He Doesn't [Write Songs] Like Jesus

A month ago, Brandon Flowers said Sam's Town would be "one of the best albums of the last 20 years". He also wrote these lyrics:

We're burning down the highway skyline,
On the back of a hurricane,
That started turning,
When you were young

Brandon Flowers has a gift for turning shit into diarrhea.

Workout: 10.03.06

I'm burning the candle at both ends this week to finish up a design for my portfolio website and bring all my work together to present at a portfolio critique on Saturday. Late nights, interesting output.

Rub Fish On Your Tits and Skull Fuck Some Shellfish

Happy Yom Kippur!

Listen: Podcast, no13

It's never a good idea to operate podcasting software when you're under the influence. I had a bit too much caffeine this afternoon and I think it shows in this episode. Apologies all around. The tracks:

“Nausea” by Beck
“Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” by We Are Scientists
“Free Stress Test” by Professor Murder
“The Price I Pay” by Billy Bragg
“Walking the Cow” by T.V. on the Radio
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Your Grievience” by Daniel Johnston
“Insane In the Membrane” by Cypress Hill
“I Gotta Move” by Ben Kweller
“3 Freaks” by DJ Shadow
“I Don’t Believe You” by The Magnetic Fields
“Suspicious Character” by The Blood Arm
“In the Morning” by Razorlight
“The Rainbow” by Apples in Stereo
“Summersong” by The Decemberists
“Casssettesingle” by Fujiya & Miyagi

As usual, the podcast is available through RSS or iTunes. Here are the appropriate links:

* Subscribe to the enhanced podcast. (rss)
* Subscribe to the mp3 podcast. (rss)
* Click here to visit the "Pleasing To Your Ears" page in the iTunes Music Store, where you can pick and choose from available episodes.
* no13 :: Roofed to the Gills (mp3)
* no13 :: Roofed to the Gills (enhanced)

Here's some links I mentioned in this episode:

* Lo-fi viral videos for Beck's new album The Information
* Ben Kweller's Bloody Nose
* Razorlight's "In the Morning" video
* Apples in Stereo sign to Simian records

That's it for episode 13. Please tell your friends. Please tell me what you think. Please post a link on your blogs. Please use the hotline: (206) 202-3142. Please tune in for a new episode this weekend.

Silkscreen Photoset

I setup a photoset on my flickr account to document some of the silkscreen work I'm doing. There should be updates at least once a week, probably more. The first set of prints were previewed in Friday's workout page. These pages are just a method for me to produce/play on a more regular basis since all of my design work is digital and, as a result, I'm without a traditional sketchbook.

Workout: 09.29.06

I had to whip up a black and white image as source material for my first print tomorrow morning. I had a lot of ideas that were in various stages of completion, but the Bean Boy Bomb was the easiest and most striking. I'm going to print it in a few colors and I may, time permitting, dribble a mix of colors on the screen and try a gradient effect. Tit balls.

Workout: 09.26.06

Linkology: 09.25.06

This is fucking brilliant, so make use of it while you can. I'm fairly confident the sites will be gone by the week's end:

* Every episode of The Simpsons
* Every episode of Futurama

Workout: 09.24.06

Listen: Podcast, no12

The hotline is live and taking calls. What requests will be made? What demands will be turned down? Did anybody even bother calling in? Answers and more await you in this week's episode. The tracks:

“Nature of the Experiment” by Tokyo Police Club (MySpace)
“Beware (feat. Cali Agents)” by Oh No
“Enough to Get Away” by Joseph Arthur
“Delicious Demon” by The Sugarcubes
“Goodbye” by Asobi Seksu (MySpace)
“Suzie” by Boy Kill Boy (MySpace)
“You and Me and the Moon” by Magnetic Fields
“Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)” by Talking Heads
“Natural’s Not In It” by Gang of Four
“Bloodhounds on My Trail” by The Black Angels (MySpace)
“Grass” by Animal Collective
“I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” by Scissor Sisters
“Not California” by Hem
“In This Home On Ice” by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
“Crime Does Pay” by The Hourly Radio

As usual, the podcast is available through RSS or iTunes. Here are the appropriate links:

* Subscribe to the enhanced podcast. (rss)
* Subscribe to the mp3 podcast. (rss)
* Click here to visit the "Pleasing To Your Ears" page in the iTunes Music Store, where you can pick and choose from available episodes.
* no12 :: What Would Freak Nasty Do? (mp3)
* no12 :: What Would Freak Nasty Do? (enhanced)

Here's some links I mentioned in this episode:

* HBO message board about "Living Dolls"
* The soundtrack of NY Fashion Week
* A Sugarcubes Reunion

That's it for episode 12. Please tell your friends. Please tell me what you think. Please post a link on your blogs. Please use the hotline: (206) 202-3142. Please tune in for a new episode this weekend.

Listen: Supplement_A :: The Nationwide Mercury Prize

I like supplements, yes I do. I like supplements, how 'bout you? This is the inaugural supplementary podcast, where the music is more closely curated around a particular theme. This week, I'm spotlighting the albums/artists shortlisted for the Nationwide Mercury Prize, the nominees of which represent the best British and Irish albums of the last 12 months. The tracks:

"Fake Tales of San Francisco" by Arctic Monkeys
"Munich" by Editors
"Made-up Lovesong #43" by Guillemots
"I Sleep Alone" by Richard Hawley
"Boys From School" by Hot Chip
"Map of the Problematique" by Muse
"The Boom Boom Bap" by Scritti Politti
"Flo' Fashion" by Sway
"Black Swan" by Thom Yorke
"You Probably Couldn't See For the Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me" by Arctic Monkeys

As usual, the podcast is available throught RSS or iTunes. Here are the appropriate links:

* Click here to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.
* Click here to visit the "Pleasing To Your Ears" page in the iTunes Music Store, where you can pick and choose from available episodes.

And for you folks that poo poo the enhanced podcast, here's the mp3 for Supplement_A:

Supplement_A :: The Nationwide Mercury Prize

Here's some links I mentioned in this episode:

* Official Nationwide Mercury Prize site
* BBC Mercury Prize site
* Mercury Prize on Wikipedia
* Slowly Downward (cover of "The Eraser" by Thom Yorke)

That's it for the first supplementary podcast. Please tell your friends. Please tell me what you think. Please link on your blogs. Please use the hotline: (206) 202-3142. Please tune in for a new episode this weekend.

Linkology: 09.21.06

* Judging your friends by their Netflix queues
* New York is the safest big city in the U.S. Fuck you, Dallas.
* Sugarcubes reunion show
* NY Times profile of Michel Gondry
* With the premiere of the 4th season, I've been reading a lot of good stuff about The Wire. It's queued.
* London Design Festival :(
* David Sedaris in The New Yorker
* 1,000 words of advice for design teachers
* 1,000 words of advice for design students
* Michael Bierut on his design process
* Jeff Zeen on his design process

Pleasing To Your Ears Hotline

Pleasing To Your Ears, now has it's very own request/feedback hotline. That din you hear outside is rejoicing in the streets. People are beside themselves with ecstasy, practically fucking strangers on the roofs of cars they're so amped.

In an ongoing effort to diversify and expand in episodes 11-20, I've setup a voicemail box where you can leave me a digital missive. Once you're finished, your zeroes and ones are sent to me via e-mail and I can post your clip in the upcoming episode. So fire off those song requests, show ideas, criticisms and sophomoric pranks. I welcome it all. Just speak up for fuck's sake. The adoring public will want to be able to understand what you're saying.

The hotline: (206) 202-3142

Let loose the dogs of listener response. All 13 of them.

Fucking Classic

Delivery Girl: What apartment number is this going to?
Steven: FF4. Like, FRANK-FRANK-4?
Delivery Girl: What?
Steven: It's FF4. Like--
Delivery Girl: FUCK-FUCK-4!
Steven: Uhh, yeah...
Delivery Girl: OK. Is that all?
Steven: Yeah.
Delivery Girl: You didn't get offended by what I said, did you?
Steven: (laughing) No, of course not.
Delivery Girl: OK, cool.

Listen: Podcast, no11

Episode 11: a new beginning. In life, I rarely maintain anything for the duration. So it's exciting to be starting the second set of ten episodes. Plus, I gots me a motherfucking guest host. The tracks:

“Black Flowers” by Yo La Tengo
“Break” by Jurassic 5
“Walking to New Orleans” by Fats Domino
“Je Ne Te Connais Pas” by Prototypes
“Yoo Hoo” by Imperial Teen
“He Brings Out the Whiskey In Me” by Amy Millan
“House of Regret” by Wild Sweet Orange
“Suds and Soda” by Deus
“Acquiesce” by Oasis
“Lounge Act” by Nirvana
“Heroin” by The Velvet Underground & Nico
“Have Love Will Travel” by The Sonics
“Heads High” by Mr. Vegas
“Tea for the Tillerman” by Cat Stevens
“Jique” by Brazilian Girls

As usual, the podcast is available throught RSS or iTunes. Here are the appropriate links:

* Click here to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.
* Click here to visit the "Pleasing To Your Ears" page in the iTunes Music Store, where you can pick and choose from available episodes.

And for you folks that poo poo the enhanced podcast, here's the mp3 for episode eleven:

no11 :: Music for Jewish Robots

That's it for episode eleBen. Please tell your friends. Please tell me what you think. Please link on your blogs. Please tune in Thursday for a supplementary podcast about the Mercury Awards.

Lane Kim's MOJO

My copy of the MOJO Collection arrived in the mail. This purchase falls in step with my recent spate of reading centering loosely around rock journalism and rock history ("rock" used as a general classification to include all popular music). While I don't think it necessary to own all 700+ albums reviewed therein, I would like to give each one a listen.

I'm giving myself a decade.

This will likely diversify my podcasts, a good thing by all accounts. I've included this small bit of dialogue from an episode of Gilmore Girls to convey significance. Lorelai and Rory are eating breakfast at Luke's. It is the first day of school. In walks Lane:

Lane: Oh, thank God you haven't left yet.
Rory: Nope...what's up?
Lane: Well, I found the greatest record store in the world, it's ten minutes from your school, and I'm wondering how much you love me.
Rory: Address.
Lane: Record Breaker, Incorporated. 2453 Berlin Turnpike.
Rory: Got it. Place your order now.
Lane: Yes. Charles Mingus, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady.
Rory: Right.
Lane: The Sonics, Here Are the Sonics.
Rory: Burn me a copy. Next.
Lane: MC5, Kick Out the Jams, Fairport Convention, Liege and Lief, Bee Gees, Odess-..."
Rory: Bee Gees? Really?
Lane: (placing hand on MOJO cover) Well, MOJO says..."
Rory: So it must be true.
Lane: Okay, that's it. Now, if I can just find a copy of Whistler, Chaucer, Detroit and Greenhill, I will finally be done with the sixties.
Rory: I'll get there today. Tomorrow at the latest.
Lane: I love it when you go back to school.

+3 Improvement!

I recently purchased three books, each with the word "Ultimate" in the title. That's me, passing you on the road to SUPERIORITY. I'm like some Neo Tokyo CYBORG. My PENIS comes equipped with MULTI-FUNCTIONAL, TRANSFORMING CAPABILITIES. The books I BUY help make me BETTER. So ULTIMATE!

Newness

Refreshing Newness: Jesus Christ it's been a long time since I wrote anything. All this podcasting bullshit has monopolized my time, I 'spose. Ever notice how much bandwidth I waste lamenting my own absent discipline? Too much, I reckon. There is a new feature to accompany this new podcast. It's called "Word Processor Tools Used to Police Greater Social Dysfunction". Enjoy.

Listen: Podcast, no10

Sorry for the tardiness folks. Life may get hectic, but the podcast always finds a way of pushing through. This is the tenth episode, a milestone of sorts. Come, celebrate with me and dish about the horror of toddler beauty pageants. The tracks:

“In These Shoes” by Kristy MacColl
“Pain Killer” by Turin Brakes
“New York Groove” by Ace Frehley
“The Rubberband Man” by The Spinners
“The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)” by Manfred Mann
“No Fit State” by Hot Chip
“Story of My Life” by Social Distortion
“Stars and Sons” by Broken Social Scene
“Bleary Eyed” by Annuals
“’Cause You Can” by Birdmonster
“Crazy for Leaving” by Catfish Haven
“House Fire” by Someone Still Loves Your Boris Yeltsin
“Wildcat” by Ratatat

As usual, the podcast is available throught RSS or iTunes. Here are the appropriate links:

* Click here to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.
* Click here to visit the "Pleasing To Your Ears" page in the iTunes Music Store, where you can pick and choose from available episodes.

And for you folks that poo poo the enhanced podcast, here's the mp3 for episode ten:

no10 :: Night of the Living Dolls

Here's some links to "Living Dolls" on YouTube:

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine

That's it for episode ten. Please tell your friends. Please tell me what you think. Please link on your blogs. Please tune in this sunday for another episode!

Gone

Shavonne left today and for that I am sad. Last night we were reflecting on her visits over the last three years. When I first moved to NY, my Mom gave Shavonne a ticket to visit me in the hope of rounding out her otherwise paltry list of Christmas gifts. Ever since then she's visited three times a year, always for ten days or more. She's developed a real sense of the place, almost as though she lived here. And she's done and seen more things over the course of those visits that many rent-paying, NY residents will ever bother to unearth. It was a good run while it lasted. There's always 3-day weekends...

We saw a wealth of movies this week, from trash to class. That list follows, in no particular order:

Akeelah and the Bee
Green Street Hooligans
She's the Man
Kinky Boots
Oldboy (Von opted out)
Half Nelson
This Film is Not Yet Rated
Syriana
Inside Man
Winter Passing
Mean Streets (one half, no sound)
Crank
Remember the Titans
The Matador
Something New
Gay Sex in the 70s
Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film
Basquiat (one half)

I'm quite confident that talk of this list will creep into this week's podcast (which will be available tomorrow). Lord knows songs from the films already have.

Adding insult to injury, the Gilmore Girls ad with Lauren Grahm is also gone. There is little left to live for.