I love a good cover

Here's an old tune called "Love Vigilantes" by an old favorite band of mine, New Order:



Here's that same tune covered by Sam Beam of Iron & Wine. He played this last week at the solo show I saw with some friends up in Chicago. It was a great night, and this was one of the best songs of the set.

(update: apparently, they just played the tune on Fallon's late night show--I'll put it up here too)

Vintage Vinyl

I got a turntable for my birthday and have slowly been building up a small record collection.

Last Saturday, our local public radio station had a pledge drive where local listeners could donate their old records, cds, movies and electronic equipment. Then, folks like me could come and buy it up at $1-$2 a pop. I spent about $35. Here's what I got:

Soundtracks:
Fiddler on the Roof Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Mary Poppins Original Cast Soundtrack
Boris Karloff reads Peter and the Wolf

Old-time Country:
Country's Greatest Hits
60 Years of Country Music

(Believe it or not, these are two I am most interested in and most excited about--We're not talking contemporary, corporate Country here, folks. We're talking roots music and I'm eating it up. I'm really excited about exploring roots stuff and part of that search starts here, I figure. It goes back to the early early stuff: Jimmie Rodgers, Carter Family, Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, woo!)

60s & 70s
The Best of Buffy Sainte Marie (this is a wild card, actually--I've never heard of her, but she had a resonator guitar on the cover of the album and I thought, "eh--it's only a buck!"
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: 4 Way Street
John Denver- Back Home Again (with Grandma's Feather Bed!)
History of Eric Clapton
Beach Boys- Endless Summer (this is the only one I kind of regret--I should have got a real Beach Boys album, but I don't think they had any)

Hits collections from:
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Ray Charles
The Temptations

Elton John- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (this record has my favorite EJ song on it, "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and really rad packaging. I have seen it in record stores for $15, I got it for $1)

James Taylor:
Flag
Sweet Baby James
In the Pocket
(I have 5 JT records now)

Stevie Wonder: Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (this one I'd never heard of, and was unopened. It's a soundtrack, I guess.)

80s!
Micheal Jackson- Thriller (Seth really loves the tune "Beat It"--he's gonna love Thriller)
Genesis- Invisible Touch (Probably the first record I ever listened to in it's entirety, 7 years old at Justin's house)
Tracy Chapman- Eponymous ('cause she's awesome)

Pretty eclectic little collection, eh? I'm having fun and all of this great music cost about the equivalent of two or three new CDs.

I also bought a pair of speakers for $5. Trying to think of a rig where i can set them up in the kitchen or basement and run them off my receiver's B channel.

Fun stuff.

Final for Writing For the Web: Sonic Rhetorics

I haven't posted anything for quite some time--

However, today I turned in my final project of the semester and will let a little vacation seep in until I begin teaching again early next month.

Here is a link to my final site created for my Writing for the Web course. I'm very excited about it, even if it is not quite completely functional. It will eventually work like a blog where I can post stuff (or links to stuff, rather) that I think functions as what I am calling Sonic Rhetorics--basically, the ways in which sound as music, rhythm, vocalization, noise, etc. operates as influencing discourse. So, if all goes as planned (and with a little help from my friends), this little beta-version of the site will soon be a full-fledged academic blog.

I'm hoping that it will help me start to find a focus for my future work on a dissertation (which I am thinking more and more will explore music/sound as rhetoric) and also, perhaps, put me on the map as someone who does that kind of work.

I'll let you know when the site is ready to function as a blog and you can get it syndicated with an RSS feed. I am playing with the idea of starting a sonicrhetorics twitter account from which I will also send out micro blogs on the subjects I highlight on the main site.

It's really fun and satisfying to find an academic focal point. Here's to hoping this one sticks!

A few videos from a recent class project

Here's the actual project:

~Your Desktop is a Playground~ from starmaster on Vimeo.

Here's the dance track! (it might be better)

Dance Track from starmaster on Vimeo.

Response to Brandon, re: twitter.

The new face of Starmaster's Guide

Well, it's not that radical, but I did change the banner and some of the other settings. If you get this blog as a part of your RSS feed, click over to the main event to check it out. I'm still working on it a bit but I like the new banner pic. Those people in line? They are you! In the future, I look forward to a complete redesign using some of the new web authoring skills I've been learning this semester.

San Francisco in 1500 words or less

I write this near the end of my second full day in San Francisco (though I am posting it over a week later). I am presenting a paper on Saturday at the annual Conference for Communication and Composition … (CCCC). What a great city to have a conference.

I am staying at a surprisingly nice (and clean!) hostel (my first patronage of this type of lodging) at the tip of the Tenderloin district (not quite in the scary part). The conference is taking place at the Hilton, a mere five minute walk away.

I’ve had a full couple of days, and I thought I would write quickly and recount my experiences thus far.

The first night we arrived, a friend and fellow presenter and I took the BART down to my favorite place in the whole city to eat: Taquerias El Farolito. Best burritos ever (eat your heart out Chipotle). That first night we walked the eight blocks (longer than it sounds, but not too long) from 16th to 24th. The meal was fantastic—I laughed as my usually vegan friend consumed a whole plate of Carne Asada. We walked off our dinner—back down to the 16th BART station and I collapsed, exhausted at 11pm local time (1am to me!) on the top bunk of the room I share with my three globally diverse roommates.

On Wednesday, I arrived at the conference and got my registration taken care of. The day was reserved for paid workshops and since I didn’t pay for any of them (my registration cost $40 and most of the 3 hour workshops were $20. Psh!), I set out for a day in the city.

I took the Market Street MUNI bus down into the Haight and walked down the near empty streets toward Golden Gate park and the UCSF medical school—one of my main old stomping grounds. All of the shops on Haight were closed, which was fine with me. I hiked up the hill to the med school and took some pictures of the panoramic view of the city from the large outlook patio (one of my favorite places ever!).

I really wanted to do some things that I had never done before—so I hopped a few busses and found myself at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. I wanted to walk on the bridge and look over the edge. I’ve driven over it numerous times, but could never really enjoy it as a structure—read its historical plaques and actually lay my hands on the cold, red steel. And in the truest sense of the word, it was awesome. I walked about a third of the way out to the first main pillar where there is a lookout. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day in the city. In fact, I can’t remember a more beautiful day. It was warm, but not hot. The breeze was constant, but soft. And the view . . . ! Not only was there a perfect view of the City and Alcatraz and Angel islands, but down in the water, at the base of the bridge, seals and dolphins were surfacing and submerging—there must have been at least 10 of each. It was so cool.

From there, I took a short bus ride down to the famous Baker Beach—another place that I can’t believe I’ve never been. I sat on the beach against a log, took off my shoes (and by this time, I’d walked quite a ways and my feet beginning to ache), and watched and, maybe more significantly, I listened. We don’t hear the sound of waves breaking that often in CU, and to me, it was music. I walked along the waterline and often couldn’t get out of the way in time and found myself wet up to the knees in Pacific Ocean. I collected small stones—pebbles really—that had been rubbed smooth and shiny by the constant lapping against the sand. I’ll give them to my little Stones when I get home. It was, by far, my favorite hour spent since arriving. It’s going to be tough to beat, and I might well return before I leave.

From there, I went back into the Haight and spent some time in Amoeba records (which, after the GG and Baker Beach—and my hungry stomach!—wasn’t as exciting as I had anticipated). I bought a few lps and dvds and set out again to find lunch which I found at a small sit-down Thai restaurant where I got my standard Pad Thai. It was great—maybe the best Pad Thai I’ve ever had.

By then, I was exhausted, and my backpack was so full, and my back so achy that I knew it was time to head back to the hostel. Which I did—right after I bought a cool tie at the famous Aardvark thrift store at Haight and Ashbury.

After a few hours of recovery, my good friend Mike Harding and his wife drove up from Palo Alto and took me out to what has got to be the best Chinese restaurant in Chinatown: House of Nanking . Mike speaks Mandarin and ordered requesting the chef’s choice of a shrimp, chicken, and beef dish. Needless to say the food and company were both excellent. Right up from the restaurant is the famous corner near Kearney and Broadway—North Beach—where the famous City Lights Bookstore where Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and friends (including Bob Dylan) caused all that “beat” trouble in the 60s. After saying goodbye to Mike, I walked back up to the bookstore and poked around. I remember writing a paper my Junior year in high school about the beat poets and the hippie culture that followed. It was weird to be there, mostly because it has lost all of that real social relevance and become, quite frankly, just another tourist attraction (with, I’ll allow, a really cool “poetry reading room” full of great poetry books).

So, day two was completely full. Most of what I did that day was new stuff that I had never done during my time in San Francisco, which was exactly as planned. It was a day that I will not soon forget and one that I will try to repeat—likely without complete success—in subsequent visits.

I have a ton of pictures from the trip posted here.

As well as a bunch of pictures I took from my cell phone, which I collect here.

Oh, and I was going to write another post talking about the rest of the trip... but Wednesday was really the main day of excitement. The rest of the week, I attended the conference, presented my paper, had some good meals and on Saturday enjoyed a more typical (cold and hazy) day taking the bus and wandering around the city--saying goodbye, if you will. The pictures tell the story, check 'em out!

Home from SF--Blackbird

I've been home since Sunday, and have several posts with pictures coming up...

But I saw this tonight and couldn't help but share:

on my way

Getting ready to head out on Tuesday to San Francisco for my first major academic conference. It should be a really great experience and that it is in San Francisco is even more exciting.

I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately, but I have been doing plenty of micro-blogging. If you haven't already, you're welcome to follow the rss feed from my twitter account. I post several times a day--often with links to pictures--and probably more often while I am in my favorite of cities.

Here is the link to my profile on Twitter (In case you haven't noticed, Twitter is currently exploding. It might be time for you to start your own!).

Or, you can follow my tweet-stream via rss.

How come I end up where I started?

Tweedy at Foellinger

Some friends and I went to see Jeff Tweedy last night at our campus's beautiful Foellinger auditorium. He was nothing short of Amazing. I've never seen anyone handle a crowd with such finesse and humor. I guess it is tradition for fans to yell out requests and the banter that starts up could be really uncomfortable and distracting--but Tweedy handles it masterfully by both making fun of his requesters and actually playing many of the requests that are given.

I knew around 60% of the songs he did--the other material either being new or really old (from the legendary Uncle Tupelo days). The Wilco songs he played were perfect deconstructions and I don't know what it is about Radiohead covers, but they make for amazing show closers. Tweedy played their Fake Plastic Trees in his first encore.



It was SUCH a good show. Just what I needed after a miserable, no-sleep, night snow camping with the scouts.

On a semi-related note, I'm seriously considering doing this during the month of February. I'll keep you updated.

Here's one more song (Spiders [Kidsmoke])from last night's show. It actually occurs before Fake Plastic Trees was played and gives you an idea of his interaction with the crowd (we were so in the palm of his hand) as well as shows the moment when FPT was requested.

\

Oh, I can't resist. Here's one more. Did I mention Tweedy can play that guitar?

Andrew Bird

is awesome:

what got used, 2008

I have been meaning to write a follow up to my best music post of a few weeks ago. Basically, I just wanted to mention and link to a few places that have been useful this year.

First, Facebook totally exploded this year. I have had an account for a few years, but this year it seems like EVERYBODY signed up. I've actually really enjoyed "facebooking" as it has helped me get in touch with old friends, reconnect on a more regular basis with other friends, and keep up to date with my facebooking colleagues. As a social networking tool, facebook deserves mega-props for its ability to handle photographs, video, and even (as of about 8 months ago) chat. I think that this year's explosion has secured for Facebook the status of more than just a passing fad.

Twitter is like a super boiled down version of Facebook--but I use it too (and actually integrate it with my Facebook. Twitter lets me update my facebook status via text message--I can't afford web connectivity on my cell phone yet). More and more people are "twittering"--it provides a fun way to read and broadcast short pieces of information. I get feeds from CNN, our local newspaper, a few bands, Amazon's daily mp3 deal--even George Lucas twitters. Only two of my friends "tweet" regularly--thanks for keeping it real Mat and Aaron.

"I wish the internet could..." is a common phrase knocking around in my head. Ususally, I don't have to wait too long before my wish is its command. For example, I was really wanting to do some photoblogging directly from my camera phone. In other words, I wanted to be able to take a photo with my phone, text it to myself and have it automatically update to a blog. I found such a service in Twitpic. I started doing it here on our trip, but moved it permanently to this address. If you use a rss reader, you can subscribe to the feed by clicking the orange button in the right-hand corner of the page.

WALL-E credits

We really like Pixar's WALL-E around here.  The credits are one of my favorite parts. Love the Peter Gabriel, love the animation (especially when contrasted with the wonderful Pixar animation), love the message of hope "take a sad song and make it better." 

Viva la Vida, Seth!

Whatever your opinions of Coldplay, last year's Viva La Vida was big hit in our house.  Seth has always been a big Coldplay fan.  He loved X&Y--especially "Fix You". I can still remember his sweet, two-year-old voice singing that song.  Here he is doing his favorite on the new album (the title track).  This was recorded over Thanksgiving when we had all of our gear out.  He's quite the little performer, wouldn't you agree?


Seth singing Viva La Vida from starmaster on Vimeo.

cool apps

I've run into a storage problem on my MacBook. I need to get a larger hard drive, but there is this little thing called money that I don't have a lot of. So, I have been doing what I usually do--looking for ways to do what I want without spending more money. One thing that really helped out this morning was this cool, free (open source--Mac only) application called Grand Perspective, which, basically scans your hard drive and tells you what files are using the most space. I like this app especially, though, because it gives you a clickable visual representation of that space. I was able to move 50 gigabytes--nearly a fourth of my hard drives total capacity(!)--to an external drive and thereby free up much needed space for other pressing projects.

Awesome!

Guide to 2008 (music)

Welcome to the third annual end-of-the-year guide to my favorite things of the year. Last year, I think I stuck to music only. This year, I will do the same and will write another post to mention a few other things that have been of influence this year. Stay tuned for that.

It really has been a big year, media-wise. After consulting my trusty iTunes play counter, it would appear that my two most listened-to bands of the year were Bon Iver and the Fleet Foxes. Big surprise there. I've posted several times about both groups--but for fun, here are two more videos for your listening enjoyment.

This performance of "re: Stacks" (my favorite song on the album) is actually from their show that I saw here in Champaign. So sweet. I just love the quite honesty of Justin Vernon's tunes. He's an inspiration.

(The song actually starts 2 minutes in on this clip if you want to skip ahead)



The Fleet Foxes have a similar vibe. I love their harmonies, percussion, and that sweet mandolin lead. Here's a link to my favorite tune "Blue Ridge Mountains" since this video won't let me embed.

The Punch Brothers, or more specifically Chris Thile--formerly of Nickel Creek and currently of the Punch Brothers--would get the third slot. My interest in bluegrass is currently in blossom mode. I recently purchased some hardware to mod my guitar into a dobro and with artists like Jerry Douglas and Chris Thile to emulate, I'm on my way!

Thile is a master musician--a respected expert on the mandolin (the guy was recording with legends before he was 20)--and a really great singer/songwriter to boot. This hasn't just been a year of solo-Thile for me, but rather one where I consumed the whole Nickel Creek catalog as well.

Here's a great quiet tune from the first Punch Brothers album (some of you may recognize the program Woodsongs that it is taken from. Our local PBS station carries it):



And if you can stand it, here's them doing an 8 minute cover of Radiohead's "Morning Bell"--the song they also ended with at the show I saw in Champaign:



So rad! That clip really shows off the band in true, pass-the-solo, bluegrass style. It will also give you a really great look at Thile's virtuosity.

It's also been a year of much Wilco, Radiohead, and other newer voices like Ray LaMontagne:



Radiohead - Weird Fishes - by Tobias Stretch




I should also mention that old favorites, Weezer and the Cure also came out with new albums this year. I was largely underwhelmed by both, though. Especially the Cure album. Both albums had some stand-outs for me though.

Underneath the Stars by the Cure might be their best song (even if not on the best album) in 10 years:



And I really love this tune, Troublemaker, from the new Weezer album. Actually, I would have to say that the "Red" album is probably the best release from my old favorite band since Pinkerton. But it just doesn't hold up against the other groups in terms of times listened last year.

Finally, a very honorable mention goes to Mates of State. They are the band that I got to meet at Lollapalooza in August and they're really great. Here's the wacky video for my favorite song on their new album Re-Arrange Us. It's called "Get Better"



Have fun jamming (and if you only chose one video to watch here, you really should check out that Morning Bell cover!).

many happy returns

We just got back today from the longest vacation we have ever been on--19 days. And, as I allude to in my last post, it really was wonderful. The drive was long, but we did it in short(er) legs, and I found that I actually enjoy it. I loved watching the landscape slowly change from prairie to high plains to rocky mountains to desert and back again. I started snapping pictures of the sights with my phone as we drove some of which I am collecting here.

Anyway, I was reminded, as I always am, of the sweet kindness of my family. We see them so rarely--usually only once or twice a year (for the last 8 years!)--that being around them really is a rare and precious treat.

My mother is, I think, one of those few rare gems who loves and serves others without restraint and without expectation of recognition or return. While we were there, I met a severely autistic boy with whom she has worked closely as a part of her work with disabled students. He and his mother came by to drop off a Christmas gift for my mom and I was touched by how emotional his mom was in the few moments that they stood in the doorway. "I always cry when I'm around you, Jean" was her comment. Clearly, my mom has been a godsend for their family. This is my children's grandmother I'm talking about! Talk about blessed. She showered us all with that love for 10 days straight.


My dad flatters me by asking for my advice and ideas about a vexing administrative/ discipline issue he has been having with some of his students (and their parents). He's the expert, I'm the novice. His humility is the hallmark of his expertise and skill. We shoveled several inches (feet, even) of snow, went on several "drinkie" runs, he made an incredible shoe find at our local favorite thrift store (brown Diesels--brand new, $8), and he encouraged several uplifting books as a break from my typical critical slog. Who knows how long he sat in on his bed as life guard while my youngest did his favorite thing: bounce, bounce, bounce, nearly fall off, bounce.


And my sister Emily! I discovered, living in my parents house, a smart, tremendously funny friend who also happens to be my sister. What a bonus! Indeed, she is awesome. (And I've never been struck by lightning--not even once!) :)



And while our Tucson visit was short, we had a lovely time there as well--pretending that it was still September. Seriously, it was 80 degrees on January 2nd. Tina's parents--after nearly 12 years of association--have become close friends. How many people can say that about their in-laws? We got to attend Tina's brother Scott's wedding. He found a great girl--yay for Sarah!--it was a sweet ceremony.

So, we made it home without incident and I'm feeling really pleased and happy (and heavy--gained a little weight). Thank you SO much, family. We love you so.

I have a list of things to do before school starts in a week-and-a-half. This was the first, I'll do my "best of 2008" post tomorrow or the next day. Also on the plate: rework my Writing Across Media syllabus, work up a new syllabus for my 102 class (I'm using a new textbook that focuses on community action), read the five books that I didn't even look at while in UT/AZ, and play a bit more with the new recordings and archival footage over at OA online.

Christmas in Utah

As mentioned in my previous post, we are here in the beautiful state of Utah to celebrate Christmas with my family. How sweet it is to be with them. My mom and dad are so accommodating and sweet--being with them makes me a little bit sad (in spite of the joy) since these visits are so few and far between. Northern Utah is so beautiful--we are glad to be here and will savor every moment of it.

The drive across the country couldn't have been better. It was as if the skies opened and clouds departed to give us safe passage across the plains. We didn't get a single flake of precipitation on the freeway. And then the day we got here and it snowed 12 inches in 6 hours. Perfect timing. We were left feeling blessed--the recipients of a real Christmas miracle. (Especially considering that Champaign literally is frozen over.)

We listened to the Christmas Carol through Nebraska on the second day. I'd never actually read the *real* story before, so it was fun to hear it from the author himself. Good ol' Darls Chickens. We also got to visit my best friends in northern Colorado and stay a night with them at their house. We had nine kids running around going crazy--it was fun to catch up with Steve and Autumn and see April and her kids (BFF Andy is still in Japan where he has been deployed for the last months--he comes home in three weeks).


We got here Sunday night, got up Monday and enjoyed the snow, built a snow mountain, sledded, made merry, etc. Then, yesterday, the kids started barfing everywhere. First Seth started in the morning, then Jonas in the afternoon, then at about 11:30 last night, Maryn started. We brought her in to our room and she kept it up every hour on the hour for the rest of the night. Everybody is feeling a little better today--but everybody is very tired.

A few memorable moments from the last few days:

Last night, when Jonas had his shirt off from one of his throw-ups he started sucking in his tummy and pushing it out again--over and over. He'd do it, look up and laugh at it, and look down and do it again all while pressing on his belly button.

Also last night, before Maryn started up, she said "I want to get my thnow thoes on and go outside and shovel the thnow." (we shoveled all day the day before--apparently she was into it.)

All it all, and despite the flu-bug, it's been a great visit so far. Tomorrow is Christmas and it is sure to be lovely. I'll leave you with a great little clip that a friend of mine posted a few weeks ago. I think it sums up nicely my feelings about the season.



Merry Christmas!

a little holiday treat for you

it's not really a holiday song--but i think it's pretty rad.

This is the Rivers Cuomo that I love:



We're in Utah with my family and loving it. It snowed a TON this morning and we are so glad to be playing in it and not driving in it. More soon, promise!