Album of the Day

The Band: Delta Spirit 

The Album: Ode to Sunshine (2007)
Favorite Song: Strange Vine
Why: I can't really pigeon hole Delta Spirit into one category. They have a bit of that Dr. Dog, Fleet Foxes and Moondoggies feel to um. That kind of band with an old soul, and not one that has been manufactured for profit and commercial success. The music comes from the hearts of those who are products of parents who were fans of the Bryds, Beach Boys and ragtime jams, and the minds of the kids who were subjected to all that when they were growing up. 

Their music is just hopeful. Not a Christian rock band kind of hopeful. But rather just having a positive, fun loving vibe to all of it, while still acknowledging the headiness of everyday life. It's optimistic. It's something I can really get down with when I'm not trying to think to hard, and just generally want to sit around and enjoy life. The jangling keys, the out of left field surf rock rifts, and general lounging around drawl of it all makes this album perfectly at home in the summer months. And being that I'm living somewhere where it still feels a hell of a lot like summer, i'm going to be spinning if for the months to come.

Give a listen:


Further Reading: I'm a big fan of the website Daytrotter. Delta Spirit , as well as a slew of other bands have recorded sessions with them, and I always seem to find myself enjoying these alternate takes.

***Sidenote: This video reminds me a whole lot of The Walkmen's video for "We've Been Had," in which the band members also beat the living shit out of each other.

In the Shit, Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

In school the interactions with my fellow teachers, Vice Principals, Principal and others goes as far as a simple bow, and a friendly “annyong haseo” here and there. And that is about it, nothing more, nothing less. I’m lucky if some of them even show up with their class when they come to my room.

Where the relationship I have with my co-workers and student’s parents can really be summed up is in the stories that accompany my experiences eating dinner with them.
Korean culture is one of community; one of sharing everything with the masses, and one that has zero grasp of the (Western ideal…I guess) of the importance of the individual. Also notably, the idea of excess.

That said everything is a gathering, a big production. Gone are my days of being able to sit at a bar by myself and have a few beers. Eat dinner, and have a peaceful evening out and about.

Dinner 1 – Dinner one was by far the tamest. Actually nothing was really out of the ordinary about it. But it was my first experience with Korean dining.

My co-teacher Mi-Jeong, John (a fellow English teacher at one of my school. He hails from Brooklyn)and I went to a sashimi restaurant, aka heaping plates of raw fish. Not my favorite but, I dug right in, octopus tentacles, eel skin and all. As things have progressed I’ve actually come to love this dinner choice, and have gotten really comfortable with eating just about anything. This was also my first experience with the wonderful tradition of floor dining. Which I’m not used to as is, and was made even worse by the fact that at this point in time I was nursing a horribly sprained ankle. Needless to say I was squirming, and fun was being poked at me the whole time. Overall though good dinner, and it was a great introduction to Korean dining.

Dinner 2- Dinner 2 is where things started to get interesting. The entire staff of Hanmaunm Elementary (about 30 of us) packed into a big room at a Korean BBQ joint. Korean BBQ has become by far my absolute favorite thing to eat here. It comes in all shapes and sizes, but to sum it up, it’s a bunch of meat, that you cook for your self on a plate on the table, that’s about it. And its scrumptious.

Luckily dinner this time was right next door to my apartment. As soon as we sit, the Soju glasses are turned over, and it is all-downhill from there. It is pretty much standard that if you glass if ever empty, it will be immediately filled. Considering this was a Friday and my first rambunctious dinner with my fellow workers, I kind of just let loose and had a blast.
Eating dinner with a big group of Koreans can be a pretty awesome experience. They love making speeches, which I think is hilarious and awesome. The more and more the booze is flowing, the more frequent the speeches become. Back home we would call someone that drink as much as they do a lush, but for them it’s just part of their culture. They are the happiest god damn drunks in the world and can be a good time.

They are a very shy people, and when they start drinking, like many other cultures. They really start to loosen up. The Vice Principal was feverishly talking to the English speaking teacher and wanting her to translate everything to me. He kept grabbing my arm, raising it in the air and proclaiming “TAYLOR TEACHER, GOOD TEACHER.” I accepted all his random praise and all of his drink offerings and poured some for him and the principal as well. Overall I walked away from this dinner making a very good impression, and having a really good time. The Vice Principal even invited me to Chuseok dinner (Thanksgiving) with his family! When Chuseok rolled around, guess what? He forgot about that invite! Cause he was too drunk to remember! Surprise surprise.

Dinner 3: Dinner 3 was one of the more completely spontaneous ones, a habit of theirs. 4 p.m. rolls around, you definitely have plans for after work, not to mention it’s a school night, and then the question gets dropped on you “WE GO TO WAYSHEK!?!?” This is of course what they call these dinners.

I kind of reluctantly agree, because disagreement here = disrespect. It’ sashimi again. Dinner goes much like dinner 2, less folks came to this one, but of course the VP showed up and was in rare form. Pouring drinks left and right, and repeatedly saying “TAYLOR TEACHER, GOOD TEACHER.” He is a nice man, and I really wish I could carry on an actual conversation with him, as well as a handful of my other teachers. They are all so eager to chat you up, they are generally an incredibly friendly people. Here I feel much like I did when I was in Ireland, the only difference being that in Ireland I could actually communicate back when people were kind to me. So it gets a bit frustrating not being able to reciprocate.

Dinner ends and we get a ride home with the Grade 2 teacher, she is bumping righteous jams in her SUV on the ride home. We drop the Vice Principal off, but before he leaves he mutters something in Korean in my direction. The two teachers in the front seat giggle, and take off. I ask what he said, and they say he just gave me a Korean nickname. What is it, I asked, to which they replied, “He called you bottomless bucket.” I really don’t know how to take that at first, but it was explained to me later that all it means is that he is very impressed with how much I can eat and drink. I guess that’s a good thing. This was with the folks at Hanmaumn again by the way.

Dinner 4: Dinner 4 was my first experience with the folks from Seongup Elementary. And boy, are they NOT shy.

Seongup is generally a lot more rambunctious of a school. The kids are crazier (but have a lot better personality i.m.o), and the staff has just been really welcoming to me from day one. They have a female principal too, which here means, uber progressive school.

Dinner this time was sort of to be expected. Sports Day had just occurred, and it’s kind of big deal here. Classes get cancelled for a week for the most part in preparation for this day. Needless to say, the teachers put a lot of work into this and they were very excited to celebrate the fact that it was finally all over.

I rode with the Grade 5 teacher and the Vice Principal back to the city. About 10 mins into the ride the VP, who knows very little English, manages to bust out the question “How many bottles of Soju can you drink?” I really don’t know how to answer this question. I say modestly say “uhhhh two,” to which he replies “that is good amount for man your age.” This sets the tone for the evening.

We get to dinner in Tapdong, which is on the Jeju-si waterfront area. Guess what’s for dinner? Sashimi once more. I sit down at one of the two tables our group occupies; unbeknownst to me I had sat at the “drinking table.” I genuinely had a lot of fun with this group at dinner, they even let me make my very own first Korean dinner speech. A speech whose applause and cheers was delayed until after the only English speaking teacher has translated it all. I chatted up the PE teacher, as much as I could about fishing. But we came to a vague agreement that he would take me that weekend.

Dinner is never the end of the night here. The party, the after party, the hotel lobby, they fully believe in ALL OF IT. I get whisked away to a nori bong with my entire school staff. We sit down at a big ole table, and the beer keeps on coming. The PE teacher is the first to bust into song, some Korean jam. The whole staff is (well drunk) and busting a move. I promptly get pushed up on the stage and am told to sing. For any of you that know me, this is not an issue. When I have been drinking I practically beg for a microphone. So my first pic of this evening is Van Morrisons –Brown Eyed Girl. A song they seem to really enjoy. After the applause, and the “Taylor teacher, very good singer” comments, the grade 2 teachers approaches me swaggering and yelling “TAYLOR TEACHER, ME YOUR BROWN EYED GIRL!?!?!?!?!” After this night, I vowed to never sing that song in front of my Korean co-workers again, turns out they all have brown eyes, and are mostly women.

After my rendition and a few more songs I sit down next to the Vice Principal and he promptly directs me to the fruit basket and nuts that are on the table (they LOVE fruit baskets.) I go to eat a nut and he gives me the “anyo” look. He grabs in out of my hand and shoves it right in my face. It takes me a moment to figure out what the hell is going on here. Turns out he’s trying to force feed me peanuts. I kind of take it and awkwardly laugh. And then he does it once more. Once again, saying “no” here is a sign of disrespect, so when awkward shit like this happens, you are kind of just have to roll with it. Then he motions for me to feed peanuts to him, I hesitate and he grabs my hand and shoves it towards his mouth.

Don’t worry, this escalates.

As if eating the peanuts was our vows, he then proceeds to the reception, and gives me a lovers toast. You know, where you pretzel up your arms and then take your drink. This happens several times. And then to consummate it all he puts his hand on my leg and proceeds to hold my hand for a while and swing back and forth and sing a bit. I was kind of just staring off into space at this point, thinking happier thoughts and wondering when this encounter would end. I escaped, by volunteering to go up and sing “Yesterday” with some of the teachers, probably some of the only English that they know.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the Beatles for taking over the world with their melodies and their quirky English sensibilities some 50 years ago. John, Paul, George and Ringo I salute you.

We soon left the noribong, and most of the staff was going to continue on to more boozing. I luckily was able to escape. Not because I wasn’t having a lot of fun, bust mostly because it was a Thursday night, and I really don’t feel like teaching their screaming students hung over in the morning. Oh yeah, and there was the whole leg touching.

Next day, the VP, PE teacher and Grade 4 teacher didn’t show up for school.

This is getting long winded so I’m going to cut it of here, and save the last dinner for an entry of its own. While these are all fun, the last one was kind of a frustrating situation, so the tone is a bit different.

All in all, this is a very merry eating and drinking culture. They love celebrating together and having a really good time. They take their day jobs extraordinarily seriously and go absolutely crazy when they have the chance. It’s actually a pretty cool thing to be a part of. They pride themselves in what they do, and do it well. And they know how to give themselves a hefty, drunken, pat on the back.

In the Shit, Part 1

As I sit in my classroom, children screaming bloody murder behind me, I bring to you my first real entry since I've been here.

Long story short, I'm enjoying my myself.

First off, what I'm here for technically: Teaching

I teach at two different schools, both of which are about an hour away from my apartment. Hanmaumn Elementary is near the south eastern coastal town of Pyosan, while Seongup Elementary is in, well...Seongup. Both schools are minutes away on the same road, so aside from the fact that they are a bit of a hike from my apartment, I guess that qualifies as some sort of minor convenience. I would tell you about my carpooling shenanigans, but instead I will just direct you to my previous blog entitled: Korean Karpool.

At both schools, I am teaching grades 1-6. When it boils down to it, I teach anywhere from 15-20 courses a week. Some classes I see multiple times a week (grades 3-6) and some I see only once (grades 1-2....good riddance.) Hanmaumn I am at Mon-Wed, and Seongup Thurs-Fri. While some of my fellow English teachers are serving their time here as English Robots, who are at the beckon and call of their students homeroom teachers masters, I roam the classroom landscape free as a bird. By that I mean, I have no help from other teachers and I plan things on my own. At first it seemed daunting and that I was getting a little screwed over, but in the long run, the other folks are the ones who got the short end of the stick. I'm actually getting the experience of planning and conducting my own courses completely on my own, which will be great for me once I go back home and continue to teach. I got thrown into the fire, thats for sure, but I've came out with only a few bumps and bruises so far, and it only gets better on the daily.

The Elementary Schools have a set curriculum, complete with terrible text books and cd-roms.

Exhibit A:


Imagine the thrill of having the kids repeat, "WAIT WAIT" and "I"M COMING," over and over and over again. Needless to say, for me the text books are just the framework of what I need to teach. I gather the key phrases from the chapter and make up my own way of teaching it to make it a lot more interesting. The books are helpful, thats for sure, but at times, pretty damn useless.

My grade 3 classes at both my schools are far and away my favorite. They are just getting excited to learn, and pick things up the quickest. There are excited about activities and always just have all sorts of great energy. The grade 1-2 kids I often just don't know what the hell to do it, and mostly just feel like a baby sitter sometimes, and the kids in grades 5-6 can just act like they are way to cool to do anything. It's really tough to get them excited about ANYTHING. Grade 4, is just an awkward transition period, and the text books I have to use for them, and the lesson ideas are by far the most vague and tough to teach.

Some days the kids are absolutely wonderful, and the joy I get out of seeing them actually pick something up and run with it, is unexplainable. The days they just get it, make me realize even more that his is indeed what I want to do, I really do enjoy it that much. Then there is those other days. The ones where you secretly wish the teachers were still using corporal punishment on their students. These kids are BAD. Unless your living some Dangerous Minds type scenario with inner city youth at your school back in the states, you haven't seen these types of behavioral issues in such large quantities. A.D.D. kids don't have shit on the madness of Korean school children. Kicking, punching, screaming, literally beating the shit out of each other. Running around, jumping on tables. On the days they are riled up, you are powerless. That is just how the day is going and you have to try and figure out how to deal with it. It's a group craziness. When one kid is like this, they are ALL like this, even the "good kids."

It's kind of like this. Nevermind, that's actually funny. It's more like this. Yeah, just like that, ALL DAY LONG.

I know there is a language barrier to blame for some of the frustrations that come from trying to get them to calm down and listen to me, but sometimes they just DON'T give two shits about listening, and either do their teachers. There are somethings in a classroom, and fucking life, that are just universal, ie. shut the hell up and don't scream unprovoked (especially in the classroom), don't beat the hell out of your friends (or stab them, yeah that happened already), and just other really simple things here and there that help prevent general chaos. The kids understand what I'm telling them to do, telling them to chill, they just choose to make it a game. Stop me if I'm being nieve here, but this is definitely part of the education system here that frustrates me. When the kids are chaotic, they generally could care less to stop them and just accept the fact that they probably ain't going to learn anything today. To me that is a little warped.

All that said. It's their culture. I'm here for a year. I'm not out to change who they are. And bottom line is I deal with it. It may be frustrating at times, but it's just how it goes.

And there is the fact that the kids are just so overwhelmingly cute. You become merciless.

Contrary to that slight rant. I am having the time of my life so far in the classroom and I can only see it getting better and better. Classes will sporadically get cancelled on a regular basis. Sometimes they tell me, sometimes they don't. You just really have to go with the flow here, and not get too uptight about it all.

I generally have a lot of time free in my afternoons to plan for my classes for the next day, and do just this, screw around on the internet. That said I never have to take any work home, so that is a major plus. All and all it's a pretty sweet gig.

This is getting long winded, so I'll cut it off here. But stay tuned for part 2: The Faculty / Staff / Parents.

Criterion is making me salivate....

I need a Blu-Ray player stat. All these being released soon by Criterion. My head just went POP.

Twisting Tongues on Terribly Boring Day

For the most part this week, I have not taught any classes. After a week long vacation, i'm feeling a bit rusty, and this is making it even worse. Preparations for field day are taking precedent over classes all week, preparations which include; synchronized "She's All That" type dancing, and eerie military like marching on the field. That said, I've spent all my free time on Monday with no class, planning for the whole week, all lesson which I now have not taught and are just going to be rolled over into next week. Oh the joys of being a teacher in Korea.

That said I decided to fine tune one of my lessons for the week, by throwing in some non-sensical tongue twisters to help kids practice their phonics.  I think you can tell by their escalation in weirdness that I'm getting a little bit delirious today. This week it's letters A-E, so ultimately I should have a whole alphabets worth of these to weird kids out with. I really want to do some illustrations for some of them as well.

A

Aardvarks always assume accurately

The apple aggressively ate another apples arm

Adventures alone aren't always all that awesome

The ape arranged an absurdly awesome outfit


B
Bicycles bound bouncily along the big black bricks
I bought brown bananas at a big blue barn
The baboon bakes big beautiful buns
The blue balloon is bigger than the brown bunny

C

The cat called the cranky crow a cruel name

I went camping in a canyon with a cool cat named Carl

The cold cookie and the crayon couldn’t clear customs

The caterpillar creeps calmly along side the crusty clown

D

The donkey dodged the dastardly dragon

The dog ducked to avoid the ducks drooping drapes

Ducks don’t dance on the day after a death

Dirt drenched dolphins don’t do drinks on days that contain the letter “d”

E 

Eager elephants eat evil elves

Everyday eggs are eaten an eel escapes from E-mart

Eagles have enormous, elegant, earthy ears

Every time emus run errands, Elmo escorts them

Korean Karpool

She picks me up on the morning after the typhoon "ravaged the land."

She smiles, nods, pushes aside her rainbow umbrella, and motions for me to sit in the back seat. A backseat completely void of safety restraints.

I'm 8 again. On the big yellow school bus, praying the bus driver isn't leading me to a firey death in which I'm ejected through the winshield

I creek onto the brittle macro-may seat covers, as she slides on her long, bone white, driving gloves. She places them, with authority, on her shimmering bedazzled steering wheel.

She releases the e-brake, nearly kills it, and stops a block later, and begins to feverishly check her cell phone.

Another teacher, "Mary," finally enters.

"Mary" tells me everyday "you look like boy."

"Mary" and "the driver," whose name I don't, and may never know converse sporadically.

Between the "bongs" and the "bops," I occasionally hear what sounds vaguely like "Tay-ler," and polite giggling follows.

"Mary" tells me the driver would like to speak with me, but she doesn't speak English much, or very well.

Smoke spews into the cabin, via the dash. We stop in the middle of traffic.

"The driver" gets out. Stares at the hood briefly. Does nothing, and then re-enters the car.

With her short gaze, she apparently cauterized the beast's wound. We were on our way.

After 45 minutes of pure silence, "the driver" breaks her English celibacy.

"You not here at 5:00...I leave you."

I exit the car, and saunter up my jungle road.

She releases her e-brake, spews smoke, and puts away.

Bon Voyage

Today is the day. I sit with you now broadcasting from the international terminal at Sea-Tac, getting my last taste of America. By that I mean, I'm enjoying the worlds finest pale ale (Sierra Nevada) a shot of well,...americas whiskey (Jack Daniels it was a sultry $3, damn does that waitress know how to upsell!) and a big beefy burger, with baked beans and potato salad. Mind you it is 11am. Save your judgement, I won't have these indulgences in a long while.

The separation from the folks was definitely tough. Even at the airport with my mom and dad we still bickered. Each telling me different directions to roam, which line to stand in and what I should put in what bag, and what have you. Their last gasp of parenting was endearing, but I had to tell them, I'm going to be facing a lot more adversity then figuring out an airport here pretty damn soon, I'm on my very own and no one will be there to help me. I love you guys so much and will miss you everyday.

Same goes for my friends, the last week or so has been spectacular. For the first time in ages I feel at peace with a lot of things that have troubled me in the past. Some relationships have been rocky, others amazing, but all and all in the end, I left everything on a good note and am very grateful for that. Some of you guys are just as much family to me as the real deal.

Somehow, all of this still has not set in. Will it ever? Do I need a heaping waft of spicy kimchi to wake me up to what I'm actually doing? Only time will till, but until then, I am still blissfully ignorant about the enormity of this change, and exponentially excited about it.

Down the hatch goes the Jack, and I'm on my way.

See you in Seoul.

Cheers.

Goodbye USA / Hello South Korea

As my blog is aptly titled, I'm just going to use it for my travels abroad while teaching. Stay tuned.

Playing catch up

Got myself a new iPod after almost a year of the other one half working. Before I was all concerned with getting all my music into one device, but really I think all that did was keep me from giving everything I had a good enough listen. Things would frequently just got lost in the fold of my 80GB beast. Going with the more modest 8GB iPod Touch this roll around (solely because it came free with my new computer), this little mini computer has given me the chance to catch up on some albums that have came out over the last few months (or year) and give um a good hearty listen.

The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever
With "Heaven is Whenever" it seems like The Hold Steady have crawled into a dark place. Without the pounding party keys of Franz Nicolay for the first time, the band has definitely found itself in a different realm of the mind. It's a darker place, sparse, reflective and hopeful; a place where the small child burgeoning inside of Craig Finn and his cast of characters have started to face adulthood. Sure their songs have been heavy handed in the past, but this album actually sounds the part, and I dig it. The album cover pretty much tells all, the band is reaching for something (or out of something) they haven't yet reached before, or weren't ready for until now. Craig Finn is, as always, is pure literary form though with his legendary monologues.
Listen to: The Weekenders

Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts
A lot of bands have embraced this "I wanna be Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr" fuzzy guitar sound over the last few years: No Age, Times New Viking, Japandroids, etc. Some of it works, some of it doesn't, some of Time New Vikings songs I would barely even consider music because the guitars are far TOO distorted. That said, I would have to say London's Male Bonding have made the first record of this recent trend that I can really sink my teeth into. I guess it's because their songs are just well crafted. Their a mix of heavy, messy Stooges punk, curiously adjoined with summer melodies of Surfer Blood. The best mix of these two descriptions? The track "Weird Feelings," which may or may not have a hijacked riff from The Beatles "Please Please Me." This is a fun, shreddin' summer album for the grungy kids.
Listen to: Weird Feelings

The Black Keys - Brothers
I'll be honest I completely skipped out on the Black Keys last album "Attack and Release." The fact that Danger Mouse produced it, really just turned me off at the time, and I never really had an desire to go back. The only other band that rocks this hard while repping, the grimy, bluesy roots oh so many people try to imitate these days, is The White Stripes. But Dan Auerbach has always had one step up on Jack White (and everyone else) in my opinion...he can actually sing the part. Sounding like a a mix of Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix, you would never guess hes a scrawny bearded white guy from Akron, Ohio. "Brothers" sounds like the Black Keys I learned to love on "Magic Potion" and "Rubber Factory," this type of music never gets old, especially when it is done so well.
Listen to: 10 Cent Pistol

Minus the Bear - OMNI
I guess I have never been as big of a fan Minus the Bear as I previously thought I was. Sure I absolutely love the clever, fun loving, easy going nature of "Highly Refined Pirates" and "Menos el Oso," but when "Planet of Ice" rolled around, I started to question my loyalties. That album really me ponder, "who the hell is this band" and "what the hell are they trying to do with themselves." That paired with the fact that I've witnessed a handful of piss poor live performances from them throughout the years, I can't really stay behind um anymore. Although I've only gave it one complete listen, OMNI just seems like more of the same awkward pandering to me. A attempt to recapture some of the glory of "Pirates" but suddenly getting all jam bandy on me. I'll definitely give it a couple more listens before I completely write it off, but it ain't looking great. All that said though I love the acoustic album they put out a while back!
Listen to: Secret Country

The new Moondoggies EP, Shook Ones, The Morning Benders, Tame Impala, Russian Circles, Unnatural Helpers, Madball and The Smiths (?!) still to come....

My final words on LOST

When it boils down to it, the final two and a half hours of LOST really put viewers to the test, in what was surely a very polarizing last hurrah. To me, I feel a sense of peace with it all. The ending for me was so smooth, so emotional and so utterly triumphant in it's realization about what this show was actually all about, I can't wait to go back and watch it all over again.

It blows my mind that the journey of the passengers of Oceanic flight 815 began a whole 6 years ago. I was a freshman in college, and had just moved out of the dorms. I picked up Lost on a tip from a friend, and downloaded the first 5 or so episodes to catch up with what was on TV (this being my first experience with a little thing called a torrent). From the first 10 minutes I was intrigued. The pilot is one of the most dramatic, action packed things I've seen on television, the production is spectacular, and right off the bat the show introduces you to its cast of characters who are almost instantly intriguing. 6 years later, here we are at the end, how did it all pan out? Well I'm sure some of you were rather disappointed, but this is what it all meant to me.

One of my favorite terms to throw around when talking about any sort of fiction is the notion of a MacGuffin. It was a favorite trope of one Alfred Hitchcock, a master of the genre, a man whom "Lost" has without a doubt nodded heavily too on various levels throughout the series. Lest me school the:

 A MacGuffin "a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the  plot of a work of fiction". The defining aspect of a MacGuffin is that the major players in the story are (at least initially) willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to obtain it, regardless of what the MacGuffin actually is. In fact, the specific nature of the MacGuffin may be ambiguous, undefined, generic, left open to interpretation or otherwise completely unimportant to the plot. (Examples might include money, victory/glory, survival, a source of power, a potential threat, etc....or something entirely unexplained.)

The briefcase in "Pulp Fiction" for one, is a MacGuffin. Does it matter what is in the briefcase? No. Does the plot drive forward and all sorts of amazing characters, action sequences, and witty dialogue emerge because of said briefcase. Yes. In the end does the briefcase even matter? No. I think it's a pretty general and maybe hard to digest fact, but to me, on LOST, the Island has all along been the damn MacGuffin. And I'm fine with that.

Long ago in the series, I really gave up on caring whether all these mysteries arising on the island were going to be solved. I chose the man of faith route, although don't get me wrong the man of science route is an enticing one. To me, this was just a weird island, that weird shit happened on. Simple as that. While things on the island change from episode to episode, and crazier and crazier things happened along the way, what was always constant with the show was its utmost dedication to it's characters. From Jack, our reluctant hero, to Sawyer our resident smart ass, and Hurley, the fat funny friend, everyone was severely flawed in one way or another, and this island was going to help them figure out how to fix that, whether they knew that or not. These characters struggles are always what kept me sticking with the show. Their relationships grew, and this truly became a group of people I as the viewer knew and cared what happened to quiet a bit. The journey of Jack in particular, is something that was truly always at the heart of the show, and his struggle (and ultimate redemption) was always something that kept me thoroughly intrigued.

The problem is, I don't think a lot of people where watching the show for this reason, people began to over analyze things left and right, want answers to every mystery, down to the stupidest little obsessive damn details. The writers were toying with them, and they knew exactly what they were doing.  By always showing "how" something happened but never "why," they threw us all for endless repeating loop. Don't get me wrong, I definitely fell victim to this along the way as well.

In the end though, the show was all about the characters and their relationships and that is pretty much it. People can bitch and complain about the final moments not revealing all the answers, even some of the answers, hell the last episode didn't answer ANYTHING of the on island mysteries if you ask me, but to me it DOES NOT MATTER. The characters struggled through their time on the island, they faced death, peril, they had bonds with people who changed their lives, and in the end ultimately helped them all overcome their flaws, and become better people because of it. Is this an absolutely batty way to tell this story? Without a doubt, but you can't deny it sure was interesting.

The fact that the writers chose to not really reveal much about the island, and peoples subsequent reaction, to me is a sort of meta-commentary in itself, an ode to all of our shallowness and reluctance to accept the things we should truly be grateful for in the end.. We all lust after what we can't get, we struggle for it and beat ourselves up, in our quest for knowledge and our quest for the sometimes unobtainable. All the while using this as a big diversion to avoid the problems we all have within ourselves, and realizing how much the people and situations around us can effect us, and help change us all for the better. The facts of the journey aren't what's important, it's what we gained from it all, the connections we made, the progress we made within ourselves. This is what LOST is all about, and therefore to me, seeing them all together in end was absolutely perfect. In the words of Mr. Leonard Cohen, "Even Damnation is Poisoned with Rainbows," (IE the ones tattooed on my arm), I can't think of a more truer phrase to sum up the journey of our Lost friends.

Going back, I think this show is going to be even more emotional to watch, and hopefully to some, it will open their eyes to the crafting of a story, unlike anything that will ever be shown again on network television. All this said, I'm a huge sucker for the emotional twist it all took in the end. The relevance of all that was presented in relation to the grand scheme of life, is something I also find important to strive to achieve.

When it's all said and done, yeah, there are some things that would of been cool to know about the island, and I've had my moments of frustration with it all. But with any fantasy or sci-fi tale, things just work in that universe the way they do, their ain't no explaining them, and part of the fun is deducing your own theories.  Lost, you'll be sorely missed by this faithful watcher.

Take it away Geronimo Jackson

Song of the Day

The Band: LCD Soundsystem
The Track: New York I Love You, But Your Bringing Me Down
The Album: Sound of Silver
The Reason:  James Murphy is a master of his craft, and with just three albums under his belt as LCD Soundsystem (The latest "This is Happening" came out this week), he's reportedly ready to call it quits. It's a bit bittersweet, but it's one of those things that I appreciate someone who knows when to stop when they are ahead, and in this case, stop before he gets too ahead of his times. LCD Soundsystem has always found its groove and critical acclaim due to the relavancy of its placement in our musical history. James Murphy taps into all of our urges with his songs, and transcends genres left and right.

This track, along with "Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up," from the S/T album, are two of my favorites, as they really showcase Murphy as an insightful crooner. Sure the upbeat poppy throbbing hits like "Daft Punk is Playing in My House" amongst other are a blast and the core of the band, but when he mellows it down i'm usually in complete awe. I really hope as Murphy takes his next steps, he steps into the shoes of a musician more in the vein of this song.  This is definitely going to be the highlight of Sasquatch this year for me.

The Video:

Song of the Day

The Band: Devo
The Song: Gut Feeling  / (Slap Your Mammy)
The Album: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo!
The Reason: Yesterday morning KEXP DJ John Richards did a last minute tribute show to Ian Curtis, as it was the 30th anniversary of the Joy Division front man's suicide. Richards played tracks from Joy Divisions entire catalog from their original EP (when they were still called Warsaw, the songs, which are all totally raw punk classics, appear on the compilation "Substance") in 1976, all the way to the Unknown Pleasures, the bands last record before Curtis' death in 1980. Not only did he drop some Joy Division tracks, but cuts from influential bands of the same ilk from the same time period of 76-80. They ranged from the obvious influences like the Buzzcocks, to the likes of Talking Heads, Brian Eno, Devo, Iggy Pop, The Jam, The Cure, The Fall, The Damned, Gang of Four, Bowie and the Clash.

I really think this post punk/new wave era is an oft overlooked source of rock solid classics. I feel like the word "new-wave" has been bastardized about as much as the word "emo". One of the most misunderstood of these artist is Akron, Ohio's own Devo. I'm sure anyone who ever even hears the words Devo muttered instantly thinks of "Whip It" and silly cone hats. Delve deeper then that though and you find a band who was probably more intune with their punk roots just as much, if not more so, then most of the other bands of the time. Hell, the majority of music you've heard in film and television over the last 20 years has been scored by folks from this movement. Most notably Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo, consistent Wes Anderson contributor) and Danny Elfman (Oingo Boingo, every fucking Tim Burton movie, The Simpsons, you name it). David Bryne and Brian Eno (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) have also had their fair share of scoring duties.

The build of this track is killer before it just starts totally spazing out. Think  Green Day- Brain Stew / Jaded (you know you dug it). Sure they sang about silly shit most of the time (see "Mongoloid") but when they brought the energy like this, they slayed it.

The Video:

Song of the Day

The Band : Two Gallants
The Album: S/T (20007, Saddle Creek)
The Song: Reflections of the Marionette
The Reason: Thank god for my iPod having a momentary resurrection. Two Gallants have a knack for writing songs about loves lost, in the most bitterly poetic way possible. Jaded, angry, and convincingly justified. All delivered with the swagger of a loner wandering down the dusty deserted streets of a old west town in the moments before a gun fight. Although it's well tucked away in my past at this point, this song reminds me of a time where I felt exactly this same way. As cheesy as it is (and god knows I'm a sucker for that) I've pretty much lived these words. Stumbling across it now, it just makes me laugh. Amazing band, amazing album

Lyrics: Call the dogs and sound the horns; the city key of wheres I borns; has been stolen by someone; I thought I knew; she blew in with some angel dust; from southern state where love is lust and I hope she's gone; by the time this song is through

the streets she only knows by name; of dead white men who rose to fame by slitting every throat along the way she transcends the avenue; an eye for me, a wink for you; I feel myself becoming yesterday

Darlin I can't wait; for you to leave this town; you just got here too late; and no one wants you 'round; with one foot on my back; and the other on the rail; I don't want to see you fall; I just want to see you fail

and the night is sweet; the night's divine; it stains your cheeks; with blood-red wine; and leaves you lyin'; in your enemy's arm; and while you mumble down the hall something bout a skin made wall; you find you're just a sucker; for her charms; and the vanity that cased the skin shoves you in before they sin; and see your sense of self; just fade away; and see you're just a one man show and once you're done; it's time to go; hear yourself your footsteps down the way

Darlin I can't wait; for you to leave this town; you just got here too late; and no one wants you 'round; with one foot on my back; and the other on the rail; I don't want to see you fall; I just want to see you fail

and his youth protects the failing light; with his shirt sleeves rolled; and the humid night
and he drags his heels; when he hears her call his name; and wondering when love will descend from a lofty; room where all dreams end; in her waiting room; he leans upon his cane; and his turn comes
the next in line; the well-worn steps he slowly climbs see a line of meathooks on display and in the streets; the siren sings; what words they tell; what news they bring; the puppet and his cold coat strings obeys

but darlin' I can't wait, for you to leave this town; you just got here too late; and no one wants you 'round; with one foot on my back; and the other on the rail; I dont want to see you fall; I just want to see you fail; I dont want to see you fall; I just want to see you fail

The Video:

The Narwhal: A Man's Unicorn

On a note completely unrelated to anything I've ever posted on this blog, until today I had no idea such an awesome creature actually existed. A sea dwelling, spear toting, total badass. Although I'm pretty sure it uses it's tusk for some mating ritual and not for the impalement of baby animals, he is still quite the majestic metal beast.

What goes up...must come down

I woke up with this song stuck in my head, and subsequently it has been there all day long. I feel like it's something Tony Soprano would be caught singing in his Suburban, before diving into some surreal metaphoric dream state involving gabagoul and talking fish.

Current Addictions

A) Electric Wizard
Quiet possibly the heaviest damn band on the planet? Yes. I've only been listening to "Dopethrone" but I'd say it's enough for them to take the crown. This band, and the Black Breath's Southern Lord debut "Heavy Breathing" have single handily reignited the meandering metal fire in my heart.

B) Fringe
This generations X-Files? Not quite, but Fox's Sci-Fi equivalent of CSI is a blast to watch. While ultimately it's very clear that the show runners can't make up their mind as to whether or not they want to make the show a completely serialized mystery, or just stick to the monster of the week format; oddly enough they've found a happy medium to satisfy fans of both. When the mythology kicks in it kicks your face in. The episode "Peter" may be the finest hour of television I've watched all year.

C) Half-Life 2
I've always considered myself a gamer, but a casual and picky one at that. I find my niche games, and I stick to them. You will see my collection lined soley with Metal Gear, Resident Evil, Silent Hilll, and Soul Calibur titles. I love these series and will replay the hell out of all of them. A whole 6 years after its release the Half-Life 2 universe has blown its way into that echelon for me recently. It's combination of out of control physics, rousing gameplay and intriguing storytelling put it above any FPS ever made, IMO. Games like MW2, are too much for me to handle, I'm right at home with a title like this.

D) Dr. Dog
If the Beatles ever did actually have a musical marriage with super fan Jeff Lynne (ELO), Dr. Dog is pretty damn close to what I think they would of sounded like. The pop of Dr. Dog is endearing. It's retrospective, and humbling, a kind of sound that the bands they are influenced by would be caught looking down at their shuffling feet with a "ah-shucks" sort of embarrassment. These kids got range, they have some rockin' numbers, but really know how to smooth things down as well. New album Shame, Shame isn't as strong as previous outing "Fate" but, honestly their whole catalog is worth a hefty listen. Current favorite track by um: My Friend.

 E) Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Slightly embarrassing, yes, but god damn that Joss Whedon actually is a pretty damn funny fellow. I have had a slight curiosity in checking out this series for a while now for a variety of reasons; a) I've always heard the writing is great, and a lot of the shows writers went on to be writers for "Lost," B) I absolutely love Whedon's "Firefly" universe and C) The cult following of this show is just too damn hard to ignore. Netflix Instant has bestowed every season to me, and I have accepted the offering. Half way through season one, its kind of a blast to watch, I'm glad they go well beyond vamps too. Sunnydale is a "Hell Mouth" which bestows us with all sorts of hilariously over the top creatures and situations (see: My Substitute Teacher is Actually a Praying Mantis Episode.) Overall, I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy this outing when it's all said and done, and finally maybe get all that academic literature about Buffy I stumbled across in my upper division English electives. Did I mention Sarah Michelle Gellar has a endless supply of the shortest television legal skirts?

Post FIT: George Washington

Dir. David Gordon Green
Star. Paul Schneider, Donald Holden

"down this twisted road, please watch over my soul and lift me up so gently so as not to touch the ground"

I have a really hard time defining the kind of movie David Gordon Green's debut film "George Washington" is. It's a still of frozen time, it's a voyeuristic look at the everyday lives of seemingly real people, it seems unscripted, everything about it just breaths and bleeds the grim and joyous beauty, reality and emotions of life.

The film follows the lives of several kids growing up in an economically depressed town in North Carolina. The kids experiences run the gamut of emotional touchstones most don't experience until they've lived their whole life through. They are hardened individuals, they are caring, they are brutally honest. The dialogue can be wonky, but endearing, and altogether incredibly poetic.

The only other filmmaker I can think of whose made films like this is Terrance Mallick, while watching "George Washington" I get the same chills I get while watching "Badlands," "The Thin Red Line" or "Days of Heaven." The two film makers have the uncanny ability to assault your senses while watching their films, your are immersed and mesmerized. I don't think there are many films or filmmakers who can make life and death blend so seamlessly into such a singularly beautiful fluid motion. This is definitely creeped its way into my all time favorites. Looking at Gordon Green's filmography and the direction its headed (ok I liked Pineapple Express quite a bit, but...), I doubt he'll come near to touching this level of work again.

ICP, you just blew my fucking mind

Fucking magnets, fucking pelicans and fucking rainbows...all pondered here by ICP

Can I haz some runz insteadz?

Come on, are we really resorting to things like this already?

Cheezburger Night
Twins vs. Mariners
Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 7:10 p.m.

It's Cheezburger Night with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, June 3! Bring your family and friends to join in all the fun. We will have some awesome pre-game festivities, and if you buy your tickets through this special Cheezburger offer, you'll get a FREE Happy Cat Bobblehead (while supplies last)*. See you all there!

• DEADLINE TO PURCHASE: Wednesday, June 2 at NOON.
• Game Date: Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 7:10 p.m.
• Pricing:
  
  
  • $16 View Reserved (normally $20)
• Highlights
  
  
  • Join us pre-game for Happy Cat Hour in the Bullpen Landing (see map) with Chief Cheezburger, Ben Huh!
  • Receive a free bobblehead while supplies last with your special Cheezburger Night ticket!

*Bobbleheads will be distributed at the event starting at 5:10 p.m

 At least at the game this Friday I'll bestowed with the first of 3 Griffey Bobble heads. Sigh.

Whoops

An "injured" Wayne Rooney tries to sneak a pint while his Man U squad is taking on, and getting defeated, by Chelsea. One smooth fella.



Aside from that funny little bit, I didn't buy the damn Tiny Tim crutches they had Rooney hobbling around in and posing for the media in all week. Sure enough he makes a surprise recovery for the Bayern Munich Champions League match. BS head games I say.

Public Enemy to play Sasquatch Sunday. I approve.

In a seemingly unfair trade off, Public Enemy have swapped days with Nada Surf. This is going to be my return to Sasquatch after a 2 year absence, shit has got too pricey and the bands have been too spread out for my liking. I made the executive decision to go Sunday this year solely for the Pavement reunion, and LCD Soundsystem, this is now just an added treat. I've seen them before, right before Flavor Flav hit a new wave of popularity with the Surreal Life. While I enjoyed the show (and Nas, who followed) I wasn't as well versed in their ways at the time, and couldn't really appreciate it all that much. Having a bit of an aged taste for them now, it is going to be one hell of a show.

Post F.I.T. Part 2: Caché (2005)

Caché
Dir. Michael Haneke
Star. Daniel Autuil, Juliette Binoche

I think it's safe to say that no single scene in a film has caught me off guard and shocked me as much as the singular act of violence that arises in Michael Haneke's Caché. Haneke is a master of on-screen violence, not the glorifying of it for pure shock value, but rather showing how violence effects people in a very real and unnerving, unsettling light. His 1997 film Funny Games, feels a bit dated to me when I watched it last, but with Caché Haneke ups the ante not with more violence, but artfully packing a hay-maker with one single scene.

The uneasiness of the build to the scene is what makes it so effective. Georges and Anne receive countless eerie video tapes on their door step, the tapes contain footage from a camera that is fixated on the exterior of their home. The film is very quiet, very dialogue driven, and almost voyeuristic. As the tapes keep arriving, sometimes accompanied by strange drawings, tensions build, and the events begin to put a strain on the family's life. That's about as far as i'll go, as I don't want to ruin anything. But as I said, "the scene" made me cringe, reach for a pillow and plant it firmly over my face. The fact that it happens about half way through the film, and aftermath unfolds before you makes it that much more of a trip.

I'm a horror film fan, I occasionally enjoy rather morbid shit, and am rarely weirded or gross out by much. So when something comes along that can truly give me chills, I hold it in fairly high regard. The only thing that might come close to this is Gaspar Noé's Irreversible, and it's initial club scene, and absurdly graphic rape scene, both of which made me turn my head in disgust. While Noé's film is yes, boldy graphic, I feel like its borderline done solely for pure shock. Haneke takes violence, gets under your skin, and makes you feel, very effectively, what witnessing such as shocking act would feel like and how deeply leave an imprint on your life. Its one of those movies that I have a hard time recommending to people for these reasons, but I think its an important film that addresses how we oft use violence in film as a thing of entertainment, and how oh so wrong that notion is.

Gene Clark - 1975

I have a soft spot for just about everyone and everything spawned from seminal 60's icons The Byrds. From David Crosby, to Gram Parsons, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, the rawkus country rock that was produced by these musicians is a guilty pleasure of mine. I blame my father.** Recently I obtained a copy of Gene Clark's (Byrds main songwriter 64' - 66') 1971 solo outing "White Light." The songs are soulful and subtle, like his laid back cover of Dylan and The Band's grandiose "Tears of Rage."

The highlight for me though is this track entitled "1975." Enjoy.

**My father also really likes Jethro Tull, a taste I did not inherit. I bring this up because when I came home from work today he had music blasting from his office. Upon my inquiry as to what the hell he was doing he held up his Rainier Tall Boy (His love hate relationship with the Rainier Company is a story for another day) and said "Drinking beer and listening to Tull!" Needless to say, I could start another blog solely about his antics. They do have some really cool vinyl packaging though:

Post F.I.T. Part 1: The Last Picture Show (1971)

My job at Film is Truth single handily saved my interest in film. A hobby of mine that had been lacking for the better part of the last two years was resurrected in the 6 months I spent with the Truth, and I sure am grateful for it. Looking at my last post, which was from when I first started working there, its pretty awesome how much I see that I've learned, and how much my filmic horizons have been broadened. So I present to you, Part 1 of Taylor's Favorite Films of the Post-Film is Truth Era.

The Last Picture Show (1971)
Dir. Peter Boganovich
Star. Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Cybil Shepard, Randy Quaid

Taking the cake for "Most Relevant Film I Could Have Possibly Watched at This Point in My Life," Peter Bogdanovich's film about small town life, is just one of those that had me engrossed an enamored by every single minuet detail. The bond these friends have, their comings and goings, uncertainties and heartbreaks of post-high school / college life , the risk and adventures they take, and just the ulimate realization of the monotony of everyday life, are all things I can relate to tenfold at this point in my own transitional existence. The Last Picture Show is the penultimate precursor to the American Graffiti's, Dazed and Confused's and Kicking and Screaming's that have followed it, and while I love all those films for their visions on the topic, the old soul in me appreciates and latches onto the values, and the wholehearted honesty presented in Bogdanovich's film more then anything. The beautifully nuanced black and white cinematography, and incredible performances by Jeff Bridges, the smokin' hot Cybil Shepard, and my personal favorite, Timothy Bottoms, cap off what is a film I know I'll revisit in the future and will help the sentimentalist in me conjure up all sorts of awesome and painful memories.