I've fallen in love with Wilco.

C'est tout.

...Of The Week

SONGS:

Destroyer, "Libby's First Sunrise"
Edith Piaf, "Hymne A L'Amour"
Fiery Furnaces, "We Got Back The Plague"
Headlights, "Cherry Tulips"
Jay-Z ft. Beanie Sigel, "Ignorant Shit"
Justice, "Genesis"
LCD Soundsystem, "Time To Get Away"
Love, "Alone Again Or"
Magnetic Fields, "In My Secret Place"

Mystery Jets, "Flakes"
Pavement, "Range Life"
Radiohead, "True Love Waits (live)" <--it just never gets old.

Sonic Youth, "I'm Not There (Bob Dylan cover)"

Tindersticks, "Sometimes It Hurts"

Wilco, "Ashes of American Flags"

Wilco, "We're Just Friends"

ALBUMS:
Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams
Edith Piaf - The Very Best of Edith Piaf
Jay-Z - American Gangster; Reasonable Doubt
Love - Forever Changes

Wilco - Summerteeth

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Trouble in Dreams

Poor Dan Bejar. I've given him such a hard time. But it's only because I love him so, and I expect nothing but brilliance from him. And after the premature blah I felt for In Rainbows, which I presently regard as one of Radiohead's most gorgeous, I knew that I'd be discovering Destroyer's latest with some...trepidation. Apprehension? Uncertainty? Unreasonably high expectations? Yep, all of that.

And, lo and behold, I downloaded Trouble in Dreams, listened to it once through, and didn't like it. It was my second or third week in France, and I was so super pumped to find an early/illegal download of the whole album. I had heard "Foam Hands," and loved it, so I had a good feeling. But that didn't make me any less critical; on the contrary, it made my anticipation that much more intense.

I listened to it for the first time one day on my walk to class. Oh, how I was disappointed. Crushed, even. So let down, in fact, that I made no attempt to hide it; many a Francais I encountered on my path to the university undoubtedly witnessed my dislike - a couple of the songs stirred such immediate, instinctive displeasure in me, that I made faces. I cringed. And I thought, "Oh God...oh no, what is this. This is not good. What did he do? What has Dan Bejar done to me? Oh dear." The two main culprits of this aversive reaction were "The State" and "Shooting Rockets."

Alors, I wanted nothing to do with the album. I just wanted it to go away. I wanted to forget that I had heard it. So I just flocked back to Your Blues, because I just didn't want to think that Dan Bejar had created something that displeased me. What a cruel notion!

But, after some time away from it, I decided that I couldn't ignore it. Dan's one of my favorite artists, and honestly, I hadn't given the album a fair chance. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was never about the album - it's about the strange complex I have for hearing new material from my favorite artists. It was the same with IR - I had been waiting for it to come out, hadn't heard from Radiohead in a long time, was expecting something extraordinary...I mean, that's a pretty tough crowd. When you expect perfection, even if something is brilliant, when you expect perfection, you will always be let down. Always.

So, it took me understanding how I function as a music fan/critic, how hearing a new album from an old fave is a totally, 100% different experience from discovering a new artist whose work you've never heard before. And once I understood that, I felt I could return to TiD with a little bit more clarity, and with a more open mind.

I was ready, so I re-approached it, this album that I had shoved under the rug for a lil' while. And now, now that I'm ready for it, it's so much better. The music sounds better, and the experience itself is so much more enjoyable. I just needed some time, that's all.
And after some time, and a few more listens, I've concluded that there is a definitely a beauty to this album. It's a different kind of beauty than that of Rubies, and it's just about the polar opposite of Your Blues. But I'm feelin' it right now. It's fitting together. Even "The State" and "Shooting Rockets" have won my heart, in varying degrees. Previously, I had been "opposed, against, contre" Shooting Rockets, but, like I said, premature. I appreciate it now.

My favorites have to be...well, crap. I know that "Foam Hands" is still way, way up there; also, "My Favorite Year," and now I really like "Libby's First Sunrise" and "Introducing Angels." Oh, and "Dark Leaves From A Thread." Well, Jesus, I guess I like all of them.

Fickle, I am. For music, and music only. Fickle for music.

...Of The Week

SONGS:

Black Mountain, "Stay Free"

British Sea Power, "Waving Flags"

The Cardigans, "Lovefool"

The Concretes, "Seems Fine"

David Bowie, "Heroes"

Deer Tick, "Art Isn't Real (City Of Sin)"

Destroyer, "Foam Hands"

Fire On Fire, "Hangman"

Glasvegas, "Daddy's Gone"

Glasvegas, "Flowers And Football Tops"

Jay-Z ft. B.I.G., "Brooklyn's Finest"

MGMT, "Electric Feel"

MGMT, "Time To Pretend"

Missy Elliott, "Ching-A-Ling"

Pavement, "Secret Knowledge Of Backroads"

Richard Hawley, "The Ocean"

Richard Hawley, "Valentine"

The Replacements, "Sixteen Blue"

Sinead O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U"

Tindersticks, "Until The Morning Comes"

U2, "New Year's Day"


ALBUMS:

British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?

Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams

Richard Hawley - Coles Corner

Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe

ARTIST:

Glasvegas

ALBUMS I HOPE TO GET TO VERY SOON:

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

Black Mountain - In The Future (2008); Black Mountain (2005)

Clinic - Internal Wrangler

Evangelicals - The Evening Descends

Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt

The Replacements - Tim

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Xiu Xiu - Women As Lovers

All-Time Favorite Albums, part 2

Well, I said I'd be back the next day, and alas, I wasn't. So now, more than a week later, I continue my list of all-time fave albums. In English (too tired for French).

[Disclaimer: These albums are in not in order of preference; they are randomly ordered.]

3. Destroyer - Your Blues

The first time I heard this album was this past summer. Ah, summer. The season when one has an infinite reservoir of time with which to do whatever one so desires. How did I choose to spend it? I dedicated, eh, I'd say about 70% of time to listening to music. Downloading albums, reading reviews, discovering new artists, etc. I worked 30 hours a week at the WTY library, and the majority of my time at work was spent listening to music. I listened to more music at work than I did at home.

Anyway, the first time I heard this album was at the library. I was retrieving books from the stacks for Book Express. Kind of a strange setting for a music-gasm, but alas, that's how it happened. I had a music-gasm in the library. (Don't worry - music-gasms are not as conspicuous as they seem.) I simply could not believe what I heard. Dan Bejar held nothing back in creating this album. The vast scope of instrumentation is ridiculous, but it works. He's got a full-blown symphony goin' on. It's gorgeous. But at the same time, even though there's a lot going on, there's a refreshing simplicity to this album. I feel like when I listen to it, I've entered into an alternate universe. The sounds are cold, icy, metallic, unfamiliar. As unfamiliar as it was to hear it for the first time, as blown away I was by how truly unique it is, the defamiliarization was also magnetic. For me, it was different, but I understood it. Sometimes you listen to an album/artist and think, "I just don't get it. It's too out there. I don't understand it, and I don't like it."

This is not one of those albums for me. On the contrary - it made me fall in love with Dan Bejar. And for me, Your Blues is his best to date.

Key tracks:

"Notorious Lightning"

"It's Gonna Take An Airplane"

"New Ways Of Living"

"Certain Things You Oughta Know"

4. Andrew Bird - Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs

Andrew Bird is, second to Radiohead, responsible for my "musical awakening," as I like to say. I heard this album for the first time a year ago. I remember exactly - I was in the car with Jenny, and we were driving back from a visit to...crap, where were we. OK, so I don't remember exactly. But I do remember that I was in the car with Jenny. And actually, the first song that I heard was "Masterfade." And I remember thinking that it was like a musical painting. Like a dream. The way that the his voice, the lyrics, and the music interact, especially in "Masterfade," it truly creates vivid images in your mind. And as I listened to that song, it was very surreal, because I felt like I had entered into a daydream, into a life-size painting, a la Mary Poppins (you know that scene? The carousel horses, penguins, etc.?).

Music had never before done that for me, not until Andrew Bird. And I couldn't tear myself away. I had to hear "Masterfade" three or four more times that day in the car. And then I listened to the rest of the album, and all the other songs did the same. They all have a magical quality that can't be articulated. Not to mention the fact that the Bird absolutely kills on the violin. I mean, he's just unparalleled. He's that good. Which of course I can't deny, because I have a soft spot for the string family (violin, viola, cello, bass violin...all of 'em).

Also: he kicks ass live. Saw him last April. Met him. Have paper and photographic evidence. Immediately after, I peed/cried with excitement. No big.

Key tracks:

"A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left"

"Fake Palindromes"

"Masterfade"

I would write more right now, but my computer is acting up (shock) so it'll have to wait at least until tomorrow.

Donc, a tout a l'heure, tout le monde!

All-Time Favorite Albums

Aujourd'hui, j'ai beaucoup de mal au pays. C'est triste. A cause de ca, je ne veux pas ecrire de la France dans cet blog au present. Et donc, j'ecris de mes albums favoris! HOORAY!

Et voila. Ma liste preliminaire...

1. Radiohead - OK Computer




Tout le monde connait que Radiohead possedent un endroit tres, tres special dans mon coeur. C'est vrai que Thom Yorke semble d'etre un "cocky prick." Et maglre ca, j'adore vraiment ces hommes et tout de leur musique. Pour moi, cette musique est PARFAITE. Et donc, cet album est, a mon avis, le chef d'oeuvre de Radiohead. Il n'y a plus un defaut dans cet album (sauf "Fitter, Happier"...je peux vivre sans lui). En ce qui concerne la musique, il est clair que rien n'est meilleur que OK Computer. Au moins, il demeure comme un album essentiel des 90s. Et, n'oublie jamais, une de mes chansons favorites ("Let Down") vient de cet album. Comment l'ameliorer? Impossible.

Tracks essentiels:
"Paranoid Android"
"Let Down"
"Karma Police"

2. The Arcade Fire - Funeral





Quand j'ecoutais cet album pour la premiere fois, j'etais comme, "QUOI?!?!" Qu'est-ce que c'est? C'est...c'est parfait, c'est le paradis! Ces canadiens ont change me vie entiere. C'est simple. Il est indisputable que Funeral etait une revelation pour indie rock. Je ne comprends pas comment on peut detester Arcade Fire...! Mais, voila, il reste des gens qui ne les aime plus, ni eux, ni leur musique. Tout ce que je sais, c'est que j'aime tres, tres bien Arcade Fire et cet album est vraiment parfait. Neon Bible est superb, mais Funeral est, jusqu'au present, leur chef d'oeuvre.

Tracks essentiels:
"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)"
"Wake Up"
"Rebellion (Lies)"


Maintenant, je suis fatiguee. J'ai decouvert que je n'ai pas beaucoup d'endurance pour ecrire longtemps. Donc, je ferai la deuxieme partie de la liste demain (j'espere).

Reviens-toi a demain pour apprendre plus de mes albums favoris!

C'est tout...

Aix-cuse me...

I'm not really sure what to say about France. My mind is overwhelmed with so much new-ness right now, so I'm just going to list the big things that come to mind:

1. Food. The essentials:

*Bread

*Cheese

*Crepes

*Tomatoes

*Potatoes

*Creme brulee

*Coffee

*Wine

Which sounds really stereotypical of France, but it's true. Everything is fresh and tastes 20x better than American food. I will never, never tire of French bread. Never. I'm such a carb-whore, and it's just carbs carbs carbs, everywhere. The boulangeries/patisseries are literally on every corner. There's at least one every block. It's like Starbucks in America, actually even more ubiquitous. And their version of "fast food" is little food stands that sell sandwiches, pastries, pizza, and soft drinks. And although everything is sinfully delicious, I have found that it is, indeed, possible to be satiated with carbs. I need some fucking protein. But overall, I have no complaints. I mean, it's French cuisine. Even if it's bad, it's still good.

2. Fashion. One word sums it up: black. All of the Aixoise wear black, all the time. Young people, old people, canines. All of them. And the volume of hipsters in this town is simply absurd. Meredith told me that she saw a girl walk by who was dressed punk-esque (of course in all black) and she was literally carrying a stereo on her shoulder, just rockin' out to some tunes whilst she traversed the Cours Mirabeau. Say Anything /early 90s, much? I think it's pretty cool, though.

Anyway, French fashion is kind of weird. Maybe it's too "fashion-forward" for me, too avant-garde...? I don't know, I'm just not feelin' it too much so far. I keep walking into boutiques hoping to find something I like, because the winter sales are about to end, but nothing jumps out at me. I did stop in a Converse store today, though, and they had these seafoam green hightops that I want DESPERATELY. But they were expensive, and will be cheaper in the states. Everything is expensive here. And of course, I have expensive taste (always have), so the clothes I'm lusting after here are the ones that are like, 75 Euros for a top. Which is over $100. Probably not gonna happen.

The point: everyone wears black and it's super depressive/emo. I don't know if I'm into that. I'm sure I could be. I could regress to my 16-year-old, studded belt-wearin', heavy black eyeliner-sportin' self, but...nah. I like CoLoR, for God's sake. I even brought a bright orange skirt. That won't make me stick out like a sore thumb at all....Whatever, I am who I am, and I like my style. However, I have implemented a policy: I shall not buy anything unless it is perfect and I feel I cannot live without it. There.

3. School. I tested into the highest level, "Superior," for my classes. I was, needless to say, frightened. I'm good at French, but I'm not superior by any means. So when I entered the university on Monday morning, I had no idea what to expect and felt quite intimidated. And after my first day, my fears did not feel at all assuaged, but rather, intensified. 5 minutes into my first class, I was almost in tears. The professor, Mme Calvet, spoke incredibly quickly and her accent is so thick, I could (can) barely understand what she was saying to me.

It also doesn't help that the university operates on a yearly basis, not on semesters. So I'm just jumping in during the middle of the year. Of course, I naively expected to receive a syllabus on the first day of class. And to be told what would be expected of me over the semester, everything planned out and systematic. No. Not like that. It's kind of like, "Oh, hey, new students. How are ya. Anyway, where were we..." Because the majority of the students have been here since October.

Plus, the courses are very laid-back. At least in my level. It seems that the professors kind of make it up as they go along, giving very small assignments as the need arises. The only project I've been given in advance, and which is a common thread for a ll my classes, was assigned as such: "You'll have a short oral presentation to give sometime before the end of the year." And that's...all she wrote. The actual time spent in class is so much longer, though - at least 2 hours per class - that it seems lke an even trade. Very different from UK, but so far I like the French system better. It's really cool because everyone, including the professor, casually strolls into class a cool 10-12 minutes late. And then we have a break in the middle of the class. So basically, it's gonna suck to go back to UK, because I could definitely get used to this.

There is no doubt in my mind, though, that I will learn a lot this semester. Even if we just sit around and talk in all of my classes. I truly do feel academically stimulated and challenged. Which is so nice to have, because I've been bored in most of my classes at UK. Bored into laziness, into mediocre performance in everything. But the environment here is so academic, and the simple fact that I have to work really hard to even comprehend what my professors are saying will absolutely prevent boredom. Honestly, I'm ready to work hard and to soak up as much as I can. My intellect is truly being tested at this point, and I've realized that I'm capable of so much more than I give myself credit for. Maybe this is finally my chance to show it, the chance I've deserved for so long.

Whew. Alright, well there's so much more to report, but I'm quite tired and drained from all this writing so I'll have to pause here. On the docket for my next post:

*Mme Hamouda and the comic array of horrors Meredith and I have experienced at her residence (It's the hard-knock life for us. Jay-Z/Annie - represent.)
*24 Rue Philippe Solari - the address of my soon-to-be new residence, which is, by the way, a three-story villa.
*Americans in Aix - specifically, the other students in our program.
*Finally, completely separate from my experiences in France, a (rough) list of my all-time favorite albums. Just something I've been thinking about lately.

Parting note: I miss everyone, love everyone, and really want a pet to snuggle with.


C'est tout.