It would have been nice (considering the seriousness with which I took this morning's half-marathon) if I had the opportunity to run 13.1 miles on good rest. Alas, this was not the case. I received only 3 hours of sleep last night, and when my alarm sounded at 6am I was finally starting to drift [...]

Zelienople — La La La The folks at Twosyllable Records recently let loose their Chicago Cassette Compilation , a lavish, genre-spanning mixtape that puts 18 Windy City talents in one convenient analog package. Among the featured artists are slo-mo rockers Zelienople (as seen on Type ), who raise some spirits with the crushingly dirge-like "La La La". A fuzzy, strummy contribution from Campfires (Jeff Walls) can be heard over at Altered Zones, who premiered [...]
I went to see Zelienople play at the Abbey Pub ... And needless to say their music is as challenging as it is breathtaking. I asked the Chicago-based band a few questions, and here is what Mike (Percussionist) had to say: First question ... Most important, is why? Mike: Because it feels good. Now for the safe word … [...]

Grouper 's website is very minimal, though it does say: UPCOMING RELEASES A I A, TWO PART VINYL, SELF RELEASE, APRIL 2011. CONSISTS OF: -DREAM LOSS, FULL LENGTH 12", GR-006A. -ALIEN OBSERVER, FULL LENGTH 12", GR-006B. REPRESS OF INCA ORE/GROUPER SPLIT, Later 2011. NEW RELEASES ROY MONTGOMERY/GROUPER SPLIT ON CD, Extra Track from Roy Montgomery called Pressed Bloom, self-release, December 2010. [...]

And now three I-don't-care-what-Ross-says-Th e-Bears-are-3-and-1-the-record -stands-for-itself reasons to get your hoodie on and get yourself on over to The Whistler tonight for the Coach House Sounds 2nd Anniversary Show... 1. Happy 2nd Anniversary to our good friends over at Coach House Sounds! For two year's they've been diligently recording and streaming many of Chicago's top bands online at their website Coachhousesounds.com . Tonight, they celebrate in style at The Whistler with the jazz sounds of Chicago's The Jeff Kowalkowski Trio. But that's not all! [...]
May 14, 2010, 10:30am
»78s
Den Regen langsam satt? Dann empfiehlt sich ein besinnlicher Spaziergang im magischen Klangwald des Chicagoer Düster-Trios Zelienople. Um beim anhaltenden Sauwetter der steigenden Suizidgefahr entgegenzuwirken, kann man aus der Not eine Tugend und es sich getrost in der warmen Stube bequem machen. Zum Beispiel mit dem neuen Album "Give It Up" von Zelienople. Diese experimentieren seit zehn Jahren im Bereich des DarkAmbient, der in den neusten Stücken gar nicht mehr so düster daherkommt. Er hat sich vom subterranen Drone/Noise etwas distanziert und leichteren Popsong-Strukturen angenähert. Es bleibt ihm aber [...]
May 14, 2010, 10:00am
»78s
Den Regen langsam satt? Dann empfiehlt sich ein besinnlicher Spaziergang im magischen Klangwald des Chicagoer Düster-Trios Zelienople. Um beim anhaltenden Sauwetter der steigenden Suizidgefahr entgegenzuwirken, kann man aus der Not eine Tugend und es sich getrost in der warmen Stube bequem machen. Zum Beispiel mit dem neuen Album "Give It Up" von Zelienople. Diese experimentieren seit zehn Jahren im Bereich des DarkAmbient, der in den neusten Stücken gar nicht mehr so düster daherkommt. Er hat sich vom subterranen Drone/Noise etwas distanziert und leichteren Popsong-Strukturen angenähert. Es bleibt ihm aber [...]

I don't have to work tomorrow! I can spend all day writing a blog post about tonight's episode of LOST ! Or, you know, there are tons of other things I could do with my day. If you're anything like me - and, dear God, you'd better be - your work schedule is far from the Monday-through-Friday nine-to-five norm we've mocked and derided since...well, forever. My "work week" goes from Friday until Tuesday, and my hours vary from day-to-day. This leaves me with a "weekend" in the middle of the week. It sucks in that all my [...]
Last night Nic and I consumed what will inevitably go down as a top ten Los Angeles burger. The "Dry Age Burger" at Oaks Gourmet Market on the border of Hollywood and Los Feliz is quite good. Theirs is (obviously) dry-aged, topped with Taleggio cheese, smoked bacon and a sweet-tasting jalapeno-pineapple compote. I don't know if it will crack the top five, but it will be close. I still have at least three more hamburgers to taste that have won "Best of LA" honors on other blogs. Then I have to begin the process of re-eating most of the finalists [...]

On Thursday I mentioned that 2010 is going to be a banner year for Swan Fungus. I even issued a vague and cliche edict: "I'm going to take this website to the next level." The plan is to open an online Museum of Evan, because as narcissistic as this endeavor is, it's not quite sickening yet. So a museum it is. The exhibits (pages) will be filled with artifiacts from my life. School papers. Girls' underwear. The keys to my first car. It will be all photographed and scanned. Descriptions will accompany the objects, like what you see at [...]

Well it's over, and because it's over I can't let go. 2009, I am reflecting on a year that has yet to end, my first complete year in the Bay Area. In truth, 2009 probably won't start to be cataloged by me until about 2017, which is such a futuristic thought I can hardly stand it. We're here to talk music however, so let's start and end with a standard top ten rundown: 1. Fever Ray – Fever Ray ( Rabid ) 2. Dolphins into the Future - …On Seafaring Island [...]

In an exclusive interview, John Twells discloses that 2010 will see Fennesz follow Svarte Greiner's lead in reworking On for Type - LMYE's label of the year after its astounding sequence of releases. It should also bring a new album from Sylvain Chauveau alone & the final release from Yellow Swans. Twells explains Type as [...]

For Jack Rose. 01. Jack Rose - Crossing The Great Waters 02. Cryin' Sam Collins - Lonesome Road 03. Spacemen 3 - Big City [Demo] 04. The Residents - The Ughs 05. Apse - In Gold 06. Chris Bell - Better Save Yourself 07. Jack Rose - Revolt 08. Zelienople - Aging 09. Tipe Tizwe 10. Wooden Shjips - I Believe It [...]

If you're ever looking for very precise textured music with a post rock touch then Radian will blow your mind live, I never saw a drummer that was such a detail sensitive machine in my life. They have their moments in songs where they don't do much but it feels like 2 tons are lifted off your shoulders, there minimalism is only more and more appreciated after just a few listens. One of my favorite new songs that Sam shared with me was this song by Zelienople , total Slowdive feel [...]
Work was not fun today. Not even "Subway Sunday" could brighten my mood. Oh well, it happens, I guess. I have a busy week ahead of me. I think. Right now I'm looking forward to my days off. I'm very tired. Of course, I have to take my car to be serviced early Wednesday morning, so I won't have an opportunity to sleep in on that day. Curses! Hey, how about a mix tape? RULES for uninitiated noobs : With roughly 100MB of webspace, I give birth to a weekly Mix Tape to be [...]
I forgot to blog yesterday. Too much happened. So I'm back-dating this entry to Sunday Night because...oh, if only my night had gone well enough for me to get this thing done. I keep repeating the words from that Partridge Family song "C'mon, Get Happy" but instead of the traditional lyrics I've been substituting my own version: Trav'lin' along there's a song that I'm singin' / "C'mon get depressed" That said, here's your mix tape. RULES for uninitiated noobs : With roughly 100MB of webspace, I give birth [...]
In case you've forgotten, today is the longest day of the year. That doesn't mean it just feels like the longest day of the year, but that it is the day with the most hours/minutes of sunlight. Plus, doesn't every single day feel like the longest day ever to you? Well, it does to me. Nicci and I dined at the Mission Cantina on Sunset late last night, and let me tell you - their menu is awesome. It's small, since the setting is more pub-like than restaurant-like, but the food was ridiculously good. I'll review it in [...]

Did you all remember to deprive yourselves of one hour of sleep this morning? I sure did! I had to be at work early and the entire day just kind of crept by like the slowest, most excruciating event since...uh...that presentation I had to give for English class my senior year of high school. Sure, on those rare occasions when I actually eat lunch (Sundays only), it usually revitalizes my spirits, but for some reason today it made me even more tired. Oh well. Two more days until my "weekend", and LOST . Too bad Top Chef [...]

For my final "Friday Top Ten" of the year, I always like to write about the news music that has found its way into my possession over the course of the previous 365 days. In 2005, I think I devoted a paragraph to each of my favorite 25 records. Last year, I wrote three-word reviews for my favorite 50 records. This year, I'm upping the stakes, with one all-encapsulating sentence for the best 100 new records. Strap your safety belts on, because this is going to be a very, very long music-related entry. The Top 100 [...]