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Discography
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Scanners basically got all the right formula for my music taste: melodic, a little upbeat (even dancey), great guitar playing and great lyrics delivered by a girl singer called Sarah Daly.
Since the band's formation in 2004-ish, they've been doing the tried-and-true singles releases. They finally worked their way to their debut album, Violence Is Golden in 2006, all the while opening up for established acts like The Charlatans (a Britpop favorite here) and The Wedding Present.
With 2010 here, Dim Mak Records is releasing their sophomore album, Submarine next month. We have an advance promo that I've been listening to non-stop since December. I knew the instant I heard their opening track, "Jesus Saves", that they had me at "Each picture tells a story/we've seen it all before/it's either death or glory/of casualty of war.".
I believe their first single from the new album will be "Salvation", although an excellent track, I felt there were stronger songs. However, the song does feature some great lyrics like "I'll take you to my grave" (by the sound of the song it's more upbeat than depressing). You can sample a B-Side off their single by downloading the Don Diablo remix of the track on RCRDLBL. I found out about the free track via the Dim Mak mailing list.
I did download the remix and I'll have to say, it's very bass-heavy. The song sounds very different from the album mix, and doesn't really represent Scanners, in my opinion. What I like about Scanners is that they're lyrical, and the remix strips out all of the lyrics and made it into a techno dance song. There's a time and place for that, just not what I like about the band.
The electronic/dance thing does bring up an interesting point though: Scanners seems like a band that balance the electronic/synth and indierock. I really like that about them.
Other songs to consider for my new mixtape will probably be between "Jesus Saves", "We Never Close Our Eyes" and "Sleepwalking Life". There is one strange song called "Half a Mind (Dreamer Forever)" which is really good, except it's fades out suddenly at the end of the song. Kind of fitting for a 'dream' song, I suppose.
2010 is starting off wonderfully with Submarine. If you generally like British music, you'll find that Scanners will fit nicely in your collection. I know you'll probably forget when their album is release next month, so I'll make it a point to announce their touring dates (if any are announce) in the upcoming months. Watch this space.
01/05/2010 22:59:06 ♥ vu (
) ♥ myspace.com/scanners ♥ twitter.com/wearescanners
loathes:
- it's really cold. wisconsin is january is colder than your freezer. 18 degrees right now. 9 for the low.
- i'm not really going to see matt until saturday...last night he had plans, tonight i have plans, tomorrow and thursday he has plans, friday night he works, etc.
- today at work really sucked. the sales lady i work for promises too much to her clients and unfortunately, it's my job to figure out how to make it work. this morning was ridiculous. seriously.
- i think i got drugged on new years. 4 glasses of wine in 4 hours shouldn't make for an incomplete memory and the inability to stand upright. there was something weird going on there...and we were in a kind of shady part of town, so i wouldn't doubt it. i was totally embarassed about it the next day.
- i had fun on new years, but i didn't. i missed matt. if i had been with him, non of that drugged nonsense would've happened.
loves:
- matt made reservations for valentines day already
- he's stopping by work tomorrow to bring me lunch since we aren't going to see eachother all week
- i'm going out to dinner with liz, amber and liz's sister, stephanie, tonight...should be a lot of fun.
- i teach my first real yoga class tomorrow! i'm a little nervous, but excited. i keep having dreams about everything going terribly wrong...
- currently - right now - i have nothing to complain about in my life. my health, as far as i know, is good. my job is lovely - with the exception of today...and matt's been more amazing than ever. it's rare that all sides of my life are going well at the same time.
"My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a "lone traveler" and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude - feelings which increase with the years."
–Albert Einstein
This
big spoon came from the set of the movie,The Shipping News that
starred Kevin Spacey. At the end of a production sometimes there is an
auction of props and things. A friend of mine who worked as the food
stylist on that show picked up some spoons. I had helped her create a
"squid" burger for one of the scenes. lol. We tried to make it look
great with bits of dulse hanging out and deep fried breaded fried
tentacles but Kevin refused to even try it. The rest of the crew and
director did and pronounced them delicious! His was eventually made
with chicken. All this for a ten second shot:)
I uploaded this shot to Shutterstock on the weekend. It was was accepted and already has a download:) I have not been very consistent at all with my microstock stuff and plan to try to get a few uploaded each week. It is another way to make some extra dollars and fun too. With a bit of work, you could do quite well! I wrote about microstock a while ago. There was some controversy recently about microstock taking money from professional photographers but the shot in question that triggered the discussion was just a jar of coins used by Time magazine for their cover. Personally, I think why spend "big" money on a shot of a jar, a classic "stock" picture. Spend the"big"money on shots that require imagination and presence.
If you take a look around some of the microstock companies, there are AMAZING images to be found now. The advent of digital cameras has made photography accessible to so many more people and they are really pushing the boundaries of what can be done.
This
is the "before" picture. Practically ALL my shelves look like this! Ah,
January...the month that triggers resolutions, good intentions and lots
of great plans. Can you guess what I am starting? That is if I can get
off this computer and not get distracted by something else. I find that
when I tidy up anything with words, I start reading.... :) oh yeah,
where was I? Takes forever!
Our storm is over! What an event that was. I don't think I've ever seen such change in so short time. Raining, then snowing hard, then ice pellets and back to snow, now it is mild and everything is melting. Wonder what is in store for next week? Crazy weather everywhere!
Gretchen Rubin is someone we can all learn something from. She just published a book called The Happiness Project. I 'd like to read it. Last year she test drove lots of theories about happiness and this book outlines what she discovered. One of the things I thought was interesting is that "random acts of kindness" don't work. People invariably end up suspicious and nervous. Better to help out a friend in need or help out as opportunities present themselves. Random scares people. Hmmm. Good stuff to ponder.
1st International Conference on Other Centered Approaches
Co-sponsored by Amida USA, Todo Institute, Institute for Buddhist StudiesBuddhist Churches of America - Center for Buddhist Education
::contact conference@amidatrust.com
Berkeley CA February 19-21 2010
In the Chair
Greg White
Keynote Speakers
Caroline Brazier UK * Clark Strand NY * Gregg Krech VT * Daijaku Judith Kinst CA
Also
Yaya de Andrade BC * Kazuo Yamashita Japan * Franco Acquaro HI * Carol O'Dowd CO
Other centeredness, a principle derived from Buddhist psychology, transcends the boundaries of psychological schools and religious categories. That mental and spiritual well-being should be a function of the quality of one’s engagement with and ability to appreciate others is not exclusive to any one school or tradition. Here many contemporary concerns converge. Issues in ethics have other-relatedness at their core. Issues in ecology have our concern for the object-world in view. The practice of mindfulness raises the question 'mindful of what?' Yet psychology as practiced is generally heavily focussed on 'self'. In this conference we will present how focusing attention on what is not self - on others - is the key to a change of paradigm in therapeutic and spiritual practice.
::continue reading http://lotusinthemud.typepad.com/sujatin/2010/01/new-directions-in-buddhist-psychology-1st-international-conference-on-other-centered-approaches.html
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Kordan, I’m still befuddled. When I finally sat down for a proper listen of Longing, my immediate thoughts were “where did I go?” and “how long am I staying for?” As I’m sure I mentioned in previous reviews, the power of Kordan lies in their ability to transport listeners to a strange, rich realm of multi-sensory experiences. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration; but for most of us, whose lives are defined by shopping malls, mid-size vehicles, Starbucks lattes, and the occasional wild night of domestic brews and bar darts, Longing feels like a vacation from the mundane. We will never be this hip, but for roughly half an hour we can pretend.
The Longing is essentially an elaboration of Fantasy Nation, Kordan’s first EP released July of last year. Same bag of tricks, that is. Dizzy, spacious sound layers over a steady beat—at the core, dance grooves with an experimentalist complex. Where Fantasy Nation tapped the club vein, Longing searches for the abstract quality of pop music. Listening to the album is like listening as a musician attempts to define city or love or life simply in audio. Of course, this reads pretentious, as does any creative adventure that involves conceptual thought. The reason I’m not harder on Kordan is simple: despite the possible pretense, I can’t imagine the band playing any other style of music than this ultra stylized pretty. There’s truth in purposeful cool, even if it’s easy to spot the GWBs (Girls With Bangs) and BWGs (Boys With Glasses) somewhere in the crowd.
Thanks to production magic or magic hands, “Fantasy Nation” and “Tokyo Tears” softened a bit from their EP debut: flavors steeped, mechanics fine tuned, less thrust more lust. Actually, compared to Longing, Fantasy Nation sounds decidedly reduced, as though Eisele and co. were practicing for grander occasions. Such is the occasion. Besides “Fantasy” and “Tokyo,” tracks like “Mirror” and the haunting “Shinjuku” stand out while in sum, the album remains fairly amorphous. Eisele’s distant vocals amidst the instrumental mixed bag keep Longing interesting, but I wonder what’s next for Kordan. Logically, the progression favors total ethereal bliss (as it is, the lyrics seem secondary), but I accept all bets.
For now, the band keeps busy with live shows in and around New York City. Visit their Website / Myspace / Facebook for more information. The Longing is set to officially release in February of 2010. You can preview the album here.
01/02/2010 21:38:20 ♥ lara (
/lara206.vox.com)
♥
kordan.tv ♥ myspace.com/kordantv
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