this will hopefully help me later this year determine a best-of-2009 list. it's by no means comprehensive, and is assuredly missing something vital. feel free to mention additional things in the comments.
electronic, dance & pop:
Bat for Lashes, Two Suns
Beastie Boys, Paul's Boutique (remaster)
Björk, Voltaïc
Gil Mantera's Party Dream, Dreamscape
KMFDM, Blitz
J.G. Thirlwell, The Venture Bros.: The Music of JG Thirlwell
Toy Selectah, The Mex-More EP
electronic, other:
Atom™, Liedgut*
Boxcutter, Arecibo Message
Fever Ray, Fever Ray*
Mochipet, "Master P on Atari"
Phaeleh, Fire / Isolate
Rusuden, Death By Din Sync
Teef, "The Subsitute"
Venetian Snares, Filth
Joker, "Digidesign" / 2000F & J Kamata, "You Don't Know What Love Is"
rock & metal:
Buried Inside, Spoils of Failure
Maserati / Zombie, split e.p.
Obscura, Cosmogenesis*
Zu, Carboniferous
* These are definite contenders for top 10.
please note: specifically left off the list: the new MSTRKRFT.
in case you can't quite read my blurry photo, it reads:
Did you know? In the 1700's, people rubbed the poison from the Dyeing Frog on parrots to genetically change the color of their feathers.
genetically? is that an appropriate word?
edit: i was skeptical about the use of the word "genetically" on this placard at the aquarium. however, after a little google this morning, i found this:
This is the aptly named dyeing frog, Dendrobates tinctorius, one of the poison-dart frogs. Its skin contains a cocktail of alkaloid poisons. Like many alkaloids, these are mutagens. Applied to the rapidly dividing cells in a growing feather, they cause a local genetic change -- and a colour change in the parrots' feathers.
wow. neat! (though the next sentence says that it was unpleasant for both the birds and the frogs. sad.)
this is indicative of my main complaint about visiting the aquarium yesterday -- often there were interesting things in the tanks, with little-to-no information available. i'll say more later, when i post my pictures.
back in the late 90s, i really got obsessed with the young ones, and since imdb and ebay had just brought a lot more of the world within reach, i was spending a lot of time acquiring other stuff those guys had done. some things weren't so good (e.g. little noises; i thought mayall & crispin glover together would be great), some i loved (bottom), and some were just sort of in-between.
the supergrass was in-between. we have our cheesy 80s films, and so do the brits. it's a goofy, unremarkable-but-not-unpleasant comedy about an informer (a "supergrass" in uk english) who's just making it all up to impress a girl.
if you're curious, it looks as if you can watch the whole thing on youtube. the real genius of the film, though, is alexei sayle's minor role as a rural motorcycle cop.
now that i know this is on the youtube, i should just pitch the vhs i have laying around....
it seems to be catching on lately too -- consistently like 30 views a day, which isn't much, really, but way more than my other photos, many of which don't get 30 views total. :D
Thanks to the immediacy (and accessibility) of Twitter, a lot of my internet writing has been elsewhere (and short). I need to figure out how to remedy that.
