#besttweetsof2009

Alright duders and dudetters. Finals are over so I now have free reign over my free time and I'm gonna be blogging hard at you until I get sick of year-end reminiscing (though, it being 22 days into December, most of you have probably been done with that for a while now).

Without further adieu,

A Stare Liike Yours'
#BestTweetsOf2009
(you can't accuse me of taking this blog too seriously, now, can you?)

(this came up on google images under 'zany tweet'. whatever works, hey)

Twitter was certainly one of the most divisive pop-culture discussion pieces this year.

"It's a complete waste of time! Do you really think anyone cares what you have to say?"

"You don't GET it!! It's so much cooler than that!"

Being a self-proclaimed 'twat for twitter', I had a blast communicating with a combo platter of my brothers and celebrities this year. Listed below are a few tweets that got my tweeter tootin'.

br1gid

@astrobrando you are not hro. seriously.7:53 PM Apr 3rd from web

Clearly does not understand that I Am Carles.

Beligeront

@astrobrando SARS bRO!2:09 AM Apr 30th from web in reply to astrobrando


ptilley fuck everybody...i'm listening to "Wavvves" right now
3:49 PM Jul 2nd from web

Probably my favorite.

gabrielherrera

@astrobrando you don't even know, brah. that & trey songz's album on the 30th are the two best things that will happen to music in july1:28 PM Jun 10th from web in reply to astrobrando

'That' being 'guns don't kill people...lazers do'.

astrobrando

Spotted: already perfect alt bro specimen carrying oracular spectacular on vinyl. You're awesome dude!12:05 PM Sep 3rd from txt
cmarquard

@astrobrando look in the mirror again?12:26 PM Sep 3rd from web

lololololol!!!!!1!

@majorlazer INGLAN YU NICE. FRANCE YU NICE. AMSTERDAM YU NICE. GERMANY YU NICE. BIG UP DI WHOLE WORLLLL1:28 PM Sep 11th from web
astrobrando

X is smoking2:00 AM Oct 18th from txt

'do somethin crazy'

mbforr @astrobrando AHH SLAPPA THEE BASS.7:52 PM Oct 20th from Tweetie in reply to astrobrando

1. astrobrandojohn ash on the red bull power shot: "I don't even know if this works. It says 'energy for hours', but how many?"5:04 PM Nov 24th from web
2. astrobrando
   "i'm going to have to try it on a day when studying doesn't matter. What if I have an adverse reaction to it?"5:07 PM Nov 24th from web

#johnhashtag

Beligeront Patrick Till Wave11:24 PM Dec 20th from txt
ehberlin Patrick Chilley11:24 PM Dec 20th from txt

etc etc etc

ptilley

@astrobrando would like this: MAGIC KIDS http://www.myspace.com/themagickids
1 minute ago from web

haven't listened yet, but it would be cool if I published this and they ended up being my favorite band ever. sort of.

and @andymilanokis posting links of him rapping/twitpics of food.

R.I.P. ed droste's twitter.

hm....

The Daily Cardinal's top 15 albums of 2009

15. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
14. The Antlers - Hospice
13. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
12. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
11. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
10. The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa
9. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Part II
8. Atlas Sound - Logos
7. Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns
6. Girls - Album
5. Mos Def - The Ecstatic
4. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
3. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
2. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
1. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains



hm....

listen=oval

Though I never had a 'cool older brother' to turn me on to music, there have been a couple of fixtures in my family that have always been good go-to people for that sort of thing. This one comes courtesy of a second cousin with a large knowledge of experimental and electronic music.

Oval is a german glitch project sort-of famous for using physical cd manipulation instead of synthesizers. I picked up the album 94 Diskont a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it. The album's wiki credits the blips and tics to 'exacto knives, paint, and tape to damage the surfaces of the compact discs [stitched] back together in loops of melody punctuated by the disc's physical skips'. Intrigued? I love listening to music that seems to push today's boundaries only to realize i was 5 years old when this was released. Awesome.



Since 1995, the 3 men comprising Oval have worked on multiple projects while continuing to release material into the 21st century. I'm pretty excited to hear more stuff from these apparent 'pioneers of glitch'.

7 hours with the Mars Volta

On Wednesday as I was leaving for class, I decided to listen to nothing but the Mars Volta until I finished listening to their discography (in chronological order, of course)*. Though TMV was one of my favorite bands in years past (especially freshman and sophomore year of high school), I hadn't listened to some of their albums in months and months.

It took me about 7.5 hours of listening to get through the 5 studio albums, ep, and live album that comprise the Mars Volta's discography (in addition, there is live ep, but I haven't snagged it yet). Going back to old favorites was incredibly rewarding. While I won't say that all (or many) of my friends these days would be super-keen on them (i know #johnhashtag isn't), I am a big big fan of the insane drumming of Jon Theodore, the quiet/loud/quiet louds, the over-the-top lyrics, and Omar Rodríguez-López's otherworldly guitar playing. I haven't been able to see them live yet, but I would certainly travel to see them play.

If you haven't listened to the Mars Volta (or if you don't know them from The Zutons), you really ought to give them a try. Also, if you're reading this and are a fan, you should let me know so we can bro down to Tremulant EP.

Concertina (from Tremulant - 2002)

Cygnus Vismund Cygnus (from Frances the Mute - 2005)**


*took me less than two days
*fun fact: my myspace url is myspace.com/cygnusvismundcygnus1251, after this song (and the strokes' 12:51, obvs) .Yes, I had to spell that out for people often.

voxtrot in chicago - 1/14/10

Most every time I get to work, I check the Chicago Reader's Early Warnings page. I don't make it down to chicago that often to catch shows, but it's good to keep up to date on what's going down there. Today's peruse through the newly announced dates proved more fruitful than most: Voxtrot is playing the thursday before winter break is over.

AAAAAH.

So I guess Schuba's does this thing called "The Future Never Knows", which is a five day 'fest' showcasing 'up-and-comers'. Because hey, the future never knows, right?

Anyhow, this year's lineup involves Bowerbirds, Final Fantasy, Voxtrot, Rural Alberta Advantage, and more next-big-things and is being held from January 13-17 at Schuba's and Lincoln Hall.

This is huge for me. Voxtrot really is one of my most favorite bands of all time. In case you haven't acquainted yourself with them, it's never too late. Though their crowning achievements are still their first two eps, the album is great in its own right and the most recent single is very promising.

Voxtrot's show is on thursday the 14th with Solid Gold (who played a deliriously groovy show at the rath this fall) and Gemini Club. See you there.

listen=sleigh bells

ahhhh listen to sleigh bells!

LOUD JAMZ. And they are undeniably some of the loudest and most jammy jams out there right now.

sleigh bells on hypemachine

listen=5 years of hyperdub

hyperdub. fresh sounds.



edit - 10/28/09

glad to see this album get the red flag. one of my favorite compilations of the year (there were a lot of them, weren't there?)--great from getting from place to place to, especially in the dark. If you don't know anything about dubstep this is a fine starting point - the second disc is comprised of classics from the now 5-year-old hyperdub label, and the first is new material.