Discovery

There's a CD being released July 7th that has me jacked up. It's the pet project of two guys - Wes Miles of Ra Ra Riot and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. They're calling themselves "Discovery" and it's shaping up to be the album of the summer. Every track I've heard, so far, is incredible. Pure electro-pop. Listen for yourself.

"Carby"
"Can You Discover"
"Swing Tree"
"Orange Shirt"

Amazing, right?

Junkie

I admit it. I’m an addict. I’ve been hooked since I was young. I’ve pissed away so much money over the years, averaging about $250 a month on my habit. It’s not easy for me to say this, so please... bear with me. My name is Tom and I’m a music junkie.

I collect songs. I scour the Web for new tracks. If it’s not on iTunes, I hit Amazon. I don’t buy entire albums anymore. No no. I am highly selective with my purchases. How do I find stuff? Music sites. PopMatters. Pitchfork. Coke Machine Glow. Then there’s the magazine subscriptions. Rolling Stone. Spin. Filter. I also follow some amazing DJ’s on Blip.fm who help introduce me to stuff I’ve never heard before.

iTunes has its Genius Recommendations, but they’re only 30-second previews. If I like it, I jump over to Lala, though, to hear the full track. I used to have a Rhapsody subscription, but Lala’s free - and better. All you have to do is sign up and they’ll let you listen to any song in its entirety - once. Go back to hear it again and you’ll only get the preview. Fine with me; I just want to know if it’s worth buying or not.

I also use Pandora. You start with an artist you like (or song) and it builds a channel around that sound. It then plays other songs it thinks are similar. If you don’t agree, it never plays that track again and it starts to recognize your taste - channel by channel.

Back to Blip. You’ve seen the updates at the top of the page. Think of it as Twitter for music. There’s a search box. You type out the song you want to hear and it shows results from iMeem and YouTube. You can even paste a URL from YouTube into the search box. Anyway... it lets you preview the song and/or video. At that point, you can “blip” it (i.e. post) to your profile page where all your prior blips show.

So if you’ve ever wondered what I’m currently listening to, you’ll want to check out my Blip profile. You can listen to the songs for free. It’s also free to set up your own “DJ” account. If people like your blip, you get props. If they like your taste in music, they become a listener (i.e. follower). You can post links to Twitter or Facebook, as well.

The great thing about Blip, though, are the DJ’s. When you find someone who has the same taste as you, it’s easy to hear what they’re listening to. You click on the Public stream (think public Twitter updates), show All Blips or Favorites (I typically go with my favorites). It updates every 10 seconds or so to show what they’ve posted. You can view their profile page, as well - if you just want to see what they're playing.

I check out Digitally Imported for Trance and use Radioshift for Internet radio. I've spent a lot of nights listening to live streams from stations in places like Morocco, Paris and Rio de Janeiro. There's tons of killer Roots Reggae and Salsa, too.

There are other sites and services, but it’s how I feed my little habit.

Dream Police

I was arrested earlier today. I woke up in my car, hungover. I was in a parking lot. I was naked. The parking lot appeared empty. I got out and searched the backseat for my clothes. I turned and realized that I was being watched by several diners at a restaurant. I started to put my clothes on and that's when I saw the squad car. I sat down. They ran my license and made me take a breathalyzer test; I failed. They booked me for DUI and public indecency. Bad way to end the weekend. Unreal.

Wait... no; oh thank god! You ever have a dream that seemed so real and when you realized it wasn't, you felt a tremendous sigh of relief? I woke up this morning and thought I was going to jail, for sure. Nope; it was just a dream. Or was it?

Man Crush

If you haven't seen the new Dos Equis beer ads, you're missing out on some terrific commercials. It's spokesman is "The World's Most Interesting Man" - a cross between James Bond and Ricardo Montalban. I want to be this guy. EVERY man wants to be this guy. Very cool. It's also hilarious. I've included the links below. Enjoy.

Stay Thirsty 1
Stay Thirsty 2
Stay Thirsty 3
On Himself
On Life
On Careers
On Pick-up Lines
On Packages
On Rollerblading

Sara Tavares

Portuguese/Cape Verdean singer. It's a lovely album. Nice and mellow.

Also check out... "Lisboa Kuya" and "One Love".

My Spaghetti Recipe

I feel like spaghetti tonight. My recipe is a combination of several, actually - with a few added ingredients. I probably make this 2-3 times a month. It's damn tasty.

1lb ground sirloin
1 jar marinara sauce (I use a Cabernet marinara or Patsy's)
1 1/4 cup red wine (a nice Cabernet)
1/3 cup beef broth
1/3 cup chopped onions (a little less than 1/3, though)
1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh crushed garlic (don't buy it in the jar)
2 1/2-3 tablespoons of McCormick's Italian Seasoning mix
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons of olive oil
4 tablespoons of butter
Fresh sliced mushrooms (button)
Garlic salt/cracked black pepper
Sugar (about a teaspoon)
Pasta (I use angel hair or thin spaghetti)

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onions and mushrooms in the olive oil and butter. Add the garlic and saute for another minute, then remove from heat. Pour everything into a small bowl (I use a Pyrex liquid measuring cup). Add the sirloin to the skillet and cook until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the grease. Pour all the mushrooms and butter and garlicky goodness back into the skillet. Mix it up and let it get all happy for a few minutes. Add the marinara sauce, wine, beef broth, Italian Seasoning and bay leaves. Season with a little more salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Let it sit for awhile, but make sure you stir now and then. Boil the water and cook your pasta. When you're ready to eat, add the sugar to the sauce. Stir once more and remove the bay leaves.

Enjoy...

Anatomy of a Bad Day

You know those days where nothing seems to go your way? Where it’s like God is just screwing with you. Welcome to my Friday. I should have stayed home and slept in.

Woke up an hour early and couldn’t go back to sleep. Got in the shower. Out of shampoo. Had to step out, search for another bottle and jump back in. Took my shower. It was a Jean’s Day at work, but I didn’t do my laundry the night before; no jeans to wear. Put on a pair of dress slacks and reached for my white shirt. Now... a few days ago, I received my first custom-tailored shirt. It fit perfectly. This was not that shirt. I looked in the mirror. Way too big. Looked like I was wearing a sail for a fucking boat. Put it back and wore some suck-ass blue one. Not a good start.

Drove to the office. I’ve been trying to help our business unit stay compliant, so I hustled over the past week or so to compile info and keep us on target. There’s a guy at work who flakes on every single meeting I call. If your title isn’t “Director” or “VP”, you’re not on his radar. He’s off doing “big boy stuff” (an actual quote). He never replies to an e-mail request (unless it’s his boss as he usually forwards my e-mails to her like a little blindcopy bitch). I left him a voicemail yesterday. I made it very simple for him. I sent an e-mail with screenshots that would make sense to a 5-year old. All he had to do was glance at them and give me a “yea” or “nay”. It would literally take him no more than 2 minutes. Checked my e-mail/vm. No reply from Mr. Big Boy.

Moving on. I had two presentations that afternoon and needed time to prepare. I realized that the second meeting was going to be full of angst as they’re constantly complaining that they’re “too busy” and don’t have time to even offer an opinion - when they actually show up for my meetings, that is. I decided to make it very simple for them, as well - to alleviate the sighs. I would do all the heavy lifting. I had a pretty good idea of how their site should look, so I put the headphones on and built that mother out. I skipped lunch (and I was STARVING) to save them some time.

My first meeting went ok. I was ready for my presentation with the others. Side note. You know ... there was a time years ago when I managed a large group of folks and, like them, was tied up in meetings ALL DAY LONG. Which is why I worked late hours and even came in on the weekend. What I DIDN’T do, though, was flake on meetings. One or two? Ok. I would always give word, though. To consistently cancel or (worse) not even show up is just fucking disrespectful. That’s not me and it’s a HUGE pet peeve of mine. At least provide some advance notice. Be courteous. Period.

So I skipped lunch, finished up my WebEx and started to shut down my laptop. 5 minutes until the meeting. I went to the copy room and started to make copies of all my handouts. That’s when I heard my name. It was their Admin. “Oh”, she said, “we’re going to have to reschedule the meeting.” She told me that two of the managers weren’t there and her boss was just too backed up to attend. 3 minutes to go. 3 minutes? It was a meeting with the VP and a few of her managers. They had all day to tell me that two of them weren’t in and, therefore, it wasn’t a good idea to meet. Ugh.

I’ll skip ahead a bit. Left work and figured I’d pick up some food at the grocery store. Tired and drained, I steered my wobbly little cart through the aisles. When it was time to pay, I chose a clerk and was immediately cut off by an extremely rude couple who literally ran to get in front of me. I was fast approaching “postal” status. I just stared at them ... like I wanted to bash their fucking head in with a can of creamed corn. I paid. I put the groceries in the car and, as I was driving away, guess who cut in front me, again? Yes... the couple. No turn signal. Mercedez-Benz (wow... what a surprise).

Got home. Opened the trunk. Took the bags out and ... seems there was a hole in one of them. The jar of pasta came crashing down, shattering into tiny glass shards at my feet. Pasta sauce on my $300 Bruno Magli loafers. The olives for my martini (the one I so desperately needed) ... also shattered. Tiny green olives all over the ground. I put the remaining bags in my trusty little cart and realized, right away, that the cart didn’t work. All in all, a banner day. I went upstairs and collapsed in bed. Went to sleep.

Ok, not really. Just as I was about to drift off, my friend called and my cell started shaking all over the damn place. Now ... she’s my best friend and was doing what best friends do - calling me back to ask what groceries I needed from the store (I clued her in). Not her fault and she was only trying to help, but I was JUST about to fall asleep.

So that’s it. That’s my story. A bit whiney (ok, a lot), but it was one of those days.

I need a vacation.

Green Porno

Insect porn. Oh yeah. Come to Daddy. The Sundance Channel has this great short film series called "Green Porno" where Isabella Rossellini re-enacts the mating rituals of insects while dressed in goofy costumes. Definitely strange, but interesting.

Anyway... the second season just debuted.

Kristofferson

I was reading an article today in the new Rolling Stone about Kris Kristofferson. I keep forgetting what an incredible life this guy has led. It's an astounding resume. Star rugby player in college (even appeared in Sports Illustrated). Phi Beta Kappa. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University. Golden Gloves Boxer. Former Army Ranger - and Captain. He was given a job at West Point to teach English Literature, but turned it down so he could focus on songwriting. He worked as a helicopter pilot and swept floors at Columbia Records in Nashville before getting his big break. Musician. Actor. Political activist. Legend. This guy is one talented badass.

If you're young, you probably know him as the old dude, Whistler, from the "Blade" movies. If you're older, you might remember him from lots of films in the 70's. Do yourself a favor and listen to his catalog. He's one of the best songwriters in Country music and has had so many great hits over the years - some he wrote for others and some he kept for himself. "Sunday Morning Coming Down" (Johnny Cash), "Me and Bobby McGee" (Janis Joplin), "For The Good Times" (Ray Price), "Help Me Make It Through the Night", "I'd Rather Be Sorry" (with Rita Coolidge) and "Why Me".

Heart and Head

I love this album. It's the new release by Gretchen Peters and Tom Russell. It's called "One to the Heart, One to the Head" and has such a great sound to it. Dripping with Southwest imagery, it's (as PopMatters wrote) "whiskey-soaked" and "as raw and beautiful as a desert landscape." The songs I've downloaded? Well... just look at the little widget above ("My iTunes Purchases") that feeds, 24/7, from my computer. My favorite track? "Guadalupe" and "Blue Mountains of Mexico", but they're all good. If you're saying to yourself, "Self... I want great songwriting and a little atmosphere!!", check it out. I suspect it will end up on my "Best of 2009" list come December.