I've started blogging again, but in a new location at blog.nervousmusic.net . Update your bookmark and feed , if you wish. Read more about why I moved on the new site. Hope to see you there.
I've had an idea for a good mix in my head for a long time. I've been too unfocused lately to actually mix it, though. So I'm just offering up the unmixed version. You'll have to pretend that the tracks flow together seamlessly until I'm ready to labor over some mixing software. I hope you enjoy it just the same. Apnea Monofin Mix (1 hr 1 min; 103MB) Proem "I Don't Know How To Tell" Deru "Soulik" Joker "Do [...]
Here's a great way to start off a holiday long weekend. A few minutes after getting home from work, I spy a small bug a few feet away on the wall. It looks a bit like a tick, but its body seems a little long for a tick. In any case, I go in for a closer look just to be sure. I'm just a few inches away and I scare it. It starts to fly. So it's definitely not a tick. And it flies right into my mouth and I promptly swallow it. Happy Labor Day!
No, the beer wasn't vegetarian. But everything else was. We celebrated our 4 year anniversary last week at Armsby Abbey in Worcester. It has quickly become one of our favorite restaurants of all time. They consistently serve great, fresh, local food with an excellent rotating showcase of 20+ beers on tap. On August 26th, Armsby Abbey closed from 6pm to 10pm to host 65 people for a 5 course vegetarian meal. All ingredients were sourced from farms and other spots within 50 miles of the restaurant. Accompanying each course was a beer from the [...]
I'd like to think it's an auspicious sign of things to come, but I can't help but think that two hailstorms in two weeks is not a good thing. I witnessed a hailstorm while in central India in early May. And then just last weekend an even bigger hailstorm in central Massachusetts. What gives?
I just returned from a two week visit to India. It was my 6th time visiting the country, but my first time exploring anywhere outside of Chennai. This trip took me to Chennai, Delhi, Agra (the site of the Taj Mahal) and Bangalore. Quite a crazy trip, but very productive work-wise and it was very eye-opening to experience other parts of an amazing country. I've posted lots of photos from the weekend side-trip to Delhi and Agra. I also took a bunch of (shaky) videos with a Flip camera including this one [...]
Using a new service called Wordle , you can create a tag cloud of your website. Neat!
Apparently a mote is a small particle or speck, usually in reference to dust, but can also refer to an atom. I learned this word through a new Windows game called Osmos . In Osmos, you're a mote. And your objective is to absorb other motes to become the biggest mote on the block. I was drawn to this game for the same reasons that I was drawn to Electroplankton : simple yet mesmerizing gameplay along with its outstanding soundtrack and musical qualities. Three artists provide the musical backdrop to [...]
I have an addendum to my top picks for 2008. I can't believe I forgot about this one. Lindstrøm's Where You Go I Go Too was a fantastic little EP of 3 songs all clocking in at over 10 minutes each, with the title track almost pushing a half-hour. So maybe it's considered a full-length? Regardless, it's a great piece of work that I've heard referred to as a collection of epic ambient disco revisionism. Listen for yourself as the ball drops. Happy New Year! [...]
A few years have passed since I compiled a formal list of my year's favorites. My "Tracks of the Week" are long gone and my podcasts also died quietly. A year ago I didn't reflect back on 2007 to pick my favorites because I didn't feel like I discovered much new music then. This year is different. Particularly over the last six months, I found myself enjoying quite a few new releases. The majority of this list is electronic music, or at least influenced by electronic music. But I'd like to think that there's still variety [...]
Lately my listening habits have been focused solely on a genre of music called dub techno. I tend to get sucked into a certain style of music until I've run out of air. This happened about 5 years ago with a quirky brand of electronic music called tech-house or micro-house. And more recently I leapt back to the early 20th century to explore western swing. Unlike earlier instances where I can't pinpoint how I was suddenly swept up by a particular genre, this time I can say I know exactly when dub [...]
Has it really been over two months since I was last here? I guess things have been very busy for me lately. I just returned from a 10-day overseas work trip that took me to Luzern, Switzerland and Berlin. I arrived back in Boston to be greeted by the crisp, cool air that can only mean that autumn is upon us. I'm trying to shake my second cold of the season. This second one was probably mostly my fault from being out way past my bedtime last weekend at Maria am Ostbanhof . A fantastic [...]
I always thought EMusic would be a killer. But it turns out that Beatport will be the death of me. In unrelated news, I was driving through the center of my town today and noticed a sidewalk sign outside of the local greasy spoon. It was advertising "Cape Cod Pancaks." What do you suppose those are all about? What's a pancak? Does it come with lobster?
Ever play that game? Trying to decide what era and what location you'd want to live in if you had your choice? Lately, I think New York in 1977 would be pretty incredible. Sure, a lot of people consider that to be one of New York's most dangerous and chaotic times. But you can't beat the music. I recommend catching NY77 when it's on TV. It inspired me to toss together this mixtape: WhenNewYorkWasNewYork .
I've been searching for the best book for my upcoming vacation. I have a lot of unread books to choose from. They've been sitting dormant on my bookshelves for months (some of them have been hanging around for years). But a new book popped into my possession today that will trump all others: Ballad of the Whiskey Robber written by Julian Rubinstein. Chris recommended it to me as we perused the Borders bargain bin, and he treated me to the book - thanks Chris! [...]
Last weekend was a blast. The weather was perfect and reminded me of the first days of warm weather in college, and short term ! From the right field rooftop seats, we watched the Red Sox come from behind to beat the Rangers on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time I scored an entire game since I was a Cub Scout watching the Paw Sox. Plus we enjoyed a great new recipe: Jamaican Curried Tempeh Tacos The yellow curry filling, mustard greens (although we used baby spinach), and [...]
A fun new web app just emerged that lets you create your own mp3 mixtapes. Muxtape is genius in its simplicity. Although I wonder how long this little service will be able to stick around. My mix is a showcase of my favorite dubstep ditties: nervousmusic.muxtape.com . It's heavy on the Burial tracks, but he's my favorite. Be sure to crank your bass for these gems.
Out of pure coincidence while cleaning out the kitchen cabinet tonight, I discovered that my final box of Candy Cane Joe-Joes expires today. Well, I guess I have some serious eating to do in the next three hours.
A year has flown by since I last dropped a "five things" list here. So it's time for another list. And considering I've been consistently uncovering new music each month with my eMusic subscription, it seems fit to dedicate this go-round to music exclusively. These albums have been part of my soundtrack this winter. All tracks are available at eMusic, except for the first one which you'd need to grab from iTunes Plus which is their DRM-free wing of their music store. Enjoy! The Field [...]
Nervous Music
The Shins: “September” (b-side of “Simple Song” 7”)
St. Vincent - 'Cheerleader'
Jay-Z & Kanye West - Ni**as In Paris (Explicit)
OK Go - Needing/Getting - Official Video
M.I.A. - Bad Girls (Official Video)
Miike Snow – Paddling Out (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
