Top 10 Albums of 2009

St. Vincent - Actor

White Denim - Fits

woods - songs of shame

andrew bird - noble beast

animal collective - merriweather post pavilion

Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t

grizzly bear - Veckatimest

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

The Dodos - Time to Die

This blog is sleeeeepy...

...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

things I usually try to only have once a day

Two things that I really love are coffee and ice cream (reason that I got excited about this previously). And to avoid becoming an addict, I limit myself to one a day if I have them. this weekend I have failed though.

Yesterday, a reeses shake from Mr. Frosty and cake batter with reeses and brownie from coldstone.

And this morning I couldn't resist walking past peet's without going in for a latte. and now I'm sitting at caffe calabria with an iced coffee.

you only live once right!

Creative Dilemma

I suppose I've had these feelings for some time now and I almost feel ridiculous for blogging about them.

The thing is I enjoy a lot music and some literature but it is an entirely one-way exchange. I have been listening to this a lot lately:

Bitte Orca - Dirty Projectors

and please you listen to it too! and then I saw them last thursday and it was extremely amazing.

I want and need to create something myself but I just don't. I'm not a talented musician and I just have a hard time putting myself out there in terms of writing and singing. And sometimes I don't even want to try because of how great the things I listen to are. Like there's not even any point.

I'm pretty sure this thinking is flawed though. Regardless, it is an amazing release to write and make music.

Is creativity something that can be learned? or do we have it and its just a matter of bringing it to the surface? I'm not even really sure what I'm saying or trying to say.

Hello July!

Well it appears june has been a rough month for this blog.

Now I am back. Holly called me out and it bothers me when blogs die anyways.

currently I'm on the radio at ksdt which is now mondays from 7-8 if you wish to tune in. at the moment I have 0 listeners. ouch. well actually I have 1 if I count myself...

anyways, I'm still doing the working thing. coming up on my 3 month anniversary actually. I guess that's not that big of a milestone but its hard when you're not used to it!

besides that (sorry to bore you with updates) I'm training for a half-marathon (semi-random for me but its keeping me exercising which I think is good).

I'm listening to Dinosaur Jr. a lot. They are amazing.

I'm reading Franny and Zooey again which I love.

I watched Away We Go at the movies the other day and enjoyed it.

I am moving in two months. Don't know of the details at this point but moving is generally relatively exciting. I just remembered it sucks too though. shoot!

Well, now that you're relatively up to date stay tuned and I will attempt to stay on top of this. also, add me on twitter if you're into that sort of thing.

Bye now!

surviving without an iphone

To be honest, I wouldn't mind having an iPhone. But I have vowed to myself to stay on the mitchell family share plan with verizon until I'm cut off. People are starting to think its inconvenient to not have an iPhone. And while it can be, 466453, has made it easier on me. This number is GOOGLE.

My favorite thing to text google for is directions. all you have to text is start address, the word "to", and destination address. And google will text you back step by step directions in about 2 seconds.

And there are many other things you can text. Here is the full list of features.

I'm sure iPhone people will turn their nose up to this post.

tidbits

Work
The two most common questions I get about work are:
do you work 40 hour weeks?
do you like it?
and the answers to these are:
- more.
- I don't love it, I don't hate it.
Summary: post-college life has been an adjustment. Its hard but I think this is the best thing for me to do at this point right now in my life.

Music/Travel
I wish I could have attended Primavera Sound Festival. It is on my list with:
- Sasquatch!
- sxsw
- ATP New York
- Glastonbury

Chris and I have been talking about a trip to Morocco/Spain and I really want to go. and, in the book I'm reading right now, they are in Morocco currently. It wouldn't happen anytime really soon but I wish it would.

Twitter
It already is big but I think it has the potential to be huge. For a variety of reasons in a variety of ways. I semi-jokingly said bigger than google the other day. Very interesting to me.

Looking forward to...
Graduation weekend 6/13
Graduation party at my parents house 6/20
Chicago/P4k Festival 7/18

Weird/Funny music videos

I do not blog very regularly as of late

and the reason is:

1) work. I just don't think I should blog at work. sure, I take breaks, but I would just feel guilty blogging at work. 

2) after working on the computer the whole day, I usually don't feel like jumping on the computer when I get home. I would rather relax, read a book, hang out with friends, leave the house, etc. 

3) I do not have internet at the house so blogging requires going somewhere with the internet. this never used to be an issue as I was always on campus. 

but I will still probably blog on the weekends. or there is twitter which I don't feel bad doing at work since it is pretty quick. 

happy memorial day. 

part two

I was trying to read but my mind is elsewhere. so I will try to do this instead. On a side note this new St. Vincent album is very pleasant. Anyways, I guess this part is more related to twitter and my roommate. And it is related to a lecture from this lit class I was in last quarter. We are the ipod generation. We were the first ones to really "grow up" with the internet and all this technology that we can't live without now at our disposal. Cell phones, ipods, iphones. Myspace, facebook, twitter.

While most of our generation have embraced these things there are still those who refuse and for good reason. I'm not sure exactly where I stand. I mean its hard, being a computer science major, to even try to say that I don't like all the technology (or hard to make you believe that I don't). This is just my experience. The point of cell phones and social networking sites is to better connect people. And I can see how it does. As I said in part one, staying in touch is hard. And I'm sure before cell phones (or phones for that matter) it was harder. Pretty much you had to go to the person or send them a letter. But was this more meaningful than updating my twitter status or sending someone a text message? Probably yes but you can't do this as often.

We communicate very often throughout the day in many different ways, both direct and indirect. Text messages, gchat, blogging, twitter, facebook, e-mail (almost archaic at this point), etc. And while its great to have all these, they sacrifice genuine, in person, real communication.

Basically I am caught in between. and it may even seem like i am stretching the truth to say "in between." All of these things that sacrifice in person communication, I do them regularly. but at the end of the day, no matter how much I've blogged, gchatted, texted, I feel alone. and it can be so one way. friends of mine are staying updated on me and know everything that is going on with me but I haven't a clue about them. I guess I just do these things in hope that everyone else will. maybe it is just a matter of time. until everyone really catches up and then the new communication will become meaningful.

thats why twitter spawned this and why part 2 relates to part 1. I wanted to resist twitter because i figured it would still leave me disconnected but now I have it. and i want to communicate people when I'm not around them but maybe its better to focus on the now and those that are around you.

I suppose it comes down to being realistic and making an effort. I can't expect to communicate on the internet and be fulfilled. And if I focus too much on updating all my profiles and then feel alone at the end of the day its my fault. I just worry about everyone falling into this because its become so easy. and then not recognizing what's going on.

part one

this blog spawned from twitter, my roommate's internet inability, and something that ian said. I was going to write the whole thing in one blog but then I decided to break it up into two parts. i'm not even completely sure what I'm trying to say so hopefully we can figure that out together!

i think that we live to connect with each other. to understand each other so fully that words do not even need to be exchanged to know what/why/how our friend is thinking or feeling. I have this with a small handful of people and I think this is the case for most. to even have it with just one person.

different seasons of life have put me and those that I connect with in different places at different times. i have gone through periods where i have diligently tried to stay in touch with these people and I have gone through times where I haven't tried at all.

i'm trying to figure out where I really stand on this. lately i've been feeling like this situation could be comparable to living in the past/present. maybe its more important to be completely engaged with the people who are currently IN your life. i mean why attempt to connect with people hundreds of miles away when you are not even spending time attempting to connect with your roommates. there are a lot of people that I interact with often, yet, i know they know nothing about me and I nothing about them. and I doubt that this will change with these people.

so maybe the other side of the argument is to cling to those that you know you connect with and not let anything get in the way. i'm sure it depends on the kind of relationship you have. staying in touch can be awkward or easy and i don't think this directly correlates with how deeply you connect.

there are times when I feel terribly disconnected/alone and times where I feel truly connected. i guess i'm trying to figure out why.

work work work

I got a text the other day that read, "Did you get laid off?" so I figured I should update the loyal readers since I previously posted this.


I've been working for about a week and a half. Its weird to be in the working life but I like my job. The company is really small and I to get work on/learn new things. Also it is very close to my house. Call me and I will tell you all about it!

My Coachella 2009

Coachella was great this past weekend. Really one of my favorite festivals. Chris and I handled Friday and then were pleasantly joined by Nate/Pavs, Brad/Krista/Friend, and we managed to meet up with Holly/Henderson on Saturday.

Here are the bands I saw:

FRIDAY
Steve Aoki
Los Campesinos!
M. Ward
Black Keys
Crystal Castles
Morrisey
Paul McCartney

SATURDAY
Liars
Blitzen Trapper
Dr. Dog
Superchunk
TV on the Radio/Calexico
Fleet Foxes
Band of Horses/Junior Boys/MIA
Gang Gang Dance

and here are the bands that I missed:
Leonard Cohen
Beirut
Girl Talk
Tinariwen
MSTRKRFT

And I thought this was kinda funny. I am in this picture taken by Skye Skjelset of Fleet Foxes:



My friend Brad is easy to spot and I'm right to the left of him. Look at the big guy in the front left looking down and go straight back about 5 or 6 heads. this is brad with the dark gray hat on. Pavitra stands next to him on the right and I'm on the left. haha thought you might want to know.

Also, notice how beautiful Coachella is. You think its just some festival in the desert but it is seriously really pretty!

TuneTown: Coachella

Coachella set times are finally up!!!

ticketmaster and stubhub SUCK

I am very excited that I'm going to Coachella again this year! I need to buy tickets and I'm trying to buy them before instead of getting scalped there.

I know that I already hate ticketmaster and their arm and a leg "convenience fees." So I figured I'd go to stubhub instead. ticketmaster tickets cost $269 + bs service fees that make the ticket end up costing $303.20 for a print out ticket. which is crap.

what i have found out today is that stubhub is no better. cheapest ticket $271 so I'm thinking cool, I'll save over 30 bucks. not. even they tack on the service fees!!!!! And I already know they are taking a chunk out of the seller's profit as well. total: $308.

Stubhub, you suck. What is your business? You are worse than ticketmaster. taking advantage of the seller and buyer. I will never do business with you again. seriously I hate this. why are there so many businesses based around a middle man gouging you with service fees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will look elsewhere thank you very much.

does this annoy you too?

A while ago I stopped checking my facebook messages inbox. because I mean the majority of my messages in there are from events/groups that I never agreed to attend/join. When people see this they usually get annoyed:




How cool am I?

I figure I get the e-mails anyways so I can just deal with the messages that way. Anyways, today I happened to be in the inbox and saw two messages (from real people) that I hadn't been e-mailed about. Good thing I saw them. Otherwise they could have been lost in cyberspace and those real people (holly and kelly) would have thought of me as rude. So if in the past this has happened but I didn't happen to see the message in my inbox randomly, I am offering my apologies now.

Please don't hate me!

NEW COFFEE DRINK!

I love drinking coffee and today I learned about and had an espresso drink that I hadn't had before. Its really good to me because it combines two of my favorite things.

Affogato - espresso over ice cream


















mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

new music blog: mikestunetown.blogspot.com

yeah so I decided to start a new music blog!

Check it out HERE!

The content will be similar to the music content I post on this blog as well as: full albums that i like (embedded w/ Lala), KSDT stuff, concerts, etc.

HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

it's funny how quickly my answer to question changed 

from: I'm actually working for this cool internet start-up that does online video like Youtube

to: I had a job working for this cool internet start-up but I got laid off last wednesday (with half of the company's workforce) so now I'm looking for a job...  

KSDT radio show time change

My radio show time is unfortunately not wednesdays from 4-6 anymore.

The new time is Tuesday nights from 7-8pm.

Go here to listen.

(And seriously, if you read this and have never listened to it, you are ridiculous. LISTEN TO IT!)

poser

It is day one of the spring quarter that I am not participating in. and I find myself on campus anyways!

I passed my classes last quarter so my college career is officially over. sigh. I was ready for the school part of school to be over a few weeks after I started but I'm not really ready for the fun parts of college to be over.

So for the next 10 weeks I'm going to work part time, relax, and pose as a college student.

I mean what else would I do????

Asher Roth - New Music - More Music Videos

there is one thing left.

So turns out I am a big to do list person. This quarter I've had a running to do list on my computer that started on 1/9. The topics range across a wide spectrum but mostly school/career related. And there's always been more than I could do on the list. sometimes i just wouldn't even look at it because of this.

But now I'm starting to find the opposite.
I got a job a few weeks ago, check.
I'm taking my last final tomorrow. college, check.
And it's nice but weird. I guess I sort of enjoyed always having something on the list.
It's weird. but i'm excited!

computer science trash talking

WARNING: This post is extremely nerdy and may only be understood by Jimmy. As a matter of fact, I will dedicate it to jimmy. However, I will still attempt to explain it to the general reader base.

Below are screen shots of the CSE 131 (compilers) webboard. Basically, there is a a folder for students to post test cases for the code. The author of this topic (Paul) was able to add the title "king of all he surveys" to his name and then add "lowly peasant" to everyone who responded.

Computer science trash talking:
- "can you pass this?"
- "yeah, baby"
- "Try this one on for size"

leaked albums rant

Albums are being leaked like no one's business these days.

For example, last year's Deerhunter release (one of my favorites of 2008) leaked months before a release date was even announced. Frustrated, Bradford Cox and Co. decided to record a bonus disk which was basically another full album.

Animal Collective leaked months in advance as well as a handful of others.

I guess its not a huge deal to listen to a leaked album if you're going to download it anyways but it's been bothering me. I want to listen to the album when it's intended to be listened to when everyone else is listening to it so we can enjoy it at the same time.

I have been waiting for the new grizzly bear since I saw this.


and I was bummed on the leak in early march (a little less than 3 months before the May 26 release date) as was Grizzly Bear: blog. I mean it is kinda lame, a band puts in a year and a half on an album that they truly want people to enjoy and then those people rip a low quality version. I'm not saying that I haven't been guilty of this before or trying to make people feel bad but this is why I'm still going to TRY and wait. Maybe its dumb though. Why does it have to wait until May 26 if its done now??!?!

And then I listened to the new Royksopp earlier since they are streaming it on myspace (it is great!). i didn't feel bad because they want people to hear it. Grizzly Bear, let me stream it pleeeeeaaaaassssee............

i had to

this is too funny.

sales tax for here

Good morning everyone!

today at perks I was charged for sales tax. apparently they should've been taxing "for here" for a while. I was thinking about it and it seems like the whole sales tax for here thing is the opposite of green.

turns out perks and I think alike on this matter because with the new sales tax they are doing a special where all for here drinks are 25 cents off. Long story short, (2 - .25)*1.08 = 1.89 so I managed to save 11 cents on my normally $2 espresso. and I'm happy with this.

feeling adventurous

school has been doing a good job of keeping me unadventurous but being so close to done, I have been spending my procrastination time thinking about some trips (as you may have guessed with the previous portland post). these are my ideas:

- Portland
- Seattle (Memorial Day weekend)
- Spain
- Yosemite

- oh and I almost forgot: COACHELLA

this is really weird.

I am going into my last week of college classes.

yes

this sounds like a really good idea to me right now.

tickets

I bought 2 tickets for M83 at the Belly Up on May 28 and I am pretty psyched. I saw them in San Francisco last November and it was life-changing.

Also, I'm not sure who the other ticket is for so let me know if you want to go.

a funny joke

I was just reminded of a funny joke and now I'm going to blog.

SETTING: a hip Seattle coffee shop when Chris and I were visiting Liz last year.

THE JOKE: "So this isn't really the kind of place that you would bring a PC." -Chris

disneyland

Thursday is my 22nd birthday and I'm going to Disneyland to take advantage of the free admission on your birthday deal. Its kind of a random day and most people have school commitments and what not but if you are free or don't care about blowing off those school commitments... Anyways, I'm trying to get there around 3 and its open till 8. It will be the happiest time on earth.

mac whore

so I have always been kind of sucker for the latest technology and especially apple products. I mean it's not my fault every time I get a new computer/ipod/whatever they come out with a bigger and better version a few weeks later. I got my third laptop since I've been at college last september and was able to validate it to myself because of all the student savings I was able to take advantage of. However, a couple months later they came out with the new redesigned macbooks. I almost tried to upgrade for Christmas but I held back. 

Now the ucsd bookstore if having a sale on macbooks where I could get the one I want for $270 off. When I realized this a few days ago the wheels started turning and I started looking at how much I could sell my current laptop for to determine the cost of the upgrade. dannnnngggget. I should stop doing this. but this will be the last time.... 

on repeat

I'm obsessed with this song. (The word "obsessed" is overused in my opinion but I couldn't resist.)

Ancient Crux - In Teen Dreams

(right-click download file for the mp3)

Its very retro from the sha-la-la to the instrumentation to the vocals. Listen to it now.

I have the coolest dad.

those of you who know him know my dad is COOL. And there is not a note of sarcasm in my voice. This is what his facebook profile looks like right now:

I love you pops.

The Graduate

I had never seen this movie before when my lit professor showed us a clip in class the other day. i hadn't taken any notes yet that day but I proceeded to write down the title in my notebook. it seemed like a movie that I should watch. 

I watched it on valentine's day and before it was over I told my friends that it is my favorite movie. while I was kind of joking I was kind of serious. It seems like you have to see a movie several times to be able to call it your quote unquote favorite. 

Anyways, I loved it.

thank you allen iverson

(Disclaimer: this will most likely only be funny to those who have seen this video before.)

 

I've used this joke twice and gotten some good laughs so I have decided to make it public. Quoting Allen Iverson from the above clip: "PRACTICE??? We aint even talkin about the GAME, we talkin about Practice."

The first time I used it with Chris when we were at a UCSD tennis match and he wanted to stay but had class to get to. turns out this "class" was merely a section. With this knowledge I proceeded with Iverson's words but altered to fit the situation.

"SECTION??? We aint even talkin about the lecture, we talkin about section."

hopefully my blog is funnier now. or hopefully someone reading this will awkwardly chuckle when they're sitting at a coffee shop reading this. and if you don't I will use the excuse that it's funnier with my in person delivery. I think I have killed this joke now. crap.   

content

1. My program that Jimmy and I have been working on every day for the past 5 weeks is finished. and the TA said he would run it and tell us only what score we would get and it was a 90%. yes.

2. walking out of the lab after #1 a lady asked us if we wanted some free cake. and I said yes. i love free cake. 

3. I am going to take a nap. 

4. It's friday. 

Dark Was the Night

I feel like I am hearing a great new song off this cd every day. Today it was "Service Bell" by Feist and Grizzly Bear. The tracklist is as follows:

1. Knotty Pine by David Byrne & Dirty Projectors [January 15, 2009]
2. Cello Song [January 16]
3. Train Song by Feist & Ben Gibbard [January 17]
4. Brackett, WI by Bon Iver [January 18]
5. Deep Blue Sea by Grizzly Bear [January 19]
6. So Far Around the Bend by The National (arrangement by Nico Muhly) [January 20]
7. Tightrope by Yeasayer [January 21]
8. Feeling Good by My Brightest Diamond [January 22]
9. Dark Was the Night by Kronos Quartet [January 23]
10. I Was Young When I Left Home by Antony + Bryce Dessner [January 24]
11. Big Red Machine by Justin Vernon + Aaron Dessner [January 25]
12. Sleepless by The Decemberists [January 26]
13. Stolen Houses (Die) by Iron and Wine [January 27]
14. Service Bell by Grizzly Bear + Feist [January 28]
15. You Are the Blood by Sufjan Stevens [January 29]
16. Well-Alright by Spoon [January 30]
17. Lenin by Arcade Fire [January 31]
18. Mimizan by Beirut [February 1]
19. El Caporal by My Morning Jacket [February 2]
20. Inspiration Information by Sharon Jones [February 3]
21. With A Girl Like You by Dave Sitek [February 4]
22. Blood Pt. 2 by Buck 65 Remix (Featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti) [February 5]
23. Hey, Snow White by The New Pornographers [February 6]
24. Gentle Hour by Yo La Tengo [February 7]
25. Another Saturday by Stuart Murdoch [February 8]
26. Happiness by Riceboy Sleeps [February 9]
27. Amazing Grace by Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues [February 10]
28. The Giant of Illinois by Andrew Bird [February 11]
29. Lua by Conor Oberst + Gillian Welch [February 12]
30. When the Road Runs Out by Blonde Redhead + Devastations [February 13]
31. Love vs. Porn by Kevin Drew [February 14]

Here's a little blurb from the website: 

Dark Was The Night will be released on February 17th, 2009. Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National produced the album, and John Carlin, the founder of the Red Hot Organization was the executive producer. A total of 32 exclusive tracks have been recorded for the compilation. It will be available as a double cd/triple vinyl/download and will benefit the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. Red Hot was founded on the premise that even without a cure, AIDS remains a preventable disease – and music is a great vehicle to raise money and awareness for it. This is the 20th year of Red Hot, and this is the 20th release!

It's cool to see great bands coming together for a good cause.

looking inward

(My blog looks more like a music blog right now and I had another music-related post in mind so to justify it I'm going to write this first.) 

This has been kind of an ongoing talk between my roommate and I. I've noticed that over the past few years I have begun to look inward more and more. Compared to when I was in high school I feel like I rarely did this. 

Is it weak to look inward? Is it weak to be unsure of oneself? Or is it completely the opposite? These are the sort of questions we have been throwing around. 

We've been noticing how people almost distinctly fall into categories based on this subject. 

I'm not firm in my stance but I'm leaning towards it being more healthy to look inward often and ask yourself why you do things. But maybe this leaning is simply to justify my own behavior. 

I read Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise over winter break and really enjoyed it. It is up there with my favorite books without a doubt. The main character looks inward frequently and despite being a wreck at times concludes with this at the novel's end:

There was no God in his heart, he knew; his ideas were still in riot; there was ever the pain of memory; the regret for his lost youthyet the waters of disillusion had left a deposit on his soul, responsibility and a love of life, the faint stirring of old ambitions and unrealized dreams. Butoh, Rosalind! Rosalind!...
"It's all a poor substitute at best," he said sadly. And he could not tell why the struggle was worth while, why he had determined to use to the utmost himself and his heritage from the personalities he had passed.... He stretched out his arms to the crystalline, radiant sky. "I know myself," he cried, "but that is all."

this could be the truth. 

O B A M A

one more. A remix of a daft punk song with lyrics that spell out our new president's last name. Ridiculous but great.

Daft Punk vs. Adam Freeland - "Aer OBAMA" from Gold Greendot on Vimeo.

bon iver interview

I'm going to post about music again. I really like the band bon iver, as you may have already known. I have been enjoying the new ep that came out a few days ago but its not enough, I need a full album. Anyways, this interview is pretty funny and has a really nice feist cover (the park). you should check it out. Oh yeah and one thing I found really interesting was how Justin Vernon discussed his songwriting process. Rather than sitting down and writing lyrics first he came up with the vocal lines and sounds and then matched lyrics to this content. 

the interview/performance

Good music in the new year

February is not even upon us and 2009 has already seen 2 amazing

albums. 

Animal Collective (i'm listening to a stream of one of their nyc shows right now) 

Andrew Bird (I listened to the cd 3 times in a row last night)

Mike & Nate

Hey so my friend Nate and I are doing a radio show this quarter for KSDT. KSDT is UCSD's independent college radio station. You can listen here. Our show is every Wednesday from 4-6 pm.