Top Ten Two Thousand and Seven

10. Kurr, Amiina

Amiina is the femme string quartet that plays strings on many Sigur Ros songs. Paired with Sigur Ros, they help create a musical experience that is completely organic, yet complex and wonderful. Without Sigur Ros, they still know how to write good music, albeit different music. It's kind of hard to explain how it's different, but they aren't quite as bound to the sound Sigur Ros makes. Therefore, I'd say their music sound a little more quirky and even folkish in an icelandic kind of way. Tis a fun record to play while you have to study or if you just want to listen to some good background music.


9. Fake Noise From A Box Of Toys, The Autumns

When I first listened to Fake Noise From a Box of Toys, I wasn't sure what to think. Had the Autumns released an album that could somehow be better than their previous self-titled album, which is such a wonderful recording. Well, after a few more listens, I came to realize that Fake Noise was more a slight derivation from their previous record. I still enjoy it, though, but I'd recommend listening to it before you listen to their self-titled release, because if you do, you'll probably be more impressed with it. Favorite Songs: "Boys," "Clem," "Killer In Drag," and "Only Young."


8. Our Love To Admire, Interpol

I haven't quite given this record enough time, but I do like what I hear on it, although it's not quite as enticing as their previous record Antics. However, this album doesn't fail to disappoint with such catchy songs as "Pioneers To The Falls" and "The Heinrich Maneuver." Favorite Songs: "Pioneers to the Falls," "The Scale," The Heinrich Maneuver," and "The Lighthouse."


7. A Weekend In The City, Bloc Party

Though a bit more conceptual than their debut Silent Alarm, A Weekend In the City does not fail to delight, at least in my opinion. Most of the songs on this album are more contemplative and strive to ask deeper questions than those on their previous album. You can be the judge of whether this is for the better or worse. Nevertheless, Bloc Party has put out a pretty nice sophomore release, even if it isn't quite as fun as their debut. Favorite Songs: "Hunting for Witches," "The Prayer," "Kreuzberg," "I Still Remember," and "SRXT."


6. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, Modest Mouse

When I first listened to We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, I was slightly disappointed. I had been expecting something similar to Good News For People Who Love Bad News. After listening to Modest Mouse's most recent release enough, though, I've come to like it better than Good News For People Who Love Bad News. As a whole, WWDBTSES is much more consistent than Good News. Favorite Songs: "Fire It Up," "Parting Of the Sensory," "Little Motel," "Invisible."


5. Armchair Apocrypha, Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird plays violin and guitar. He also whistles and sings. You can hear all this in his album Armchair Apocrypha, which is so cool. I think one of my favorite things about this album is the lyrics. Bird has a real talent for writing songs with such intellect, yet they are so full of art as well. "Imitosis" and "Armchairs" are perfect examples of this.Favorite Songs: "Imitosis," "Plasticities," Scythian Empires," and "Yawny At the Apocalypse."


4. Wincing The Night Away, The Shins

I think I'm doing a rash thing by giving this album fourth place, because I only purchased it a week ago. But what can I say, It's so cool. I don't know if it will stand the test of time for me, and that's one of the reasons I didn't give it second place, but for now, I'm way into it. Favorite Songs: "Sleeping Lessons," "Sea Legs," and "Black Waves."


3. Kismet, Jesca Hoop
I haven't really spent enough time with this album in order to know how to dissect it properly, nor do I have a broad enough understand of the genres it uses. However, I do know that I really, really like it. From listening to this album, i can tell that Jesca Hoop is talented, innovative and honest with the music she writes. I guess the best way I know how to describe Kismet is that folk is the backbone, but it's fleshed out with styles like funk and trip-hop. Favorite Songs: "Seed of Wonder," "Dreams In The Hollow," "Love Is All We Have," and "Havoc In Heaven."


2. American Doll Posse, Tori Amos
I hadn't really gotten into Tori Amos until this year, and their are probably some sound reasons for this. She's definitely not for the faint of heart, yet at times, when one's heart is faint, she has some songs that can so perfectly relate. Anyway, American Doll Posse is her newest work of art, and it's amazing. I've been listening to it since May, but I hadn't listened to it as much until lately. I don't know what it is about American Doll Posse, but most of the songs are so great and enjoyable to listen to. There are 23 tracks on this album, so it's hard to listen to the whole record all in one sitting. However, if you can get through it all, you'll realize the how good this work is, especially because the best songs seem to be on the latter half of the album. Favorite Songs: "Bouncing Off Clouds," "Father's Son," "Roosterspur Bridge," "Beauty of Speed," "Smokey Joe," and "Dragon."


1. In Rainbows, Radiohead
I love Radiohead. I love the way they seem to be able to craft music so wonderfully. I love every album they have released since the Bends, and In Rainbows is no exception. I love In Rainbows. I'm not sure how to describe this record correctly, but that's probably because it's so innovative and original, just like all the other Radiohead albums (with the exception of their debut Pablo Honey). It's a bit more stripped-down than their previous masterpiece Hail To the Theif, yet it is still equally as brilliant. A couple of the songs here on this album take me back to OK Computer, but I still wouldn't consider In Rainbows to be the offspring of the ten-year old OK Computer. All in all, In Rainbows is brilliant and beautiful, and I love it. Every song is wonderful, but my favorite tunes are probably "All I Need," "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi," "Reckoner," and "Videotape."

Stardogs

This holiday season I realized something. Uh...what was it I realized? Well, could it be that I finally had a revelation that christmas has become unnecessarily commercialized? Could it be that I have finally settled on the truth that I really don't like red wines as much as I was telling myself I did. NO!!! It was neither. I'll tell you what I realized:



+





If you don't quite understand what I trying to say here, I'll give you a hint: people sometimes name there pets after things they like. Whoops! I think I let too much out. Anyway, I was outside one morning trying to make a phone call on my cellular phone when my next-door neighbors' dog started to bark at me. The next thing I knew, it was running toward me. But fortunately, the dog's master called it back to herself.

Now this is all very normal. What's so strange about someone stopping their dog from attacking their next-door neighbor? Nothing. However, it was the name my neighbor cried out to beckon her dog that surprised me.

"Starbucks! Come back here! STARBUCKS!!! GET BACK HERE NOW!"

"Wow," I thought to myself. "Do people really name their pets after franchises? I never would have guessed."

This is what I realized this holiday season. If you don't like, I don't care. If you don't care, I don't like it. If there are two boys a boat, one named Pete and the other one Repete, and Pete happens to fall out of the boat, who's left?

foreignors

At the Barnes and Noble Café where I work, there is a crazy woman who comes in very often. She's about 5'4", where's glasses and has really thin, stringy hair. She also talks funny, as you would expect any eastern european to talk. When she places an order, I always have to try really hard not to laugh. If she is buying an apple, for example, she will with a sort of guttural urge, "I'll take diss!" Then there's my favorite thing I've heard her say, which is "What soup you have today?" I also really liked it when she asked me to put hazelnut syrup in her iced tea one time. "I want hazelnut in tea!" ...weird. I'm glad she frequents the café, though, because it's the crazy foreigners that make my job interesting.

Winter Wonderland (Not a Theme Park)

Since it's starting to get cold outside, I think it's appropriate to share some of my reasons why I don't like chilly temperatures. But don't worry, for this will not be a complete bashing of winter. There will be some reasons why I like winter to counter the reasons why I dislike it.

3) I get cold easily, which apparently isn't very normal for my gender. In my house, one of my roommates likes to keep the heater at 68 degrees, whereas I like the temperature to be a nice, moderate 72 degrees. I think 74 is ideal for the house in the winter, but that may seem a bit extreme for most. My roommate and I constantly have quarrels about our preferences in temperatures. Once I tried to compromise by setting the thermostat to 70, but that didn't change anything because he still changed it back to 68.

2) I sweat more in the winter and late fall than I do in the spring and summer. This seems like a paradox--and it may be--but it's real annoying since it seems to dry out my palms. I don't own any lotion, and even if I did, I don't like the way it feels on your hands when your trying to use them. Nathan, you're a sick man.

1) The ice (occasionally) on the road.


So here's a few reasons I like the cold of late fall and winter:

3) The change is nice. If I had to spend my entire year in Lubbock, Tx, I'd probably lose my sanity. Likewise, if I had to spend the entire year in a constant summer, I would get real bored. I'd probably also lose my sanity just because.

2) It's a good reason to cuddle with people, and by "cuddle with people" I mean cuddling with females. By "cuddling with females," I mean making out. By "making out" I mean, ...jk

1) I think one of my favorite things about cold weather aside from jackets and fireplaces on fire is the contemplation of why Buddy, our dog, likes to go outside so often. I swear he's been outside at least 5 times tonight. Each individual "visit," as we shall call them, has been short, but it baffles me as to why he's taken so many of them. I know he doesn't have to go to the bathroom that much. It's good food for thought. I mean, what do our animals do when they go outside and we're not watching? Do they interact with the wild creatures? Do our cats exchange feline sex for cat-nip from the alley cats? And don't try to tell me that that doesn't happen, because it totally does...just maybe not the part about the cat-nip. I'm just rambling now. Anyway, I hope you like these two lists I've just made. Enjoy.

"Don't Let Them See Me Like This" ~ Slow Runner

You
Stuffed all full of tubes
All our friends prefer to call
It's easier on you
Not to have to see them all

Don't let them see me like this
Don't let them see me like this
I won't

I'll
Be right down the hall
Buying cokes and choking up
I'd rather you not know
I've already given up

Don't let them see me like this
Don't let them see me like this
I won't

You're weak and needled arms
They must feel like useless things
But you smile like all along
They've been turning into wings

Don't let them see me like this
Don't let them see me like this
Don't let them see me like this
Don't let them see me like this

Ye Olde Top Ten Coolest

Sometimes, I dream dreams that are very strange to me when I wake up in the morning. But...I can never remember anything 10 minutes later...the actual dream itself, the feelings that it gave me, what the dream may have meant. Maybe that's a good think. Does anyone ever wake up not remembering their dream but still bearing the emotion that they had in their dream? It happens to me sometimes. Nothing to worry 'bout, though, because I'm normal. I swear...

Brilliance

Radiohead–Wow! In Rainbows–Wow! What can I say about their new album except that it proves that Radiohead is still completely capable of writing amazing music, even after such phenomenal releases such as Okay Computer, Kid A, and Hail To the Thief. In Rainbows presents a collection of new and innovative songs that are pretty stripped-down in production, which has given it a minimalist reputation. It is very unlike its predecessor Hail To the Thief, which is rife with an amazing array of electronic and organic instrumentation that are so perfectly blended together. It’s not to say that In Rainbows lacks that brilliant production quality, but rather it lacks the vast amount of instrumentation in many of the songs. This is not by any means a bad thing; it’s just a different way that Radiohead has chosen to craft yet another brilliant work of art. Don’t worry, though, because this record still has a lot beautiful synths, awesome beats, and rocking and jazzy guitars.

“15 Step”
I don’t know what it is about this song that draws me in so much, but whatever it is, it totally entrances me. “15 Step” starts the record off with a somewhat complicated rhythm that’s very unexpected, but then you hear Thom sing the words, “How come I end up where I started? How come I end up where I went wrong?” and at that point, you know that this song is going to groove.

“Bodysnatchers”
“Has the light gone out for you? Because the light’s gone out for me. This is the twenty-first century; it is the twenty-first century.” “Bodysnatchers” rocks so hard. In fact, of all the songs on this record, it may rock the most. The competition is really between it and “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” but if you ask me, I think it should go to “Bodysnatchers.” Anyway, “Bodysnatchers” kicks off with a rocking start and eventually breaks to a point where the distortion is cut off and e-bows take control of the guitars. It’s great. I love it.

To be continued...

I've begun to notice just how tired of caring about image I've become. Everyday when I wake up and decide what to put on, the pressure is always on how will others percieve me through what I'm wearing. As a result, my identity is not completely in my own perception of myself any longer, but rather in an illusion given to me by others but presumed by myself to be my very own. Yesterday, I ran out of contact solution, so I had to wear my glasses. In addition to these accessories deemed "nerdy" by society, I wore an old button up shirt that's probably a size too short in length. With the combination of these two articles of clothing, my perception of myself was altered from the normal, comfortable idea I have of myself to one of "Dude,-you-look-like-that-dorky-guy-who-sits-in-front-of-you-in-your-political-science-class." I was so anxious to get home and shed the shell of nerdome that I had so readily taken upon myself. My sitation and reaction to it were sad for two reasons. First--as you obviously have picked up on by now--the state of my appearance was something very nagging to my idea of what should be cool. Worse, though, is the fact that I actually cared.

My question is this: why do I even care about the way shallow kids my age think about what is cool and what's not. If they think that glasses and loose-fitting, frumpy shirts are uncool, why should I take on that same mindset. But I do, though I don't want to...though it'd be better not to.

I like cranberry juice, but cranapple is a blessed union of juices that totally outdoes any other.

"Debra" aka "I Want To Get With You (And Your Sister Debra)"

I met you
at JC Penny.
I think your nametag
said, "Jenny."
I coldstep to you
with a fresh pack of gum.
Somehow I knew
you were lookin' for some.

Like a fruit
that's ripe for the pickin'
I wouldn't do you like that
Zankou Chicken.
'Cos only you've got a thing
that I just got to get with.
I just got to get with you
and you know what we're gonna do.

I wanna get with you
(Oh girl)
and your sister.
I think her name's Debra.

I wanna get with you
(Only you)
and your sister.
I think her name's Debrah-ha-haa.

I pick you up late at night
after work.
I said, "Lady,
step inside my Hundai."
I'm gonna take you up to Glendale.
Gonna take you for a real good meal.

'Cos when our eyes did meet,
girl you I was packin' heat.
Ain't no use in wastin' no time
gettin' to know each other.
'Cos only you got a thing
that I just got to get with.

I wanna get with you
(Only you, girl)
and your sister.
I think her name's Debra.

I wanna get with you
(Girl)
and your sister.
I think her name's Debra.

Ew, lovely lady
Girl, you drive me crazy.

"Debra" ~ Beck

Fotography

I want to be a photographer hobbiest so bad, but I don't even own a camera. But it's such a cool hobby. The images that you can take in with a camera and never let go-priceless. The vines that climb up the oak tree that is planted firmly by the back door to the back yard—how can I really describe it while still doing justice to what that image really is. That's why I like photography so much. It allows us to capture an array of pictures that words simply are not able to express. Thus, the cliche saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

Today in Hastings while I was checking out the music, my friend told me that, "as a medium, music is bad." I knew from the onset of what he was about to say that I totally disagreed with him, but I responded with an "mmmhmm." The "mmmhmm" was meant to inform him that I didn't want to converse with him, but he proceeded to keep talking about how music is a bad medium and why. I didn't want someone talking to me--I wanted to be alone with my thoughts; however, he didn't seem to get my subtle hints--the "mmmhmm's" and "ya, sure's." Needless to say, he eventually stopped nagging me with his bantor. I'm pretty sure that of what he said to me, I may have retained 8% of it, which is to say that I now know that he thinks music as a medium is bad.

Sugar cookies and lollipops can give you a stomach ache, if you eat too many. The same goes for hamburgers and hot dogs, but they do not have the bad reputations that sugar cookies and lollipops do.

I don't actually want to liberate sugar cookies and lollipops; I just wanted to point a discrepancy in the conventional thought of americans. Also, I can't think of anything meaningful to write about.

Off To Camp

I'm about to leave for the Texas Lions Camp to do some lifeguard training.
A few things:
1) I'm really tired.
2) I love Keane.
3) I still want to learn how to rock out so hard that opposites will switch. The south will become north, the vegetarian will eat meat, and gamers will go outside and plant herb gardens.

Peace

Too Humid

34 minutes ago
a moderate downpour
left an uncomfortable humidity
because they always do,
they always do
and It's making me sweat
just like you do
and I'm reminded
I'm already the late one
because I'm always the late one.

I'm So Ready

There's roughly two more weeks of school left. This is a good thing. I'm so ready for a break, especially one that lasts for 3 months.

If you came to this blog in hopes of finding some post that is tied to the impending doom of global warming, you came to the wrong place.

And if you came to it to see a nicely formatted and designed web page, you came to the wrong place.

But...if you came to this site to read about my feelings related to the soon-to-be summer break, this is the place you've been dreaming of.

Cheers

This video made me laugh a little when I first watched it.

Here are some fun facts about yours truly:

I'm philisophically challanged.
I enjoy good music.
I like a nice game of chess—as long as the person I am playing is not very good.
I'm getting tired of school projects.
I like the summer, and I like it more the closer it gets to me.

When the Cold Gets Old

The weather here in sunny Lubbock is always an interesting subject for me to write about. I feel like I never have anything to say on this poor, malnourished blog. But wait! What's that?! The weather in Lubbock is acting strange again. Oh boy, I have something to write about and thus, give substance to emptycdwallet.

So here's what I've noticed about the weather, lately. For the past 4 or 5 weeks, things have been pretty warm; spring is in the air and you can feel it. By the time Easter rolled around, a quick change in weather occurred. (Because it was so quit, I like to refer to it as a "quickie," because I'm immature.) On the morning of Good Friday, I woke up, stepped outside, and upon feeling the chill of the newly forged cold front, involuntarily thought to myself that I had slept an entire 8 months. "Shit!" I said to myself. How could I have missed so much school...and life? What are people doing these days? Do I still have the same roommates? Are any of my friends now engaged? Do I have a beard and long hair? After feeling my face for the beard that would put Paul Bunyan to shame, I realized such a beard did not exist upon my boyish visage. I was confused. How did I not grow any hair over my 8-month hibernation? In fact, why is it that nobody even tried to wake me up? I was more than confused; I was delusional. At that moment I remembered one of the important things about Lubbock, TX I shouldn't have forgotten—it can get really cold in the spring. We have dust storms for crying out loud. Why should a cold spell in spring be any different.

So after I figured out that a cold front just came during the night of Good Friday, I proceed with my day. I thought to myself, "yeah, that's Lubbock for you."

I think that one of the most beautiful things in life is green, wet grass. You know what I'm talking about: how the spring rain completely saturates every blade; how the saturation makes fields and pastures look like marches. It's been raining a lot in Lubbock lately, and surprisingly, I am quite pleased when I walk out the door and see green lawns and feel moisture in the air. The winter was so dull and dry. Now, things look nice, and I'm amazed that I'm actually saying this considering my typical dislike with the climate and appearance of Lubbock.

a music video "enjoy the silence"

my spring break(out)

Spring Break 2007 was a spring break that occured during the year 2007. I spent most of it within my house in Kerrville. It was good for me because it took my mind off school and the all the crap that comes with it. I had a lot of time to relax and enjoy myself. Because I had so much free time, I was able to make some keen observations about my about my surrounding environment. Here are just a few things: First, my mom likes to make pancakes...a lot. I am pretty sure that for three of the nine days I've been here, she's made pancakes for breakfast. 3 of 9 reduces to 1 of 3. 1 of 3 is also one-third. I think that's a sizeable amount of pancakes. I also noticed that April showers sometime come around sooner than they are expected to. The rain came hard. It came so hard that some of the front lawns in my hood looked like miniature swamps. Also, once the rain was over, it left moisture to rest in the air. The moisture in the air made me break out a little. I'll spare the details.

I watched 7 movies over spring break. Here they are in the chronologocial order I saw them:
1) 300
2) Van Helsing
3) Breakfast at Tiffany's
4) Borat
5) Death to Smoochy
6) The Time Machine (the version from 2002)
7) The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

It's possible that I might watch The Prestige before classes start, but we'll see if that happens. If so, it could be considered number 8.

Wow, just what I needed.

Here are the top 10 most romantic songs in my iTunes library. This is just my opinion. They are in no particualar order as of right now, because I don't want to take the time to sort them out.

Recycled Air ~ The Postal Service
You Could Be Happy ~ Snow Patrol
Chasing Cars ~ Snow Patrol
We Might As Well Be Strangers ~ Keane
Sleep Don't Weep ~ Damien Rice
Accidental Babies ~ Damien Rice
Cattelya ~ The Autumns
The Moon Softly Weeps A Lullaby ~ The Autumns
Twenty Two Fourteen ~ The Album Leaf
Andvari ~ Sigur Ros

This list was harder to make than I thought it was going to be. Plus, I think it may have some discrepancies. For example, pretty much all of these songs transcend beyond romance. Maybe the next list I make will be better. Hopefully, it'll incorporate some radiohead.

I got into another pointless argument with one of my friends, recently. I made some comment about how certain guys try to prove their "machismo" by being obsessed with football and going hunting. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a particular problem with either sport, but I do get annoyed when "what is manly" is defined in such narrow terms. Then something happend. My friend didn't seem to want to believe that "machismo" is a real word that is actually used in english. I could feel the tension creep up between us. Maybe he was really just upset with the social commentary I made with regard to our culture's definition of manliness. Maybe he really didn't want to believe that "machismo" is a real word. I truly have no answer for why a small bit of dissonance developed inbetween us for that brief period in time. I will tell you this, though: I'm getting tired of the constant arguing over stupid, pointless things.

This Is Funny.

This Is What Happens When I Have To Write a Paper for My Technical Communications Course.

According to Wikipedia:
"A gnome is a legendary creature characterized by its very small size and subterranean lifestyle. According to the alchemist Paracelsus, gnomes are the most important of the elemental spirits of the classical element of earth; they move as easily through the earth as humans walk upon it, have conical hats, and the sun's rays turn them into stone. In other traditions, they are simply small, misshapen, mischievous sprites or goblins (with pointy caps). Some sources claim they spend the daytime as toads instead of in stone and they are also said to have magical powers that make people feel sad or happy."

Let me just tell you that writing a four page paper (single-spaced) about corporate and local codes of conduct isn't nearly as much fun as reading about gnomes.

I've really gotten tired of blogging. It's not that exciting anymore. Maybe I'll have some more inspiration to do it in the future.
Anyway, today was the superbowl. I don't pay much attention to football, but I did catch that the colts won. What does this information do for me? Nothing really. What does this information do for avid football fans? It either elates them or crushes them. I've never understood football. I probably never will. I do like a good sci-fi, though. I can understand those.

This is Clark Gable. He was an actor that played in movies from the 1920's to the 60's, though he was more prominent during the 30's and 40's. He is best known for his role as Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind.

The Postal Service has a song titled Clark Gable. That's the real reason for this post. I just wanted a shameless excuse to increase awareness for The Postal Service, because they deserve it.

sloppy, slovenly sloths

As you may well have noticed, there is now a picture of a sloth on emptycdwallet's sidebar. Don't be disturbed; the more you look at it the less freaked out by it you will be. It is a little bit of a strange picture, but the sloth is very cute.

Personally, I've always liked sloths. They rank in the top three of my favorite kinds of animals. I think most people don't think about them because they're too busy thinking about dogs or cats or midterm papers or court briefs. Yes indeed, the sloth is a forgotten beast, yet it is also a majestic beast, with it's three huge claws on each hand (or is it a paw?) and its dumpy, slow body. I hope this post has increased awareness for sloths. It should. I hope the sloth picture doesn't creep you out too much.