Back in the Saddle

For those interested, Monterey was amazing. It was a mistake to even think I'd have time to blog while enjoying sunny California for the first time in 6 years.

I thought I'd reestablish my blogging presence back on the East Coast with a couple links to things that have lately been occupying my time and thoughts:

-Pitchfork's excellent review of Erik Friedlander's Block Ice & Propane

-FX's new legal flash-forward/flashback-ridden thriller/murder mystery Damages

-The D.R.E.A.M aka The-Dream aka Terius Nash, an Atlanta-based hip-hop/R&B songwriter whose current radio smash hit "Shawty is da Sh*t" (radio-friendly version known as "Shawty Is a Ten") is currently getting about as much play in my iTunes as Horace Tapscott's The Dark Tree, which is saying a lot. And of course, being the hipster that I am, I owe it all to the taste makers at The Fader, whose podcast turned me on to this cat. I even launched a Pandora station to find music like this track that might light my fire as much as this song does, despite semi-vulgar lyrics. No luck yet.

-and there's nothing quite like three white British dudes from the current indie buzz band, Klaxons remaking a song that is arguably the definitive R&B hit of the 90s - Blackstreet's No Diggity (complete with music video). I rocked out to this song almost non-stop in the 7th and 8th grades as it was drilled into my head on the bus to and from middle school.

That's where I'm at.