Avett Brothers play Austin City Limits

Check out Austin City Limit’s website just to see how many incredible artists have played this special show

the Avett Brothers are one of my favorite recent musical finds (see the list of my top albums of 2009). Unfortunately, I discovered them too late to have caught them when they were touring locally.

It is interesting however, to have become a recent fan when, from some of the comments on youtube, it appears some of their older fans are lamenting some of the differences between their current and older albums.

Love this one too:

I am convinced I need to one day take a life-changing roadtrip with the Avett Brothers as my guide…

Young Painter Amazes

New Dolphin Feeding Strategy – Mud Rings

This has been posted multiple other places but seemed interesting enough to post here. The clip is from the new Attenborough series “Life”:

This is yet another case of clever animals quickly adapting their behavior in beneficial, clever ways (see my earlier post on orcas to see another example).

Check out the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary newsletter from spring of 2002 that first reports this behavior.

Art Makes the (Drawn) World Go Round

"Goldfish" - Artist Lawrence Yang, portfolio at suckatlife.com

I don’t know how I stumbled across this guy, but I’m nothing, if not impressed. The artist is Lawrence Yang of San Fran. I generally have an infinity for this type of art – delicate ink based drawings that use black in contrast with some really vibrant colors. The characters that make appearances in his art are cute and eerily otherworldly, with some hint of childishness to them. They feel like they could fit in with Miyazaki or Neil Gaiman stories. His artwork can be found on his website, www.suckatlife.com. Also, check out his blog at the almost equally distressingly-titled www.blowatlife.com,  and enjoy his posted doodles and process shots.

"Tiny Triptych" - Artist Lawrence Yang, portfolio at http://www.suckatlife.com

"Jamie's Present" - Artist Lawrence Yang, portfolio at http://www.suckatlife.com

"Sideshow" - Artist Lawrence Yang, portfolio at http://www.suckatlife.com

Cello Playing Songstress Emily Hope Price – My Kind of Peep

I was fortunate to be the recipient of my friend’s invite to see Emily Hope Price at hog farm studios, a cozy little venue in Biddeford, Maine. HFS is an intimate setting with a great deal of creative ambiance – walls slapped with inspired and fun colors and designs (check out the ladies room decked out with mexican wrestler masks!) and swaths of mismatched fabrics draped as a backdrop to the stage.

Emily Hope Price was first to play the evening we went – last Friday, Jan 15th. She began with just cello, looping various musical phrases via an effects pedal and teasing an intriguing range of sounds from her instrument. She really embraces multiple ways to create sound, playing her cello to its full potential. She also has a wonderful voice, smooth and lilting, reminding me at times of Nellie McKay, Regina Spektor, and Fiona Apple. Multiple instruments made appearances during the evening including an accordion (yay!), xylophone, and a $15 violin gifted from her father that sounded almost ukulele-like.

Emily Hope Price has an instantly likable personality. She’s gracious and witty and chats with her audience between songs. She played us several songs from her recently started 365 project – a venture where she plans to write 365 songs in the same amount of days. It’s in its early stages but has already yielded some beautiful songs,  purposeful collaborations, and even some videos! Also be sure to check out Emily’s facebook and myspace pages.

Here are a couple videos from youtube that give a flavor of what to expect when (no maybe’s) you see her:

Tree Kangaroos – Another Unsuspecting Recipient of Crittercams

Tree kangaroos are just one of the latest type of animal to be subjected to critter camerization. While there may be some stunned and confused tree kangaroos walking around initially, the act of attaching cameras to these fuzzy mammals may give researchers some insight into their behavior. The critter cams used for this specific venture were developed and provided by national geographic. See the video describing the research below:

There are approximately 12 species of tree kangaroo, but the focus of this particular effort is the Matschie’s Tree-kangaroo, resident of Papua New Guinea, and as described in the related article, decidedly similar in appearance to a plush toy. They are considered critically endangered, but are targeted by conservation efforts that include locals who highly value these animals.

Conan’s Plight – Not Going Down Without Some Laughs

Everyone knows that Conan is likely to be bumped from his hosting gig at the Tonight Show as Jay Leno “comes out of retirement” to host again in the primo time slot starting at 11:35. Conan, who has decided he doesn’t want to be part of the proposed move of the late show to 12:05, is certainly not leaving without taking a few laughs with him.

From his declaration : “I just want to say to the kids out there watching: You can do anything you want in life. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too.” to his recent posting of the tonight show to craigslist:

His fans are supporting him in novel ways using social media, including the the “I’m with Coco” campaign on facebook with many users changing their profile pic to the above illustration by artist Mike Mitchell. As much as most of us believe Leno’s had his shot, it may not be enough to save late-night. According to this story, rumor is Conan will be hosting only for one week more. But wherever Conan does go, his fans will be sure to follow him.

Also check out:

“I’m with Coco” artist Mike Mitchell sounds off

Check out Paste Magazine’s 15 Reasons to Love Conan – complete with his rousing speech to students graduating from Harvard, his alma mater (#13) , and his list of his possible career alternatives (#5)

In Review – My Top Albums of 2009

I figured I may as well jump on the list bandwagon. Everyone who knows me well, knows music is my “thing”, so I’ve done a lot of listening this year. It’s a tough decision limiting myself to this year as it omits more recent discoveries such as Deer Tick’s  “War Elephant” and Delta Spirit’s “Ode to Sunshine” but hey, it’s my blog and I can make more lists, in fact I feel some coming on already…

U2 – No Line on the Horizon: I admit I am ridiculously biased as U2 are my favorite band but I think I’m just one person among quite a few that thought this was a pretty fantastic little album. It’s got a sort of energy I haven’t felt in the last few albums. Mind you I do say this with some guilt as I am an avid, dedicated U2 fan (lost my voice for two days after the last concert) but there is some extra spark here that takes them a little higher. There’s also some real optimism woven into these songs.

Karen O and the kids: Karen O is a much more recognizable figure as the lead singer of indie rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but her dynamic presence lets her move effortlessly into different incarnations of songwriter. This album was the soundtrack for the recent film re-imagining of Where The Wild Things Are and does actually feature children’s voices, but the mix of youthful energy and bittersweet sadness ultimately results in an album of children songs every adult can identify with.

Rocco Deluca and the Burden – Mercy: Rocco Deluca and his band have the interesting and somewhat bizarre distinction of being promoted by actor Keither Sutherland. Almost in spite of this, the band manages to keep things gritty on their second album. Like their first, this album suffers from a few unexciting inclusions but when Deluca nails it, he really nails it. Check out the track “Save Yourself” to see what I mean…

Fiction Family – Fiction Family: This one is arguably my favorite album of the year. I’ve listened to it over and over again. The combo of Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot, and Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins is so auditorally satisfying. There are some bizarre musical intros and outros that don’t suit the collective atmosphere created by the music, but overall, this is the perfect little album.

Swell Season – Strict Joy: Most listeners will be most familiar with Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard from their roles in the movie “Once”. Swell Season was the real musical pairing that came into being after the film was made. Widely noted was how real life imitated art – the two musicians started as lovers and ended as friends. This album is a diary of sorts documenting the twists and turns in their personal relationship. It can be heartbreaking at times to listen to, but honesty can be powerful

Avett Brothers – I and Love and You. This album is deceptively simple and sweet with lots of life learning thrown in for good measure. The instrumentation on this album is beautiful – layered full sounding arrangements  paired with sparsity at the right moments. The songs also further thrive from their strong lyrics. Definitely not one to miss.

Mute Math – Armistice. The interesting problem with Mute Math is their recorded albums are excellent, but can’t even touch their live performances. So I’m more of an advocate of their performance of this album than the album itself. As usual, the band creates a new batch of songs that are overall alluring, not the least due to the their ability to bring in a lush layering of sounds in new and innovative ways.

Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew. Hannigan was the beautiful haunting voice that brought an extra layer of power to Damien Rice’s albums. Hannigan however has struck out on her own and  succeeds with an album full of a surprisingly different sort of songs that takes the listener to unexpected places.

A Fine Frenzy – Bomb in a Birdcage: A Fine Frenzy is really a grandiose name for one Alison Sudol, the creative force behind A Fine Frenzy. Her first album was lavish and beautiful but on this sophomore effort, the beauty is also joined by a sense of fun and playfulness

There was a lot of  excellent albums put out this year I just didn’t get to listen to enough but warrant some honorable mention:

Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures

Various Artists – Dark Was the Night

Sparklehorse, Danger Mouse, David Lynch – Dark Night of the Soul

Haiti Earthquake

According to several news reports, Haiti experienced a 7.0 magnitude earthquake early today at 4:53 PM (this is in Eastern standard time). More details can be found on the United States Geological Survey (USGS) website. Click the tabs to look at maps, details, etc. The epicenter of the quake was located just 10 miles away from Haiti’s capitol city, Port-au-Prince.

View multiple news reports with more details:

Reuters

Yahoo

ABC News

UK Telegraph

Haiti is one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries and will undoubtedly need assistance.  CNN has an “Impact Your World Page” with a list of organizations actively involved with aid to Haiti. Other’s listed in various places that seem to be trying to mobilize quickly is the Red Cross, AmeriCares, and Yele Haiti, an organization started by Wyclef Jean who is a native of Haiti. From what I’ve read so far, it sounds like World Vision and AmeriCares maintains employees directly in Haiti.

I find it can be hard to decide which organizations to focus on for donations or other involvement based on an inability to always know exactly how money will be utilized. If anybody has some more in-depth knowledge, I’d be open to any informative comments.

Merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster – the Two-Headed Monster

According to Paste Magazine:

“The merger of two of the music industry’s most powerful juggernauts—Live Nation and Ticketmaster—has been in the works for nearly a year, but it wasn’t until late last week that the concert promoter and ticketing giant received their shareholders’ approval to merge. Still holding up the merger is the U.S. Justice Dept.’s negotiations with the two companies over possible violations of U.S. antitrust laws.

Shareholders may have given the go ahead to both companies, but the merger cannot go through without approval from the Justice Department. All three parties have been negotiating a deal—so far with no real progress. Reports say that the Justice Department wants Live Nation and Ticketmaster to make a number of compromises to ensure that this merger—between the world’s largest concert promoter and the world’s largest ticketing group—would not create an all-powerful monopoly in the industry.”

I know I’m disappointed because whether it’s technically a monopoly or not, the options to buy tickets in any other way is fast becoming as rare as [insert some apt, witty example of rapidly-declining trend].  I often get excited about a reasonably priced-show until I realize a $12 ticket price will soon be bombarded with handling fees, venues fees, fees for such-and-such’s cousin frank who is somehow  involved twice-removed with the ticket process somewhere…  For the music industry, who as a whole has realized much like the rest of the country, that they can no longer rise above such a stagnated economy, they sure are finding even more ways to alienate their customers.