The man in the jar

I still cannot finish this new song and it is driving me nuts. Work was slow today because most people have begun their holiday break. It was two above zero on the way downtown and the only thing keeping me together was my iPod. The office was bare and once again I felt caged, or like a dude in a jar. But it's alright. There's tomorrow and then my holiday begins and continues until January 6. It will be a frantic first month of the year because I am planning a move that has been almost a year in the making. I will be heading south and looking for new work. I am still considering the Peace Corps as well and teaching. We'll see what happens. The most important thing is that I will be able to see my girlfriend everyday. It will be so great to be done with long distance love! I will post a new short story that I have been chipping away at when it is done, but if it isn't up until next year then I wish everyone a happy holiday season!

Tundra

Today is one of those days that is so cold that you feel like your limbs will fall off before you even get in the car to go anywhere. Spent most of the day mixing a new song, recording bass parts and writing another new one. Yesterday I finished the artwork for the official release of Good Morning, Hummingbird. It is below.



It will be out in January on Series Two in the US and Canada, Vollwert in the EU, Fraction in Scandanavia and Apple Crumble in Japan. I am going to curl up in my sleeping bag and watch this History Channel show that I just got from the library on cannibalism. I know, random.

Top ten places

Here is a list of the top ten places that I want to visit in my lifetime:

10. Thailand
9. Poland
8. Iran
7. Norway
6. Mongolia
5. Brazil
4. Patagonia (mainly the Chilean side)
3. Kazakhstan
2. Faroe Islands
1. Ethiopia

Kazakhstan

Okay, so this may seem random, but I really want to go to Kazakhstan. Other than being a former Soviet republic and the completely fictional escapades of Borat, not many know what it is all about.

Oddly enough, Kazakhstan is on the top of my list of places to visit--- along with Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and the Faroe Islands. But why Kazakhstan people ask?

I don't have a good answer. Other than being the ninth largest country by area in the world, it is mainly open space. When I read Michael Pollan's book, The Botany of Desire, I learned that apples are native to southeastern Kazakhstan, near the city Almaty (which literally means city of apples or something like that). The city is known for its mountains (the massive Tian Shan mountains are minutes from city limits) and apple orchards. It would be cool to interview horticulturalists.

After querying numerous magazines with my idea to visit Kazakhstan to a resounding 'no,' it is back to the drawing board. Maybe someday soon!

Old Blue

Old Blue

My mom found a cobalt hoodie for me in one of those Carhartt stores years ago. I must have been 14. Whenever it was cold enough outside for a sweater, on it would go. I wore it through most of middle school, all of high school and until the last few weeks of college. It had a hole in the right hand pocket that had been sewn countless times and smelled like trees. Both pockets had innumerable holes from one inch My Bloody Valentine and Velvet Underground buttons. But I didn’t mind.

In college, many of my friends would spot the hoodie to identify me in a crowd. It appeared in 95 percent of all photos and was even used as a pillow several times on my trip to Iceland. And now it is gone.

I don’t mind, really. An ex-girlfriend hijacked old blue and it remains lost in the shuffle. Even though some of my friends are nostalgic for it, I dismiss the longing with a feeble shrug. There are times when it would be nice to wear it again, but nothing lasts forever and time marches on.

Perhaps in my subconscious I didn’t ask to reclaim what was mine because there are more hoodies out there. Or maybe it was just growing up.

After the loss, I went hoodie shopping with one of my good friends at Target and bought one in dark green. It isn’t the same, but gets the job done!

112?!

Apologies for not posting anything for the past month. I will post new writings shortly, and there are many pieces to post! Firstly, I wanted to congratulate everyone who I worked with on the Barack Obama campaign. We did it! I enjoyed every minute of canvassing, phone banking and sharing stories with all of you.

Secondly, I wanted to share a link to today's BBC. I have the day off work because of Veteran's Day here in the States. For much of the world, it is Armistice Day, the celebration of the end of WWI. Today marks the 90th anniversary, and this article highlights the four oldest veterans of the war. They are ages 112, 110, 108 and 107. To me, it is unbelievable that these four are still living. I cannot imagine what horrors they faced in the trenches. For them to still be with us to tell the tale is a cause for celebration. I do not believe that war is just and I am not into military history like some people. But I recognize the difficulty that these four people faced and hope that my children will never have to face such horror. They fought so we don't have to. I hope that I live to be 112...

The Console War Shake Things Up With New E.P.

These are perilous times by no stretch of the imagination. People are losing their savings, consumer confidence is at its lowest levels in decades and the term “indie” has very little to do with bands who set out on an independent path of distribution and touring. We are living in the age of the digital download, where most only listen to their compiled tracks in transit. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with that. The ease and convenience of a download has revolutionized the way we approach and listen to music. But as songwriter Bob Mould recently said, “We are living in an age where music isn’t sacred.” Rarely do we sit alone or in good company listening to an album, taking it in. The Console War’s new E.P. “Cut the Cables” is an exception.

The D.C. duo of Brian Young (guitars, loops, keys, vocals) and Billy Copps (drums, keys, vocals) has always had an affinity for the ethereal, cerebral and angular. Both have been in numerous bands together for the better part of this decade and formed the ‘War in 2005. After their formidable 2007 debut L.P., “Shards,” they played numerous shows in the D.C. area and were back at work on this year’s “Cut the Cables” E.P. The five songs pack a punch that has been rare in this year’s releases.

“Cut the Cables” functions as an air tight unit that should be taken in one sitting. Each track builds on the last, culminating with the demented carnivalesque keyboard drone, thundering toms and looped guitars of “Lines of Communication,” the set’s most emotionally wrenching. The middle half engulfs Kraftwerk’s hypnotic rhythms (“Cut the Cables”) as well as the hauntingly sparse abstractions of Slint and other Touch & Go bands from the 90s like Don Caballero. “Ship of State” is a solid midpoint showing a band who can build layers of momentum while keeping listeners waiting for the next turn.

“View From Down Here” is a gem. A dead ringer for the seminal D.C. group Beauty Pill, it also evokes the ethereal quality of early 90s English shoegazers Slowdive with Young’s fuzzed out guitar loops at the end. “Pipe or Gun,” sets the tone as the opener with Copps’ eerie electronic work and deafening drum breaks mid-song.

Ultimately, “Cut the Cables” shows lots of promise for this sonically tight duo. Sitting in a room with the lights out as it blares from the stereo is enough to make us feel that music can indeed be sacred again.

Listen at www.myspace.com/theconsolewar.