Language Instinct

Their Lonely Betters

by W.H. Auden

As I listened from a beach-chair in the shade
To all the noises that my garden made,
It seemed to me only proper that words
Should be withheld from vegetables and birds.

A robin with no Christian name ran through
The Robin-Anthem which was all it knew,
And rustling flowers for some third party waited
To say which pairs, if any, should get mated.

Not one of them was capable of lying,
There was not one which knew that it was dying
Or could have with a rhythm or a rhyme
Assumed responsibility for time.

Let them leave language to their lonely betters
Who count some days and long for certain letters;
We, too, make noises when we laugh or weep:
Words are for those with promises to keep.

A Thought Provoking Poem

The Hand That Signed The Paper

By Dylan Thomas, 1936

The hand that signed the paper felled a city;
Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath,
Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;
These five kings did a king to death.

The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder,
The finger joints are cramped with chalk;
A goose's quill has put an end to murder
That put an end to talk.

The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,
And famine grew, and locusts came;
Great is the hand that holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.

The five kings count the dead but do not soften
The crusted wound nor pat the brow;
A hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven;
Hands have no tears to flow.

Lollapalooza 2008 In Pictures

Radiohead

Among the best concerts I've ever seen, even though I was not all that close. Their lighting effects were stellar and really enhanced the performance that much. Thom Yorke's falsetto echoed off the buildings of Chicago, and my expectations were exceeded on every level.

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The Go! Team

Another show I wasn't too close for, but still was incredible. The Go! Team's energy was instantly contagious and they had everyone dancing in minutes. Their 8-some members played every instrument you could imagine, and they even had two drummers. Definitely a Team I'll want to catch next time they come to Michigan.

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Rogue Wave

Having seen them before and known their shtick, I wasn't expecting a ton from Rogue Wave. I really enjoyed the performance, but nothing about it was memorable enough to warrant any kind of real excitement. There is nothing like hearing "Lake Michigan" when you're 30 feet from the water yourself.

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Kanye West

I'm not the biggest Kanye West fan, but his showmanship was outstanding and his songs were all expanded in every way you can imagine. A backup band enhanced the sound of every song, and the smoke and dramatic lighting made it that much better.

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Broken Social Scene

I only caught the tail end of BSS' set (to my regret), but of what I saw I was very impressed. Having seen them earlier this year at the Michigan Theater playing Kevin Drew's songs, I wasn't sure how they'd fare performing their own music, let alone Brendan Canning's. The high point was 7/4 Shoreline which Amy Milan sang. It was great to hear one of my favorite female vocalists again.

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Bloc Party (see Kele on right of screen)

Bloc Party was mediocre, but don't get me wrong. I love Bloc Party, but the only person who seemed enthused about their set was drummer Matt Tong. I've seen Bloc Party before, and they were incredible, but something big was missing from this performance. Their set was very short, with their 8 or 9 songs they performed ending them up 15 minutes earlier than they were scheduled to. Maybe it got to them that everyone in the first 40 rows was in the first 40 rows to see Radiohead, and they happened to be just a bonus.

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Mates of State

Kori and Jason sounded great, and it was great to see that they'd brought a violinist and upright-bassist with them. The string arrangements brought out some of the nuances of each song that I'd learned to love, but wasn't expecting live.

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The National

Just as they were when I saw them two months ago, The National were incredible. They started off battling a bass problem on the speakers. The kick-drum literally made my eyeballs vibrate every time it was hit, and I'm a big bass drum fan. Regardless, their set was great, Abel being a standout, and the trumpeteers had improved their skill a ton since the Crofoot Ballroom. This time, the trumpet was used instead of the violin I'd heard during the last show. I kinda missed the violinist from the last show. He was insane, and I don't know where he went, but he will be missed.

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Okkervil River

I was really looking forward to Will Sheff and Okkervil River, and they did not disappoint. I really just got into them earlier this year, and I couldn't wait to hear them play. The band was much bigger than I expected, and the keyboardist they had delivered all the background intricacies of each song perfectly. Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe, one of my favorite Okkervil River songs, was out of this world. The song was lengthened by a few minutes, and lots of details were added. They really killed it.

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Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog was pretty good, and they sounded even better in person. To my dismay, however, they didn't play The Breeze, my favorite song of theirs. However, their set was varied between new and old material and just made me that much more interested in them. Come October, I'll be seeing them again in Ann Arbor!

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Hellboy II: The Golden Rehash

• Huge monster squirming around New York wreaking havok? Check
• Invincible army that's been locked away for a bajillion years and now someone is gonna use it? Check
• Little monsters that fly around and appear cute until some nobody comes up and says "Oh look, he's cute, he's not gonna hurt us" then the little monster bares its teeth and rips the guy's head off? Check
• Underground black market with all sorts of colorful characters and bizarre goods? Check
• White skinned elf types with white contact lenses just like the characters from Guillermo's Blade movies? Check
• Misanthropic smartass main character who is impervious to verbal attacks by damsels or physcial ones by villains, and uses big guns like Will Smith and acts like him too [in Men In Black]? Check
• Tin Man type character who just wants someone to love and relate to? Check

I enjoyed Hellboy II: The Golden Army. It was a lot of fun and exciting and beautiful to look at, but it had almost nothing I hadn't seen before. Whether it be rips from Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, National Treasure, The Mummy, Cloverfield/The Host, or Guillermo's previous endeavors, I just found myself yawning at the scenes I'd seen before again and again.

Many people will credit Guillermo Del Toro with his visionary creativity and inspired art direction in movies like Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, but this in it of itself does not equate to a good film. The creatures of Hellboy II were unique and refreshing, but put those creatures in environments and plots I've seen a hundred times before, and it adds up to nothing for me. I'll give credit where credit is due (in the art department), but the story department was surely lacking.

All the reviews I'm reading say "ooh la la look at lil Guillermo I haven't seen creatures like that since the Cantina scene from Star Wars a while back". Yes, the creatures were very original, but thats exactly what I expected from Del Toro. After seeing Pan's Labyrinth, I was disgusted [in a good way] at some of the creatures he cooked up. Among them the "skin man" with the eyes on his hands. I found the lack of eyes on the facial area very cool, and terrifiying, and it definitely challenged the way I think about animals and evolution. Ok, interesting. But then here comes Guillermo's next movie. I thought the Angel of Death (pictured above) in Hellboy II looked awesome, but I'm starting to think that among other things, the "eyes on the hands/wings" trick is all Guillermo's got. He invents weird shaped creatures and apparently expects that the sum of all his bizarre creatures will add up to a solid film. Apparently the critics agree. Del Toro's directing is excellent, but without a real story I'm not sold.

The funniest part about all of it is that before Hellboy, a trailer rolled for the new Mummy movie and sure enough in it too there is some crazy millenia-old army that is going to be revived by Jet Li. The special effects look stunning, but that's where the depth of it ends, it appears.

Los Campesinos! and The National

So it's been a pretty busy summer so far... It has mostly just consisted of taking a philosophy class, working, and relaxing in Ann Arbor, but I have no problem with that. I can already tell it's going to be one of the best summers I've ever had. As far as concerts go, I've been lucky enough to be in the first row at Los Campesinos and The National. Both concerts were incredible, and the musicianship was astounding at both venues for the most part.

To begin, The National were exceptional. They are far from one of my favorite bands, but I must say that their live performance exceeded any expectations I had and secured them a position (temporarily) in my top three concerts I've ever been to. Matt Berninger, The National's lead singer, has go to be one of the coolest people ever. He cradled the mic in his hands like it was a baby he was whispering to; it really added just that much more to his performance. Also, the violinist was absolutely insane. For half the concert at least, the guy was flipping out doing backflips while playing  violin. It was actually quite amusing.  The two twin brother guitarists were extremely skilled as well, and the sound was almost ethereal. Especially during Abel. I'd only heard it a few times before, but it instantly became a favorite. From the way Berninger screamed his baritone crooning into the microphone to the way the electric guitar echoed off the the walls of the atrium at the Crofoot Ballroom, the experience was unparalleled. I expected the concert to be just like the Apartment Story music video, but it was really so much more.

Apparently Los Campesinos are not as big as I thought they were. I was in line an hour before doors opened, and I received funny looks. No one even showed up until like 10 minutes before doors. When I bought a tshirt later on, their merch guy even commented "Why have you been here so long?" Apparently now I am officially their biggest fan in Michigan. And they rocked in person. It's very obvious that they are young and relatively inexperienced with playing live, but still their skills showed through and their sound was almost identical to that on the record. Hold On Now Youngster grew on me tenfold during the month before the concert, so it just heightened my experience that much more. Anyways, Garreth and Aleksandra were very charming in person. Their tongue-in-cheek style was a spectacle in person, I just wish Aleks would've spoke up a little bit while she was singing; I could barely hear her half the time. The funny thing was, I think she realized that her voice could not overcome the seven other odd instruments in the band, so she started yelling almost towards the end of the concert. 

I AM LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION

Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge

Once in a blue moon I stumble upon something truly extraordinary that makes me wonder how easy it seems to make great music. Devonte Hynes of Test Icicles just makes it look so easy oin his debut LP. Sure it's a few months old, but most people haven't even heard of him anyway so I thought I'd write a short post about him.

Lightspeed Champion, a fictitious childhood hero created by Hynes, is the name for his band. Produced by Mike Mogis, the man also behind Tilly and the Wall and Bright Eyes, Falling Off Lavender Bridge sounds familiar, but is just original enough that it doesn't blend in with all of the genres it borrows from in creating its own unique sound. With a mix of indie pop, orchestral pop a-la-Vampire-Weekend, and country tinges similar to Bright Eyes, Falling Off The Lavender Bridge is truly one of my favorite records this year so far.

Hynes' voice is similar to Kele Okereke's of Bloc Party, and I find that it meshes perfectly with the background violins, acoustic guitar, and other instruments in ways I didn't think a voice like that would be able to. Also, the record is very accessible, but not so much so that its corny. With gems like "Dry Lips," "Everyone I Know I Listening to Crunk," and "Midnight Surprise," I immediately loved the album, something that rarely happens with me. Take a listen to Dry Lips for free on his last.fm page. As soon as I heard the drum beat kick in, I knew it was going to be a memorable experience.

As you can see in the picture, Hynes appears to don a ukulele but it's nowhere to be found on the album! At least he holds the thing.

Stars Concert

The Stars concert tonight was absolutely ridiculous. From Torq taking a blunt from a member of the audience, to Torq yelling at the stagehands trying to get his headphones to work. And the music was incredible. Chamber Pop at its finest-when it's live. Anyways, I thought I'd share a few pictures from the night-I've rarely seen so much emotion on stage from one person. Torq and Amy couldn't take their eyes off each other, and Torq even had some sort of piano horn device. I'm particularly proud of the bottom picture I put on here, I think it's great. This concert is the first of so many good ones this spring and summer.

Vampire Weekend....?!

Youch! A month with no posts.....and my it has been a busy month I'll say. But I stumbled upon an incredible new band who constructed their first record with seemingly little effort and somehow managed to produce one of the best pop albums of the year. I won't say too much about it, because the hype machine is already piping hot with all of the rumors and speculation about Vampire Weekend. All I'll say is that regardless of what type of music you are interested in, I'm pretty sure you'd be able to find at least a song or two on the record that you like. Not only that, but I'm even seeing them when they come to Ann Arbor in a few weeks. I'll post pictures, don't worry. Standout Tracks: Oxford Comma, A-Punk, Walcott, M79, Campus. All of the tracks manage to be inspired, original, yet simple. All of the tracks are smart and eclectic with a mix of pop, classical themes, and indie prep pretentiousness[?...they go to Columbia and write songs about Cape Cod]. Check them out. Oh! And I'll write more soon, I promise. Go Football Giants.