in interpol's japanese bonus track, "mind over time," (off of the album "our love to admire") there is a really great voice clip towards the middle of the song. it's supposed to be a message on an answering machine, but is it real, or was it just added in the studio? i'd really like to know, and if it is real, know who it is from. if anyone knows more, fill me in!
interpol-mind over time
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
pumpkin pie
well, we were having a halloween night... so obviously we needed pumpkin pie to accompany it as well. definitely an autumn staple.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin pure
1 can (12 fl. oz) evaporated milk
1 frozen 9-inch pie shell
preheat oven to 350 degrees
in small bowl, mix brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and salt
in another bowl, mix together almond extract, pumpkin puree, and evaporated milk
mix the sugar with the pumpkin mixture. add this to the frozen pie shell
bake for a bout an hour, until the pie cracks a little on the surface or a toothpick comes out clean
top with whipped cream or any topping you desire! enjoy!
mogwai-close encounters
battles-leyendecker
califone-sunday noises
broken social scene-cocaine skin
coco rosie- haitian love songs
interpol-mind over time
band of horses- no one's gonna love you
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin pure
1 can (12 fl. oz) evaporated milk
1 frozen 9-inch pie shell
preheat oven to 350 degrees
in small bowl, mix brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and salt
in another bowl, mix together almond extract, pumpkin puree, and evaporated milk
mix the sugar with the pumpkin mixture. add this to the frozen pie shell
bake for a bout an hour, until the pie cracks a little on the surface or a toothpick comes out clean
top with whipped cream or any topping you desire! enjoy!
mogwai-close encounters
battles-leyendecker
califone-sunday noises
broken social scene-cocaine skin
coco rosie- haitian love songs
interpol-mind over time
band of horses- no one's gonna love you
Friday, October 9, 2009
pumpkin cake balls
it's october, yay! i love being in holiday spirits, especially halloween and christmas. so, i decided to make some special halloween treats!
everyone usually enjoys the cake balls i make, so i decided to make those with a twist. pumpkin cake balls! i made mine with regular chocolate (because i prefer it over white), but it would be REALLY cute to get some orange baking candies or white chocolate and dye it orange to make an actual orange pumpkin! but, for my recipe, here's what you need:
1 white cake mix
3 eggs,
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cup water
1 tub cream cheese frosting
red food coloring
yellow food coloring
24 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
green baking decors
orange frosting (not the gel type)
prepare the cake mix as directed, but then add in 50 drops of yellow food coloring, and 8 of red, to make an "orange sunset" color. bake the cake as directed.
meanwhile, put the frosting into a bowl which you will later add the cake to. when the cake is still hot from out of the oven, put it in the bowl, and mix it together with the cream cheese.
let the mixture cool in the refrigerator for a bit. after it is cooled, roll the mixture into balls. put these back in the refrigerator for a few more minutes to harden. i took this time to separate my green decors from the other colors, because my store didn't carry only green ones.
also while waiting, melt the chocolate in a double-broiler.
after it is melted, take out the cake balls. dip them in chocolate, covering all sides, and set each one on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
after they are covered, while the chocolate is still soft, stick a green decor at the top of each ball (like the pumpkin stem!).
put these in the freezer to harden. once the chocolate is fully hardened, take them out. my store didn't have small tubed frosting, so i had to make a makeshift frosting bag with a smaller hole to be able to draw faces.
draw whatever types of faces you'd like on your cake balls, and you've got yourself a tasty halloween pumpkin!
röyksopp- what else is there *karin (fever ray/the knife) sings the vocals on this one. really great and such cool lyrics
steve aoki- when did your heart go missing *a really awesome remix of rooney's song. steve aoki does great remixes all around.
burial- archangel *super trippy, like the usual burial stuff, but i really like the pitch shifting on this, especially with the r&b type vocals
honey is cool- under water *more rock (but soft). good lyrics, and obviously good vocals because it is karin's older band.
peter bjorn & john- lay it down (golden filter remix) *love this remix of lay it down, especially with female vocals. i think it's more fitting for the lyrics.
cut copy- saturdays *love this music. elctro-pop/punk. great band.
the faint- posed to death (calculators remix) *this is one of the best remixes i have ever heard, ever. takes a lot of the beats to make a really awesome song. posed to death in its original version is a great song, but this remix is amazing. the album that it is off of, "danse macabre remixes," is such an amazing album full of great remixes of faint songs.
single frame- i'll lose your balance *rock, plus a little bit electronic. good range of beats and guitar riffs.
everyone usually enjoys the cake balls i make, so i decided to make those with a twist. pumpkin cake balls! i made mine with regular chocolate (because i prefer it over white), but it would be REALLY cute to get some orange baking candies or white chocolate and dye it orange to make an actual orange pumpkin! but, for my recipe, here's what you need:
1 white cake mix
3 eggs,
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cup water
1 tub cream cheese frosting
red food coloring
yellow food coloring
24 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
green baking decors
orange frosting (not the gel type)
prepare the cake mix as directed, but then add in 50 drops of yellow food coloring, and 8 of red, to make an "orange sunset" color. bake the cake as directed.
meanwhile, put the frosting into a bowl which you will later add the cake to. when the cake is still hot from out of the oven, put it in the bowl, and mix it together with the cream cheese.
let the mixture cool in the refrigerator for a bit. after it is cooled, roll the mixture into balls. put these back in the refrigerator for a few more minutes to harden. i took this time to separate my green decors from the other colors, because my store didn't carry only green ones.
also while waiting, melt the chocolate in a double-broiler.
after it is melted, take out the cake balls. dip them in chocolate, covering all sides, and set each one on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
after they are covered, while the chocolate is still soft, stick a green decor at the top of each ball (like the pumpkin stem!).
put these in the freezer to harden. once the chocolate is fully hardened, take them out. my store didn't have small tubed frosting, so i had to make a makeshift frosting bag with a smaller hole to be able to draw faces.
draw whatever types of faces you'd like on your cake balls, and you've got yourself a tasty halloween pumpkin!
röyksopp- what else is there *karin (fever ray/the knife) sings the vocals on this one. really great and such cool lyrics
steve aoki- when did your heart go missing *a really awesome remix of rooney's song. steve aoki does great remixes all around.
burial- archangel *super trippy, like the usual burial stuff, but i really like the pitch shifting on this, especially with the r&b type vocals
honey is cool- under water *more rock (but soft). good lyrics, and obviously good vocals because it is karin's older band.
peter bjorn & john- lay it down (golden filter remix) *love this remix of lay it down, especially with female vocals. i think it's more fitting for the lyrics.
cut copy- saturdays *love this music. elctro-pop/punk. great band.
the faint- posed to death (calculators remix) *this is one of the best remixes i have ever heard, ever. takes a lot of the beats to make a really awesome song. posed to death in its original version is a great song, but this remix is amazing. the album that it is off of, "danse macabre remixes," is such an amazing album full of great remixes of faint songs.
single frame- i'll lose your balance *rock, plus a little bit electronic. good range of beats and guitar riffs.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
jazz age lawn party
now i totally understand why the sartorialist frequents the jazz age lawn party every year. this was my first time. it is held on governor's island, a swimming distance away from the tip of the financial district. everyone dresses up in 1920s attire, and there is a live jazz band and a dance floor, and everyone is picnic-ing and just seems so happy! so, i really don't have much more to say, i just wanted to share some photos i took! BECAUSE everyone was so happy and unique, it was an awesome place to get some great candids. some of the later pictures of art were taken either around the corner from the lawn where the party was being held, or on the ferry going back to the city.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
why different taste?
i came across a video on youtube which briefly documents senior citizens' reactions after, for the first time, hearing songs from music duo the knife. to give a quick impression, these are some quotes that imply their main thoughts on the music:
"i really think it was awful."
"mixed up, thats really what it was... color, voices, noise, all together."
"its a good thing that you shut it off a little early."
i've thought about this before, but this video made me think even more on the subject. electronic music (or even music with a faster pace, more bass, beats, etc.) has risen in popularity with our generation in the past few years, at least in my experience. i know there are many people who don't necessarily like it, who think that those artists, such as the knife, are strange or annoying. but let's look at the whole picture: our generation definitely listens to rap, some electronic and house music, and bands like 3OH!3 which incorporate electronic sounds into other genres. why is it that we love this music so much, but older generations hate it? they appreciate the smooth voices and harmless lyrics of their younger days. what is it about the beats and darker lyrics that strike a chord in us? because, after all, the music that people choose to listen to usually has a deeper personal meaning to them.
perhaps it is because we live such a fast paced life (physically and mentally) compared to our predecessors, and this music is fitting to our world. we are always so isolated from each other: even when socializing, there are so many distractions (read martin buber's "i and thou"- we're selfish people, even in a one-on-one conversation that we think we are fully devoted to) and these isolations probably make us more prone to empathizing with the darker lyrics of our time.
but even so, i find it odd that music has evolved to be so image based. regardless of the music we are listening to, we also judge the image that comes along with the voice/sounds. when music first started gaining mass popularity, it was broadcasted on the radio, no images attached- only the music itself. it has gradually turned into a commodity, and the popularity of that commodity is based upon either the image of the artist, or the image that we want to exude by listening to that artist (this is the more superficial aspect of music, which, frankly, annoys me). but on the other hand, no matter why we choose to listen to music, it is a less superficial commodity than most, due to how personal it is to every individual. a person REALLY has to enjoy listening to something in their personal time. no one would put on a song in solitude because it was "cool" to listen to.
basically, this post is just a ramble, but i do think about this often. i wonder why and how the music trends change. why did we go from rock and roll, to r&b, to boy band, to rap, to electronica? what do these genres say about the times and generations during which they were/are so popular?
also, i find it interesting that we have created this concept of "fame." automatically, people who are aiming to have popular music which reaches a wide audience, are aiming to attain fame. but, there are some people who still believe in pure music. karin and olof from the knife (i keep using them as an example, but there are many groups like this- another example is the sound of animals fighting) wear masks and use voice synthesizers and pitch shifting to anonymize their true identities. this is in an attempt to bring the music back to its true form, yet still reach a wide audience. they feel it shouldn't matter who the person is that is creating the music- all that matters is the music itself. personally, i agree, but today it is SO hard to extricate ANYTHING from an associated image. images create our world, all we are is eyes. we see, and those visions dictate our thoughts and actions.
anyways, these are just random thoughts. does anyone have any thoughts about this or ever think about it? i definitely think these are interesting ideas to think about in order to reveal more about our generation as a whole...
"i really think it was awful."
"mixed up, thats really what it was... color, voices, noise, all together."
"its a good thing that you shut it off a little early."
i've thought about this before, but this video made me think even more on the subject. electronic music (or even music with a faster pace, more bass, beats, etc.) has risen in popularity with our generation in the past few years, at least in my experience. i know there are many people who don't necessarily like it, who think that those artists, such as the knife, are strange or annoying. but let's look at the whole picture: our generation definitely listens to rap, some electronic and house music, and bands like 3OH!3 which incorporate electronic sounds into other genres. why is it that we love this music so much, but older generations hate it? they appreciate the smooth voices and harmless lyrics of their younger days. what is it about the beats and darker lyrics that strike a chord in us? because, after all, the music that people choose to listen to usually has a deeper personal meaning to them.
perhaps it is because we live such a fast paced life (physically and mentally) compared to our predecessors, and this music is fitting to our world. we are always so isolated from each other: even when socializing, there are so many distractions (read martin buber's "i and thou"- we're selfish people, even in a one-on-one conversation that we think we are fully devoted to) and these isolations probably make us more prone to empathizing with the darker lyrics of our time.
but even so, i find it odd that music has evolved to be so image based. regardless of the music we are listening to, we also judge the image that comes along with the voice/sounds. when music first started gaining mass popularity, it was broadcasted on the radio, no images attached- only the music itself. it has gradually turned into a commodity, and the popularity of that commodity is based upon either the image of the artist, or the image that we want to exude by listening to that artist (this is the more superficial aspect of music, which, frankly, annoys me). but on the other hand, no matter why we choose to listen to music, it is a less superficial commodity than most, due to how personal it is to every individual. a person REALLY has to enjoy listening to something in their personal time. no one would put on a song in solitude because it was "cool" to listen to.
basically, this post is just a ramble, but i do think about this often. i wonder why and how the music trends change. why did we go from rock and roll, to r&b, to boy band, to rap, to electronica? what do these genres say about the times and generations during which they were/are so popular?
also, i find it interesting that we have created this concept of "fame." automatically, people who are aiming to have popular music which reaches a wide audience, are aiming to attain fame. but, there are some people who still believe in pure music. karin and olof from the knife (i keep using them as an example, but there are many groups like this- another example is the sound of animals fighting) wear masks and use voice synthesizers and pitch shifting to anonymize their true identities. this is in an attempt to bring the music back to its true form, yet still reach a wide audience. they feel it shouldn't matter who the person is that is creating the music- all that matters is the music itself. personally, i agree, but today it is SO hard to extricate ANYTHING from an associated image. images create our world, all we are is eyes. we see, and those visions dictate our thoughts and actions.
anyways, these are just random thoughts. does anyone have any thoughts about this or ever think about it? i definitely think these are interesting ideas to think about in order to reveal more about our generation as a whole...
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