Oh man I have a bazillion new Transmetropolitan icons and I am so utterly pleased with them. Transmet is one of my absolute favorite comic books (megolas if you haven't read them you must) Spider Jerusalem is my hero.

Unrelatedly, but still squee-worthy, isilya posted asking for mix cds and I was totally inspired. I've been meaning to make a mix of all of my favorite all-girl or girl-fronted bands for a while now and this was the perfect impetus. I even made cover art! It took me half the day!



( Check it out, yo: )

We've been having a streak of gorgeous weather out here, like, honest to god perfect days of mid 70's (that's the low 20's to all you right-thinking non-americans) temperatures with good breezes and lots of blue sky. It's been quite refreshing considering that we only had about 3 days without rain for the second half of December and the first 2/3 of January.

With school starting again and the seasonal shift I've been listening to my ipod more and have been downloading new music which I thought I'd share:

( some random soul/r&b type stuff )

I've also been seeking out new indie bands, two of my newfound favorites being The New Pornographers and Kubb (who hackthis pimped earlier today).

Artist: The New Pornographers
What they Sound Like: they're a little indie rock and a lot pop, they're very upbeat. I believe the group is a mix of solo musicians including Neko Case, they're all pretty talented. They're definitely fun and don't seem to take themselves too seriously.
Sample song: Twin Cinema
Album: Twin Cinema -- zip, 67mb

Artist: Kubb
What they Sound Like: hackthis said this about them: Apparently, Gary from Snow Patrol and Guy from Elbow have had a baby, and they've named him Harry. Harry has a band called Kubb, which, apparently, is setting things on fire at the HMVs in the UK
Sample song: Wicked Soul
Album: Mother -- zip, 58mb

Lastly, some hip-hop because I've been vaguely meaning to post about this. I love hip-hop, you know the kind, the kind with good smart lyrics that mean something and don't offend my incredibly low tolerance for sexist, homophobic, obnoxiousness. Kanye West is pretty solidly in my 'good' column; I respect him as a person and I admire that he's been standing up for what he believes. I also think he's a pretty entertaining guy. He's been getting a ton of publicity this year (speaking out against homophobia, Bush, and dressing up like Jesus will do that for you.) Kanye performed Gold Digger with Jamie Foxx on the Grammies last night (or was it two nights ago?) I've got a sort of mid to low quality version of the performance up if anyone wants to see it:

[ Kanye West and Jamie Foxx - Gold Digger - 2006 Grammies ] -- mpeg, 20mb

I can't help but see the parallels between him and one of my favorite rappers: Nas. (Nas got crucified along with Puff Daddy in a video a few years ago and there was a huge scandal then too.) Nas is from Brooklyn, and he raps about Queensbridge, he's also married to Kelis (of My Milkshake fame) He's also smart and principled; he raps about black history and growing up in New York and hip-hop history and politics and I love him a lot. Here are some of my favorite songs of his:

[ Nas - Rule ] 'Cause, everybody wants a shot, in this land of opportunity/Look at what this country's got/There shouldn't be nobody homeless/How can the president fix other problems when he ain't fixed home yet/The earth wasn't made for one man to rule alone
[ Nas - Get Down ]
[ Nas - I Can ] If the truth is told, the youth can grow/Then learn to survive until they gain control/Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes/Read more learn more, change the globe
[ Nas - Revolutionary Warfare ]
[ Nas - American Way ] Talkin 'bout Rap the Vote, you ain't thought about/The black vote mean nothin, who you gonna elect/Satan or Satan? In the hood nothin is changin, uh/We ain't got no choices who to choose
[ Nas - These Are Our Heros ]
[ Nas - One Mic ]

eta: !!! I almost forgot! All you popslashers: I'm really hoping one of you has the NSYNC Atlantis concert and could upload it for me. I love, love, love my mp3 of the Tim McGraw Stand By Me/Fire and Rain/Lean On Me medley [ mp3 ] and I would kill to actually see them sing it on video. Anyone able to help? found! and posted in the next entry thank you digital_diva!

So it's december and I've been busy being a complete slacker at school and failing to finish any of my law school applications and generally just having a pretty thorough anxiety induced breakdown. Uh. I'm pretty sure it's all due to some sort of passive-aggressive I-don't-want-to-be-in-school-anymore type feelings my subconscious is pretty much done tamping down on.

Things that are currently making me happy:

Lot's and lots of Stargate Atlantis fic.

The fact that I only have 5 things on my christmas list. I honestly couldn't think of a single thing I wanted besides a couple dvd box sets, a book, and a sewing machine (although I might not be needing that since my apartment's lease is up at the end of the month and I might have to move back in with the parents.)

Holiday Cards! I have no clue if I'll get around to doing them but give me your address and find out!

[Poll #625487]

And getting more into the holiday spirit here's some of my favorite christmas music, mostly from the Vienna Boys Choir:
1. [ VBC - What Child is This ]
2. [ VBC - Joy to the World ]
3. [ VBC - The First Noel ]
4. [ VBC - In Dulci Jubilo ]
5. [ VBC - Angels We Have Heard on High ]
6. [ VBC - O Holy Night ]
7. [ VBC - Pachelbel's Canon ]
8. [ VBC - Carol of the Bells ]
9. [ Snow Patrol - When I Get Home for Christmas ]

And while they have nothing to do with christmas Reindeer Section is very, very cool:
10. [ Reindeer Section - You Are My Joy ] seriously, the most romantic song ever.
11. [ Reindeer Section - Cartwheels ]
12. [ Reindeer Section - Strike Me Down ]

Lastly, for good measure (because I haven't been posting much at all lately) ( that ten things about me meme )

First off some music:

Artist: MIA Album: Arular Genre: Hip/Hop, with heavy electro, and international leanings Recommended Song: Hombre Download: full album

Some things you might want to know about M.I.A.: She was born in Sri Lanka and raised in London. Her dad was a Tamil Freedom fighter and her songs are heavily influenced by both her political background and ethnic identity. She's innovative and her sound is really hard to compare to anyone else's. Um. Lots of hipsters love her. But since I'd probably call myself a hipster if pressed, I don't think that's a bad thing.

Now: some other media:

[ Lance talking about a charity auction for hurrcane relief ] -- mpg, 30mb from pacific_gravity

[ The Brokeback Mountain trailer as aired on CNN ] -- wmv, 6.5mb from hackthis? I think?

Enjoy!

[ The Prettiest Star - David Bowie ] - has one of my favorite lines in any song in it: one day, though it might as well be someday/you and I will rise up all the way/all because of what you are/the prettiest star I want to get that tattood under the pisces sign on my back.

[ Anything, Anything - Dramarama ] - fun dancing song

[ I am a Passenger - Iggy Pop ] - I really enjoy driving to this one with the windows down

[ Against All Odds - The Postal Service ] - holy shit! the postal service covered Phil Collins! Was I the last to know this or what?

[ Fucking on the Dancefloor - Dirty Sanchez ] - funny, ironic lyrics with a good dance beat

[ We Used to be Friends - The Dandy Warhols ] - some of you know this as the veronica mars theme song but it's even better as a full song.

[ Talk To Me, Dance With Me - Hot Hot Heat ] - one of the most infectious songs ever.

[ Apply Some Pressure - Maximo Park ] - a really cool british nouveau punk band that ethrosdemon introduced me to.

[ Rebellion (Lies) - The Arcade Fire ] - I'm going to see them play with modest mouse and the killers in October!

[ Out of Line - The Bravery ] - I really like the bravery, they're I dunno, sort of in the same group as the killers.

[ No Ring on These Fingers - The Bravery ]

[ Helicopter - Bloc Party ] - they've been getting really popular lately: a london indie/punk rock band with really great drums.

[ Banquet - Bloc Party ] - they're playing in SF in September at the Warfield, anyone wanna go with me?

[note: I wrote the first half of this entry last night and got too lazy to type th rest, so the timeline is skewed.] I just got back from seeing a midnight showing of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was an original print so the picture was grainy which, atmospherically, was pretty damn awesome. Also, considrering that it came out three years before I did, it was really cool to see it on a big screen.

Today was kind of a day for movies with me actually (completely unplanned too) since I also saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I thought it was really funny. Brad Pitt has great comedic timing, and he and Angelina Jolie have great chemistry, so the movie was a lot better than I had expected. I love being pleasantly surprised by movies.

And now for some music. It's kind of a mixed bag, mostly New Wave/Dance-y stuff because it's fun. Here's the track listing:

Signs - Snoop and Justin
Chains of Love - Erasure
Girls and Boys - Blur
Deceptacon - Le Tigre
Talk To Me, Dance With Me - Hot Hot Heat
White Wedding - Billy Idol
Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order
I Wear My Sunglasses at Night - Cory Hart
This Fire - Franz Ferdinand
Modern Love - David Bowie
All Day Long I Dream About Sex - JC Chasez
Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz
Seventeen - Ladytron
Summer - Modest Mouse
Weird Science - Oingo Boingo
Let's Go Crazy - Prince
We Built This City - Starship

Download the zip file: [ right click ]

And now I'm off to get ready for my mormon friend's fake wedding. Did you know that if a mormon gets married in the temple only strictly practicing mormons are allowed to go? My friend's parents couldn't even go to her wedding. So they're having a mock-wedding today in addition to the real one last week. Weird.

ps. I went through nearly 20gigs of bandwidth in three days last week! So I decided to upgrade my package. I guess you all really like Ewan McGregor, eh? I need a Ewan icon. (hint? quite likely, yes.)

so very, very bored. have homework. am avoiding.

So lets play that fun game where you ask for songs and I try to find them. Pick a song (pick lots of songs!) something you've been looking for and can't find, something you think I might have, something you've been meaning to download and haven't yet, whatever. Alternatively, give me a genre/artist that you like and I'll upload some songs that I think you might like. Even better, send me songs! Upload something to yousendit (or your own webspace) anything, I like all sorts of music.

Earlier today was the Bay To Breakers run, I didn't get to go but people dress up crazy and run across the city. On my way back into town this afternoon I got a small glimpse of some of the costumes from checking out the people waiting for busses on 19th avenue. There were guys in drag, and people with giant hats, and men in capes. It was great. Today was intensely foggy, which, in San Francisco terms, officially means summertime is here. I don't think I've ever posted pictures of my apartment. ( So here are some of the apartment and the view. )

I forgot to bring my digital camera connector home for the weekend, but I've been taking lots of pictures of the new infospace we're opening. It's looking awesome, we've been tearing down walls and painting and all sorts of stuff, it's been really cool to get to take part in this sort of a project and seeing it all come together now has been fucking incredible. I'll try to put some pictures of the place up when I get my connector back on monday.

In other news: Sin City! Oh man, saw it last night at midnight and oh shit was it awesome. It's violent as fuck but so, so well made. The movie is just. GUH. If you really like comic books it's a wet dream come true. The cast was awesome, I love that they got so many insanely talented people to appear. Also? I want to have sex with Clive Owen. The man is gorgeous, his storyline was my favorite of them. Oh man the move is just completely badass.

Also? Anyone have any advice on resume/cv writing? For instance, how does one spell cv?

Lastly, I'd like to address a disparity I've noticed in my song recs. They're almost entirely male dominated and it bothers me. I just don't listen to all that many female singers, so if anyone has any favorite songs by women to share, I'd love to hear them. In them meantime, here are two of my favorite female led bands.

Ladytron is dance-y synth-pop at it's best. I love Helen Marnie's voice and the slightly underproduced sound on some of their songs.

[ Discotraxx ] [ He Took Her to a Movie ] [ Seventeen ] [ Evil ]

Le Tigre: god, I love Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini KIll). She's got an awesome voice and writes kick ass lyrics. Riotgrrl has never sounded better coming from her mouth. And the songs they've made as Le Tigre are just plain fun. They fuck with stereotypes and self-describe as "feminist pop" and just generally kick ass.

[ Fake French ] [ Deceptacon ] [ TKO ] [ Hot Topic ]

New York is cold. It makes me wish I was in London.

I cut my hand on a bagel this morning (while cutting it really.) Quite unfortunate.

On the good though: H&M!!!! Oh man I am so glad to get to go shopping in NYC! San Francisco is getting a H&M in the fall but it's not soon enough. The shopping possibilities here are positively astounding. Also, I get to go out to bars now that I'm 21. So that's pretty awesome too.

Also, we're going to try to get tickets to a taping of The Daily Show. How awesome would that be? Oh man!

I have eaten far too much in the past two days. Vacation is hell on my eating habits.

Ahahah the hitchhiker's guide trailer looks dope. I think the movie will be good. I suppose this means I should actually read the book, eh?

Justin Timberlake inducted The O'Jays into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week. There's video of the ceremony, I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but I'm sure Justin was thrilled to have the opportunity. So here's that, with thanks to fuskeez and kirsch for the file:

[ Justin ] -- avi, 36mb

On the Timberlake theme: y'all remember the Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake song I pimped last week? Well the video leaked, so here it is for those of you who haven't seen it yet. Much thanks to crownzeal and giddyupnow for the file.

[ Snoop & JT - Signs ] -- mpg, 40.06mb

Also in the music genre, I uploaded the Raider of the Lost Ark soundtrack for ashlle1 last month and never took it down. So here's that for anyone who wants it.

[ Raiders of the Lost Ark ] -- zip, 83.33mb

I recced Interpol last week and I keep listening to them, so here's my other two favorite songs of theirs:

[ Evil ] and [ Narc ] -- mp3

Evidently, there is a (group? person? alien?!?) who remakes popular songs by having children sing along on the tracks. It's called, get this, Kidz Bop. It's like, the kid friendly answer to NOW! That's What I Call Music. It gets worse though. Amongst such hits as My Boo and Let's Get it Started there's a version of Modest Mouse's Float On. I shit you not. download it. If that isn't horrifying enough, the album is number 7 on the charts this week.

Perhaps Volume 8 will bring us such hits as The Killers Somebody Told Me and Franz Ferdinand's Michael.