Intervening Warbly Quick Hits

I skipped making a second link post this past week. I had every intent of compiling one, but then my birthday got in the way.

Looking back at the intervening week I give the impression that I’m a major rock impresario spending my idle time on my blog. In fact, despite appearances to the contrary it’s been just about the opposite – I’m more involved in the behind-the-scenes of blogging ever – reading more blogs, fixing more issues with my archives, and prepping more content, and it’s meant less work on my solo music as I spend my non-blog time focused on Arcati Crisis.

Really, it’s just that I default to talking about my music when my brain is too busy to talk about anything else.

On that note, let’s start with music links, for a change of pace.

XPN programmer at Some Velvet Blog highlights the best in Philly Indie Rock. No Polymer there, though they’re surely one of the area’s best (and, I say that having once written a really nasty song about their lead singer that I (coincidentally) featured yesterday).

Arcati Crisis is still several months off of the list. As opposed to a band cemented on the list – the A-Sides – who are now a national. I gave their album a cursory listen, and it’s more of the usual for recent trends in indie pop – ornate arrangements, middling tempos, incessantly warbling vocals.

Seriously: I know I’m a snob and not the most terrific singer, but why don’t we ever expect indie rock men to sing well? Of the however many new tracks I’ve heard this month – let’s arbitrarily call it 50, although I’m sure it’s more – I’ve only purchased one by a male singer. ONE. It’s embarrassing. At least when people refer to me as folk music I don’t hear an implicit knock at my vocals in the categorization.

(Ben of Polymer sings way better than any of the fifty, and is one of major reasons why I am always obsessed with improving my singing, which is why you should go listen to them.)

(On a similar note, Gina could sing a fucking circle around the whiny vocalist behind the otherwise catchy Limes.

Indie rockers, PLEASE LEARN HOW TO SING. kthnxbye.)

Wired‘s Listening Post blog highlights the fantastic (and friendly) Daytrotter, a Rock Island, Illinois studio podcasting all manner of free music from major indie artists. (Previously blogged here.)

To close out the music topic: Largehearted Boy has so many special journalistic features with artists and authors that I really could spend the entirety of my music topic covering them. This week his brand new Soundtracked feature has the director of the otherwise excruciable Good Luck Chuck discussing the music from the film’s soundtrack.

Here’s the most amazing, fantastic, scary-useful link of the week, from telescreen.org: Jott. What is it? A toll-free number you can call up and dictate to, which subsequently transcribes your ramble into text – punctuation and all.

Urban(e) blogger Smogr posts about a real life Atlantis – called Seuthopolis in Bulgaria. Seriously. For real. More detail at archi-blog Pruned, or, if you still think this is a hoax, at WikiPedia. The entire project will cost an estimated €50mill, which seems like a bargain to unwet a freaking underwater city.

(ps: I keep reading that as Seussopolis. Like, OMG, an underwater city filled with one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.)

MN blogger Stefani claims that absinthe has found renewed legality in the USA. This is actually a lie. one brand of absinthe has a low enough Thujone content to be legal.

Bonus points: this is my favorite classic advertising print.

Pennsylvania’s CHIP is one of my major clients, so I found Akkams Razor’s illustration of CHIP funding v. Iraq funding to be morbidly fascinating. Because a day of ambiguous freedom-promoting military services is totally the equivalent of keeping a quarter of a million kids healthy. Totally.

Via 18,000 different blogs, 20×200 peddles high quality, limited edition artist photos and prints at acquirable prices, as curated by blogger Jen Bekman.

Also, via approximately a third of the blogging community: Rotten Neighbor, a site that helps you avoid the neighbors that other internet denizens have found distasteful. You know the type: well-adjusted people without blogs.

Okay, my stamina is declining. Here’s my quick hits:

Hexiom is like reverse Minesweeper, via Fresh Arrival. And: they have a sister photo site that recently featured panoramic UK photographer Will Pearson.

Mighty Girl is interviewed by 9-yr-old blogger @ In the Air. Matt’s a great journalist for being a third of my age!

(And, I know this is not really something you can appreciate the enormity of via the internet, but M.G. blogged about a production of Sweeny Todd where the chorus doubled as the orchestra. Can you wrap your mind around that shit? Crazy.)

Highways of the Nation are changing their fonts. Via Kottke. Also via K: I love tennis, but I’ve never really understood the difference between clay, hard, and grass courts. NYT to the rescue! Check out their high informative animatics. Also, strangers cross the Brooklyn bridge.

Unclutterer tells you what to do with your old cell phone(s).

Iggy Pop’s hilarious tour rider.

20 ways to make great icons.

Chirky posts an amazing cake.

Learn the basics of foreign languages online with Mango. Via Make You Go Hmm.

Adventures in San Francisco land (fill) Albany Bulb.

Philly blogger Ninth Street Records posts a nascent blog, Laceo Art, which features submissions from imprisoned juvenile offenders.

Also from Philly, we finally have public access television, via PhillyFuture.

Animated GIF map of the NYC subway. Via Harvard Avenue.

Freakonomics NYT blog takes on the future of the music industry. Certainly not warbly indie bands, that’s for sure.

Rilo Kiley has some pretty great videos, including the new ones for “Moneymaker” (with real live porn stars!) & “Silver Lining,” and last disc’s great “Portions for Foxes.” I think I just like watching Jenny Lewis sing.

For reference, she is of the same approximate talent level as Gina ;)

Do you see what happens when I don’t blog links for an entire week? Pandemonium! Smogr has my photo of the week.

/fin