Hallo there. Hopefully you've had a chance to check out the new video for Sub Symphonika which was posted today. It makes me giggle every time ... J's wizard building-raising in the beginning totally cracks me up. ...and I'm so grateful everyone agreed not to tell me about the giant python which was kept under a big black sheet in an aquarium in the sitting room of the studio where we shot until we were getting ready to leave the next morning. EEyikes!
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Now that the new year is nearly upon us, we thought it'd be good to check in to say hey and let you know we are indeed at work on our third record -- it's coming along rather nicely, if a bit more slowly than our a.d.d.-afflicted minds might like.
And, even though there's a whole month ahead before the new decade begins, it doesn't seem too early to do a little "Best albums of 2009" list. Though generally not fans of 'the competition,' it's nice to look at a year's listening distilled to a short list. Here's mine. John's is soon to follow.
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Noah and the Whale - The First Days of Spring
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
St. Vincent - Actor
Sam Amidon - All is Well (Admittedly from '08, but I didn't hear it until this year....He has a new out coming out soon, too. Word to a fellow Vermonter!)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Dark Was the Night, Compilation
This brings me to a last note about the year to come. Things on the horizon:
*Album # 3 ! Recording with the Section Quartet next week! And the super fantastic mister Jim Eno of Spoon fame has been lending his talents to our effort from his lovely studio in Austin!
*826LA songwriting workshop this Tuesday December 8th. ( Sorry, open to 826LA
kiddos only. ) 826 is a truly amazing organization, and if you're near any
of the fine 826 establishments, please send love their way.
http://www.826national.org They have totally great things in their
store which would be great for holiday gifts, too!
*The Boston Marathon in April (I somehow managed to qualify at the Chicago Marathon this October in 3:39.). I'm planning to start a wee running blog about the training process for this as I often have ponderances on these long runs I thought some fellow rocker runners-or-not-runners might enjoy... More on that soon.
All right. I hope you're well. Admittedly, we've been truly horrible about keeping up with Myspace mail, but I'm making my New Year's resolution early: I will attack the fake-mail avalanche and find the real mail (hopefully from real people like thyself) and respond soon, so please do keep in touch.
Love,
Blake