compassion it waits

i have been a grump! when it rains, it pours, i suppose.

a few weeks ago, the eldest of ten, my mom's brother, michael, passed away. simultaneously, my parents, aunts, and uncle were urgently trying to find a new home for my grandparents. and then one of my sweet aunts found out she had a brain tumor. 

i scheduled an impromptu trip home, and then i was struck with a four-day stomach virus and could not make my flight. 

my personal sadness, not to mention the horrific explosions here in texas and in boston, have put me in an foul mood. 

thankfully...
my big loving family will be together in july to remember michael. my grandparents are together. cindy's doctor was able to remove nearly all of the tumor and discovered it is a slow-growing form of cancer, which means with treatment they expect a full recovery. and i am headed to ohio next weekend.

"we all know the truth" by banco de gaia

little buddy

in honor of this sweet little buddy (his "angel-versary" is march 7th) and his family, here is a song from one of his favorite movies:

this american life

we dicksons had dinner with ira.

listening to this american life while i eat brunch reminds me of my childhood sundays. for the past two weeks, tal visited harper high school in chicago. the series was incredibly poignant. please listen.

you'll find it in the archives (#487 and #488): www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives

and to add a musical touch... this song is often played during acts on this american life. i find it to be lovely and motivating.

"perpetuum mobile" by penguin cafe

the sun will stay

what a beautiful day to run a marathon! (you go, amart!)

opened up my mind

i swear i tried to make sure that my favorite tracks from 2012 were actually released in 2012. but i blew it. 11 out of 13 isn't so bad, though.

believe it from somebody else

i'll admit it. i had kind of forgotten about these guys. (and how could i after their kick ass free show at waterloo and that oh so lovely day at cedar street?) lately i've been hearing one of their two pre-released tracks from the january 29th release, hummingbird, and i am pumped! delighted to hear they will be at sxsw again. it is almost that time of year!

"breakers" by local natives

fell into the fall

wanna slow-motion dance with me? my brother shared this track with me from mystery duo, rhye. the pitchfork comparison to sade makes sense to me. and considering the dickson children spent many hours lakeside with our mom and aunt listening to her sultry voice, i can hear why we like this.

"the fall"

too deep for tears to well

∆ (alt-J). real curious about these brits. should i consider acl after all?

"ms"

and here we are

lost lander is matt sheehy's latest project. you'll know him from ramona falls. producer, brent knopf funded ramona falls, and is a former member of menomena. this track, "cold feet" is blowing my mind with loveliness.

get it for free?

this is gonna be weird...

 ...this csj idiom means "these guys are gonna kill it." case in point(s):

"dark allies" by light asylum--yup, female vocalist. watch it, she'll kick your ass.

AND dan deacon. the man is a genius. instructions were to follow the interpretive dancer. look for c, r, a, s, & i straight ahead. 

other favorites at sxsw this year: built to spill, clap your hands say yeah, chairlift, andrew bird, youth lagoon, sharon van etten, and (totally surprised) fiona apple. here are a few samples...

"same mistake" by clap your hands say yeah

"sifters" by andrew bird

"i belong in your arms" by chairlift

we danced just as hard to this song on night two. "goin' against your mind" by built to spill

when the day is done

dang, bummed i missed poliça during sxsw. especially now that i am obsessed with the way former folk singer, channy leaneagh, manipulates her vocals on this track. that's some beautiful autotune.

"wandering star" by poliça

you built yourself a myth

good news, beach house will release 'bloom' in may. whoot!

here's "myth"

eleven for '11

favorite eleven songs of 2011

1. "amor fati", washed out. naturally.
2. "the broken places", moby. moby combined sounds just right to create a mellow mood.
3. "keep pushing on", john maus. john maus is so rad.
4. "posters", youth lagoon. love the whole album. give this song some time, once it really starts, you'll know it.
5. "raw umber twilight", WALLS. one of my newest favorite running songs.
6. "somebody that i used to know (feat. kimbra)", gotye. i'll admit it, don't know any other gotye. but i am going to explore on account of how much i love this track.
7. "steep hills of vicodin tears", a winged victory for the sullen. the ambient stars of the lid coupled with piano. a beauty.
8. "te amo", atlas sound. bradford cox is the shit. he made it onto my bests last year with deerhunter. keep it up, bradford, it's that good.
9. "towers", bon iver. hands down one of my favorite concerts this year. 
10. "we have everything", young galaxy. i'm not sick of this song, and i've been listening to it for almost a whole year.
11. "whole love", wilco. i'm usually not a fan of wilco. john said this song sounds reminiscent of the grateful dead. that explains it.

i keep gettin' closer

i love youth lagoon's whole album, the year of hibernation. you should get it. here's "posters". just wait until about 2:08, and you will be as happy as me.

never gonna reach you

cut copy was one of my favorite shows at acl this year. i adored lead singer, dan whitford's, signature dance move. his arms were out and welcoming, and then they were drawn back in to his chest with passion. what was he saying?...

 ...i think he "need[s] you now"

didn't have to stoop so low

there are a few reasons i like gotye. he's australian. his name is wally. oh, and he has a nice voice.

"somebody that i used to know (feat. kimbra)"

here's the video in case you feel like watching.

i'm bound to keep you right

lovely. that's "katy" for blind pilot. if you ask me, israel nebeker's voice is flawless. i wish i could belt it out like him.

"keep you right"

keep pushing on

to the heroic firemen, who are being spread way too thin in texas this week: "keep pushing on"! and cheers to my favorite fireman, who would be busting his butt, too, if he lived here!

by john maus

i was so special

sxsw friends

it took awhile for toro y moi to grow on me. seeing them at sxsw definitely piqued my interest. well, now. put your bell-bottoms on, let your hair down & strut, i think i like it.

"saturday love"

love of fate

you had to know that i was going to have to talk about ernest's new album.

"amor fati"

you want it, too?