When I was little, I would occasionally have nightmares that would totally jar me from my sleep in a heartbeat. They'd be terrible, but everyone has those. No big deal, plus I was a little kid so it's to be expected.
Now I'm 25, and I never have nightmares. Actually, excuse me, I used to never have nightmares until lately. Lately? Man, sleeping has been a major problem for me. I've pretty much not been sleeping well at all for the last month or so, waking up 3 or 4 times a night in a panic, which has led to me not sleeping and waking up late for work way too often. It's all because of stupid nightmares! I keep having this recurring dream involving my teeth falling out, or more accurately, knocked out. It's ridiculous! It's like I'm the bad guy in Out for Justice, and Steven Seagal is in every dream.
If you couldn't guess, that scene where Seagal knocks the bad guys teeth out with a shotgun haunts me.
No less, this is pretty wack if you ask me (wack is a perfectly viable blog term) and it needs to stop right now. I think all I have to do is channel my energies towards confronting Steven Seagal in my dreams. While he may break many of my bones in said dreams (as Seagal has a tendency to do), I feel as if a good metaphysical asskicking of dream Seagal is definitely in the works to stop this run of bad dreams.
It's on, Seagal.
Trouble with dreams
Music Mondays
Recommendation: The Boy Least Likely To - The Law of the Playground
A little while back, Hannah and I co-created a new genre of music. We titled it "precious pop," and it fits all kinds of artists. At it's best, it's twee pop music that captures the heart of the listener, and it's side effects include effortless singalongs and endlessly tapping toes. Good examples of this genre include Dr. Dog (the inspiration), Jens Lekman (the grand chairman of the genre), and perhaps the most precious of these pop stars, the Boy Least Likely To.
This band is a duo from the United Kingdom, and on their 2005 debut the Best Party Ever they completely surprised me with their infectious cuteness and instantly hummable tracks. That album was laden with pop delights like quasi-hit "Be Gentle With Me" and true delight "I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon to Your Cart," but after that album they managed to disappear until now, with their new album the Law of the Playground being released today.
You'd think after such a long delay they'd be a tad rusty perhaps, but you wouldn't know if from the album they produced, as it infectious and addictive just like their last album, perhaps even a little more immediately moreso. Why do I say that? Because I did that horrible, horrible thing I do every time I get a new album and listen to it to a disgusting degree. It's good for two reasons I suppose: you quickly find out what works and what doesn't, and you find out the replay value of the album.
So what works for this album?
While their previous album may have achieved higher peaks than this album, the new album is more immediately pleasing, accessible, and consistently quality. Also, at some points the precious aspect would overtake the pop part, making it so saccharine it'd be hard to get into. This album tones it down a notch, and it's better for it. It's still extremely fun, but it avoids some of the pitfalls of being so damn cute. As per usual, vocalist Jof Owen does a great job, but multi-instrumentalist Pete Hobbs really is the star here. The banjos, glockenspiels, fiddles, and xylophones really add to sound, and make this band extremely unique and add to the fun vibe.
However, that leads into the main problem of the album - it's a tad forgettable so far. The Best Party Ever was layered with tracks that would stay in your mind for hours afterwards, and so far very few of the tracks stick with me. As soon as I turn the album back on, I get back to humming along and enjoying it, but it's just not that memorable.
Besides that, there isn't a lot wrong with this album. It's a dreamy and fun album that's perfect for these dark and dismal times. It's definitely mood music, and something that can wear thin after a while (as most albums in Hannah and I's favorite genre can), but it is a high quality addition to the world of precious pop.
At the very least, you have to appreciate a band who was described by Rolling Stone as what would happen "if all your childhood stuffed animals got together and started a band."
The Boy Least Likely To - the Law of the Playground: B
Track to check out:
Silversun Pickups awesome new song "Panic Switch" at Stereogum.
The Weekend Edition
Yay! More relaxation! For the last few weekends, I've just been chilling in anticipation of my big Europe trip. I'm convinced that I need to rest up and condition myself to make sure I don't get sick while over there, plus I've been doing all kinds of planning. This weekend was excellent for said planning, amongst other things. What went down?
- I watched the Watchmen with Colver, Brian, and Morgan
- Dinner at Mixx with Amy
- To the Buckaroo for some darts
- This week's Bstar (2 more episodes...three more hours...ahhh!!)
- Lunch with my sister at Middle Way
- Dinner with Hannah, Colver, and Lorna at Bear Tooth
- Tons of Battlestar with Hannah
- Finished another book and started Ender's Game
- Did TONS of planning for my trip
In short, it sounds like it's the perfect place for me to stay.
I have to admit, to a certain degree, I was a little freaked out by my first Europe trip. It was starting to look a little daunting, but it's all coming together so well, and it's now bookended by spending time with people I know really well (meeting up with Hannah and Kim in Italy) so that will make the rest of it seem like nothing. Well, nothing besides the best time ever. Now the only thing that blows my mind about the trip is that it took me 25 years to do it. What the hell!