Dent May

The internet and I are new friends, we've been on a couple dates, he tried to feel me up once, but I don't want to get too physical because I'm not sure I trust him yet. So, you know, we are still getting to know each other and I discover some unexpected facet of his personality every day. With this in mind, I confess that even though I've listened to a bunch of Daytrotter tracks I haven't actually spent much (read: any) time on their blog until today.
1. Their manifesto is pretty good, but I felt like they were shaming me for blogging (am I being over sensitive and paranoid or could the 'daytrotters' stand to lighten up a bit?)
2. The reason I even went there was to hear Dent May's session from April 6. The article accompanying it was a little weird. it was all about the dilemma of the smart, sensitive, funny, but, alas, vaguely nerdy guy who can't get any hot girls because they are wasting their time with hot jocks who are going to leave them. OK, first of all, fuck that. and second of all, fuck that again. I don't think the 'cool nerd' has any trouble. They are a vaguely non-threatening but hip and good looking type that always get the girl on tv and in movies (Seth Cohen much?) and as far as I can tell in real life.
3. This may come as a surprise, but the point of all this rambling is that Dent May and his Magnificent Ukelele is awesome. His songs are cheesy in the vein of Jens Lekman or Adam Green-which i really like. You know, the throwback crooner style, I'm kind of a sucker for it. My favorite song of his is When You Were Mine, which, it turns out, is a PRINCE cover!

thx 2 kv 4 the tip

everyone knows I am a huge sucker

While listening to the new Mirah album “(A)Spera” for the first time through I was very surprised to hear the familiar lyrics “let’s take the time to walk to together while we have the sun…” Though, I do happen to prefer the original recording much better, it was still strange to hear a song that was so personal to me. The song that was originally recorded for Mirah’s album with Ginger titled “Songs From The Black Mountain Music Project,” is found in a more disjointed reincarnation on "(A)Spera."

Though I have been listening to Mirah for a very long time, somehow I was able to miss the fact that she had a new album out. I guess my excuse is the same that I have for the fact that I haven’t even written anything for this blog yet. I am pretty out of the loop. I feel displaced and I have not been living in my own space for a while. I feel like a squatter bound for a life of feeling guilty about eating other people’s food and using a computer that is not mine when no one else is here.

For me, at least, one of the reasons behind the creation of this blog is an effort to regain my inspiration. A few things are happening currently that are (hopefully) making this a reality including the advent of spring as well as finally moving into my own space where I hope to have time and resources for creating again. I have scarcely taken a photograph in the past 3 months.

Right now sitting in this apartment in which every wall is made of windows, feeling the breeze that is warmed by the sun blowing over my legs and listening to this album on repeat feels like a beginning for me. Almost every song is bringing tears to my eyes and though this could be a reminder of sadder and more important experiences, like constant heartbreak or overwhelming beauty that is experienced from extreme lack of sleep, or even premenstrual syndrome, it doesn’t really matter. I am accepting it whole-heartedly with open arms.

Mirah - The Forest

Mirah - Generosity

Mirah - Education

posted by: carissa

Its Blitz!

Heads Will Roll

I know I posted a song from the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album in another post, but it got deleted and I'm still working on getting our posts back so I'm writing about it in detail now, even though I've sort of been sitting on it for awhile. I was listening to 'Its Blitz!' again today and I am constantly surprised by how much I love this band. I was introduced to the band with 2003's Fever to Tell. I loved it, like most people, but I didn't give the band hardly any thought after that. I associated them with a whole team of NYC based 'art punk' bands who gained some mainstream success around that time, particularly The Strokes. I loved 'Is This It' too, but I thought one album of it was enough and I didn't think The Strokes would ever make anything different. I felt the same way about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, so when Show Your Bones came out, I wasn't too interested.

But then, I worked at the Earlham College radio station (WECI), and it was laying around with its awesome cover art and compelling title, and everyone was talking about how excited they were to listen to it, and then Carissa played 'Phenomena' on our radio show and it was just so...hot. It stuck with me and I gave the rest of the album a listen. I was absolutely blown away. 'Turn Into' and 'Warrior' are two of my favorite songs, I listened to them all the rest of that year constantly.

I was afraid 'Its Blitz' would disappoint after I'd been so blindsided by 'Show Your Bones.' Not a chance. I was blindsided again! I guess the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are just a really good band who make consistently good albums.

most bands that come out I like when they are new, a few tracks from their album are good indie dance party fodder and then they fade out of my mind, quickly becoming dated. In the moment, the bands and songs sincerely mean a lot to me, but the new newest best release of the week is always on deck. I'm not sure i feel great that that's the way I listen to music these days, but as wise man Arthur Weiss says: It is what it is. The sheer volume of music, and music that I like, make it difficult for bands to stick. I think we are going back to a culture where the concept of the single is more important than the album. I'll post more of my thoughts on that later, but for now lets focus on how rad these songs are!





note* I guess i can't send you directly to the mp3s anymore so I have to get more creative with how to give you all tracks.
OH YEAH, HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!

99 Problems

ummmmm, we're in trouble with the internet police. I'm on vacay in FLorida right now and will deal when i get home. until then:

DIY poptarts

Carissa and I, back when we were students and not college graduates with degrees like we are today, used to bake for our friends every Sunday night. Some of us would follow up this activity by enjoying a soothing hot toddy but that is neither here nor there. The point is, we came up with some killer desserts, the best of which we will gradually share with you. Today's recipe is for:

POPTARTS
I love the boxed kind so much that i can't guarantee ours are better, but they are more fun, better for you, and at least as good (most would probably say better)

When I'm baking I like some soul in the kitchen, so here's some Sam Cooke to get you started

Now, pie crust.
The following recipe is the most reliable one I have used. Its from 'Perfect Light Desserts' by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim (this book is full of recipes that are naturally low in fat, they don't cut corners so everything still tastes the way it should)

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp cold water

1. stir together dry ingredients
2. add butter and oil (if you have a pastry blender, use that, if not a fork or knife will do). BE GENTLE. do not overwork the dough or it will be dense instead of flaky and light. Mix until the ingredients form little pea sized balls
3. add the water and mix until dough forms a ball, again, do not overwork
4. place the dough on a lightly floured work surface, dust the top with flour and roll it out. If you don't have a rolling pin, which we didn't, feel free to use a glass or a wine bottle or whatever works. for the last time, do not over work it! try to only roll it out once if you can.

NOW, cut the dough into rectangles (we made them twice as long as we wanted the poptarts so we could fold the dough over the filling and only have to seal three sides).

spread your favorite filling over the rectangle

cover the filling and seal the edges with the tines of a fork....think tiny pies!

bake until golden brown (it wont take long), let cool and frost with either store bought frosting or home made. add sprinkles or whatever else to cute them up and...



photos by Carissa Hamman, model: Chrissy Sollenberger

My first introduction to the Black Lips was 2007's 'Good, Bad, Not Evil.' I went to see them live last year, with my step dad, the venerable Tom Stacho, (he wanted to see The Raconteurs and i wanted to see the Black Lips and they were playing together. He described the Black Lips as 'wild' but he got pretty into it) and he bought me 'Let it Bloom' on vinyl. I really love both records. The Black Lips are cheeky, irreverent, and clever. However, they can also be goofy, sometimes tender and always urgent which gives a warmth to their brand of punk that i think is hard to come by. This is part of what makes them so irresistable for me. On 'Let it Bloom' you can hear a group of boys that NEED to make noise and like to have fun. On 'Good, Bad, Not Evil,' the raw energy of 'Let it Bloom' is, in my opinion, enhanced by tighter song structure and more obvious pop sensibilities. Tell me 'Bad Kids' isn't an anthem and I'll tell you you have brain damage.

'200 Million Thousand' is out of this world. It is perhaps a tiny bit less accessible, though also perhaps more sophisticated (not that i would know anything about being sophisticated) than 'Good, Bad, Not Evil' while still as kinetic and raw as any of their previous output. Some of these songs feel a little like church or something. It feels like being in a trance where the music is filling you up with joy and agression and it gives you a fever that only motion and noise can quell. The Black Lips want to bleed, sweat, spit, snarl, yell, dance, and laugh it out. Even better, they want you to come with them and you cant help but join.

Black Lips-I Saw God

Black Lips Blog-Required Reading

Marina and the Diamonds

OK, look, so at this point im sure we all know Passion Pit are MGMT v.2.0x1 million (Carissa is credited for that comparison). We also know that as a social networking site, myspace is pretty well finished. BUT, personally, I still tend to get lost in myspace, particularly when I'm missing my iPod or when I'm away from my stereo, but with a computer (both of which occur with exhausting frequency). I look through band page after band page, perusing their top friends, and the top friends of their top friends, etc., you know how it goes.

The point is, I was engaged in this enlightening activity the other day and came across Marina and the Diamonds as a 'top friend' of passion pit. Now, I dont know pretty much anything about this girl. I assume that since she is on Passion Pit's label, Neon Gold (named after the two trendiest themes of its birth year, 2008) we will be hearing quite a bit about her very soon, or maybe you already have and i will catch up with you soon. In a way i don't want to know anything more about her than i already do. I practically worship her. She's like a one woman Ace of Base for 2009. She is more than that, of course. Although she is 'of the moment,' her sincerity (or what i perceive as sincerity) make her more than an 80s/90s throwback gimmick. She's got drama, she's got heart, and i love every piece of it.

Passion Pit- I've Got Your Number

Marina and the Diamonds- I am not a Robot

and for good measure...

What are We Doing Here?

"If We're All Here Then We're Probably All Special Art Rebels Anyway, So Lets All Be Special Art Rebels Together-BARR", Half of Two Times Two (mp3)

In Launching this blog, Carissa and I (Carmen) aim to create a platform from which to share our current obsessions, observations, accomplishments, and works in progress (some of which will include: MUSIC, crafts, and recipes). Here's why we care, and why you might too:

I have always been encouraged to make art. I was also raised to think of THE GREAT ARTISTS as untouchable demi-gods. As a result I have felt compelled to try to make things, but always with the knowledge that anything I do has already been done better. I could never take my writing seriously because it wasn't James Joyce and I was always ashamed of my paintings because I'm certainly no Botticelli. As for music, of course I could never make a song because how on earth could I ever presume to express myself more accurately than Spencer Krug expresses me?

I know I was afraid of failure, I was afraid of being mediocre and trite. I still am, I still tell myself in the same breath that every word I write, every line I draw, is a perfect miracle and a disgusting display of self-importance. I'm trying to find a middle ground. As my mother, my aunt, my uncle and I have grown up we have all learned to be kinder to each other and ourselves, to cut the world some fucking slack, to believe that what we are is good enough.

I believe that what YOU are is good enough, I believe in stories, yours and mine in particular. I believe that when we create something we are insisting that our story is important, that we were here and want to leave a trace, that we have too much in our heads and hearts and guts for speech and touch alone to communicate. I believe it is brave to love yourself enough to put a piece of it on paper, or in a cake, or a garment, or through a trumpet; to value your self enough to think whats inside is worth putting out. Humans have always tried to keep a record, to communicate, to understand each other and ourselves through the act of creating. I am excited to join this proud tradition, seeing as I am just another person, lost and alone, and found and surrounded, and deeply in love.