focus

(insert: quick obligatory "i haven't updated this blog in forever" comment..)
i've been thinking lately about the quintessential challenges of our generation. among them, averting boredom, not caring so much about your favorite old band's new comeback, appreciating coffee from third world countries as much as wine from the south of france. seriously, the bouquet in my kenyan brew tells stories and complements my recent hangover better than your cab-sav/rack-o-lamb pairing.
also, and perhaps most relevant to my current endeavors, is finding how to humanize our increasingly digital lives. shoutouts to my sci-fi-loving friends... musically, this means putting the soul back into drum machines. i don't pretend that this is a totally new idea, but it does seem to fit into the iGeneration plan. i'm completely stoked on a couple of bands that are increasingly successful at this: Animal Collective (always), Portishead, and one of my new favorite haunts, Tussle. if you can figure out how to get a hold of me, i'll give you samples of all three. there are plenty more, but those are the three on repeat. i think that if we are crafting a new genre of music it has to somehow sieze on this essential balance. intimately speaking, i think a lot of this success can be achieved by making relentless repetition something less than only meditative. check out the two album covers above, which effortlessly show how the beauty of repetition can be both a) incredibly organic and b) mind-altering. tip: view the second one at actual size for desired effect.

which reminds me, i've written about the importance of balance before, and it's fair to say that balance is as important in every facet of my own life as it is in nastia liukin's (we will never forget).

with that, here is a great track that exemplifies the blend of acoustic and digital elements to profoundly soulful success. just check out how seamlessly the twangy guitar plucking transmogrifies into hypnotic repetitive static synth line. listen to the rest of portishead's latest, third, for ten more beautiful examples.

The Rip - Portishead

TEN THINGS I'M CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT

In reverse parabolic order...

Intricate Machines getting back in the Stu-stu-studio
Collectivism
New Tracks posted by PicturePlane (myspace.com/pictureplane listen to slang war)
Coke Zero
Eggdrop Top Ramen
Friends starting new bands (check out vince, johann, and erik at myspace.com/furcastmusic)
Repealing Proposition 8
Halloween 2009
The climactic ending to Karate Kid (1984)
Going on vacation to Morro Bay

more music videos

i've been pretty hooked on watching music videos lately. not that i haven't always been into them. i think i really want i/m/ to do a music video sooner than later.

join us

join us

bike gang

callin all bloods if you're with me

707 circuit bent

my good friend and roommate general eric chao-dong just sent me this video. it's the most accessible use of circuit bending i've ever seen. check it out...

Diabolical Modified TR707 from Meadows Ling on Vimeo.

50 YERES

In moments of cynical backlash, I've considered anniversaries pretty arbitrary cause for celebration. The shifting of the tides aside, the turning of years offers little more than historical convenience. Regardless, it was 50 years ago this year that Miles Davis released 'Kind of Blue.' It's a landmark jazz album, and it's a bit amazing that it has maintained its relevance over such a long period of time. I don't need much of an excuse to revisit this one...



Also, 50 years is a really long time.

back again

it's been quite a while since last entry. i sorta can't believe i left enya a group of shitty enya videos as the top post for such a long time, but i guess the SF-->LA move really took it out of me for a while. it feels good to be back in LA and i'm brimming with energy and excitement for all the cool things that are about to happen and all the cool people to do things with. if you're reading this, i'm probably talking about you. on top of the geographic transition, i'm moving up in the world too. ya, i just got my first camera cellphone. none of this bogus iphone3g stuff. i don't need a gps system in my back pocket to tell me what street i live on. but the camera is cool, especially because film has been too expensive to develop and the replacement battery i bought in chinatown for my digital camera didn't fix any of its problems. so here are some photos from my cellphone... a few of them taken at some of the beautiful beach coves i visited in socal. for the record, northern california has its major perks, but the sun shines a lot brighter down south.



follow-up. i planned to transfer the photos to my computer using bluetooth, but my phone is not compatible with my computer. and it's not just because i don't have a mac. i'm a PC and sorta proud of it. so check out some gauzy folk tunes from portland instead.

moving to LALALALA

having some sensitive moments about leaving sf... nothing like some enya to really remind me that being emotional and sappy is for nerdz and wusses.

another one

with aki... totally demo status...


-lee

a view of things to come

OH MY GOD

currently listening to and loving:

Boredoms - Super Roots, Vol. 7
Cass McCombs - Not The Way
The Upsetters - Return of the Super Ape
M83 - Saturdays=Youth
Disco Inferno - The 5 EPs
Lucky Dragons - Dark Falcon (seriously so upset i missed this show at triple base the other night because i was at home watching the brolympics)


also, i love the old man at rooky ricardo's record shop at haight and fillmore. go in there and ask him about his private vault of mixes. he'll give you some hot and probably heavy mix of amazing girl doo-wop jams.

and, even though i don't have the new deerhunter because it's not released yet, definitely listen to "nothing ever happened." such a good track on such a good album... a little more straight-rock than cryptograms.

-lee

another

this one is dedicated to the 6 billion people in the world who will never see this blog. and all the haterz in the world.



-lee

new i.m. demo

been recording with aki up here in the bay, laying out some new tracks. feelin good!

umm friday

rerax is on friday. friday july 25.

-lee

also

don't forget that this saturday is RERAX at senor fish in little tokyo. that's downtown LA for the non-initiates. my band i.m. will be rocking from 1115-12, so come see some absolutely killer live music. i might even be wearing a skirt.. for the ladies..

-lee

revisiting oldish music

i truly think this is one of the most overlooked records of the past few years. i love how he combines simple and beautiful melodies with the complex and dark lyrics. 'lionkiller' is one of my favorites because of its driving and droning feel. plus his lyrics are particularly engrossing. seriously, though, every track off of 'dropping the writ' is a potential favorite. literally, every track.

IMPORTANT: YOU MUST RSVP at URB. com/events

Come out for a night of live music, dancing, drinking and art!

Live performances by Intricate Machines,

Intricate Machines, Rough Cuts and Surrender!

With DJ sets by DJ Original Bozak

then i realized this summer i've been neglecting the sun

wow, i know this has been passed around a bit for a while, but it's still so good.