Dark was the night

Album compilation.

Be stern.

Review: http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/various/darkwasthenight?q=dark%20was%20the%20night

Torrent:
http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4734681/Dark_Was_The_Night_-_Various(split_tracks___covers).4734681.TPB.torrent

Song of the day: Andrew Bird - Measuring Cups - and part of the story why this site was named for brothers Grimm and Gorey.

Song: http://www.protectiveheat.com/music/Andrew_Bird_measuring_cups.mp3

Lyrics: http://www.lyricsforall.com/display/lyric/2130919561/2147414516/Andrew+Bird/Measuring+Cups/

Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oor9vc-UfGY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuKtKxdX0p4
(didn't realize he was so sickly skinny!)


Not necessarily my favourite song on the album, as it's so good, but yeah, obviously up there...


--------------------------------

Over-analysis here!: Section 1

"
get out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game
come to the front of the class and we'll measure your brain
we'll give you a complex, and we'll give it a name

get out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game
can't have the cream when the crop and the cream are the same
liquid or gas no more than the glass will contain
"

Watching a Dutch interview with him (which I'll post here as soon as I figure out how to rip the streaming video - I'll post instructions for that as well... ) in which he describes a hierarchy and constant "labeling" while at school and away... an institutionalizing. Quantifying aptitudes in society within distinct parameters... a rationalization, characterization, numeration (?) of what people see before them.




"
when you talk about the hand of glory
a tale that's rather grim and gory
is it just another children's story that's been de-clawed?
when the tales of brothers Grimm and Gorey have been outlawed
"

Hand of Glory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_of_Glory Very brothers Grimm and Gorey-esque...



The Grimm and Gorey is further detailed in the following section...



"
I think they're gonna make you start over
You don't want to start over
Put your backpack on your shoulder
Be the good little soldier
Take your places now
'Cause we're all predisposed
"

Literal sense, starting over a grade. No one wants to start over. I'm reminded of a saying my friend often uses... "Step up". Sometimes you have to put your backpack on your shoulder and march on. Now, I think he most likely means this in the opposite sense, again attacking convention... being soldier like, listening and following orders, status quo measuring cups.

"
Put your backpack on your shoulder
Be the good little soldier
It's no different when your older
You're predisposed
That's all for questions now
The case is closed!
"

--------------------

I was discussing with someone recently that the world is bound by rationality, even at the sake of feeling. This is how you're supposed to do this, this is how you get over that, shutdown, 'de-clawed', 'outlawed', 'case is closed!', etc... A strategy for being able to organize, and theoretically to try to feel better with organized thoughts...

Why not just feel; what's wrong with that? Discuss, talk, listen to feelings, I think, and that will bring on other feelings, and ultimately, when feelings are involved it's not a rational decision most of the time, so why approach it like that?! Lists of positives and negatives.. hate them. Ultimately, some pros or cons have higher weighting than others, so then what? A weighted matrix? How does one stay objective giving something a higher weighting? Ultimately, it comes down to feeling(s)! One can't categorize everything.



--------------------


Now, brothers Grimm and Gorey: Section 2




Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Grimm
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm.html
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimmtales.html
http://myweb.dal.ca/barkerb/fairies/grimm/

http://www.edwardgoreyhouse.org/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/421397/edward_gorey_a_biography_of_the_late.html?cat=38

The Gashlycrumb Tinies: http://www.lesko.net/gorey/gashlycrumb.html



Grimm's Law: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm%27s_law
"Grimm's law was the first non-trivial systematic sound change to be discovered in linguistics; its formulation was a turning point in the development of linguistics, enabling the introduction of a rigorous methodology to historical linguistic research."

- which I think is appropriate given how Andrew Bird writes his albums.




Further interest in Grimm and Gorey? I now have an answer to when a loved one will roll on their side, try to fall asleep or just take a nap, and ask me to tell them a bedtime story - a theme for me to this blog.

K'naan last night at the Mod Club review

http://blogto.com/music/2009/02/knaan_takes_us_to_a_new_realm/

Coen brothers make "clean coal" ad!

How to download: torrents!

Wanna download? Don't know how? Here's a quick tutorial for any version of Windows.

1. Go here and download this: http://utorrent.com/download_complete.php?os=win

Windows will ask you if you want to save the file. Click 'yes' and save the file to your desktop.

2. Double-click the file you just downloaded (utorrent.exe). The program will install on your computer. It's safe... just follow the default settings.

Once installed, you may not actually see the program, but it's on your task bar near the clock on the right, showing up as a green "U".

3. Now you're ready to actually download shit. Go to this site:

www.piratebay.org There are other download sites that I use occasionally (www.isohunt.com, www.mininova.com) when I can't find something on the piratebay, but for now let's stick with that.

Once at the download site, search for what you want. Let's look for 'Neutral Milk Hotel'. No quotes needed.

Something like this will pop up:


(click on image above to make bigger)

So, as you see there is a lot of shit here... Along the top bar near the right side of the page, you'll see "SE" and "LE". What this stands for is "SEEDS" and "LEECHERS". Seeds are the number of people sharing the file that have the entire file, while leechers are people still sharing the file, but also still downloading parts that they are missing at the same time.

Take the mouse and click on the "SE". What this does is sort the list from lowest to highest number of seeds. Basically, the more seeds and leechers present for a file, the faster it will download. If there are no seeds, you will not be able to download this file... no one is sharing currently.

ok, so you clicked on "SE".. this is about what you should see...



So now the list is organized from most shared files to least shared files. So, our desired file is the top one here... Click on the double green arrow, as indicated below.



Now, if everything goes right, you'll see a dialog box pop up, as below.



Click on "OK" to open the file up with utorrent. (Aside: if downloading other files from my site here, the dialog box will open up immediately after clicking on a torrent link... just follow from here.. )

ok, so you've click "OK", and the utorrent program should open up. It will ask you if you want to download the program. Be sure to check exactly where the file(s) are being downloaded; the default is "My Documents".

Once you've said okay to the download, it will start downloading. You can watch the progress bar..


...once it's at 100%, you have the file(s).

Once it is at 100%, you can play the file(s) from "My Documents". Also, remember to remove the torrent from the utorrent program. Go to the program, right click on the file that is at 100%, and select "Remove". And confirm. This will not delete the files you have downloaded, just stop you from sharing them. If you want to continue to share for a while after downloading, by all means do!

If all this doesn't make sense to you, look you "How to download a torrent" in google, and find something like this: http://www.wikihow.com/Download-Torrents

That's it!

Why Cohen tours...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/arts/music/25cohe.html?_r=1

Chinese Bluegrass!

Speaking of which, anyone up for Dakota brunch this weekend?

Song of the day: Sarah Jaffe - Even Born Again

Listen to it here: http://nightlifeblog.quickdfw.com/archives/2008/05/hot-and-fresh-even-born-again.html

or on her myspace page. (Better quality)

Press

NPR:

Jaffe conflates the personal and the spiritual throughout "Even Born Again," singing, "And I would gladly die for you / selfishly but willingly." It's a powerful statement of devotion, but it's also a clever bit of self-analysis: She understands that memory, like salvation through death, often works only to serve oneself. One of the two parties involved has gone missing for all future events, so in essence the relationship has achieved the permanence that eluded it in life.

She's what, 22 years old? Good song. Love the 'chorus' chord progression. Yes, Sarah Harmer vocal sounds but with a clearer, clouded edge, if that makes sense.

Ribfest 2008

The ugly, the bad, and the good.

So, get home in the evening last night and guess what, another black out in Parkdale. I really love this area... makes you feel. I was turning up my street and it was obvious, all lights were out.

Was supposed to watch and record the Jane Jacobs special on TVO finally... was all set up, except again plans change, maybe a sign, of, well, changed plans.

On the good side, finally, purchased the cart before the horse, once again. Got a lens for my eventual camera!! Got it used off RFD in mint condition. Now looking for that D90. So far, I'm ecstatic about this!:




...with another 3 years left on the warranty! Perhaps the only lens I'll need before moving up to full frame in a few years...

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm

Song of the Day: John Prine - Crazy as a loon

Dakota tavern cover song. Can't find the original music yet btu working on it, so check back.

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Prine

Lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/crazy-as-a-loon-lyrics-john-prine.html

Covers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cMoCMQTF2A (Conor Oberst)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=257vcju03vs&feature=related

Official website: http://www.johnprine.net/


Chord pro:

{t:Crazy as a Loon }
{st:(John Prine/Pat McLaughin)}
#
{ci:Intro:}
#
[A] [D] [A]
[E] [A]
[D] [A] [E] [A]

Back before I was a [D]movie star
Straight off of the [A]farm
I had a picture of [E]another man's wife
Tattooed on my [A]arm
With a pack of Camel [D]cigarettes
In the sleeve of my tee [A]shirt
I headin' out to [E]Hollywood
Just to have my feelings [A]hurt

[A]That town will make you [D]crazy
Just give it a little [A]time
You'll be walking 'round in [E]circles
Down at Hollywood and [A]Vine
You'll be waitin' on a [D]phone call
At the wrong end of a [A]broom
Yes, that town'll make you [E]crazy
Crazy as a [A]loon

[A]So, I headed down to [D]Nashville
To become a country [A]star
Every night you'd find me [E]hangin'
At every honky-tonk and [A]bar
Pretty soon I met a [D]woman
Pretty soon she done me [A]wrong
Pretty soon my life got [E]sadder
Than any country [A]song

[A]That town will make you [D]crazy
Just give it a little [A]time
You'll be walking 'round in [E]circles
Lookin' for that country [A]rhyme
You'll be waitin' on a [D]phone call
At the wrong end of a [A]broom
Yeah, that town'll make you [E]crazy
Crazy as a [A]loon

{ci:Instrumental:}
#
[A] [D] [A] [E] [A]
[A] [D] [A] [E] [A]

[A]So, I gathered up my [D]savvy
Bought myself a business [A]suit
I headed up to New York [E]City
Where a man can make some [A]loot
I got hired Monday [D]morning
Downsized that [A]afternoon
Overcome with grief that [E]evening
Now I'm crazy as a [A]loon

[A]So I'm up here in the [D]north woods
Just staring at a [A]lake
Wondering just exactly how [E]much
They think a man can [A]take
I eat fish to pass the [D]time away
'Neath this blue Canadian [A]moon
This old world has made me [E]crazy
Crazy as a [A]loon
Lord, this world will make you [E]crazy
Crazy as a [A]loon

{ci:Ending:}
#
[A] [D] [A] [E] [A]
[D] [A] [E]
[A] [D] [A]