P.O.T.D.'s #6 and #7

By far my favorite apartment in the Old West End. Photos of things I miss: living in the OWE, my awesome green couch, Gatsby the cat, & my camera that took these.

Guitars, drums, please?

I really need to get back into the blogosphere and there's no better way to do it than by doing the obligatory favorite albums of 2009. As much as I do love some good electronic music and a beat to dance to, I still prefer actual instruments being played and a gritty sound. As my dear roommate Nikola says, "your roots are more in punk, Rochte, all you want are some guitars!". So here goes:

5. Bibio - "Ambivalence Avenue"

After that whole spiel I choose a mostly electronic album at #5. What can I say? Dude produces killer tracks that span from folk to indie to hip hop.

4. The XX - "The XX"

I was trying to describe this band to someone last week,

but all I could come up with was laid back, pretty

sounding indie rock. I don't know, I just really got into

this album.

3. Drummer - "Feel Good Together"

What happens when you take five different drummers from

various bands and bring them all together to play

different instruments? An awesome album? Check!

Well, technically they didn't all get to switch instruments...

one of them had to stay a drummer. Formed by Patrick

Carney of The Black Keys fame (he plays bass in this band),

this album was spot on and a lot of people still haven't

heard of them. Do yourself a favor, check it out & tell yr friends.

2. Blakroc - "Blackroc"

(Speaking of) The Black Keys + hip hop's finest = Blakroc. It's a

good mix, I promise.

1. Japandroids - "Post Nothing"

Honestly, nothing even comes close to this album for me.

I'm talking the past couple of years even. Just a drummer and a

guitarist playing the catchiest rock & roll accompanied by the best

(yet simplest) lyrics I've heard in a minute.

From "Young Hearts Spark Fire":

We used to dream

Now we worry about dying

I don't wanna worry about dying

I just wanna worry about those sunshine girls

This album makes me feel young & alive & excited when I listen to

it. It sounds cheesy, I get that. I like music I can relate to, yknow?

If you haven't heard them, this video isn't the best portrayal of

how the music sounds, but these dudes don't have a music video.

I wanted to post something live rather than something a random

person on youtube made. But yeah, check out the energy and

listen to the crowd.

So that's that. Good luck, 2010.

Happy Halloween!

via Enjoying Toledo

The kids of Toledo School for the Arts participating in a huge flash mob of sorts at the Franklin Park Mall. It gets pretty good near the middle of the video.

Burn it to the ground!

Some years ago I was introduced to the Burn to Shine DVD series. Brendan Canty of Fugazi fame started this project around 2003 and they have since released 4 volumes (though apparently they've filmed 6). It centers around the history of a house that is set to be demolished, the city in which it's located, and the bands that will play there. A different city is selected for each volume, and a different musician from said city is selected to curate the local bands who will play. Each band has an hour to set up, play a song, and tear down...no corrections, no re-dos. After all of the bands play, they burn the house down. This video is one of my favorites...

http://www.trixiedvd.com/bts/

P.O.T.D. #5

Awesome Dave on our Miami '07 trip. It was, quite literally, Spring Break.

Hopefully this is the beginning of me updating again.

Sugar dumpling, muffin baby...

Mikey sang this to me while I was incredibly sick this week and I've been obsessed ever since.

Because Carlos posted this months ago...

R.I.P MJ, you had some excellent hits. I did PYT shots all night for you.