Posted 1 week, 6 days ago
Posting here just because I’ve been meaning to mention it: “Two Weeks”, from Grizzly Bear’s new album, Veckatimest (Warp Records 2009), which has been ruling my ears for at least two weeks so far. The video is intriguing and mildly creepy, but the song itself is a glorious, lush post-Pet Sounds gem. For some reason, there’s no Seattle or Portland stop on their current North American tour (grr!), though I did catch a couple songs when they opened for TV on The Radio a couple years back. Those of you fortunate enough to live in a city which they are favouring with their presence should check out the show, and let me know how amazing it was, so i can cry tears of jealousy.
(Note: You should really click through and watch the HD version of this instead).
Posted 2 weeks, 2 days ago
Well, that was a perfectly timed epic weekend. Perfectly timed as it coincided nicely with the 6 month anniversary of me and the Girl.
On Friday night, I came home to find a champagne bottle and sushi waiting, followed by a ridiculously decadent dessert. Can’t complain about that. Then we hit up several of the 80+ yard sales on Capitol Hill on Saturday, with pal Abby. Among the loot scored: a working NES and games for a mere $30, C.S. Lewis’ sci-fi trilogy for $1, a 35mm SLR with a 55mm 1.8 lens for $20 total, a sweater and some jeans, and more. Follow that up with a little relaxation, then a jaunt down to the ID to shop for NES games at Pink Godzilla, and then to Georgetown for a signing by one of my favorite cartoonists, Jason, at the Fantagraphics store. As if that wasn’t enough, we met up with pal Valarie for drinks at Linda’s that night, and heard about the Sounders 2-1 win over the Earthquakes, finally breaking their streak of recent draws.
Sunday wrapped up the weekend with a sale on socks ($1-2 a pair at the U-Village Gap; guys, get your sock needs fulfilled cheap!), lots Read More...
Posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago
There are a lot of seemingly negative words you could use to describe The Field’s music; droning, repetitive, simplistic. There’s one word you can’t use: boring. The Field is music stripped down to basic elements, then blown out, expanded, overexposed and pushed to extremes. Minimalism without restraint.
You can describe a typical Field song as such: take a sample of a recognizable pop song. Now trim it down to the point that it is unrecognizable. Less than a syllable, less than a full note, just a pulse of sound that hardly bears any relation to the original. Loop this, over and over, with a slowly shifting bed of pulsing delay and a steady, deep kick drum pulse. Slowly (and I mean ssssssllllllllooooooowwwwwwwwlllllyyyyy) add in layers of hihats, filtered synths, and occasionally a melody buried beneath it all. Do this for 7 to 10 minutes at a time. On record, it’s a recipe for spacey bliss-out sessions, where you can close your eyes and coast on crescendo after crescendo, waiting for the tension to break with the introduction of one more element in the mix, then feel it build again, over and over.
It doesn’t sound like the sort of thing that will drive Read More...
Posted 1 month ago
1. Summer in Seattle
Also known as “the best weekend of the year”.
2. Emerald City Supporters
Seattle has definitely welcomed it’s newest sporting institution, the Seattle Sounders MLS team, with open arms and sold-out games, but no one has welcomed them with more cheering, singing, drinking, and tifo-making than the ECS. If you’re planning on checking out a home game, or a viewing party for an away game, you should think about joining up. The t-shirt and scarf alone are worth the $30 membership, and the camaraderie and spirit are nothing to laugh at either.
3. Oddfellows Cafe & Bar (1525 10th Ave.)
Located in the Oddfellows building across from Cal Anderson park, this wide-open, high ceilingedroom is meticulously decorated with a relentless eye for detail. From the aged photographs, the vintage fixtures, and even the retro-styled Boylans’ sodas and old-timey candy and gum at the counter, everything feels straight out of a turn-of-the-century general shop. Plus, the massive slices of paninibread toast (served with jam and butter for only $2.50) look mouth-watering.
4. Star Trek (J. J. Abrams, 2009)
I don’t remember which Star Trek movie was the last one I saw, but I remember it sucked. Hard. It was a Next Generation Read More...
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago
1. Iron & Wine at Sonic Boom on 15th
I’ve never seen Iron & Wine before, and I’m not really sure if I can say that I’ve seen them now. The crowd that showed up for this free in-store performance at Sonic Boom’s tiny little shop on 15th Street in capitol Hill quickly filled up the available space, and proceeded to spill out onto the sidewalk for the duration of the 30 minute set. The thirty or forty people who couldn’t fit inside (myself included) stood on the street, craning our necks and hoping to catch a glimpse of Sam Beam through the windows, and over the heads of the rest of the crowd, as wisps of music drifted out of the front door, audible only when traffic had stopped. At one point, a man climbed up on his friend’s shoulders and yelled “I can see him! He’s got a beard!” drawing a chuckle from the rest of us. A little girl sitting on her Dad’s shoulders turned to him and yelled back “You’re weird!” All in all, it was worth it, just for the sheer random adventure of it all.
2. The Field: Yesterday & Today(Kompakt/Anti- 2009)
Axel Willner’s second album Read More...
Call it TMI times one thousand. Call it your one-stop cyber-stalking repository for the one and only Dylan Sean Abbott, yours truly. This site is basically just an automated aggregator for blog posts, photos, and other syndicated content I've created, found, or shared online. It's my entire online life, wrapped up in one easily navigable package for your browsing pleasure. The only thing it lacks is a 24/7 webcam (but don't hold your breath for that one to show up).
