not a robot, but a ghost

Andrew Bird played a sold out show last night at the Ogden, and what a show it was. I have always really liked his music, but it was hard to imagine what it would be like live, and whether it would have enough oomph on stage was soon to be answered. Swedish opener Loney Dear was sweet, thoughtful and playful, as a perfect intro to Bird. Bird came out all bells and whistles, pun intended, backed by a 3-piece band while he himself manned a guitar, xylophone, his infamous violin and of course his unreal bird-like whistling. Bird played newer material from current album Noble Beast, while also keeping his long-time fans thrilled with everything from 'Imitosis,' 'Tables and Chairs,' and a disarming rendition of 'Why.' He even reawakened Dr. Stringz as a lead-into song 'Fake Palindromes.'

Although his band was fantastic in itself, one of the most interesting parts of Bird's live performances is his seeming multiplication of his own self ; he uses two microphones, one of which he makes plays into for a few beats, which is essentially recorded and immediately played back in a loop as background, so he can move to his main microphone and then interact with his own sound- he's a full band all by himself.

An earlier recorded concert of Loney Dear and Andrew Bird can be seen here, courtesy of NPR. A track-by-track of album Noble Beast, here.

Some shots from the evening:

she was just 22

A fellow 22-year old fringed brunette girl has finally caught my eye on her second album. Lily Allen's newest album It's Not Me, It's You is poppy, catchy, blunt and extremely well written; her lyrics especially stand out on this album. From very straightforward bed-time disappointment in 'Not Fair:'

There's just one thing that's getting in the way
When we go up to bed you're just no good, it's such a shame
I look into your eyes, I want to get to know you
And then you make this noise and it's apparent it's all over
It's not fair, and I think you're really mean
I think you're really mean, I think you're really mean
Oh you're supposed to care that you never make me scream
You never make me scream...

Another favorite is the Marilyn Monroe Some Like It Hot sound of 'He Wasn't There'

With her sweet, girly voice and strong British accent, you almost don't realize you're singing along about lying in the wet patch, ex-wives, and Chinese food. She's beautiful, talented and writes exactly the way girls feel. I knew girl power would never go out of fashion.

$52.80

from Il Posto

It's late February and you know what that means: Restaurant Week. Out here in Denver, 200 restaurants, ranging from moderate to extremely upscale, are opening their doors with a fixed menu (cleverly priced at $52.80 for two, in reference to our beautiful Mile High City) for everyone to enjoy. Some restaurants are even extending the menu through March 6th, so if you're in the area, you aren't out of luck yet. Restaurant Week is great way for people to check out places they might normally not be able to afford, or to just shop around. It also benefits the restaurant economy during the post-Valentine's lull- and you can do your part by eating fabulous food and having an excuse to go out on the town.

I'll be checking out Le Chateau, a French bistro and fondue restaurant on 15th St. Review update to follow.

a duo begins

Joshua Radin. One of many ' whisper rock' singers of late, but deservedly one of the best.

Sundrenched World

A combination of Sam Beam, Andrew Bird, and Simon & Garfunkel, you have to like him just a little if you know he's on a Zach Braff movie soundtrack (...unless you hate Zach Braff that is, which just isn't possible). Joshua Radin's soft voice weaves in and out of beautifully and simply orchestrated harmonies and instrumentation; his tone is a perfect fit with some of the more thoughtful moments in said film. Relaxing without being sleepy or sappy, longing instead of forlorn; the perfect soundtrack to a wintery afternoon.

Imogen Heap also does a light and fluffy remix of Only You:

The Muscles from Brussels

JCVD: Jean-Claude Van Damme as... Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Released in France, May 2008 / DVD release here in April (fingers crossed).

A satire of his own action star career, Van Damme ironically plays himself in a comeback about, well...himself. The glamour is gone, finances and battles over child custody have taken over. A comeback about no comeback? A comeback as a comeback? He becomes a metaphor for himself, which is reason enough to check it out.

Plus it's in French. Always a good sign.

the man on the moon

Kid Cudi is, best put: coming in hot.

Starting from mixtapes, Cleveland's Kid Cudi caught Kanye West's eye (or ear, I suppose). He soon performed at the 2008 VMAs with the likes of Travis Barker and DJ AM. Rolling Stone named him one of their top 5 indie hip hop artists of the year. He's even going to play a role in HBO's How To Make It In America, Mark Walhberg's latest project.

Kid Cudi will be playing a show this Thursday at Denver's The Church. Not a venue I frequent, but this show would be hard to pass up.

You'll also notice him on Kanye's newest video (say what you will, the video visually continues to blow my mind).

sofuckingcute

I know it's old, but it's the just cutest damn thing I've ever seen.
He's going to grow up and rule the world.
Don't forget kittens inspired by kittens...
And maybe my favorite, the Star Wars according to a 3 year old. And OBI KENOBI SAYS...!!!


Happy Valentine's day, to one and all.

xo

there is no sound

Lonely London Lad - Buffalo Jump

A new music obsession, band Lonely London Lad is the creation of Robert Savage and Johnny rK, with Gabriele Berneri, Nico Bentley, and Billy Fuller. Best defined as experimental music, they are unlike much else I have heard, or seen for that matter. Their first album is in the process of being released, but the wait is filled with plenty of songs and videos - they have over 50 songs recorded this past year, and 45 videos as well! The videos are the type of thing I would expect to see projected on one of the walls at the DAM, along with the music of course. So artsy, so tasty.

And don't I love learning new things each day? My favorite song, Buffalo Jump, got me on a wikipedia frenzy. A buffalo jump is the name for a cliff that buffalo would be herded off of. The fall would either kill them or render them immobile, so that hunters below could finish them off easily.

The repeated line "in the desert there is no sound," on top of a very elusive westernesque sound makes me wonder: If a buffalo herd falls in the desert with no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? I think LLL makes their opinion pretty clear.

why speak what you could write, send, and be removed from?

And a Happy Valentine's Day greeting, courtesy of Passive Aggressive Notes!


As most of my readers know, I am an avid follower of PostSecret and of Passive Aggressive Notes. If you didn't know, just look on the right side of the page.

Anyway, because I am a fan of these sites, occasionally people ask me if I sent in some of the ones they come across. Recently questioned over the following, generally by fellow workers:


This, since obviously I am a librarian. Unfortunately no, I don't dress provocatively for the job, though I can look a bit bookish at times. I do like the extra touch of Betty Draper in the corner. She would definitely make a tempting librarian.


This I was also questioned about, but no, not from me. I do like the idea, and have had had experience involved in a passive aggressive note series at a prior living space. Luckily it never quite came to broken dishes left about the house, though there were some Italian swear words thrown in.

27b/6

My boyfriend turned me onto David Thorne's site, 27b/6, and I can't get enough.

How do you make a David Thorne? Take Nick Hornby, add some David Sedaris overtones, maybe a little John Kirby, and a pinch of Jim Halpert. Voila, my new favorite site. He rags on his office mates, ponders what it would be like to be a space commander or to own a monkey and endlessly disses his friend Lucius for his unicorn hair*:

* note the creepy unicorn decorations behind said friend.

My favorite articles feature Thorne's purposefully uncomfortable responses to people's emails or notes. One of the all time best were the series of emails sent after he refused to pay an outstanding fee, and wanted instead to pay using a drawing he made of a spider. Obviously, the company refused the drawing as a payment, so he has refused to pay as well. You can see how the story has strangely unfolded into an eBay bid for the drawing here.

it's the sunglasses that worry me

I can't help but wonder what is happening to one of my favorite actors, Joaquin Phoenix. Part of me is hopeful that this is an Andy Kaufman type stunt, but it's almost too painful to consider fake.


I'm counting on the hoax side of things.
He may have just created a character for himself to play.
I may just be optimistic.

And that's why I don't watch Dave Letterman.

I'm only dreaming

Oren Lavie - Her Morning Elegance

Does this remind anyone else of the Science of Sleep?

A perfect example of how a video can really add to a song.
(In my opinion)

and I would name it 'from Denver'

Having artists like Geminitactics designing their merch is one more reason to like of Montreal (so does having videos like this classic, but that's a whole other conversation).

I like of Montreal's approach to merchandise and art. They want you to get something meaningful when you buy their music, not just a cd or album. So, you can buy actual decorative art pieces like their paper lantern, tote, or wall decals, which come with the code to then be able to just download their album. Why come away from a show with a cd when you could bring home a newly decorated apartment instead?

a picture is worth a thousand words

The Maine College of Art teamed up with the Portland Public Library to create a contemporary project that is so spot-on it almost hurts. As an art student who works part time at the campus library (putting the 'library' in 'library chic'), this is almost too good to be true. Long Overdue: Book Renewal takes books that can no longer circulate, and transforms them into absolutely stunning works of art.

So good.

because everything is temporary

I have to send respect any time a good artist comes out of Denver.
[On a sidenote: The Denver wikipedia entry gave me a whole new view of this fair city.]
[And, on a totally unrelated note: I learned something new today: the word 'draw' is an acronym for Direct Read After Write. It blew my mind.]

Back to business: The Contemporary Art world right now is much more accessible than ever before, but also even harder to be new in. Yet some ideas still fine a way to stick, pun intended. Magnet Mafia is a movement of street artists (born from the metro area) who use magnets as their mode of mark making. Magnet Mafia creates all kinds of messages on their magnets, then they post it on any metal surface throughout the city. When I first met the Mafia, I was skeptical about the magnet idea, it seemed 'flimsy.' Needless to say, I changed my mind. Magnets can be moved from place to place, unlike stickers. It's the ideal participatory street art out there, because the audience member is an equally big player in the process; anyone walking down the street can change the meaning by placing it on a new object. And if people want to write or draw the magnets, they create even more meaning.

Plus who doesn't want 'artistically-thoughtful-and-yet-ironic-decorated-fridge' status? I know I always check people's fridges when I visit their house for the first time.



They even came to my school to let us play with great rolls of magnets, and were super chill. It was a blasty blast.

There is still hope!

hide & seek

The Golden Filter - Hide Me

I realize this is 3+ months old, but it's too good to pass over.


Exactly what love at 22 feels (and sounds) like.

I wear my binary on my sleeve

And once again, Urban Outfitters starts to carry something I can't help but fall head over heels for. Fly t-shirts, by... MICROSOFT? Wait. The computer company? That's right, Microsoft's Softwear (ohhh, the name is just too good) is a new line of t-shirts drawing on the nostalgia from the days of computer disks.

Softwear has both a Classic collection, and a Common collection (by hip hop legend Common). Both are equally delicious.

The perfect gift for that friend who once told you: "There are 10 types of people who understand binary, those who do and those who don't."

on the fringe

As an avid reader of popular blogs that make fun of people like me, it's no surprise that I follow Stuff White People Like. If you didn't already know, I'm about as white as they come, and dark hair only helps to emphasize this fact.

Speaking of white girls and their hair brings us to one of my favorite posts, #104 Girls with Bangs. As an experienced bang wearer, I am both reassured and embarrassed by the possible hipster status this post ensues. SWPL explains that "[For] for white people, this simple haircut makes a bold declaration by saying that the wearer is artistic, deep, and has probably dated a guy in a band you like," and that "the haircut-with-bangs is an important symbol that a female has completed her transformation from a nerdy girl to a cool woman." The look also brings a sense of innocence, a reference to childhood and softness. Which keeps girls looking, well, like girls.

Granted, not every fringed female knows how to wear her bangs so as to achieve such a first impression. Zooey Deschanel is a good starting point, as she is both an actress and singer (artistic), as well as a hipster heroine.

Bangs should either be bluntly sheared straight across the eyebrow:

Or gently side-swept, preferably covering one eye so as to give the feeling of shyness:


Continuing with the artistic, introspective allure that corresponds with the short bang/long hair approach, it is also preferable to be a brunette, although red heads have been known to be successful with this style.

Needless to say, SWPL has reassured me that I am correctly displaying who I am through my hair. I only wonder: does the girl make the bangs, or do the bangs make the girl?