Sometimes I get very gushy and obsessive over a song. It happens very rarely for me, and it usually dies out within a month or so. Well, here is the newest one:

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp

warning: this video is slightly nsfw

Yeasayer, Beach House, Spoon, and so many others have albums coming out in 2010. kind of excited.

Shows this year

Because Club Downunder and The Moon offer free shows to Florida State students, I've been able to see tons of bands/comedians/speakers that I would otherwise have to pay $10-$20 to see (and to a college student, that's a lot). Anyways, here's a list from this year.

I've included shows that I've worked as well (whether it be event staff or managing), even though I would not have seen said shows otherwise (example: David Cook)

All shows free, unless otherwise noted

January 21 - Los Campesinos!, Titus Andronicus

January 29 - Doug Benson

February 4 - Andrew Bird (paid show)

February 5 - Eugene Mirman

February 13 - David Cook

February 18 - Dr. Dog, drugrug

February 20 - Low

February 23 - Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

February 27 - Jeffrey Tambor (from Arrested Development)

March 5 - Deerhunter

March 6 - Girl Talk

March 17 - The Death Set

March 23 - Health

March 25 - Black Lips

March 26 - Yacht, Chairlift

March 28 - Alejandro Escovedo

March 31 - The Ting Tings

April 11 - Dan Deacon

April 20 - Todd Barry

April 22 - Dengue Fever

April 24 - Dave Willis and Dana Snyder (from Aqua Teen Hunger Force)

August 21 - Holiday Shores, The Whitest Kids U' Know

August 22 - The Walkmen, White Rabbits

September 8 - Throw Me the Statue, The Brunettes

September 18 - Blind Man's Color

September 24 - Lydia

September 26 - Islands

September 27 - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Cymbals Eat Guitars

October 2 - These Arms Are Snakes

October 3 - Dear and the Headlights

October 5 - Blitzen Trapper, Wye Oak

October 6 - The Dodos, The Ruby Suns, megafaun

October 16 - Neon Indian

October 21 - Art Brut

October 23 - Pinback

October 25 - Pitbull, Gym Class Heroes (free, but from Homecoming. worked this event)

October 29 - Ian McKellen (free, but from Pride Student Union, not Union Productions)

November 4 - Why?, Au, James Husband

November 7 - Bowerbirds

November 8 - Lake, Karl Blau

November 9 - Elvis Perkins

November 12 - Lucero

November 13 - Evergreen Terrace (hey, I was giving Alejandro moral support!)

Egypt: Day 1 - 3

Dec. 10:

-boarded flight to Rome. Sat next to Italian man who kept asking me questions about life in Miami for most of the flight. Saw 500 Days of Summer again. The mix cd scene kills me every time.

-Saw the sunrise over Italy while listening to Marissa Nadler's "No Surprises." Got excited over seeing mountains (since I'm from Florida, I rarely see mountains)

Dec. 11:

-The Italian airport is bananas and is really tacky looking. The people, though, are dressed nicely (duh, I'm in Italy). I look like a slob next to them. ugh.

-Arrived in Cairo, heard the call to prayer while walking out of the airport. Like Turkish men, many Egyptian men smoke, even while on the job.

-The traffic is crazy here. No one uses their headlights or change lights, and the honking never. stops. In addition, people constantly walk across the highways/streets, as seen here:

Dec. 12:

-Visited the pyramids.

-rode a camel. Egyptian men don't touch women, so the man helping me off the camel asked me if I can touch him (direct quote "can you touch?". It was very, very weird.)

-We then saw the Sphinx

-Went to Cairo museum. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed inside, but I did see this:

King Tut's Mask, along with all of his other possessions

and this (mummies):

The mummies were quite creepy. After all, I was looking at something that has been dead for thousands (!) of years.

-Afterwards, we went to the downtown area to shop. We got there just in time to hear the call to prayer. When I visited Turkey last year, I heard it all the time (it is a predominately Muslim country, after all). Anyways, it's so beautiful I made sure to make a recording of it:

I never liked bazaars, due to the constant hassle the shopkeepers give you to get you into their booth. I always felt uncomfortable, and I will soon find out that the men who work in the bazaars in Egypt are far worse than those in Turkey.

-That night, we at a Tex-Mex (yes, tex-mex) restaurant. They played Pitbull (!) and Lady Gaga (!!) It made me miss my friends.

For more photos, please click here

Top 5 Albums of 2009

EDIT - I'VE NOW ADDED LINKS TO DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM.

Here are my top five albums of 2009. You can see my coworkers' list here. I hope to have a mix of favorite songs from 2009 up sometime soon. hopefully. maybe. probably not.

1) Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Perfect.

listen to now: Cannibal Resource, Temecula Sunrise, Two Doves

2) The Antlers - Hospice

listen to now: Kettering, Sylvia, Bear

3) Fever Ray - Fever Ray

listen to now: When I Grow Up, Seven

4) Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

If I created a list of "most-listened to albums" in 2009, Dragonslayer would be #1. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that this band is on my list; after all, I love absolutely everything Spencer Krug does. Although given an 8.1 and a "best new music" label, it failed to place on Pitchfork's "Top 50 of 2009" list (the strange ranking system is something I, along with a few other people, openly hate about Pitchfork).

listen to now: You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II), Nightingale/December Song

5) Japandroids - Post-Nothing

The last album I got into this year, but still fantastic.

listen to now: Young Hearts Spark Fire, Wet Hair

Late Christmas Video

A few years ago my brother introduced me to Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I immediately took a liking to Master Shake, whose sarcasm and over dramatic behavior make me giggle throughout every episode. My favorite episode is the Broodwich, which includes my favorite line (obviously from Master Shake]: "I must say, bacon aside, this is the best damn sandwich I've ever had in my life." Last spring, Dave Willis (who voices Meatwad and Carl) and Dana Snyder (who voices Master Shake) came to Florida State to speak about the show. It was kind of awesome.

Anyways, a few days ago he showed me this video, and we've been laughing about it ever since. They created a Christmas album, and this is one of their songs:

In fact, Daytrotter even recorded a session of them, and this song is included.

Even though I don't watch Aqua Teen that much anymore [the past few seasons got a little too violent for me] this song reminds me why I love Master Shake so, so much.

Welcome/Before I Go...

I have a very strong reputation for starting blogs and not updating them. I will try my hardest though to update this one [you all are more than welcome to harass me about updating it should I fail]. This blog won't be themed as my others were, so there's no issue of being isolated into one way of thinking. I find it funny, though, that I'm starting a blog the day before I leave for a 15 day trip which won't allow me to have access to a computer [well, maybe, but not enough time to update].

This is a short itinerary of things that I'll for sure be seeing:

Dec. 10-11: Fly to Rome, fly to Cairo

Dec. 12 - Cairo, see the Pyramids

Dec. 13 - Cairo, see Memphis and Sakkara

Dec. 14 - Fly to Luxor, board cruise, see Temples of Karnak* and Luxor *

Dec. 15 - Ensa see Ensa Temple

Dec. 16 - Aswan, see Temple of Edfu

Dec. 17 - Fly to South Egypt, see Abu Simbel*

Dec. 18 - Aswan

Dec. 19 - Edfu

Dec. 20: Luxor, see Valley of the Kings*, Valley of the Queens, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon

Dec. 21: disembark cruise, Hurghada

Dec. 22: Hurghada, possibly swim in the Red Sea**

Dec. 23- Fly to Cairo

Dec. 24 - Fly to Rome, fly to Miami

*I'm really excited about these places

**our hotel is on the beach of the Red Sea. I would love to go in, but keep in mind that I'll be there in December.