.

Since I last posted, the summer was good, I worked at a Fine Arts summer camp again, and thoroughly enjoyed it =).
I also went to Chicago for Lollapalooza which was also pretty enjoyable, the weather there was nice at night, when it wasn't scorching hot, and the shows were amazing. Kanye West, regardless of how self-absorbed he is, was also a must see and I'm glad I got to attend. Other highlights included The Octopus Project, who presented quite the performance with balloons and more for the crowd to play with not to mention a Theremin player. K'naan was all I hoped and dreamed for though the Lollapalooza staff cut his set short, which was upsetting. Does it offend you, yeah? disappointed me overall with a terrible reproduction of their music live. Radiohead put on a phenomenal show with the fireworks over Lake Michigan weekly on Friday nights, happening coincidentally during a climatic point of their performance. Lupe Fiasco was impressive, especially his platinum shoes you could see the shne of from across Grant Park. The Black Lips played pretty well but were a slight disappointment, same goes for CSS in my books. Battles was impressive live, with Ddiamonds being my favorite part of their performance.
Explosions in the Sky hands down put on the best show of the 3 days, and blew me away, And when they played The Only Moment We Were Alone, it was the most spectacular presentation of music I'd seen in my life.

Lollapalooza!

I'm really ecstatic about the Lollapalooza Lineup being released and have crafted this handy chart to aid me once the schedule is released...

Willie’s Guide to Lollapalooza ‘08

KEY:

***… These are the reasons I feel the necessity to go to a festival on the other side of the nation to listen to music.

*** I’d really love to see, and will most probably spend extra effort to witness

** I’d like to see, but might have to give it up do to conflictions

* I’ll see it if it’s convenient and doesn’t conflict

_ Don’t care for, and would rather be eating or recuperating instead of watching

LINEUP:

***Radiohead
*Rage Against the Machine
**Nine Inch Nails
*****Kanye West
**Wilco
**The Raconteurs
*Louis XIV
_Love and Rockets
*Gnarls Barkley
**Bloc Party
**The Black Keys
**********Broken Social Scene
*********Lupe Fiasco
*Flogging Molly
**Mark Ronson
***Cat Power
***The National
_G. Love & Special Sauce
**Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
********************Explosions in the Sky
_Brand New
**Gogol Bordello
***Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
_Dierks Bentley
***Okkervil River
***Amadou & Mariam
_Blues Traveler
_John Butler Trio
***Girl Talk
*Your Vegas
******CSS
_Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves
********Battles
***Steel Train
***Jamie Lidell
_Bang Camaro
**Butch Walker
**The Blakes
***Mates of State
**Tally Hall
***Spank Rock
***White Lies
**Brazilian Girls
**Magic Wands
**Chromeo
*Electric Touch
*Duffy
***Innerpartysystem
**The Kills
**The Postelles
***Rogue Wave
*The Parlor Mob
***The Go! Team
*DJ Bald Eagle
_Mason Jennings
_Krista
**The Gutter Twins
_Ha Ha Tonka
**Yeasayer
_Witchcraft
*******Grizzly Bear
_We Go To 11
**MGMT
_Sofia Talvik
*The Weakerthans
**Booka Shade
_Santogold
***Black Kids
********************************Black Lips
*Dr. Dog
*Nicole Atkins & the Sea
**The Ting Tings
_Kid Sister
_Office
**The Cool Kids
_What Made Milwaukee Famous
**************Does It Offend You, Yeah?
**The Whigs
*Manchester Orchestra
************Foals
*Uffie
***The Octopus Project
*Cadence Weapon
_Ferras
***De Novo Dahl
*Noah and the Whale
**Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s
*******************K’NAAN
**Serena Ryder
**Newton Faulkner

They'll never leave me...

I get to see !!! tomorrow! But so yeh,the following song will never leave my head... so I felt as though I should share it with the world...

The Clap- The Unicorns
I love the Unicorns, but I think the squeal at the beginning of this one just seals me in!

I didn't believe in ghosts until...

I heard the new Nine Inch Nails stuff, it's 26 tracks that were recorded on pretty much first takes in the studio over a 3 week period, it's a bit on the ambient side of noise rock, and if listened to in it's entirety, sort of feels like a huge trip causing deep reflection and meditation. Simply blissful in every way possible.



By the way, I find it extremely humourous that the last.fm profile cloud bubble for NIN has changed drastically over the past 3 days, from being nearly filled by the tags "industrial" and "industrial rock" to those two, at about half their size, and steadily growing "electronic" and "alternative" tags.

I just need my fix, I swear I'll be fine!

I've come to the conclusion that music is simply an auditory version of herion injected into one's body via soundwaves through your ears. That being said, I've had my share of the good stuff recently. The current musical obsessions I've had over the past few weeks include:

-CocoRosie, to a degree I'd consider it electronic experimental folk, I suppose, I can't think of a more fitting genre, and the voices are what really reel me in.


-Au Revoir Simone, your three-girl indie pop group from Brooklyn, well, I guess it isn't really THAT typical, but either way, it's pretty fantastic


-The Bird and the Bee, I just did a review on them, if that didn't make you want to listen, I'm not quite sure what will



-The Essex Green, one of the Elephant 6 collective groups, having a Lo-Fi indie pop sound, and nearing a sort of twee feel


-Melt-Banana, a product of the experimental Japanese noisecore scene, it's quite spaztic, having short, spectacular songs that you can't help but love, not to mention the arbitrarily picked sound effects inserted at random points throughout the songs



-Black Dice, an experimental group, with many connections and sounding slightly similar to Lightning Bolt, if you enjoy either I also think you should check out Psychedelic Horseshit



-Prefuse 73, a hip-hop/electronic/trip-hop producer from Spain, his songs range in length but if all played together, can prove to be quite ambient, or maybe just because I typically listen to him on rainy days...


-New Order, essentially what defined 80's electronic music, listen to Bizarre Love Triangle, need I say more?


-Times New Viking, Lo-Fi noise rock, their latest album was simply superb, though I will say it's to a degree, an acquired taste for most due to the intense distortion of the sound


-Sally Shapiro- Modern day disco, I named my bike after this artist, and if you wanna check her out, make sure to hear the tracks "I'll Be By Your Side" and it's remix!

The Talk

The Bird and the Bee EPs, "Please Clap Your Hands" and "One Too Many Hearts" - 8.0/10





Though this may not be quite the "talk" your father had with you as you were wrapping up those memorable puberty years, The Bird and the Bee surely bring with them the power of such a talk, the music's ability to hook you in in nearly immeasurable. The closest artist comparison I could make would be if one were to take the soothing side of the background music from Lily Allen and cross it with the beautiful voice of the Norwegian pop star Annie, and spiked this mix once in a while with a dash of Belle and Sebastian. The songs are simply relaxing, and have the jingle feel that gives them a major replay value in my books to say the least. Among my favorite songs would be "Come As You Were" with it's staccato rhythm that begs to be sung along to on the latter half of the song, and "The Polite Dance Song", with it's reminiscent sounds from the pop your parents would listen to from decades previous. All in all, the blend in simply spectacular, and mark my words, this band as one that will surely grow with in the next year.

Kablammo!

It's been a really long time since I've last posted, which is mostly because I've had a ton of stuff happening, primarily exams and studying, but most of them are done, for a bit at least...

I recently attended the Girl Talk show, and though I'll say I was quite impressed by his live mixing abilities, it seemed as though he used nearly all mainstream material to mix with during the live show in contrast to the vast variety he is known for on his actual albums, reaching from Neutral Milk Hotel, to Annie (the Norwegian pop artist), and everywhere in between. It was also neat that he allowed the audience to climb on stage with him during the performance, it definitely added to the experience. This week, tomorrow, in fact, I get to see Band of Horses and Cass McCombs live, I'm especially excited for the latter! And in the following weeks, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, which should also prove entertaining.

As for music, I've been listening to quite a bit, but haven't been able to get as much new stuff as I desired recently, since Icarus was put back into effect on campus (I experienced this firsthand, unfortunately).


Xiu Xiu- Women as Lovers 7.5



Throughout the album, one can expect to be left with a loopy sort of off-balance vibe, as it sets you off your normal place with a unique sound. The primary reason for this would be a constant use of varying synth that is blended into nearly every song on the album. Among the stand-out songs on this album, Guantanamo Canto was the one that really caught me for its simple variety of sounds placed together. Overall, barring the fact that you'll feel a bit off your rocker listening to this experimental group, it'll turn out pleasing to most in the end, but I would say you'd have to be "in the mood" to give it a solid listen, so don't give up on the album after one play through.


And now, though I've mentioned the album before on my blog, I think it deserves a proper review considering it will probably end up on my top albums of 2008 at the end of the year.

Los Campesinos!- Hold On Now Youngster... 9.5



This is the must have thus far in my honest opinion with it's only possible competitor of 2008 being Vampire Weekend, and even that's a long shot. While I believe that the entire album could be turned into singles (You! Me! Dancing! is the only one that actually has been so far), I would personally pick the following four, "Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats" with the opening alternating shouts just screams to be played countless times, and screamed along to as well! Then there's "Drop it Doe Eyes", which no matter how horrible the chorus may seem to you with it's "Deer die with their eyes wide open, eyes wide open, wide open!", it simply leaves a pleasant ring of it in your ear. This song is then followed up by the shortest, but one of the greatest tracks on the album "My Year In Lists" which makes up for it's length in energy, carrying an intensity higher than "breakbeats" earlier on even! And the final shining star on this album would have to be given to "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks" for essentially the same reasons that "Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats" pleased me so much. The album this wraps up perfectly with an epilogue-esque song "2007, the Year Punk (Broke My Heart)", and also wrapping up what will be without a doubt a top album of the year!

I've been listening to quite a bit of Belle and Sebastian, and Oh No! Oh My!. I've also recently gotten back onto a Marc Biachi kick with all of the Her Space Holiday material, and now I've got the xoxo, panda songs too!

As well, the Bonnaroo lineup was released a night ago at 11:00, overall, I was quite underwhelmed by it and would much rather go to Coachella, but considering it's in California
and overlaps with finals, I doubt I'll be attending, sadly.

Get the Dance Party Started Already!

So I'm officially transforming my dorm room into the ultimate dance party dorm room, initially it was simply a black light, but since then, I've mounted the strobe light, acquired a laser light show (random laser designs projected on the wall), and am currently awaiting the fog machine and mass glowsticks (& glow bracelets) to arrive via mail in the near future. I promise to post pictures, but that's my current exciting project.

As for the review, it would only be suitable on this day to review the new Hot Chip album,

Hot Chip- Made in the Dark 8.0
The thing that amazes me about Hot Chip is that they make great dance electronic accompanied by voices, yet it's not to the point where the vocals make into a vocal trance bastardization, nor are they so electronic as to classify them into some House-like group, it's simply fantastic. Among some of the top songs on this album that truly impressed me, the biggest stand out would have to be "Shake a Fist", from the initial section with it's catchy hook, to the spaztic noise of "sounds of the studio game" that solidified it as my favorite track on the album, it's just a great song. Possibly the catchiest song in my honest opinion on the album would be none other than "Wrestlers" which will have you singing "me versus you in love" for the rest of the week! My final "stand out" track is "Don't Dance" and seems only mediocre to me for the first half, but in the second half, it's completely fantastic and makes you want to disobey the title oh so badly. Thus, if there's any electronic album you plan on getting in the next 6 months this one is probably it!

On another note, I'm really considering going to Bonnaroo this year, and if it's anything like the artist line-up Coachella has this year, I may shit my pants.

Grapefruit juice is just so great!

Today, I saw the new film The Great Debaters.
It was an overall decent movie, I'd give it a 6.5 to 7 of 10.
On the downside the plot was quite predictable and if you've ever been in real debate, you'll be disappointed in the actual debating scenes. Though these pitfalls exist, it's partially counteracted by the feel-good classic underdog winning the championship happy ending, and a few emotional scenes that can prove tear-jerkers for some movie-goers.

As for a review of today:
The Cansecos- Juices! 7.5/10
I really enjoyed this album, and would recommend it to anyone else who enjoys Caribou (who I've recent been on a kick of listening to, as well as finding out about their show in Gainesville in early April!). As I listened through I had the image of relaxing in a hammock on a shoreline while listening to a live DJ, and the 36 minutes sure seems as though it expands the joyous experience much longer. My favorite tracks on the album include "Fight Yellow", "Nothing New To You", and "Raised by Wolves", should you want to only grab a few of the tracks. The only part that it seems to lack in would be the ending of "Beyond the River" doesn't
bring a sense of a conclusion. All in all, a really solid album.

Grey skies that blow big ones!

Yeh, so I normally love grey sky days, but today's grey skies in Gainesville just blow!


Anyways, melatonin still works fantastically with the exception of being angry when I wake up, just because I want to jump back into my wonderful dreams, so it's a bit of a downer coming back to reality.

I've been listening to lots of music again..... andd....

My results are as follows:

Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now Youngster...
Just fucking spectacular! It's dancey, upbeat, and just great, for some songs they bring the feel of Architecture in Helsinki on speed, and the best song without a doubt, for me at least, was "Broken Heartbeats sound like Breakbeats", and I'm addicted right now... as should everyone else who likes to dance.

The Dø- A Mouthful
This group is named after the "Dø" from "Dø, Re, Mi, Fa, ...etc.", and though they're classified as folk, I dunno how anyone can actually classify them in anything, they're so eclectic sounding it's ridiculous, with an abnormal amount of cross-genre blending that actually came out sounding quite pleasing to the ear, at times throughout the album I forgot I was listening to a single group instead of a collection or sampler, extremely impressive, people should go listen to them.

The Honeydrips- Here Comes the Future
Take the Kings of Convenience, add some shoegaze, then drip honey all over it, and you'll get the sweet sound of this swedish group. This album really took me a bit by surprise, it's one that eases you into it, and then once your in, doesn't let go, but it's not quite like it's strangling or holding on tight by any means, it just takes you in smooth, it's a really enjoyable album.

Evangelicals- The Evening Descends
This album is another great one of the new year, it's got quite the spacey feel, and definitely has that "I'm drifting to another world" aspect to it. Midnight Vignette's my favorite song with it's clapping and spoken lyrics during the latter half of the song. The focus of the songs include sex, drugs, boredom, and drag queens, carrying the psychedelicness through the listen, making you experience a near euphoria listening sober, so it'd probably be quite intense if you were under the influence of something else.

Temposhark- The Invisible Line
This electro group has been making music for a while but this year they're finally releasing a debut on March 3rd. It's a very well-done album, including a duet with Imogen Heap on the track "Not That Big" which is one of my favorite. This music is purely electrosexual, and even for those who aren't that into electro, because though some of their songs are definitely electrically intense such as "It's Better To Have Loved" and "Joy", others, like "Winter's Coming" have a much softer feel, slightly reminiscent of the later Her Space Holiday songs at times. All in all, I love this album.

All in all, 2008 has had some great albums thus far, and I hope for more to come!

Crazy Dreams

So I haven't posted in a while, and I know this is going to seem really contradictory since I'm posting this at 5 am and it's about actually getting sleep, but melatonin is possibly the greatest thing ever, between actually ending mental hyperactivity, and allowing me to go to sleep. Not to mention the crazy vivid lucid dream I've had, it seriously makes going to sleep exciting and adventuresome, almost as if each night's sleep was a long trip. It's quite fantastic, it's been working 100% of the time, some 7/7 as of now =D. Anyways, besides this, no new news in Gainesville, besides, repostering my room with all new posters, the old ones became annoying and boring. School starting doesn't bring much exciting news.

I went to the Dresden Dolls show in Tampa this past week, and it was quite phenomenal. Amanda Palmer played a few pieces from her solo album in addition to the majority of the favorites from your classic Dresden Dolls selection, including Girl Anachronism early on and a crowd favorite, Coin-Operated Boy. Brian also had a spectacular drum solo ending in broken drumsticks and frightening facial expressions, overall a great show. After the show, my friend Torie and I were able to sneak a peek into the green room (with the duo's randomly scattered clothing and alcohol thrown about) when wandering the streets of Downtown Tampa near the backside of the venue, as well as later meet Brian and Amanda, I got my belt signed (and Brian wrote a note on it's entirety).

The next shows planned for me include Girl Talk, Band of Horses in February, and Built to Spill as of now, and as for current music I'm listening to, Sons & Daughters and The Velvet Underground, I never realized how great the song The Murder Mystery is when you separate the multiple voices for additional excitement and glee. By the way, I can't wait to see Jack Kevorkian either!

Smells Like Holiday Cookies!

A happy Panda, since I didn't photograph any of the ones in my room.



Back at college again, and it feels as though I never left, not a bad thing by any means. A re-uniting of the hallway, mostly done through a Teafest reunion party (including my new fantastic Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Tea), went quite successful and not much has changed. I brought my desktop computer up with me, for extra hard drive space and using Windows apps (and Zune), as well as my keyboard, so the room is slowly turning into a wired jungle, or command center, whichever you prefer.

Music-wise today's been a Beulah day, followed by a bunch of Architecture in Helsinki, and wrapped up with The Boy Least Likely To. Ultimately though, I only felt it appropriate to play AiH's Spring 2008 one more time before it actually begins. =)

By the way, Holiday Cookies is the possibly the best candle scent ever!

Springing About

I wonder if the Architecture in Helsinki song will be anything like the actual Spring 2008...

So our poetry teacher had us turn in our portfolios, these are my revised ones.

An Observant Light-Switch
By: Willie Maddox

Blind, when I was alone in the dark,
I saw when they came home at night.
With me, one gave the dorm room light,
To expose things, swift as a narc!

All the things I’d hear at that height
With the synth & vocals to muse,
To shrill fire alarms bringing fright,
I often heard in times of snooze.

The taste of salty sweat remained
When he came home late after the game,
And left to shower just the same.
He then tasted of soap, as the night’s hours waned.

Flicked me softly as he’d proclaim,
“The day is done, and here I’ll stay”
But some days he’d come home in shame,
Pinning me down like elusive prey.

The smell there always got to me.
One second, the Febreeze scent of spring,
The next moment, my nose would sting
From the foul gas he’d passed silently.

No doubt, I love this college life,
Late nights, girls, parties and more!
There are no fears of war or global strife
From my wall, located right next to the door.


The Mental Disease
By: Willie Maddox

When roses comes to the minds of most,
Romantic hopes ensue,
Spawned from minds that wither and roast
In flames that she’s blind to.

All these feelings of temptation
Could make a lad lose sight,
Or forsake his concentration
On goals he once kept tight.

From befriending of a parent
To waiting for her prime,
It quickly becomes apparent
These courtships should be crime.

Jealousy takes control of all,
Creating the red curse.
Casual talk turns into brawl,
Fueled by a blue heart’s burst.

Love is just a mental disease,
Blinding all of mankind.
So choose to engage, if you please,
And you’ll simply forfeit your mind.


A Friend of Loch Ness
By: Willie Maddox

From within the deep blue, ever churning,
I spot a boy, knowledge yearning,

Approaching the shore of vast Loch Ness,
I glide toward him like a rook, in chess.

Rising above the water silently,
I pray he won’t react violently.

When I whispered my soft greeting “hullo”,
He pivoted his small head, his eyes, aglow.

From the quiver of his hands I could tell,
That my presence caged him in a deep spell.

The boy’s whole body began to tremble,
“Please don’t fear, I’m not what I resemble.

I’m not a monster, vile and vicious,
And staying with me’d be quite auspicious.”

His frightened expression turned to a grin,
Then I started my story of way back in

The day, when a human caught sight of my face,
Of the dreaded eve when that man brought his case

That held a camera, doomed to seal my fate.
My existence soon would create debate.

And never before has someone just come
Not for me, but to see the lake I’m from.

When I stopped talking, the boy up and left,
Leaving me alone, I felt quite bereft,

But these lonely days had come to an end
When with the next sunrise, returned my new friend.


Now if only my second semester would go as smooth as first semester...

Glow in the Dark Elefants!

will take over the world. Oh, what I'd give to be a glow in the dark elephant...

The wind blew really hard...

which was why it was hard to watch the movies I rented, on the beach.

Anyways, I did successfully rent and watch movies. I didn't sleep through any of them yet, promising indeed. First, I finally was able to see The Science of Sleep, now one of my favorite movies, ahhh it was truly amazing, and now I have an urge to purchase large amounts of cellophane. And the second was the Usual Suspects, a movie I was skeptical to at first finding it to be quite boring up until about halfway through with the mention of Keyser Soze, at which point the movie became beyond memorable, and imho, better than Fight Club for an unexpected plot twist at the end, but not so corny as to be unbelievable as in Cry_Wolf. Now I just have to finish One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Music wise today, I listened to the new Lightspeed Champion album, Falling off the Lavender Bridge, which is really addictive and has this comfortable folksy country vibe going for it, without the country vocals that tend to bother me, anyways, it's a great album, and the best song for me was Dry Lips, highly recommended album.