art is the new religion

Exclusive Imogen

This is how they get ya:

The iTunes store is the only place you can get "Cumulus" by Imogen Heap.

Yeah, I'm gonna buy it.  Sigh.

I have a few other things I've been meaning to write about here, but SFist duties call. 

Merry Sufjan

If someone can tell me that these albums are for sale somewhere, then I will promptly take down the link to Irresponsible Journalism where you can download three Sufjan Stevens Christmas albums and replace it with a link to where the albums can be purchased.  Seriously, Sufjan is the most darling of all critical darlings, and he's on a tiny label.  As long as Sufjan keeps the indie faith, then you need to buy his albums by the bucketload.  (At a mere $10, Illinois makes a great gift.)

            In the meantime, OMG Sufjan Stevens Christmas albums!!!

I found this link through the amazing Rhapsodical community on LiveJournal.  Yep it showed up right there on my friends page.

Chris Whitley, 1960-2005

link

                Austin, TX, 1994

  He Held Radical Light by A.R. Ammons

He held radical light

as music in his skull: music

turned, as

over ridges immanences of evening light

rise, turned

back over the furrows of his brain

into the dark, shuddered,

shot out again

in long swaying swirls of sound:

 

reality had little weight in his transcendence

  so he

had trouble keeping

his feet on the ground, was

terrified by that

and liked himself, and others, mostly

under roofs:

nevertheless, when the

light churned and changed

 

his head to music, nothing could keep him

off the mountains, his

head back, mouth working,

wrestling to say, to cut loose

from the high unimaginable hook:

released, hidden from stars, he ate,

burped, said he was like any one

of us: demanded he

was like any one of us.

"Made From Dirt" from War Crime Blues

"Her Furious Angels" from War Crime Blues

Download the mp3s from his show at Cafe Du Nord on 7/24/05, the last time I saw him.

Chris Whitley

"Thanks to all for the kind words for my brother Chris and my family. For those who are not aware, hospice in home care is in fact for the terminally ill. A while ago Chris was formally diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in its advanced stages. As I type this Chris is resting peacefully and is in little physical pain, at one point today he grabbed my hand firmly as I spoke to him, looked at me and smiled his usual knowing smile but that is all and that was quite enough. I wish I could say more to ease your minds but I cant and im truly sorry, living this and writing this is the hardest thing ive ever had to do in my life without question.

Love and light,
Daniel" (link)

I don't know what else to say, other than that this news brings me colossal sadness.  Chris Whitley has been one of my favorite artists since I first heard his music over 10 years ago.  "Favorite" doesn't even do justice to the affect his music has had on me.  I had the good fortune to meet him several times and hang out with him for moments in Austin, NYC and SF.  My thoughts are with Chris, his family and his fans. 

Old 97's

When a friend asked me to go to the Old 97's show with her, I agreed in the spirit of hanging out.  I should know the Old 97's better than I do, being from Texas and all, but I really only knew a few songs.  Be that as it may, I even bought my ticket, which is a rarity. 

So it was a total surprise that it was one of the best shows I've seen in a long time.  I have a brand new love for both Rhett and the Old 97's.

This song really hit home:  Come Around by Rhett Miller

I hope that link works, so you can sing along with me.  You can learn the chords with me too.

I <3 Dick Cavett

My DVR doesn't only contribute to my poor taste in television shows.  Sometimes I use it to record highbrow shows like "Breakfast with the Arts" on A&E.  This past Sunday they featured an interview with Dick Cavett to promote the upcoming release of three DVDs from his TV show from back in the late 60's to mid 70's.  I'm too young to have ever seen this show, and I almost fast forwarded through his interview before I saw that one of the DVDs is called "Rock Icons."  So I watched.  And I'm now infatuated with the young Dick Cavett. 

They showed clips of him interviewing Paul Simon, Janis Joplin, Ray Charles and John & Yoko, and I was shocked to see the rapport he had with them.  He was actually singing along with Ray and "helping" Paul write a song -- but not in a staged way.  It seemed honest, and Dick confirmed that there wasn't the level of PR influence and strategic handlers back then like there is today. 

Plus, Dick had this quietly respectful demeanor and rockin' blond 70's hairdo.  I'm sure there are plenty of reasons to snark on Dick Cavett, but let me have my moment.

The DVD features Bowie, Mick Jagger, Joni Mitchell (!!) and a bunch more.  I gotta get it.  The other 2 DVDs are devoted to Ray Charles and John & Yoko, respectively.  Someone needs to have a talk show like this, where they talk to artists and rather than just point to them from behind an interview desk to cue the onstage performance. 

Coming in January from A&E:  Rollergirls.  Fire up the DVR!!

Nostalgia

I miss my friends.  No one in San Francisco writes me poems -- I have to have them shipped in from outside the city limits.  I talked to Brooklyn, Ann Arbor, Austin, Nashville and LA tonight.  Many cities I didn't talk to.  Everyone's too far.  Maybe the answer is simply plane tickets.

Laurie says her epitaph will state that her cause of death was nostalgia. 

A poem for you all:

"To A Friend" by Amy Lowell

I ask but one thing of you, only one,
That always you will be my dream of you;
That never shall I wake to find untrue
All this I have believed and rested on,
Forever vanished, like a vision gone
Out into the night.  Alas, how few
There are who strike in us a chord we knew
Existed, but so seldom heard its tone
We tremble at the half-forgotten sound.
The world is full of rude awakenings
And heaven-born castles shattered to the ground,
Yet still our human longing vainly clings
To a belief in beauty through all wrongs.
O stay your hand, and leave my heart its songs!

Fierce!

 

The official sportsdrink of America's Next Top Model.

H&M

On November 19 at 10 a.m., H&M will open two brand new stores, at 150 Powell Street and 150 Post Street.  FINALLY.

Why I Am So Very Uncool

Here are two more reasons why I'm extremely uncool and you should be embarrassed to know me:

(1)  The Tyra Banks talk show is AWESOME.  I'm not talking about "America's Next Top Model" (which, don't get me wrong, is one of my favorite shows).  I'm talking about Tyra Banks' daily talk show.  Not only does she have makeovers, guest appearances by ANTM's bootees, and a runway on the set -- she also has heartwarming moments where she talks to young girls about their self-esteem.  But why do I really love the Tyra Banks show?  Last week she had both Criss Angel and Jonathan Antin on the show!  Jonathan pimped his product line and gave someone his Legendary Signature Long Layered Haircut™.  That's entertainment.

(2)  I love MTV's "Made."  Every show pretty much follows the same formula:

• the young "Made" candidate has a completely unrealistic goal to accomplish in about 6 weeks (i.e. make the dance team, win a figure skating contest, etc.)
• their coach begins gruelling practices wherein they start out completely pathetic and you think they'll never get any better, but they slowly improve
• their friends/parents/classmates tell them they'll never succeed
• usually 3/4 of the way toward their goal, they have a tearful breakdown and then get a heartfelt pep talk from their coach
• in the 11th hour, they rally with a renewed resolve to kick ass at their event
• despite nerves and limited skills, they participate in some sort of competition and usually have an impressive showing

After the competition, their friends/parents/classmates declare newfound respect for them, their coaches swell with pride, and -- the best part -- they end up with some true self-worth.  It's so inspiring.

My favorite episode was when Joan learned how to wakeboard. 

Thus concludes just two of the many reasons why I'm extremely uncool.