I still haven’t been able to really get into the Fleet Foxes record, but not for lack of trying. There are some great tunes on there, but I’ve never been able to get over how much it sounds like My Morning Jacket, and I can’t seem to forgive them for it. But up steps this version, by two young Swedish gals, Klara (age 15) and Johanna (age 17) who go by the name First Aid Kit, who are making a very convincing argument for giving that record yet another try.
The harmonies around the 1-minute minute mark will drop your jaw.
Klara and Johanna were apparently just signed to The Knife’s Rabid Records so expect to hear more from them sometime soon. (via)
The Obama camp has to hope Biden will help them with Pennsylvania, since that’s where he was born. But, if I remember correctly, historically the VP really hasn’t been able to “give” a presidential candidate a state for quite a while—Edwards didn’t get Kerry North Carolina in 2004, Gore didn’t get Bill Clinton Tennessee.
Biden will be the best choice for Obama though, by having the boldness to be aggressive against McCain (and whomever his VP ends up being). I can’t wait for the debates, especially if it’s McCain/Romney.
And the guy just knows his shit when it comes to foreign policy. He’s like the “good guy” version of McCain or Cheney in that respect.
It just feels like a winning ticket, doesn’t it?
NOTE: Biden makes his first appearance with Obama this afternoon in Springfield, Illiinois (2PM CST).
UPDATE: Here’s a couple of spot-on comments I’ve seen written on the issue this morning…
Conservatives will blast [Biden's] record, just as surely as liberals will (or should) celebrate it. But one of the virtues of having Biden as the vice presidential nominee is that he won’t take those kinds of attacks lightly. He’ll fight back. He’ll remind people, rightly, that being a liberal Democrat means raising the minimum wage, making sure everybody has affordable health care, providing strong public schools, and protecting human rights. Then, he’ll ask why conservative Republicans don’t want the same things. That’s exactly the kind of political debate this country needs. By picking Biden as a running mate, Obama has signaled that he welcomes this argument–and intends, finally, to win it.
“I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” is best known as one of the hit singles from Robert Palmer’s 1985 album Riptide, but it actually appeared first on Cherrelle’s 1984 album Fragile.
Written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis before they hooked up with Janet Jackson for a string of super-mega-hits, this version sounds more like a Prince tune than something that would be written by the team behind “Pleasure Principle” and Human League’s “Human.”
I just recently heard this original Cherrelle version as a part of Gay Werewolf’sRio’s Night Out Mix, which I blogged about a few days ago, which is still one of the best things I’ve heard all year, and which is still available for free download.
Scathing commentary from Philip Butler, a former POW (8 years) at the same camp as John McCain.
John McCain served his time as a POW with great courage, loyalty and tenacity. More that 600 of us did the same. After our repatriation a census showed that 95% of us had been tortured at least once. The Vietnamese were quite democratic about it. There were many heroes in North Vietnam. I saw heroism every day there. And we motivated each other to endure and succeed far beyond what any of us thought we had in ourselves. Succeeding as a POW is a group sport, not an individual one. We all supported and encouraged each other to survive and succeed. John knows that. He was not an individual POW hero. He was a POW who surmounted the odds with the help of many comrades, as all of us did.
I furthermore believe that having been a POW is no special qualification for being President of the United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW experience is not, in my opinion, something I would look for in a presidential candidate.
The right-wing will surely label this guy a “swiftboater,” because he disagrees with McCain’s politics, but he’s not impugning or calling into question McCain’s service, only giving some perspective on all of the soldiers who fought and were captured in the line of duty, and whether or not that translates to qualification for Presidency. He’s explaining how John McCain’s story is not of singular heroism, but of group heroism, and that the other 600 POW’s must not be forgotten in this political narrative.
Good Magazine has a nice feature on Hal Ashby (director of Being There, Harold & Maude, The Last Detail, etc.) with essays by Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, Alexander Payne, and more.
G: Generally, what do you like about Hal Ashby, and why do you think the movies are worth seeing? Is this like his other movies, or are they all very different? WA: His movies are far beyond worth seeing. To me, they are some of the best movies ever made. Sometimes, like the opening scene and much of Coming Home, they almost resemble documentaries. Sometimes, for instance in the cases of Harold and Maude and Being There, they are quite surreal. There is a great range, and they contain great performances by some of the best actors of their time. They are authentic and original and very moving—but as I have started sounding like a book report again, I will make this my ending.
I’ve been meaning to go back and revisit some of these fantastic films, this weekend may be the weekend.
I probably need to give this record one more try. (via)
UPDATE: After stumbling across their video for “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” I can’t help but like these guys a little bit more. Definitely listening to the record again today.
This is the ever-morphing home and ranting/raving-ground of Aaron Grauer. I'm a graphic designer/web developer with Firespring, a marketing firm in Lincoln, Nebraska. You can listen to music I've made over at Virb, see pictures I've taken on Flickr, read thoughts I've thunk at Twitter, and of course there's that whole social networking business over on Facebook.
