did you try a fern?

scout niblets n' bit n' bits n' bits
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

scout niblett
from the album
kidnapped by neptune
LISTEN/lullaby for scout in 10 years
LISTEN/newbury port

just me and the cats tonite, pj headed upstate for the weekend. makes me think of that movie the lonely guy with steve martin. i've been meaning to rent it but have a feeling it's not as good as i remember it. probably not as funny as the jerk but likely better than shopgirl, which i saw last weekend and pretty much blew.
but, you know what didn't blow? the scout niblett show at the mercury lounge on wednesday. she wore an oversized blue blazer with black vinyl pants, unzipped cowboy boots, reflective construction worker vest, and (un)usual blonde wig. todd trainer, who keeps time with shellac, was the only accompaniment on drums. he beat on those drums hard and looked like he was going to eat his set when things really got rockin'. they played loud and intense at times, moving some folks to bang their heads and raise their fists. and her songs remind me of nirvana, especially with her cracked, strained vocals. the performance was sorta like minimalist grunge (ha!), which is exactly why i liked it so much.

why some things didn't suck in '96

Originally uploaded by third uncle.

dj shadow
from the album
endtroducing
LISTEN/building steam with a grain of salt
LISTEN/changeling - transmission 1

the summer has most definitely gone, its lingering heat in the early fall has given way to day after day of rain, grey skies, and leaf littering wind. the nastiness kept pj and i indoors most of the weekend, only venturing out a few times to drop stuff off and pick stuff up. oh wait, we went on a jog sunday nite to balance out all the laziness. 3.35 miles around the park. supposedly we're gonna do this every other day and get all strong and healthy and shit. i bet i last til' next week before the motivation hits empty. i'd love to prove myself wrong though.
enough with all this talk of fitness. as vicious and rotten would say, "it's bo-ring!"(sorry, recently watched 'sid and nancy'). one thing i can't go without on my morning commute is my ipod. a magazine or book is fine, but i get distracted. some bumpin' tunes and a set of headphones do a great job of shutting out the the world around and helping time fly. as of late i've been fairly narrow in my listening patterns, usually a playlist of various songs i've downloaded the nite before and, when all else fails, anything by dj shadow. it's strange i just can't get enough. it's perfect in the morning, not too chill as to put me right back to sleep and not too crazy as to freak me out first thing. it's good too that i haven't really listened to 'endtroducing' since it first came out nine (!) years ago. nearly a decade later and it still sounds fresh and completely mindblowing. many since have tried to emulate, but it's with this album that shadow not only set a standard, but also set an unbreakable bar.
on a related note, y'all should check out this video i've linked here. this teacher in minnesota arranged a few tracks off of 'endtroducing' for his high school percussion ensemble. they performed two tracks, 'building steam w/ a grain of salt' and 'changeling', before a live audience and just absolutely killed it. the video is about ten minutes long but worth a full viewing. especially because they're so young, dorky, and cute and by the time they segueway into 'changeling' they're totally warmed up and hitting it tight.

i was not in your arms for long

how animals move II
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

john parish
from the album
how animals move
LISTEN/absolute beauty is an absolute curse
LISTEN/stable life

it's thursday nite and the oc has been bumped in favor of the major league baseball playoffs. no new episodes until november. my heart hangs heavy.
oh, did i tell you about last weekend? brother tom, rose, and the kids came out to visit. tom was part of this big group art show in the east village. each artist was given a blank circus punk, those furry bowl pin shaped things that you throw balls at, and asked to do their creative good on them. tom's can be seen here. i think his was one of the best, in my unbiased brotherly opinion.
this was also the first time any and all of the family clan had ever been to new york. thay all had a great time, elie even said she wanted to stay another two weeks(!). pj and i had a blast showing them around. i like it when i have the chance to play tour guide, a revived sense of enthusiasm and wonder for the city takes hold, feelings i often lose sight of living here on the day to day. good to keep things fresh.
the picture above was taken at the natural history museum. it's a posed picture, i had an exact idea of what i wanted, which was a copy of the album cover for 'how animals move' by john parish, this weeks post. i put this on a few weeks back when zach was in town after having not listened to it since it came out a few years ago. it sounded fantastic, kinda filling in a certain void i've been having with music lately. an emotional one, i guess. something to do with the beautiful weepy violin that begins each side and the impact of lines like 'when everything came tumbling down/hold onto the stable life she said' when sung with such moving nonchalance. also reminds me of my time in san francisco, living in my little studio apartment in the loin, playing this quite a lot, damaging it a bit, giving my slightly warped copy to tony, and buying another because i liked it so much. filling that void.