The iPhone Cometh

Tomorrow sees the release of Apple's iPhone and I...wish I had one. *sniff*

Reasons Why I Shouldn't Buy One:

• I'm on a Verizon contract for the foreseeable future, and as everyone knows AT&T has a FIVE YEAR EXCLUSIVE on the iPhone. Damn, I hated AT&T so much I switched a couple of years ago. Go figure.
• I really have to carry a Blackberry for work and the thought of having two different cell phones makes my pockets cry...especially if one of them is bigger than a PSP.
  
• My only personal concern about owning one of these God-devices is that there will be a better one every six months (yeah, just keep telling myself that...)

Warren Ellis: What Best Says Mad for Rock?

Today's starry wisdom from Warren Ellis:

Talking of odd, I heard a bit of the new White Stripes. And I'm going to have to listen again, because I swear I heard some Jethro Tull in there. What was the name of that git? Ian Anderson? With the wild look in his eye, and his "look at me, I'm so craaazy, prancing around playing my fucking flute." Because nothing says Mad For Rock like a flute, mate.

Tops of My Pops for 6/24/07

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending June 24, 2007
1. David Byrne
2. David Bowie
2. Ulrich Schnauss
4. Fila Brazillia
4. Silversun Pickups
6. The Field
6. Underworld
6. Massive Attack
9. Loscil
9. DJ Shadow
9. Linkin Park
9. Beck

This was a great week for discovering new (to me) artists. The first revelation is Silversun Pickups, who I know nothing about but are rocking my world regardless. Great fusion of classic-era Smashing Pumpkins and maybe Lush, but the results are more powerful and exciting than just another indie band wearing their influences on their collective sleeve. The other great discovery is The Field, who's From Here We Go Sublime is pure looping repetitive minimal techno joy (YMMV).

Also, topping my list for the week was David Byrne's forgotten magnum opus, The Catherine Wheel – his soundtrack to Twyla Tharp's production of the same name. Released the same year as his landmark collaboration with Brian Eno, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, The Catherine Wheel shares many of the same experimental leanings, but largely does so without found sounds and tape loops. Instead Byrne creates a warmer, more organic feel using mainly live instrumentation, and bounces back and forth between abstract soundscapes and anxious, angular pop ala Talking Heads of the same period. Definitely a "desert island disc" for me.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 6/17/07

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending June 17, 2007
1. David Bowie
2. Skinny Puppy
3. Radiohead
3. The Sea and Cake
3. Linkin Park
6. Lily Allen
6. RJD2
8. Amon Tobin
8. Everything but the Girl
8. Barry Adamson
8. Spoon
8. Broken Social Scene
8. Gang of Four
8. Beck
8. Harold Budd
8. Wire
8. Battles
8. Manual
8. A Sunny Day In Glasgow
8. Underworld

Not a whole lot more time for listening this week than last, but I made a concerted effort to rate as many unrated tracks as I could along the way. This yielded some interesting (and overdue) observations:

• Albums that exceeded my expectations: Battles' Mirrored (the ultimate expression of math rock)
  
• Albums that were everything I had hoped they would be: Wire's Pink Flag (yeah, I know I should've owned this one decades ago), Barry Adamson's Stranger On The Sofa (he hasn't let me down in years), Amon Tobin's Foley Room (still trying to get used to this one though)
• Albums that failed to achieve: Linkin Park's Minutes To Midnight (but an 'A' for effort, guys), Lily Allen's Alright, Still (although there are a few great tracks hiding in there), A Sunny Day In Glasgow's Scribble Mural Comic Journal (feh), Skinny Puppy's Mythmaker (was this even necessary?), Rjd2's The Third Hand (still, not as apocalyptically bad as everyone was going on about)

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Back In The Saddle Again!

Wow, that was painful.

First there was ten days of vacation (which was fine), but then that was followed by two weeks of work travel and a solid week of feeling like death warmed over thanks to a double-whammy of a cold and evil allergies. Simultaneously my PowerBook started freaking out, went in for repairs twice, and was out of commission for two entire weeks while Apple Support figured out WTF. Two main logic boards later it's back to normal.

So much has happened in the world since I last posted, it's pretty overwhelming trying to figure out where to begin. But I'm just gonna take a deep breath, stretch out and get to blogging.

Thanks for your patience while I was being spanked by The Universe.

Tops of My Pops for 6/10/07

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending June 10, 2007
1. Beck
2. The Sea and Cake
3. Massive Attack
3. Beastie Boys
3. Depeche Mode
3. Zero 7
3. Dub Syndicate
3. Lee "Scratch" Perry
3. Bonobo
10. k-os
10. Ministry
10. The Decemberists
10. DJ Krush
10. Coldplay
10. Midwest Product
10. Tubeway Army
10. Space Monkeyz vs. Gorillaz
10. Radiohead
10. Coldcut
10. A Sunny Day In Glasgow

As it turns out, there was too much time spent working this week, resulting in not a lot of listening. Overall low play counts made for a pretty random list. Wish me more luck next time!

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives

Tops of My Pops for 6/3/07

A weekly look at what I'm listening to, from my Last.fm user stats:

Top Artists for the week ending June 3, 2007
1. Jack Johnson
2. The Kleptones
3. The Sea and Cake
3. The Helio Sequence
5. LCD Soundsystem
6. David Bowie
6. Pedro
8. Marvin Gaye
8. DJ Shadow
10. Ministry
10. Beck
10. Richard Cheese
10. Spoon

Sometimes you just want to get your mellow on. Jack, Marvin, The Sea and Cake, The Helio Sequence and Pedro contributed nicely to that vibe this week.

See also:
The 'Tops of My Pops' archives