we wish you a meowy christmas

warm wishes
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

jingle cats
from the album
meowy christmas
LISTEN/jingle cats medley

merry christmas everyone! hope y'all are spending your time well with loved ones, having a relatively (ha!) easy time with family, or just enjoying the vacation days off that the holiday provides. remember, start the drinks early, it's allowed today, and don't eat too much turkey, the tryptophan will kill your party streak, and just say no to nog.
i remember first coming across the jingle cats cd while working at streetlight records in sf. i believe kevin was the one who first played it. there's also a companion cd that features dogs. the same ones that make a guest appearance on meowy christmas! it's not as good, unless of course you're more of a dog lover. what always blows me away is how perfectly in tune these cats sing. perfect pitch!

i killed the party again

yellow like me
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

jens lekman
from the album
oh, you're so silent jens
LISTEN/black cab
LISTEN/f-word
LISTEN/the wrong hands

three days in and the transit strike is over. i must say i am relieved although it was quite fun biking in and out of the city in the chilly weather, making my way across the brooklyn bridge along with thousands of other undeterred new yorkers. it maybe hard to understand what the complete shutdown of public transport does to a city like new york, a city where over 7 million people rely on it daily, to people not living here (like you car people in la!). in a word, it made everything crazy. sections of avenues completely closed, usually bustling strips were desolate, auto traffic resembling that of a city like bangkok or saigon (okay, maybe not that crazy), and the masses of people walking, rollerskating, and bicycling to and from their engagements in the freezing cold at even the oddest hours. it's only when you're without such service that you begin to realise how important said service really is. moving on...
christmas is only days away! pj and i had these xmas cards ready for print and mail but seemed to have no time to do either. we'll have to send them as ecards which is definitely not as fun as recieving a card in the mail. sorry about that, we'll be more on top of it next year. looking forward to california, spending time with family and basking in the warm cali sun.
let's talk about jens lekman. i have a big giant crush on this dude. the type of dude crush usually reserved for guys like johnny depp, legolas (the character, not orlando bloom), and ewan mcgregor. not only is he damn cute but also a seemingly sad/sweet soul. you can pinpoint musical/lyrical similarities quite easily (jonathan richman, stephen merritt, belle and sebastian, beat happening, maybe morrissey), but the comparisons are really only knee jerk as jens brings his own quirky, sentimental, outsider sensibilities to the table. refreshing and beautifully crafted pop lyrics so simple and smart (and it's not like i can't stand/to see you with another man/i just don't want to see good love/fall into the wrong hands) it's a wonder they've never been heard before. plus he's swedish, and i just love scandinavians. check here for a bunch of unreleased mp3s.

there's lightning bolts in my chest

spinning
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

akron/family
from the album
angels of light & akron/family
LISTEN/future myth
from the album
akron/family
LISTEN/i'll be on the water
LISTEN/afford

goodness, christmas is fast approaching and just like every other year i have little clue as to what to get many of my loved ones. the best thing would be just to go out there, survey the stores, and do some shopping. but it's awful out there with the crowds and the cold. who wants to suffer that. i've already picked out a few things online, but i feel weird about doing my shopping virtually. it's like i'm giving into the technological age with all its convenience and ease and social avoidance. but online shopping can be pretty fun as well as dangerous (just a click of a button!) and i do like recieving packages, especially ones you have to sign for. if, by chance, you're bashing your head in over what to get moi *smile* then look no further than here and here *wink wink*. but really, a little love and a nice big hug is all i really need this holiday season.
now onto the music portion of our post. last saturday a nice group of us went to tonic for the akron/family record release show. these guys are current faves. they really possess this comfy, intimate, earthy vibe on record but live they were like this manic, uncontainable band that sought no boundaries and threw themselves all over the map. one minute leading a campfire singalong with just voice and banjo, the next cranking overdriven guitar towards squalling walls of feedback, then something more plaintive, emotionally soaring with shimmering atmospherics, back to some head smashing rock riffage that could only come out of youth spent with cheap beer, bad weed, and black sabbath, and most enjoyably a spare cover of neil young's 'for the turnstiles' played half naked in the middle of the floor and sung along with much of the crowd. definitely one of the most perplexing yet exhilirating shows in recent memory.

between your love and mine

first snow
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

galaxie 500
from the album
this is our music
LISTEN/listen, the snow is falling

it was near the middle of the nite when i walked towards the kitchen for a glass of water. the shades had been down in my bedroom, so whatever was happening outside was unknown to me. it was a cold day, but not much colder than the day before it nor the day before that. but when i went for that glass of water my sight shot through the kitchen window and straight out to an unexpected and beautiful snowfall. the first snow of the season. about an inch had piled up before i caught on. what a special moment, such a wondrous sight. i was sad not to be able to share the moment with pj, she was all the way over in austin where it was probably 70 degrees out. but she's here now, and i'm so glad 'cause now i have a sled buddy.
watching the snowflakes slowly drift towards ground last nite immediately cued this song in my head. it's a song originally written by yoko ono. galaxie 500 rework it a bit to make it sound like, well, a galaxie 500 song. i do prefer this version, probably because it's the first one i heard, but most likely because it's so darn dreamy. and for me dreamy is simply irresistible.