| september
15th 2006 |
||
2:01pm
i got mentioned here is some scathing
review of some other band's record.
i'm not sure if i take it as a compliment or an insult!
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/21765/6ths_Hyacinths_and_Thistles
"6ths
Hyacinths and Thistles
[Merge]
Rating: 6.0
How do you follow up a critically acclaimed album? Well, that all depends.
If you're Thom Yorke, you shatter expectations by burning the rulebook and
creating something completely unique and groundbreaking. If you're Kevin Shields,
you become a fucking hermit. And, apparently, if you're Stephin Merritt, you
don't. Since the release of 1999's critic's darling, 69 Love Songs, Merritt
has revived two of his side projects-- the 6ths and Future Bible Heroes--
thus, providing him with the opportunity to release an abundance of material
without actually facing the dreaded follow-up to his three-disc box.
While Future Bible Heroes provided Merritt with a songwriting collaborator,
the 6ths consists of a motley crew of guest vocalists covering a batch of
all-new Merritt tunes. And, like 1995's Wasps' Nest, Hyacinths and Thistles
seems to be in keeping with Merritt's musical style du jour. Whereas Wasps'
Nest contained brilliant synth-pop gems much in keeping with The Charm of
the Highway Strip's better tracks, Hyacinths and Thistles contains more organic
material reminiscent of 69 Love Songs, along with the occasional synth-driven
throwback. But the biggest difference between the two 6ths records is obvious:
Wasps' Nest allowed some of indie rock's finest vocalists to lend their talents
to a grade-a batch of Merritt tunes; Hyacinths and Thistles pairs remarkably
average Merritt songs with largely substandard vocalists.
The record kicks off with "As You Turn to Go," a run-of-the-mill, baroque Merritt ballad, with fellow synth-pop purveyor Momus providing vocals. Aside from the addition of a British accent and a few added notes in the upper register, Momus and Merritt are virtually indistinguishable from one another. But like Puffy Combs attempting the resurrection of "Kashmir" with Jimmy Page on guitar, it's a long way off from the real thing.
But while "As You Turn to Go" is far from brilliant, the worst of Hyacinths and Thistles is about as much fun as a glass shard enema administered by a spastic mental patient. Melanie's rendition of "I've Got New York" is the sound of an alcoholic grandmother picking warts off her feet. As her voice twists and grates, you can't help but wonder what exactly Merritt was thinking when he asked for her "help" with his record. Why choose a 1970s flash-in-the-pan over Low's Mimi Parker, Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier or Movietone's Rachel Brook? Jesus, even Ana Voog would be better suited!
Bob Mould offers up another awkward moment on the ballad, "He Didn't," a song that fits Mould about as well as leopard-print spandex. Admittedly, his discomfort is somewhat endearing for a few brief moments, but it's not the kind of thing that makes for repeated listens. But the album's nadir comes with the album's mind-numbing closer, "Oahu," which ends with a synthesizer looping the same few bars for nearly 10 minutes.
But despite its glaring flaws (Gary Numan among them), Hyacinths and Thistles is still graced by the inherent decency of Stephin Merritt's songwriting. His witty take on life and love, while dampened by the lack of his trademark delivery, is still present. Besides, there are only so many side projects Merritt can toss off before the next true Magnetic Fields record is released. Maybe after one more Gothic Archies album, Merritt's fans will finally get what they deserve."
===
and i got a little mention about
my hats at http://www.whipit.net
i must get back to crocheting.
oh wow, just found this:
http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/Ana_voog
good grief, people sure do put a
heck of a lot of effort into hating me. it's insane.
whatever.
if that person wants drama, he's not going to get it.
it's so high school.
it's not even true about the stile project. i was on that portal for awhile.
found this which is nice. too bad they think my mannequins are creepy:
http://designerslibrary.typepad.com/designers_library/2006/05/ana_voog_craft.html
MY domain, voog.com...someone else has taken it on google and it's this:
Flirt 4 Free : Live Adult
ChatFlirt 4 Free live adult chat with beautiful web cam performers and models
from around the world.
www.voog.com/
if you go to voog.com there is nothing there because i own it.
but WTF?
who did that and how and why?
ok, i'm done googling myself.
i was just wondering why so many people were joining my yahoo mailing list
more than usual.
it's still a mystery.
i'm going to go take a bath and get outside.
i feel aggravated today.
but my horoscope says that today will be a trying day for me.
so there you have it.
also i have PMS.
at least i hope i do.
12:00pm
mouseovers:
yesterday i did dread maintainance
on jason's dreads.
i am getting a bit faster. and he is very pleased with the job.
i have about 9 more to do on his head or so, typing at the roots.
now i have to figure out how to get the dread extenders back in his head.
this is something jervais didn't teach me, or if she did, i forgot how to
do it. for reasons too hard to explain i won't go into detail on why this
is hard for me.
i'd have to draw you a diagram.
everytime i try to out one back in his hair, his hair is so slippery it slips
right off no matter how tight i tie the knot. even if i tie three or more
knots on it, it will slip right off.
so aggravating.
his hair is so slick and thick and slippery.
i could have finished the job that night because as i went along i got more
in the groove of it.
but he got too tired and had to sleep.
today M got up to work at 6:00am.
he had to work at 7:45pm
what a bummer. it was still dark out when the alarm went off.
i remember the feeling all too well of having to get up that early to go work
retail. rrrgh.
i asked him if he'd like me to make him some coffee but he said go back to
sleep.
but he gets off work today at 2:15pm.
i should really get to the bank today.
if i could just do that, put the robot in the thing room,
and get the fur off the red carpet in the bedroom, i will be happy.
maybe do some laundry...sheets, too.
my dreams were all very frustrating.
i was in some sort of school and i was given some ridiculous pregnancy test
that made NO sense whatsoever.
i got so angry at everyone for not explaining it to me.
it consisted of putting on this black paper thing like a diaper and then SOMEHOW
using great exertion, leaving every bodily fluid i could get out of me onto
it...but in a delicate way.
and i was like...i don't HAVE a ton of bodily fluid in which to leave on this
thing. what do you want me to do, poop on it, too?
and then sort of like divining tea leaves, you were supposed to know if you
were pregnant or not by the shapes the bodily fluids made on this.
but the paper was black, so how would you even see anything?
the whole thing was ridiculous and i threw up my hands in the air and said
no way. i'm not dealing with this idiotic thing.
it even came with some weird cardboard poster that you could then attach the
napkin, too, to remember it and frame it.
but it lokoed like something you would make in kindergarten.
it's was so dumb i wanted to scream.
then there was a class on jackals, for which i was missing because i was still
stuck on the damn pregnancy test.
and i was like, i could give a shit about jackals!
and then another class started and i think it involved math, but i had NO
DESIRE to learn it.
i just wanted to get the heck out of there.
the entire school was completely pointless and stupid to me.
argh, i'm just shaking that energy
out of me now.
ick ick ick ick.
then trying to make it home in the dark without getting killed. weird men
everywhere eyeing me and following me.
yuck yuck yuck.
i'm just going to get dressed and
get out there and get these errands done. listen to my ipod.
i'm listening to lali puna right now.
horoscopes from: