ALSO: regarding the end of the world

I found out that human genetics bottlenecked around 74,000 years ago to just about 200 of us (all of us descended from 200 people around that time). Think of that! Probably 99.999999999% of humanity was killed (likely from a volcano), and NOW look at us! Agent Smith (from the Matrix) was right: we're a virus--there is no stopping us! Not even by us! And look at the earth, too! How well Gaia has recovered from all her catastrophes. I'm not advocating stupidity (I'd prefer we not bottleneck again because there were only a few people in my high school class of 200 that I liked--imagine if that's whom I had to choose from everywhere! Plus I'd have to mate with some of them!), but when global catastrophes (super volcanoes are my disaster du jour) start to get me down, it puts things in perspective a little bit.

WOO HOO!!!!

guess who's going to the debate!!!!!!!!!






(me) (i am)

true story

my freshman year of high school (I think), I went with my dad to work on an album he was helping produce. I thought it sounded like a pretty cool thing to do (and who's more concerned with doing cool things than a high school freshman?). It turned out, it mostly involved several hours at Kinko's, with nothing for me to do. Except once I had to go across the street to Eckerd's to get something for dad (Hubig's pie and a CD of some kind). (Whenever I spend time with Dad, there seems to be some point at which I am tasked with getting Hubig's pies). (I don't like Hubig's pies much. An example of a Hubig's pie is this: sugary applesauce, surrounded by some kind of dough, and deep fried.). Also at some point during the Kinko's night, I was tasked with NOT BLEEDING ON THE COPIES. There was an exacto knife involved. I had an intuitive knowledge that had I been old enough to drink, the whole experience would have been more fun, and less flourescent-lights-at-3-AM, Oh-god-I-just-ran-into-my-algebra-teacher-super-embarassing, I-wish-dad-would-talk-to-me-for-once-if-only-because-he's-the-only-sane-looking-person-here-right-now-and-that's-pretty-sad.

BUT MY POINT is that it was all for a CD by Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes. And somewhat at random, three of the discs I chose to review this week include Mr. "Sunpie" Barnes!

___________
Artist: Various
Album: Original Soundtrack: Schultze gets the blues
Genre: Zydeco
rotation: Medium
filmkombinat 2004

I love accordian! If that sentence made you shiver, this might not be your album. Each track filled me with nostalgia, either of German classes past, or my years in Louisiana. For more about the movie, see [link], but basically, it seems to be a movie designed to end up with this soundtrack: the soundtrack itself is an oddysey through German/Texas and Cajun cultures via their music. One thing I like about the accordian is how many countries use it in their traditional music. Rather than a polka album, or a concertina album, or a zydeco album might, this compilation will remind you that if there's anything the accordian as any instrument isn't, it's one-note. There's the joi de vivre of the zydeco tracks eagerly shaking hands with the stout-hearted German polkas. The maudlin capacity of the instrument is not deeply explored, despite the title of the movie (though the 3 "Schultze Ballades" do capture some whistfulness). Some of the tracks are historical recordings, and some (Wittenbecher's) are for the movie. Look, there is even yodeling (track 13)--what more does one need?

the last ones

Between zombie movies, Doctor Who, and Children of Men, and climate change conferences, I keep thinking/dreaming about the very last humans that will be alive. I don't go into elaborate "What if" scenarios like the mentioned works of fiction, I just wonder idly, things like: will they be on Earth? Will they look like humans? Will their language have any evolved form of the English word "Cut" (this one is kind of random)? Will the very, very last human know they are the very, very last? Will the very, very last die of old age? What will be the very, very last thing he or she eats? Or smells? Or touches?

My mind keep saying "But intelligence would evolve again. Or humans would evolve." But there must be a very last intelligent life form, trillions of years in the future. There MUST, if time isn't on a loop. And how lonely will they be? There was some Neil Gaiman book where a kid traveled to the far, far future, when humans has evolved past recognition, and just could barely subsist on Earth. I found that so disturbing. I don't know why this is a thing...that fascinates my mind completely. But it is. Something to do with my search for a lack of meaning.

colonel tigh and john mccain

yup.

productive procrastination!

For once I procrastinated with something that I would have eventually procrastinated about--I have done my taxes! Now, if I can just finish my 2006 and 2005 taxes...

It's a really, really nice night here in Austin, for those of you not in Austin, and not awake. I'm listening to Tchaikovsky, and the balcony door is open, and really, for someone that just got through several hours of tax code fine print, I'm in a pretty good mood. Wait 5 minutes, though, when I pick up the project I've been putting off. I will need a whole lot more classical music to fix that mood. And like a truckload of burritos. Yeah.

Tonight I had a strange experience: I watched, and enjoyed, the second half of the superbowl. I even threw my hands all in the air and yelled at one part!

But alas, no more procrastination is to be had. It's Russian transportation policy again...

album reviews

look at me updating all the time!

I have to do these album reviews, so I thought maybe I could put a few up here, of the albums that I like (I don't have the heart to put the bad reviews up). As you will see, they are brief and I don't spend much time on making them flow. We'll see how this goes--these might be the only ones I ever put up. Links to Myspace, where you can hear songs.

___
Some Velvet Morning; Silence Will Kill You
Genre: Rock
RhythmBank Entertainment 2007
-
Good production quality and straight-ahead rock sound give this debut album a major-label sound. It's actually catchy in a way I never found The Killers or Franz Ferdinand (to whom they compare themselves) to be. One reason I chose it was I thought it might be the namesake of the Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood song, but the sound bears no resemblance whatsoever to that style. Despite misled expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the whole album. It's a London-based band, but the sound is definitely influenced by American rock. All the songs are energetic. The musicians are talented, and I was most impressed with the (male) singer's voice--there's a pitch-perfect passion put behind a lot of the lyrics, remninscient of U2 throughout the years. Similarities to The Police are fleeting and only on a few tracks. There are definitely a few stand-out tracks, but the songs in between aren't just filler.
____

Sibylle Baier ; Colour Green
Genre: Folk
Orange Twin 2006
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Because of its history, I don't know whether "instant classic" or "lost classic" is the most appropriate label for this album. It was recorded in the 70's, but wasn't released until more recently. It was popular with music bloggers, and songs still show up with some regularity on online mixes. The first time I heard "Forget About," it was one of those moments where the rest of the world stopped, and there was nothing but the sadness of the song. And then, when it was over, it was one of those moments of "what was THAT?" And I wondered how I'd lived my life up till then without knowing that song. I also had this feeling at age 14 over Nick Drake, so if that's not your style, it's probably not for you. But I suspect, even though the songs don't have the complexity, or the spot-on lyrics of Drake, that there is a certain universality in the gentleness of her voice, the quality of which I hate to liken to Nico, but it is similar on some tracks (think Nico, if she wrote her own songs and sang on key). I think English is her second language, and some of the lyrics don't quite make sense, but even the most nonsensical still, in tandem with the music, somehow convey the overall intention of the song. The mood of the entire album is pretty sedate, as it's just her soft voice and a sometimes out-of-tune Spanish guitar (except for the strings on "Give Me a Smile"), but some of the songs are more uplifting than others. Like Nick Drake, I think there's an understated hope hidden in even the most dark-sounding tracks. This album, so the story goes, was part of a process of overcoming a deep depression. You can hear the darkness, but if you listen closely, you can hear the coming out of it, too.

sarks, shmoon, and bulats

TV: I realized I could save a lot of time by reading the recaplets of Heroes rather than actually watching the whole episodes. The reviewer has the decency to mention, even in the miniature recaps, when Peter takes his shirt off. The only thing I really miss out on is Hiro being adorable, and seeing Alias's Sark as a bad-guy again. Nothing major. I just kept watching stuff because the Netflix account that I'm using seemed to let me watch infinity hours. It was like a shmoo! I got nothing done! My own personal economy and util-assessments failed horrendously! Anyway, I could write some about how I felt about the show. Basically, I was disappointed because I'd been "saving" it for so long, and I thought it was too scattered to hold together well.

Music: Everyone who blogged about this singer-songwriter seemed to have a crush on her. I scoffed at them! But now I am one of them. How can you watch this video without wanting to put on a skeleton suit and dance around and be her BFF?

basia bulat, "In the Night":

i am legend

they don't make it clear from the promotional materials, but I am Legend suuuucks! Granted, I don't like zombie movies, but this one was particularly bad. A boring zombie movie? Yes, it is possible. A zombie movie that adds even less to the genre than most zombie movies? Also, surprisingly, possible.

all the heroes; all the shakespearos

I just watched the first episode of Heroes, the show that includes people who can fly, teleport, and have a separate, living reflection in the mirror, all genetically. Before this stage of human evolution, I hope the species becomes more resistant to cancer and diabetes, too. Because what's the fun of flying if you can't enjoy a big piece of cake afterwards?

Tomorrow it will finally stop raining, I heard.

Random Doctor Who quote, from the Shakespeare Code:
[after landing in 1599]
Martha Jones: But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?
The Doctor: Of course we can. Why not?
Martha Jones: It's like in those films: If you step on a butterfly, you change the future of the human race.
The Doctor: Then, don't step on any butterflies. What have butterflies ever done to you?