the blisslist

c'mere {February 28, 2009}

I am officially addicted to kombucha tea and MGMT's "Kids." Both separate and together. I plan to savor them in every possible shade and flavor (yep, the drink and the song). Kombucha consumption leaves me with the feeling that I can fight crime and do long division in my head. And, well, "Kids" is damn catchy and I haven't grown tired of it—& I'm especially enjoying the sundry assortment of varietals out there in the blogosphere. Fingers-crossed we won't get sued!

Kids - MGMT | purchase on
Kids - MGMT {pet shop boys synthpop mix}
Kids - The Kooks
Kids - Ben Lee
Stardust Kids - A plus D {MGMT vs. david bowie mash-up}

come make banana pancakes with me, pretend it's the weekend {February 25, 2009}

Says the girl who's sipping coffee & milk and devouring crumpets in a hurry, a laptop precariously slanted on her knees.

I've been preoccupied with jury duty for the last few days and shouldn't be blogging at all. I am behind on everything!

Deadlines.

I indulged in sixty minutes of well-relished weakness last night and downloaded a few songs while resting my peepers & red pen from my summer catalogue draft. I've included a few favorites below. These singles bode well for three good full-length releases from Metric (April 14, yes, yes, yes, WELCOME BACK EMILY HAINES!), Bat for Lashes (April 6), and Phoenix (May 25). Select blogger musings on these singles can be found here, here, and here.

uh, yeah, what they said—I gotta go!

Help I'm Alive - Metric
Glass - Bat for Lashes
1901 - Phoenix

Enjoy your breakfast—and more soon! (I hope.)

x.

Liz

(image by aubrey trinnaman)

mr. mix, i think you’d be very nice to fall in love with {February 22, 2009}

This newly-created playlist has been blaring in my studio all morning as I putter, prepare, and dress for a very scheduled Sunday. It's largely comprised of recent additions to my library—though conversely, the collective sentiment is couched in something old and omnipresent. Basically, it's pretty much my own Bill Murray Groundhog Day-inspired soundscape.

I've decided that it is one of my favorite mixes of all time, and you can download the entire playlist in its full glory by clicking here.

I hope everyone is enjoying the gathered bits of their weekend!

the leather mix: year three, liz's groundhog day

Roll On - Dntel | {buy on lala}
More of This - Vetiver | {buy on lala}
Chinese Translation - M. Ward | {buy on lala}
These Girls - Ryan Adams | {buy on lala}
American Names - Sebastien Grainger | {buy on lala}
Your Desert's Not A Desert At All - Pela | {buy on lala}
My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille - Beirut | {buy on lala}
Pocketful of Money - Jens Lekman | {buy on lala}
Trouble Weighs a Ton - Dan Auerbach | {buy on lala}
Baby, I Grew You a Beard - Neil Halstead | {buy on lala}
Private Life Of A Cat - LK | {buy on lala}
My Love - the bird and the bee | {buy on lala}
The Big Guns - Jenny Lewis | {buy on lala}
Between the Bars - Madeleine Peyroux | {buy on lala}
Ampersand - Amanda Palmer | {buy on lala}
Falling Slowly - The Frames | {buy on lala}

(image by JenniPenni)

and it is only wednesday {February 18, 2009}

The check engine light turned on and my car needs to pass the smog test. (like yesterday).

I've been summoned for jury duty selection this week.

I lost my favorite earrings. They were especially rad, and I'm definitely less stylish now.

My coveted olive oil and cheese class is sold out.

I completed my taxes and I owe the government over $400 for my freelance design work.

Tomorrow is February 19. It is my least favorite day of the year, hands down. Forecast says that Liz will be found in your local watering hole murmuring nonsense about Johnny Cash.

Ah, well as I write this I'm not really all that upset. It'll be okay. I just realized that I'll be spending February 19 in the company of Mr. Best Friend, Roger, Amy, and Andrew Bird—which is pretty fantastic. And I'll never be one of those sorts of people that get all puffed up & peculiar about taxes. I like my well-maintained public parks. I can appreciate our sewage system. I especially enjoy paved roads.

Moreover, here are nine discoveries that make me very happy! 

xo and listening to:

Your Arms Around Me - Jens Lekman | {buy on lala}

the beast by my bed {February 17, 2009}

When the Frenchman stayed with me back in November, he commented that my affinity for landscapes and inclines should be properly paired with a canine companion—preferably something exemplar like a golden retriever or a pointing lab. I agreed entirely. I'm drawn to pups that seem comfortable in the pages of prim Brooks Brothers' catalogs—or that would fit nicely in bird or fox-hunting scenes from classic English novels.

Yes, I prefer the snobby breeds. It's my aesthetic, please don't judge too harshly.

Unfortunately for me, I make my nest in a cozy yardless apartment tucked near a traffic-heavy section of San Francisco. (I had to remind the Frenchman that he was sleeping on an air mattress in my kitchen for a reason). Yet some folks keep small pocketbook dogs or lap happy cats. Or maybe bowls of brightly-colored freshwater fish, perched upon desks or mantles.

I, however, possess a very special pet. He's unpredictable. He whimpers, he fusses. He clamors and calms himself. He warms my toes.

His name is Beast.

Yep, Beast is my heating unit.

Sometimes I think he's giving me insomnia with all of his unpredictable late-night sputtering. The logical route is to call the maintenance fella with my gripes, yet there's a large part of me that is incredibly humored by this thing by my bed. This unlikely companion.

The pretty dogs will come later, I'm sure. But I will always remember this time of my life—the time when I found myself affectionately muttering "hush!" to the incorrigible appliance by my bed.   

.... why do I get the feeling my pals might whisk me off to go goldfish shopping this week?

Okay, here's one pertinent update before I scurry away. The eagerly-anticipated (and behemoth of a compilation) Dark Was the Night dropped yesterday. A small handful of the tracks are forgettable—clear b-sides without a home—but many are quite good. It's a very subdued album brimming with sad bastard lament, yet it's well-curated and I recommend it. I've listened to it a couple of times and a few early standouts include Aaron Dessner & Bon Iver's "Big Red Machine," Ben Gibbard's "Train Song," Grizzly Bear's "Deep Blue Sea," The Decemberists' "Sleepless," The Dirty Projectors' "Knotty Pine," Riceboy Sleeps' "Happiness," Andrew Bird's "The Giant of Illinois," and of course, The National's "So Far Around the Bend."

I will undoubtedly become bitten and smitten with several more tracks.

{Purchase on lala | itunes}

(image by smosch)

pretty goes with pretty {February 15, 2009}

As for this weekend, I've been fascinated with notions of independent thought vs. propriety. What it means to be provocative and move freely—to choose sincere affections before reason(!)— while still maintaining a sense of accountability and consequence.

Yep, heh, this is what happens when I curl up on my couch in the flesh of a good book, re-reading passages by Jane Austen on rainy afternoons like today. For this weekend at least, it seems like there's a reversal of a well-known saying—my life is definitely imitating art.

I've also been listening to NY-based The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's debut album this afternoon. Their emotive, noise-pop sheen is very palatable and leaves a good first impression (many music blogs seem to have a new favorite darling), but the impression is fleeting. During my second listen, I realized that my mind had strayed and I was having adulterous thoughts—specifically, I was coveting M83's 2008 release, Saturdays=Youth. The comparison isn't entirely fair since there are genre differences, yet both bands design music that's besotted with synthetic lushness and themes of coming-of-age angst. While The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's self-titled debut lacks a meaningful impact, it does have its infectious moments. Maybe that's enough?

For your consideration, I've included two tracks—because pretty goes with pretty!

{mp3} Stay Alive - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | {buy on lala}
{mp3} Young Adult Friction - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart | {buy on lala}

(image by Alanna Cavanagh)

i wish we were still on cuddling terms {February 14, 2009}

While browsing in a few Noe shops this week, I discovered that sentiment printed on a card with a perfectly heartbreaking, flourishing font. Yet somehow, it made me smile.

Okay, time to untangle my curlers, smudge on some eyeliner & slip on my patent red flats. I'm heading out now, and the city's looking especially luminous tonight—even in its newly rain-washed condition.

Oh & BE YE NOT SO UNCUDDLY, sirs, if only for 5 1/2 more hours or so. Get into the spirit and don't forget the flowers.

I've been addicted to The Postal Service's Give Up this week. I wish Ben Gibbard would resurrect this collaboration, but it seems unlikely. Sniff. Nevertheless, it's a perfectly nostalgic record that deserves a spin or two on a day like today. Happy Valentine's Day to all and to all a good night!

{mp3} Nothing Better - The Postal Service | {buy on lala}

* fickleness, included {February 12, 2009}

I'm doing a terrible job adhering to my aforementioned mini-hiatus. O, never-mind all of that. I can train properly, meet deadlines, hug my friends regularly, and be mindful of my blog simultaneously. Moving along, now.

Last Wednesday, I saw Delta Spirit at Bottom of the Hill. Folks, this band was incredible—and their rousing performance of "Children" was the clear highlight of the night. It was one of those soul-searing, "HOLY HELL EXCLAMATION POINT" experiences that'll undoubtedly hover near the top of my best-of-2009 concerting list. I must assign a lot of credit to the lead singer, Matthew Vasquez. He was the driving force, spending a large portion of the concert belting out sharply impassioned vocals, switching instruments, and flashing the ladies his oddly-timed yet incredibly charismatic grin.

I think the boys in the crowd were in need of smelling salts too.

The next morning, I received an email from the label that represents Delta Spirit's opening band, Other Lives. See, music bloggers are accustomed to getting these marketing-minded emails and (very, very unfortunately) most of the free music that's offered up is, well, terrible. I tend to ignore a large portion of them, but this one grabbed my attention since Other Lives' performance piqued my curiosity. I had observed a portion of their set from the bar, noting between sips that there's something oddly familiar about their sound. The following morning, I tasked myself with hunting down a few singles, but their label saved me the trouble. A happy morning, indeed.

Turns out, Oklahoma-based Other Lives is a reconfiguration of Kunek—a band that I'm already familiar with. Kunek's debut album, Flight of the Flynns, was one of my favorite finds in early 2007. I spent a bit of time listening to Other Lives' new EP this week (a full-length album is forthcoming on April 7), and although my listening experience is a definite "feast after famine" situation which could precipitate easy impartiality, I can honestly say that their EP is good. In particular, the 2nd track, "Paper Cities", smolders in its cinematic scope—it's the type of tune that'll follow you down the sidewalk. Political-minded with notions of nationality—it's not a vanity project. "Paper Cities" is music designed for aged whiskey and the broken stems beneath our feet.

Other Lives will be making an appearance at SxSW next month. (I want to go, but my dueling trips to Coachella and to a performance by The National on the east coast have halted any & all Austin, TX travel schemes). If you are in the Austin area, I definitely recommend catching their set. In the meantime, they'll be opening for Delta Spirit in a smattering of select cities. Trust me, seize the bounty with open ears.

{mp3} Paper Cities - Other Lives | {buy on lala}
{mp3} We Have Become - Kunek | {buy on lala}


(image by smosch)

she lies! {February 10, 2009}

Well, not really. I'm still on a self-imposed, wickedly mean mini-break, but I felt compelled to post my latest acquisition—a drawing by Mister Marc Johns. It arrived this afternoon & totally made my day.

How could it not?

Come on, folks—it's a scheming bunny.....with a pipe!

god, I ♥ it.

And here's a new tune from Glasgow's ever-winsome export, Camera Obscura. There's exciting news on the horizon, m'dears—popwreck(oning) informed me that they've been seduced & signed by 4AD, with their latest album, My Maudlin Career, dropping on April 20 (we get it on April 21 in the US).

Cute-but-sentimental mope pop isn't easy to make (at least the good, meaningful stuff), but after listening to this single I'm optimistic about a rather marvelous 4th album. Thank goodness I'll have something pretty to get me through my inevitable Coachella crash-down.


{mp3} My Maudlin Career - Camera Obscura

his {February 9, 2009}

I've been silent for a few days, but I'll be back in a couple weeks—another small break is in order! (I'm pretty serious about this mountain-climbing thing. It's getting in the way of a sundry assortment of possibilities, but it's worth it.)

xo, lovelies, it's a beautiful world—& the more I learn about music, the more I know about other things. That notion might be curiously unbecoming, but it's true.

L

{mp3} Evil Bee - Menomena | {buy on itunes}

(image by doe c doe)