With the gracious help of Miguel Martinez, I went to take some nautual light portraits of the so called "jornaleros" or immigrant workers. For obvious reasons, a lot of these guys were not very receptive to having their photos taken and, I admit, I am a bit hesitant to even post them on here. All shot with a white card and an 85mm/1.2 shot mostly at 2.0-2.8.
I haven't written anything on here in a while and I do like writing. So for the sake of giving myself something to blabber about as well as throwing some more content on this little blog now that Grilled Cheese Social seems to be sending new visitors my way, here are some thoughts of mine on music that has come out recently and not so recently. If you want to listen to anything I mention below, I highly recommend Grooveshark.com. I'm still not sure how the RIAA hasn't pounced on that site yet. Or go buy the album (right).
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today (2010)
Most indieheads are probably well aware of this album by now and either hate it or love it. Sounds like tuning into a fuzzy 1970's pop radio show in an alternate universe of your dreams/nightmares. Can't stop listening to "Round and Round" and "Bright Lit Blue Skies"
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker (2010)
Another band that's beginning to make the rounds. I was fortunate enough to see these Aussies play their NYC debut show last week in Brooklyn. I had never heard them before and am happy to say that the show rocked, the band rocked, I rocked out. See them if you can. Their music reminds me of taking a long early morning drive to the beach with the windows down, and maybe still feeling a bit of that ecstasy trip from the night before - the ecstasy of being young and abstinent that is. What I'm saying is it sounds like vintage psychadelic grungy rock, kind of like a less jazzy Dungen, another righteous vintage psych band (and from Sweden). Definitely a superb album to accompany you throughout the summer. Opening track "It's Not Meant To Be Me" and "Alter Ego" are my bros right now.
Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway (2003)
This is old news, but its old news that I fear too little people have heard of. I started listening to this album last year around February and haven't been able to stop since. When I was in high school I went through my crazy Led Zeppelin 3/4 phase that lasted like a year or so. Then in college I went through a really intense David Bowie Hunky Dory kick, but I don't know - I mean I can't go a week, sometimes days, sometimes hours without listening to a track from this album. And I'm not even saying that this guy, Mark Kozelek, is on par with Bowie or those Zep dudes, cause he's not, and its totally different. He is, however, pretty prolific - from the 1990's Red House Painters to his solo stuff to his covers albums, he's got quite a healthy back catalog of work. Ghosts of the Great Highway is in my opinion a masterstroke of Americana folk(-ish) rock. He gets lots of comparisons to Neil Young and I understand but I think Kozydawg does enough of his own thing and does it well enough to easily be in his own critical space. I could go on and on about my emotional attachment to this album and the virtuosic musicianship that is displayed within it, so just listen to it. Beginning to end. By yourself, preferably.
Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love (2004)
If you listen to Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours and haven't heard this album yet, you are dumb. It's not as good as In Ghost Colours, that is, until you get sick of listening to that album on repeat cause it's so fucking good, and put Bright Like Neon love in for a spin. After about a week, In Ghost Colours will feel like a distant past. Ok, I'm giving lofty praise here, but I remember my good friend Rocky being all like, "Dude, fuck that album Torres, Neon Love is where its at. It's beautiful." She's right. This album is kind of beautiful. Plus I love the name and album cover. Semi-lo-fi electropop that is both soothing and shakable. Great music to dry hump to under a black light. Mm. Video for "Future"
Gauntlet Hair - "I was thinking..."
This band hasn't put out a proper album or even EP yet, I don't think. I heard this track when one of my friends, Marni, was playing a playlist of gorillavsbear.net and it instantly became one of the tracks I had to listen to like 10 godamn times in a row. This one might be trickier to find so here's the video for it, which is pretty uninteresting so don't worry about that. Jangly, echoey, reverbery, fistpumping indie rock goodness. I really hope their debut album doesn't suck, cause this song is too good to be a flash of brilliance.
Holy shit. This is funk done right. These cats play wonderfully heady, supremely executed, groovy as all shit, and dank as all tits funk jams. No superflous self-indulgence from each player here, just tight 4-5 minute afro-funk jams that will keep the blunts burnin and the feet tappin through the evening. If you like funk, or more precisely, fun, I highly suggest your put this in your speakers and smoke it. Funk.
This song isn't on BBII but you get an idea of the sort of funkalishous deliciousness these dudes are up to.
The Clientele - Suburban Light (2001)
Alasdair MacLean's (sick name) voice hovers through the music like a soul trying to find a body. I thought at first that it was a gimmicky studio effect on his voice, but after watching videos of them live, I guess his voice actually does kind of sound like that. Anyways, this album is sublime. It's a bit poppy, a tad folksy, and a smidge bluesy but always pretty and ready to tuck you in or wake you up. This was their first full length release from way back in the turn of the millennium so it's mostly a collection of lo-fi demos and such which seems to be really hot right now. Their other albums are pretty great too, and that's always fabulous. "We Could Walk Together"
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today (2010)
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker (2010)
Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway (2003)
Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love (2004)
