Black Kids-Wizard of Ahhs EP: Listen to Your Body

`13--Bloc Party-Flux Single: Flux

`14--Neko Case-Fox Confessor Brings The Flood: Star Witness

`15--Doves-The Last Broadcast: There Goes The Fear

`16--Coconut Records-Nighttiming: West Coast

My eyes are getting tired. 

Goodnight .

,

Ron Paul 08

Forget the Bullet Proof Vest...I'll Take A Wedding Ring!

Stay tuned.

This week I'll be posting my "Best Of" list for 2007. This list will be based upon my own opinion and you are welcome to agree, disagree, not care if you choose. 

I just arrived home from Clinton, to my parents house here in Terry. I go to Clinton everyday...sometimes multiple times a day. The drives at night are always incredible. I live by a somewhat different time table than the common human does, so usually when I drive home there is no traffic and every house is very sleepy.  I've gotten to see some pretty incredible sunrises this past week. The stars are always bright and full. I saw a coyote run down my driveway a couple of weeks ago.  Life ain't so bad. I know thanksgiving is over and I usually hate reading people saying what they're thankful for on their blogs, so I won't give any list. I'll just say right now I'm thankful for contentment and peace. 

Give some thought and pray for those in far away places and even our own neighborhoods that might not be as lucky as you.  Try to help someone, anyone out with something, anything today.

So apparently, a guy who owns an antique shop in Fondren was shot the other day at his store. The owner put his hand up in front of his face as the trigger was pulled out of instinct or reflex or something, and his wedding ring deflected the bullet that was darting towards his face. The bullet sort of blew up and shrapnel landed in his cheek a little bit...but I mean, this guy was shot at with a pistol.  And he put his hand up to somehow block this flying bullet.   And it worked.  First off, that kind of thing only happens in Rush Hour 2 or Die Hard or any movie with Vin Diesel. What kind of ring was this guy wearing? Did everyone realize a gold wedding band could break up a flying bullet?...or do I need to brush up on my gold and silver maleability knowledge?    Second off,...Robber....do you really have to shoot someone in the face? ...at an antique shop? Really?  This isn't Star Wars. This isn't James Bond. I can't think of a situation where anyone could legitimately think they had the reasoning to parade into an antique store with a pistol and cap a guys ass like he was playing Grand Theft Auto. Not at an antique store. Not in Jackson. NOT while Frank Melton is mayor. 

Here's to Do Make Say Think (which I listened to on the ride home tonight), mallets, Christmas lights and chili. 

Be sure to watch this Menomena live video.  

********

For a guy who loves his state, city, town as much as I do, I sure don't understand the people who occupy it.  I have my go-to's (the people I generally spend most of my time with...i.e., family, close friends, other friends) and then people that I haven't seen in a while that I don't know anymore. I went to Applebee's tonight and saw one such person that I went to high school with. She's a nice girl..always has been. But I don't understand her. And many other girls follow in the trail she is blazing.

Why do some girls act so dumb? If you're a girl and are reading this, here are some indicators to show if you are dumb in my book:

1-If you see me and we haven't talked in a while, don't go haywire on the southern accent.  "haaaaaaaaay aaaa-yyuhhh-leexxxxx! wwuuut haa-yuv YUUUU be-yin do-win?"                        (now read that quote  a little faster and you'll get the correct byram dialect)

2-You ask me about my "little band" or "little group" I'm in.

3-If you're drunk and are trying to make it really obvious that you're drunk. Certain examples of this would be loud talking (see 1), bringing up embarassing or socially uncomfortable conversations or situations that could happen, are happening, or will happen.

4-If 9 out of the 10 conversations you have consist of your time at whatever bar whatever night ago. I'm glad you had a good time at a bar. I have fun at bars too....stop talking about it.

And it's not just girls. Guys that I don't know anymore and used to know are a whole different ballgame. Here are some pointers for you, if you fall into that category, and see me sometime soon:

1-Don't ask me if I've heard of One Republic, the Fray, Keane or any other bullshit band you like.

2-I get it. I wear tight pants.

3-Stop talking like your redneck dad. Once upon a time when we were friends, I could understand you. Now, you talk like an 8th grade football coach..."Hell naw Santa ain't comin to see me!  Been too bad this year!...but ole Miss Clause might!"

I'll have periodical posts like this for the next few weeks, I'm sure.