you give us those nice bright colors

do go and check out flavorwire for a little photo collection inspired by the death of kodachrome on 30/12/2010. i particularly like this taj mahal reflection by steve mccurry.

a list: albums of 2010

as the year comes to an end, it is, as i understand it, obligatory to voice one's views of the past 12 months' artistic success'. or something like that. therefore here are my musical winners:

vampire weekend: contra

afro beats sit comfortably with electronic ones in this second album that sees the boys hone their style to perfection. actually enjoy this more than the fist album.

yeasayer: odd blood

highlights include electro folk "madder red", the sing along "ambling alp", hauntingly robotic "the children" and synth heavy electro floor filler "o.n.e.". this album sees the band deliberately try to be more poppy and finds them fully embracing the more subtle electro dalliances of previous efforts on a more full time basis.

the national: high violet

leonard cohen and ian curtis' mutant lovechild fronting a post punk new wave band. sort of. stand out track "blood buzz ohio" is amazing.

my morning bender: big echo 

brian wilson-esque sun filled summery tunes via fleet foxes and vampirweekend from these calfornian [beach] boys. luscious string abound on "excuses", probably the best track on the album.

 

chiefs: modern rituals

close harmony led indie-folk. think csny, neil young, buffolo springfield, fleet foxes and "american beauty" era grateful dead blended with 90s britpop undertones and a modern indie feel. check out "the minute i saw it" and "night and day".

a year in pictures

msn.com photo editor antony bennison provides the year in pictures. some really breathtaking photos in this collection of 60 pictures taken throughout 2010.

my two favorites have to be:

 

christopher thomas' dash 8 q400 in front of the moon, for the effort and time he put in and the resultant stunning image; such a glorious juxtaposition.

 

and alejandra bartoliche's protester pissing at a pack of riot police in argentina. with all the protests going on at the moment this guy could be the poster boy.

click here for the rest at msn.com.

enjoy.

the captain

merry christmas, everyone!

no normal posts today or for some days to come. i'm too busy enjoying christmas! blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda. i greatly enjoy russell brand's view on life. to get you in the spirit for tomorrow check him out here mulling over what christmas is all about.

enjoymas.

the captain.

song du jour 23/12/10

elbow's guy garvey has let slip the title of their new album on live radio. a mildly inebriated garvey revealed during marc riley's christmas show that their latest offering is to be titled "build a rocket, boys!". click here for the full story and track listing at bbc 6 music news.

i only really know elbow since the release of "the seldom seen kid". how can you not love a song that starts "i've been working on a cocktail called grounds for divorce"! that got my attention. next came this song which is so uplifting and anthemic it hurts.

so with that in mind my song du jour is "one day like this" from the album "the seldom seen kid". i love the message of this song and anything with a string part like this just blows me away.



song du jour 22/12/10

sorry, another song that worked it's way into my brain because of the movie "donnie darko". hell. it's practically the theme tune (if films have theme tunes..)! i only superficially know about tears for fears because their big singles were around when i was a kid. but i only heard them on the radio or on top of the pops and never deliberately sought them out. they weren't my thing. so i guess it has to be with great thanks that i doth my cap to the movie makers for providing such a great soundtrack. not only did it cause me to discover this track but also their original version of "mad world" that was covered by some dude called gary jules and also used for the film.

another fine atmospheric song from the 80s proving again that there was a lot more good music around when i was a kid than i was actually exposed to. what is it with that decade for these really dark tracks that were still quite mainstream? for every cheesy pop tune there is a great song like this.

so with that in mind my song du jour is "head over heels" from the album "songs from big chair". for serious.



winter solstice party

(pine forest in snow [embossed] by ansel adams)

there will be no song du jour today as tonight is the solstice and so we are off to play music in the snowy wilds. i'm just not going to have time peeps, sorry!

business should resume as normal tomorrow. until then enjoy whatever art finds it's way into your life, on this, the shortest day of the year (and coldest by the feel of it)! the warming sun is now on it's way back to us.

enjoy.

the captain