A kind of Thanksgiving

Some photos that may have fallen through the cracks (or maybe you've already seen em somewhere out there in the world :)

Vancouver in bLoom!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCyUxxwXig

Hec Ed, Seattle

More tomorrow :))

Thanks for checkin it out!!

Sean

Happy 101 Bloggo

This is the one hundred and first blog I've posted.  Wow, never thought this would last that long.  And yet I'm still here on Earth, like all the other astronauts, looking at what remains of last night's full moon and wondering if it's gonna snow again tomorrow...

That's right, it snowed (and stuck) here in Seattle today.  It was awesome.  Lots of very happy youngsters frolicking about in hat and boots.  Too cute.

Here's a little poem for you all!

wirelessly we are all here

worry free and wandering

we see each other often

or as so we choose

to do as humans do

with virtue,

very virtually.

A soul connects-

connection lost-

as your call drops

conveniently.

(It's okay)

Must we be constantly

connected at all times

to EVERYTHING?

Why not focus on just one thing,

say pizza [whatever] or

humanity.

Turn a stranger to a neighbor,

spend time with somebody thinking,

listening, touching, loving

real life living things.

[I wonder what the earth thinks,

after all the time and change.]

If you feel this

then you feel it

and if not "it"

than some

other thing

like-

the last time you could feel a smile happening.

Like the warmth from a hug only best friends give

or shared energy from meditation.

Say something.
Calmly walk about.
Learn a new thing every day.

That poem is kinda weird.  Whatever.  The two hundred and twenty second post will be far superior I can assure you...so keep reading :))

Sean

The state of new music

I love fishing for new music.  There are so many websites out there these days that have audiences capable of blowing up good acts quick.  Traslation: bored bloggers and readers are shaping the musical landscape of our times.  Check out hypem.com sometime and realize that the site is merely a collection of a million other sites/blogs that offer up all sorts of tunes that are then streamed through hypem.  And hypem is just one of the gazillion sites lurking out there in the interweb.

At the same time, there are more acts than ever and considering anyone can make a youtube video these days, it's nice to have some sort of moderation (other than the search term "good music"...hmmmmm) from the dudes who sort through all those gazillion sites.  God knows they go through way more bullshit than gold.

But hypem isn't even the reason I got on here tonight.  I got on here to thank all the bit torrent fiends in the world.  You make it possible for anyone with access to the internet to download entire discographies (thousands of dollars supposedly) of just about anything.  And leaks, and screeners, and all that jazz. Amazing really.  Today we have access to wayyyyyy more that we can possibly listen to and everyone and their brother's in a band so we got more tunes too.

That brings me to new music these days...

Here are some goodies I haven't been able to get enough of...

The March release of the Gorillaz new full length Plastic Beach is off the hook.  I'm a sucker for fat beats and Snoop Dogg, so the first track blew my mind.  But then to go through all the genres that they do on the album is unreal!  Symphonic tracks into heavy hip-hop, eastern beats, goofy shit, poppy shit.  Pretty much the radio heads will love this album as much as I do.  It's pretty unoffensive, well produced, and a nice look at what the future of music might be like.  Contributing artists include Snoop, Mos Def, Loud Reed (!!), Little Dragon, De La Soul!!!  And this isn't live some Santana duet album BS.  The featured artists rock!!  Bobby Womak makes the song Stylo along with Mos Def (he KILLS it!!)



I love the live/electronic combinations Gorillaz tosses up.  And the mixing hp-hop with electro with rock is not the easiest task.  Yet Gorillaz does it effortlessly, and with whoever the fuck they want!!  Always have...hope to hear more soon!!

Another release I got onto a bit late was that of legendary Seattle band Minus the Bear.  One of my favorite live acts for a few years now, these boys work hard and have earned every bit of their success.  Their latest disc, entitled OMNI, is a step in a logical direction for the guitar fueled group specializing in electronic mayhem.  For fans of electronic persuasion this album will be a definite win.  It's fast and dancy but still trippy with random breaks that take you into the song and then rock you the fuck out.

Here's an in-studio video of a track off OMNI called "Into the Mirror"...one of their more radio friendly.  Slower but still with a classic MtB hook.



It's not their strongest album ever (I'd reserve that for Menos el Oso :) but it's still nice to know they're crankin out tunes people can dance to.

Cause isn't that what music is really all about anyways?

Thanks for reading!!  Hope you love the tunesssssss!!

Sean

ps- WHISTLER OPENS TOMORROW!!  Big day, big pow.  Be safe out there guys, we got a longgggggggggggggggggggggg la niña to take care of this year..  Having said that, as always, SHRED HARD.

A Haiku for Nellie

It's raining again.
Cloud cover: hundred percent.
Why not sit inside?

Better yet imma go find me a miniramp to shred :))

Nothin' like a rainy day

I feel the stoke comin' on!!  Put new tires on the car today.  Getting geared up for snow :))

It was raining in the morning and it was COLD.  That's a good sign.  Somewhere it is for sure snowing.

And I think I'll head North this weekend for some madness with the usual suspects.

I'm getting a Whistler pass and probably one for Steven's Pass too.

Since I broke my wrist I'm outta work for a couple weeks.  Blows ass.  I hate being broke.  And being broke and hurst blows even harder.  Especially when I was making cash like last week :/

I guess I'll just sit inside and drink more tea.  Listen to more music, maybe pull out the vinyl.  George Harrison's on now.

Last night I was playing something on the piano and it sounded for a second like this song by Joni Mitchell.  But of course I couldn't remember it.  And then once I did it was the night and I had to find my iPod and click through a couple of albums worth of tunes before finallyfinding it at the end of For the Roses.  It's called The Judgment of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig's Song) and the only part that sounds remotely like what I was playing is the seven note break with horns about a minute and ten seconds into the song.  The whole album is pretty good, imho.

This recording's from YouTube.  Joni talks about the song before she plays it.  Great live recording.  Raw music, acoustic emotion, background noise...I'm a fan.  The rest of the songs from the set are stellar as well.  Just her and a guitar or piano.  Super stripped down.  Super pure.



I gotta go make some more tea :))

Sean

One Week

One week to buy my Whistler Pass at a discount.  Obviously its a no brainer.  Shred five times and it pays off.

I'll prolly go more than five times five at least to Whis this season (or at least try :)

And now living 216 miles south of Whistler I have some closer options to consider.

Crystal mountain, Stevens pass, Snoqualmie with Alpental and more!!

And of course perfectly between Seattle and Whistler the behemoth mount Baker which collects the biggest dumps of snow in the PNW!!

Amazing.  I have too many options and not enough money to take em all!!

What would you do?

Shred hard always.

Sean

Deep thoughts are for another day

exceptional
the sky is blue
the sinking sun of indian summer
sets in your eyes

white dress
skin coarse with
goosebumps
birds fly over us

feet frozen
undercovers
we will heat them up

voices sweet like
hot caramel
warm as
morning's milk


That is another poem for no one :)

Sean

Big ol Trees

Mist lifted like
heavy stones
no longer will I wonder.

Fog beneath
green canopies.
Cedar saplings
reach ever higher.

Out of the unknown
towards the light.

When will we breakthrough?

Cedar Trees at UBC

One of my favorite fisheye shots I've taken.

Hope yall like it!!

Peace