Jawbox live on Jimmy Fallon!  Click the link below to go to the full post with two more videos!

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via neilis & vsep13 Dieter Rams T1000 Screen Print

via neilis & vsep13

Dieter Rams T1000 Screen Print

Simplicity Bright Theme for Wordpress

I’ve recently been designing a new Wordpress theme for myself and have been doing it by reworking Simplicity Bright.  The stylesheet is beautifully written for this theme, which makes for quick customization and straightforward results.

My Shelfari Page: http://shelfari.com/louiskoromiv

King Khan & BBQ Show - I’ll Be Lovin’ You

via Pitchfork

via copycats

Tom Thumb’s Blues - Lisa Hannigan
originally by Bob Dylan
(posted by sometimesagreatnotion)

If there’s a better female voice in the world than Lisa’s, I’ve never heard it.

by Drew Rios via typegoodness

by Drew Rios

via typegoodness

Rodriguez: Cold Fact 2008, Light in the Attic (Reissue) Rating: 3.2 Rediscovering old music is always a treat for the music lover. The discovery also displays extra rewards when that old music is something that has been marginalized in some way. Light in the Attic has made this practice part of their business, finding marginalized records that have been forgotten, and then reissuing them for a new audience. Cold Fact asks a series of important questions related to this business practice: what is the true quality of a good record when that record is largely appreciated for its production qualities and those qualities are unique to a time period? Is it a great record? Is recontextualization a valid means for fresh evaluation? These questions are particularly relevant because Rodriguez’s Cold Fact doesn’t really stand out stylistically from his contemporaries. This record is not nearly as sonically interesting as Bob Dylan’s work with the band or Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush. In fact, Cold Fact is pretty middle-of-the-road when it comes to the sound of the time. There are splatterings of strings meant to highlight the moody blues rhythms that Rodriguez channels throughout the record. There are even moments of trumpets bursting into the sound, denoting a very top-40 ambition that the producers had for the artist. One can understand why Rodriguez blended into the sound of the day — there’s nothing here that jumps out at the listener as particularly revelatory. However, the songwriting is good on Cold Fact. The lyrical content has a distinctively urban feel, making the songs seem less existential than his contemporaries. This pulls Rodriguez’s songs out of the pie-in-the-sky moments of most 60s and 70s era music. It is the portraits of urban life that really make this record worthwhile. Songwriting like that in “I Wonder” seems contemporary in its frankness. It is this aspect of the record that really gives it any kind of reason for shelf space. I really begin to question the gushing praise that Rodriguez has garnered. I wonder if people aren’t taken by the familiar production of this very good music, and appreciate that these are songs they just haven’t heard before. The songwriting is good, but it’s not great. The record’s subject-matter is interesting, but for most, that would seem more a cultural curiosity than a reason to garner such praise. via eMusic

Rodriguez: Cold Fact
2008, Light in the Attic (Reissue)
Rating: 3.2

Rediscovering old music is always a treat for the music lover. The discovery also displays extra rewards when that old music is something that has been marginalized in some way. Light in the Attic has made this practice part of their business, finding marginalized records that have been forgotten, and then reissuing them for a new audience. Cold Fact asks a series of important questions related to this business practice: what is the true quality of a good record when that record is largely appreciated for its production qualities and those qualities are unique to a time period? Is it a great record? Is recontextualization a valid means for fresh evaluation?

These questions are particularly relevant because Rodriguez’s Cold Fact doesn’t really stand out stylistically from his contemporaries. This record is not nearly as sonically interesting as Bob Dylan’s work with the band or Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush. In fact, Cold Fact is pretty middle-of-the-road when it comes to the sound of the time. There are splatterings of strings meant to highlight the moody blues rhythms that Rodriguez channels throughout the record. There are even moments of trumpets bursting into the sound, denoting a very top-40 ambition that the producers had for the artist. One can understand why Rodriguez blended into the sound of the day — there’s nothing here that jumps out at the listener as particularly revelatory.

However, the songwriting is good on Cold Fact. The lyrical content has a distinctively urban feel, making the songs seem less existential than his contemporaries. This pulls Rodriguez’s songs out of the pie-in-the-sky moments of most 60s and 70s era music. It is the portraits of urban life that really make this record worthwhile. Songwriting like that in “I Wonder” seems contemporary in its frankness. It is this aspect of the record that really gives it any kind of reason for shelf space.

I really begin to question the gushing praise that Rodriguez has garnered. I wonder if people aren’t taken by the familiar production of this very good music, and appreciate that these are songs they just haven’t heard before. The songwriting is good, but it’s not great. The record’s subject-matter is interesting, but for most, that would seem more a cultural curiosity than a reason to garner such praise.

via eMusic

Under the Radar Takagi Masakatsu: Journal for People 2006, Carpark Rating: 4.0 The brilliance of Takagi Masakatsu’s Journal for People is in what it doesn’t do. There are no huge crescendos, nor are there driving rhythmic themes. Journal for People just flows through its 62-minute running time like a trip down a river. It pulses with life in parts, but throughout the piece it moves organically, picking up rhythm in some places, melody in others, but all the while keeping pace with the topography of the setting, in this case, the album. Masakatsu straddles the line between experiment and ambiance with unusual dexterity. Few albums are able to balance texture without blatantly assaulting you with rhythm. Most of Masakatsu’s album really does feel like running water because of the skill used in his approach. There is a kind of shiny, almost disorganized feel to the album’s rhythms that feel literally like a river. This balance, which is a balance between atmosphere and structure highlights the artistry of Masakatsu. Artistry is really what makes the listener feel that Journal for People isn’t an ambient record. “Piano” is a prime example of this. With skill, Masakatsu sets up a dreamy ambient arrangement. A single dreamlike voice forms the melody of the piece, saying only “ah” throughout the piece in varying keys. However, Masakatsu varies piano textures behind the voice so that the path of the music seems transparent relative to earlier tracks “Uter 1″ and “Uter 2.” Masakatsu doesn’t stay in this very shallow area. Already in “Ketle 1″ Masakatsu uses sudden, harsh-sounding samples to seperate the listener from the clear, shallow channels that he draws in “Piano.” Instead, “Ketle 1″ bubbles and flows with the feeling of rapids — moving, yet intent to get caught in the eddies of theme and experimentation. Balance, rhythm, texture, and restraint are all skills that Takagi Masakatsu exercises on Journal for People. It is these skills that help Masakatsu stand out from his contemporaries as not simply another DJ trying to make ambient hip-hop or some jazz musician using different instruments to make some long jam. No, Journal for People is serious electronic music done in such a way that honors its album setting. via eMusic

Under the Radar

Takagi Masakatsu: Journal for People
2006, Carpark
Rating: 4.0

The brilliance of Takagi Masakatsu’s Journal for People is in what it doesn’t do. There are no huge crescendos, nor are there driving rhythmic themes. Journal for People just flows through its 62-minute running time like a trip down a river. It pulses with life in parts, but throughout the piece it moves organically, picking up rhythm in some places, melody in others, but all the while keeping pace with the topography of the setting, in this case, the album.

Masakatsu straddles the line between experiment and ambiance with unusual dexterity. Few albums are able to balance texture without blatantly assaulting you with rhythm. Most of Masakatsu’s album really does feel like running water because of the skill used in his approach. There is a kind of shiny, almost disorganized feel to the album’s rhythms that feel literally like a river. This balance, which is a balance between atmosphere and structure highlights the artistry of Masakatsu.

Artistry is really what makes the listener feel that Journal for People isn’t an ambient record. “Piano” is a prime example of this. With skill, Masakatsu sets up a dreamy ambient arrangement. A single dreamlike voice forms the melody of the piece, saying only “ah” throughout the piece in varying keys. However, Masakatsu varies piano textures behind the voice so that the path of the music seems transparent relative to earlier tracks “Uter 1″ and “Uter 2.”

Masakatsu doesn’t stay in this very shallow area. Already in “Ketle 1″ Masakatsu uses sudden, harsh-sounding samples to seperate the listener from the clear, shallow channels that he draws in “Piano.” Instead, “Ketle 1″ bubbles and flows with the feeling of rapids — moving, yet intent to get caught in the eddies of theme and experimentation.

Balance, rhythm, texture, and restraint are all skills that Takagi Masakatsu exercises on Journal for People. It is these skills that help Masakatsu stand out from his contemporaries as not simply another DJ trying to make ambient hip-hop or some jazz musician using different instruments to make some long jam. No, Journal for People is serious electronic music done in such a way that honors its album setting.

via eMusic

Best New Music Beaujolais: Admirations 2009, Parasol Records Rating: 4.0 It is difficult not to get too giddy about this release. Longtime indie rocker Joe Ziemba’s second solo disc seems to excel as a production on so many levels. I’ve been a long fan of Joe Ziemba’s songwriting. My first encounter with him came during college when I picked up Wolfie’s Where’s Wolfie, the record that introduce me to lo-fi and twee pop. At that stage of his career, Ziemba wrote cute songs with the hooks of a power-pop master. It gave him momentum in his songwriting that few artists in twee-pop could ever attain. My next taste of Ziemba was as part of the two-piece, The Like Young. Throughout the band’s tenure they mined the depths of power pop and punk rock in a way that was ferocious and charming all at once. This was a band that was cute with fangs, and they rocked as such. On one snowy night in Chicago I was privileged to watch Joe rip through pop songs such that I wanted to raise my fist and thrash my head (no small feat for a power pop band). The Like Young were brilliant, which wrecks my very righteous feelings as a fan of Ziemba, whose marriage to bandmate Amanda dissolved following three full length records. Ziemba explored those feelings and the events of his divorce on the brilliant Love at Thirty. Love at Thirty was a brilliant record from start to finish, painful in such a way that my stomach turned with each tale of the dissolution of his relationship. It was this skill in turning my gut that showed Ziemba’s skill as a songwriter: inasmuch as he could rock, he could evoke intimate emotional response. Admirations shows a different side of Ziemba — Ziemba as producer. Throughout the record’s 13 tracks, Ziemba expands his understanding of his own sound, revealing an aesthetic that stirs the heart to feel stuck at the intersection of European high art and basement recordings of a teenager with his casiotone, while maintaining his love for the hook. This is particularly relevant on tracks like “All My Exorcisms,” a track that flirts directly with the homemade aesthetic established in Wolfie while incorporating a synth melody to drive the song, like that of any one of his contemporaries. The rest of the album flirts with Ziemba’s inspiration from late-60s European cinema. “I’m Splitting in Two” features bell-like sounds playing against deep string melody in the middle of the tune. Inside the track, rich drums provide an ambience that gives breadth to the arrangement while bells focus the track’s energy. All this adds up to a sound palatte that feels almost like a Godard film. Vibrant hues in Godard’s characters’ costume play against pastels in the environment of Godard’s frame, giving both focus and depth all in one image. In this way, Ziemba’s Admirations is an especially mature record. His exploitation of familiar sounding and feeling melodies like in “A Decision” add further substance to his production. Here Ziemba’s observation of familiarity adds an intimacy to the record that goes beyond its recording medium, which is why I find the album so satisfying. I want Ziemba to have this kind of success. His songwriting deserves this kind of skill in its production. via eMusic

Best New Music

Beaujolais: Admirations
2009, Parasol Records
Rating: 4.0

It is difficult not to get too giddy about this release. Longtime indie rocker Joe Ziemba’s second solo disc seems to excel as a production on so many levels.

I’ve been a long fan of Joe Ziemba’s songwriting. My first encounter with him came during college when I picked up Wolfie’s Where’s Wolfie, the record that introduce me to lo-fi and twee pop. At that stage of his career, Ziemba wrote cute songs with the hooks of a power-pop master. It gave him momentum in his songwriting that few artists in twee-pop could ever attain.

My next taste of Ziemba was as part of the two-piece, The Like Young. Throughout the band’s tenure they mined the depths of power pop and punk rock in a way that was ferocious and charming all at once. This was a band that was cute with fangs, and they rocked as such. On one snowy night in Chicago I was privileged to watch Joe rip through pop songs such that I wanted to raise my fist and thrash my head (no small feat for a power pop band). The Like Young were brilliant, which wrecks my very righteous feelings as a fan of Ziemba, whose marriage to bandmate Amanda dissolved following three full length records.

Ziemba explored those feelings and the events of his divorce on the brilliant Love at Thirty. Love at Thirty was a brilliant record from start to finish, painful in such a way that my stomach turned with each tale of the dissolution of his relationship. It was this skill in turning my gut that showed Ziemba’s skill as a songwriter: inasmuch as he could rock, he could evoke intimate emotional response.

Admirations shows a different side of Ziemba — Ziemba as producer. Throughout the record’s 13 tracks, Ziemba expands his understanding of his own sound, revealing an aesthetic that stirs the heart to feel stuck at the intersection of European high art and basement recordings of a teenager with his casiotone, while maintaining his love for the hook. This is particularly relevant on tracks like “All My Exorcisms,” a track that flirts directly with the homemade aesthetic established in Wolfie while incorporating a synth melody to drive the song, like that of any one of his contemporaries.

The rest of the album flirts with Ziemba’s inspiration from late-60s European cinema. “I’m Splitting in Two” features bell-like sounds playing against deep string melody in the middle of the tune. Inside the track, rich drums provide an ambience that gives breadth to the arrangement while bells focus the track’s energy. All this adds up to a sound palatte that feels almost like a Godard film. Vibrant hues in Godard’s characters’ costume play against pastels in the environment of Godard’s frame, giving both focus and depth all in one image.

In this way, Ziemba’s Admirations is an especially mature record. His exploitation of familiar sounding and feeling melodies like in “A Decision” add further substance to his production. Here Ziemba’s observation of familiarity adds an intimacy to the record that goes beyond its recording medium, which is why I find the album so satisfying. I want Ziemba to have this kind of success. His songwriting deserves this kind of skill in its production.

via eMusic