Occupational Hazards

So I wrote this play, "In Memory of Julie Simmons" that is currently running as part of Unfiltered at EST. If you haven't seen it yet, you should come see it tonight or tomorrow at 7:00 before it is gone forever.

It's been a really great process. My actors and director and designers have made this thing into a really beautiful play and I am super proud of it.

But there's been one sort of horrible side effect to the process. And that is this: This play is about teenage girls, and the dialogue is very teenage girly. At some point a lot of my rewrites turned into saying things like: "um. maybe we should have her say 'like' here instead of here."

And then suddenly I realized I was using like in my writing outside of this play, like, ALL THE TIME. And I can't stop! I mean, I'm not going to pretend I didn't SAY like way too much before working on this play - but until recently it had stayed out of my written communications. But not anymore. Here, I'll show you what I mean via excerpts from a selection of emails and facebook comments and chats from today. Just today. This is just some of what has come out of my fingers in the last three hours:

Posted on facebook: that shit is like, affordable!

Via interoffice chat: I would just do yoga and write and maybe like, cook.

Via interoffice chat: she like, didn't even say hi to me

Via email: apparently i was like, less than 24 hours too late.

Via email: Just in case I hadn't like totally confirmed that it sounds great - I am confirming that now.

Anyway. That's like, something that's going on with me right now.

I've clearly sacrificed a lot for this play. So please come see it!

Unfiltered 2012: YEAR OF THE ROOSTER by Eric Dufaut

UNFILTERED 2012 WILL KILL THE SUN!

Year of the Rooster by Eric Dufault
directed by John Giampietro
with Denny Bess, Delphi Harrington, Thomas Lyons,
Bobby Moreno, and Laura Ramadei

Odysseus Rex is a champion.
He is his trainer’s greatest hope.
He is his opponents’ worst nightmare.
One day he will destroy the sun.
He is a rooster.

Come see it: 1/26, 2/3, 2/4 @ 7pm & 1/28 @ 2pm
Tickets $20. Buy them here.

(Also if you come to this show you will get a limited edition "Masters of Gamecocking" trading card. This is an impossible-to-believe deal, but I encourage you to believe it. Believe in us.)

Now playing:

• In Memory of Julie Simmons by Erica Saleh, directed by Tamara Fisch. Two performances left: 1/27 & 1/28 @ 7pm

All shows at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street, 2nd Floor (between 10th & 11th Aves).

Did you know that! You can! see 2 Unfiltered plays for $30!
Also there are $10 student and senior tickets available, just show ID at the door.

When this is over you will write a book about it. I'm not going to tell you what you will do with the book after you have written the book. But if you come to these plays, you will know. You will absolutely know.

Masters of Gamecocking: Erica "Sly" Saleh

Erica “Sly” Saleh named her rooster after a dead teenage girl.

The girl’s family has pressed legal charges. It’s a big courtroom drama thing. But Erica doesn’t give a shit.

Some say the spirit of the young girl has gone on to inhabit the gamecock’s body. Julie Simmons preens itself for long hours, its crows sound disturbingly human. And then, when it’s thrown in the pit, Julie Simmons goes NUTS.

After all, teenage girls are MEAN.

And when they grow into women like “Sly” Saleh, they get even meaner.

It’s a popular legend that it’s impossible to kill Julie Simmons. Beat it, burn it, drown it, it’ll keep on crying its teenage cry.

The thing leaks an endless supply of blood! Break its neck and it’ll snap itself back into place! The thing doesn’t die! Maybe it’s already dead? Is this a rooster-girl-ghost?

Spooky, man.

See Julie Simmons: Friday and Saturday! In all honesty, it’s emotionally honest and structurally compelling!

Creating an artistic home

In the spirit of Borinsky's Defense Mechanisms series, here's an excerpt from a post by Todd London from the Howlround.

What makes an Artistic Home?

A place to rest, think, find common language and family feeling. You can help shape environment in your artistic home, or at least decorate the space. You’re a host there, not a guest. You can invite friends, colleagues, maybe your own audience. People sense your belonging. And you can sometimes lose your shit there, and know there’ll still be food on the table and some loving looks when you sit down to it. And they have to take you in. That’s baseline; you don’t question your welcome. You don’t have to earn it again and again. They take you in, or you’re already in. Probably you’ve got a key. You are, say it again, a host not a guest. No pleading through the crack in the door, no applications through the slot.

The whole post is available here.

Youngblood's ideal artistic home would have Legos, weekly cockfights, picklebacks, and may or may not be the HMS Youngblood.

Masters of Gamecocking: Ry Dowler

I once asked Ry Dowler why he named his rooster “The Gratification.”

He punched me in the face.

And as I was trying to keep the blood off my shirt, he said: “Cause it’s the only thing that still gives me satisfaction in this world.”

And then he punched me in the face again.

The Gratification is an intimate kind of beast. It circles its prey. It steps in, then out, and then in again. His rivals and detractors try and say that Ry loans out The Gratification for weird farm yard pornography. But anyone who knows The Gratification knows this animal knows it would never put up with that.

A week or so ago, Ry claimed he tore his carotid artery. We all know that’s bullshit. It was The Gratification, refusing to be tamed.

Come see The Gratification this Friday or Saturday.

It’s likely though, that you’re gonna end up in the hospital.

Unfiltered 2012: IN MEMORY OF JULIE SIMMONS by Erica Saleh Opens JANUARY 18TH

Unfiltered 2012 has a resting heart rate of never giving in. Up next?

In Memory of Julie Simmons by Erica Saleh
directed by Tamara Fisch
with Cathy Curtin, Dylan Moore,
Emma Galvin, and Megan Tusing

After the suicide of their best friend,
three girls try to reconcile
who they thought she was
with who she might have been.

Come see it: 1/18, 19, 23, 27 & 28 @ 7pm
Tickets $20. Buy them here.

All shows at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street, 2nd Floor (between 10th & 11th Aves).

Now playing:

• The Gratifications by Ryan Dowler, directed by Andrew Grosso. Two performances left: 1/20 and 1/21 at 7pm.
  

Up next:

• Year of the Rooster by Eric Dufault, directed by John Giampietro (Opening 1/25)

You can! see 2 Unfiltered plays for $30!
Also there are $10 student and senior tickets available, just show ID at the door.
I strongly encourage you not to sleep on this.

Masters of Gamecocking: Angie Hanks

Let’s imagine an alternate universe, okay?

In this universe, the members of Youngblood never sat down in front of a keyboard or set foot in a theatre. Instead, they devoted their time and energy to becoming world-class gamecockers.

Every Wednesday they gather in the seedy basement of some dilapidated Hells Kitchen building, show off their latest birds, and proceed to tear each other apart.

Let’s also say that the same qualities that made these people damn good playwrights also shines through in the breeding/training of their gamefowl. So each of their birds is imbued with the same qualities that make their plays really fucking good and distinct. A Ryan Dowler gamecock is a lot different from a Chiara Atik gamecock. Cool?

Anyway. This is probably what that world would look like.

I heard that Angie Hanks has been convicted of a number of minor to major felonies and doesn't dare return to the Dallas streets she once ruled over. Angie must miss the place, though, cause she shoved the state of Texas into the skin of a rooster, and she named that thing Big Tex.

At first, maybe you think Big Tex is a little cute. Because, I mean, look at that crown, and look at all those funny little feathers around its neck, right? And as it’s dancing around the pit, you smile and think: “This is a nice bird. This is a bird I wouldn’t mind sending a postcard of to my granddaughter.” But then, fuck! When you least expect it, Big Tex rears up to its full 14.1 inches and starts launching itself at its opponent! Its spurs are all red; the audience is in shock! And when its opponent’s down, Jesus, it goes right for the crowd! I heard Big Tex broke a kid’s nose once. Seriously.

And after the fight, you wake up at 4 AM thinking, “My God, what kind of monster is Big Tex? That thing is scary as all hell.” Big Tex haunts you, man; it haunts you like a cowboy’s ghost.

Big Tex closed up shop last Saturday; you, sir/ma’am, are a fool if you missed it. More Unfiltered to come! Do yourself a favor and keep up!

Unfiltered 2012: THE GRATIFICATIONS by Ryan Dowler Opens January 11th!

Youngblood is staying hot. Unfiltered 2012 rolls on.

The Gratifications by Ryan Dowler
directed by Andrew Grosso
with Michael Cullen and Chet Siegel

Lailia considers her sex life liberated,
but her father Ken sees things differently.
When he refuses to cosign on a loan
she desperately needs,
Lailia sets out to prove that
she’s the one in control of her life,
even if it costs her the relationship she values most.

Come see it: 1/11, 1/12, 1/20, 1/21 @ 7pm & 1/14 @ 2pm
Tickets $20. Buy them here.
Use code GRAT for 2-for-1 tickets.

All shows at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street, 2nd Floor (between 10th & 11th Aves).

Now playing:

• Big Tex by Angela Hanks, directed by José Zayas. Two performances left: 1/13 and 1/14 at 7pm.
  

Coming up:

• In Memory of Julie Simmons by Erica Saleh, directed by Tamara Fisch (Opening 1/18)
  
• Year of the Rooster by Eric Dufault, directed by John Giampietro (Opening 1/25)

You can! see 2 Unfiltered plays for $30!
You can! see all 4 Unfiltered plays for $40!
Also there are $10 Student tickets and Senior tickets available, just show ID at the door.
Don't even miss it.

Ryan Dowler Presents The ESTeen Youngerblog: Wisdom on Life, Love, and the Theatre from My Junior High Diary

Part Four: On Religion

With The Gratifications opening this Wednesday as part of the EST/Youngblood Unfiltered Series, I'm not exactly sure to whom I should be praying. I wasn't always so unsure:

I found my Junior High diary.

This is what's in it:

1-17-96

I think the word GOD is too common and too overrated, so from now on I will refer to GOD as KURT. It makes communication more equal/personal. No, I'm not saying that Kurt Cobain is GOD. That is SO far from what I'm saying. So from now on when I address KURT in my journal, I'm referring to GOD.

KURT, please help me to have more faith. Please help me with the girl thing, do I like Anne, do I like Amber, I think maybe both. I think I'll send off signals to both AND Megan and see what I come up with. Thanks for listening!

Defense Mechanisms, Part Two

Or, "Hog-tying Despair with the Daisy-Chains of Radical, Starry-Eyed Idealism"

(Or, "Can You Tell That Alex Really Likes Posting Emma Goldman's Face?")

Today's Facts: I don't always like everything I see in the theater. I find myself getting cranky -- about the "bad" work that gets celebrated; about the "good" work that doesn't; about how no one "gets it"; about the muddle I find myself in over how to communicate to the rest of the world, once and for all, my correct opinions on art, truth, life, and everything.

Today's Reasons to Despair: Some "bad" work will always be celebrated. Some "good" work will always be ignored. I'll never actually have correct -- let alone coherent -- opinions on art, truth, life, and everything.

Fuck.

Today's Act of Radical, Starry-Eyed Idealism (ARSEI): Theater is a bunch of people sweating in a room together. No matter the theater, no matter the people, there's inevitably a lot of heart, a lot of wisdom in that room. Be a craftsperson, sure, and know your craft -- and make the best damn plays you know how to make -- but when it comes down to that moment when the magic is happening, clumsy or exquisite, don't forget to be a person in the room. We don't get anywhere, as people or as artists, if we're nothing but cranks.

Source of today's ARSEI:

We may agree on the premise that each work of art is at least in part perfect, while each critic is at least in part imperfect. We may then look to each work of art not for its faults and shortcomings, but for its moments of exhilaration, in an effort to bring our own imperfections into sympathetic vibration with these moments, and thus effect a creative change in ourselves. These moments will of course be somewhat subjective, and if we don’t see one immediately, we will out of respect look again, because each work contains at least one, even if by accident. We may look at the totality of the work in the light of this moment – whether it be a moment of humor or sadness, an overarching structural element, a mood, a personal association, a distraction, an honest error, anything that speaks to us.

~

(Matthew Goulish, the guy on the right)

BONUS BOOST THIS WEEK: Another balm for this week's Reasons to Despair is to go see the Unfiltered plays at EST. All of 'em. It'll be very easy to avoid feeling cranky about the future of American theater. Trust me.

UNFILTERED 2012: Hanks Edition

Ofttimes, I will email or text myself play ideas/snippets of dialogue/ characters-in-waiting.

On January 14, 2009:

I emailed myself the idea for Big Tex.

Subject line: Voice of Big Tex

Body: black man wants to become the voice of Big Tex. Readybreak!

As a child growing up in Dallas, Texas, my family and I would go to the State Fair of Texas each October. Mrs. Johnson, my first grade teacher, is the person who first enlightened my ass to Big Tex. I dragged my family to view this huge ass cowboy centered in the middle of the State Fair of Texas. I waved to him. He waved back (because he does that all day long. It's the robot's job). But kids are in awe of anything bigger than themselves. So I was much excited that he even acknowledged me.

Young Angela wrote her first book in the first grade. It was all of 6 pages long. Laminated and bound by a plastic spiral. Published by her elementary school's press, Pacesetter Publications. It told the story of the birth of her baby sister, Ava. Young Angela never thought to write a story about Big Tex. For some reason, Older Angela thought it would be a good idea for a play.

I hope folks can come out to see how that idea evolved!

Here's an image:

Here's some more info (provided by the very lovely Meghan Deans):

Big Tex by Angela Hanks
directed by José Zayas
with William Jackson Harper, Geany Masai, Nedra McClyde, and Shawn Randall

At the State Fair of Texas, a young bus driver trains to become
the voice of the main attraction:
his childhood hero, a 52-foot cowboy.

Come see it: January 5th, 6th, 13th, and 14th at 7pm.
Buy tickets here.

(They're $20.
Get 2-for-1 tickets for the first three performances by using code BIGTEX.)

All shows at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street, 2nd Floor (between 10th & 11th Aves).

*Please also enjoy new plays by Ryan Dowler, Erica Saleh, and Eric Dufault!

Unfiltered 2012: BIG TEX by Angela Hanks Opens January 5th!

It's a new year, people. Shake off the last one. I know it wasn't so bad. But this one's gonna be better. And we've got something for you.


Unfiltered 2012! Four new plays in studio productions. How's it gonna start? It's gonna start big.

Big Tex by Angela Hanks
directed by José Zayas
with William Jackson Harper, Geany Masai, Nedra McClyde, and Shawn Randall

At the State Fair of Texas, a young bus driver trains to become
the voice of the main attraction:
his childhood hero, a 52-foot cowboy.

Come see it: January 5th, 6th, 13th, and 14th at 7pm.
Buy tickets here.

(They're $20.
Get 2-for-1 tickets for the first three performances by using code BIGTEX.)

All shows at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street, 2nd Floor (between 10th & 11th Aves).

Coming up:

• The Gratifications by Ryan Dowler, directed by Andrew Grosso (Opening 1/11)
  
• In Memory of Julie Simmons by Erica Saleh, directed by Tamara Fisch (Opening 1/18)
  
• Year of the Rooster by Eric Dufault, directed by John Giampietro (Opening 1/25)

You can! see 2 Unfiltered plays for $30!
You can! see all 4 Unfiltered plays for $40!
Also there are $10 Student tickets and Senior tickets available, just show ID at the door.
See you out there.

My Top 30 Albums (14-1)

14. Panda Bear - Tomboy



There's no way the hype could be matched with the height of anticipation any Animal Collective related release garners lately, so Noah Lennox's "Tomboy" was bound to disappoint some. It's still a perfectly solid record, as Lennox tightens up his arrangements into neatly crafted and structured pop songs. Tracks like "Last Night At the Jetty" were perfect for when that stretched out winter we had was finally warming up.

13. Jay Z and Kanye West - Watch the Throne



"Jesus was a carpenter, Yeezy made beats" Jay-Z raps in the opening verses of album of the titans "Watch the Throne." I guess it only makes sense that Jesus is the only guy big enough for two of the hugest superstars in the world roll with. In this 16 track ode to excess, both artists don't quite match their solo work, but when you hear "Gotta Have It" you can't help but nod your head. Hov and Yeezy bring it back to their roots: "I'm riding through yo hood, you can bank I ain’t got no ceiling/ (Made a left on Nostrand Ave., we in Bed Stuy)/ Made a right on 79th, I’m coming down South Shore Drive/ (I remain Chi-town) Brooklyn ‘til I die."

12. Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years



Songwriter and author Wes Eisold started making music around ten years ago in Boston with the loud and manic hardcore band American Nightmare, and later in the smutty, near grindcore act Some Girls. Cold Cave is a huge step away from these aggressive bands, it's pitch perfect 80's pop a dead ringer for New Order and the Cure, Eisold's once bark now a Morrisey croon. Throughout the years and changes in styles, Eisold still holds the same intensity and sense of humor throughout. "Cherish the Light Years" is probably his best work yet.

11. Jessica Lea Mayfield - Tell Me



Ohio 22 year old Jessica Lea Mayfield's second release is a carelessly reflective, beautiful country record musing on navigating love and sex. Mayfield's lyrics are stories of lonely nights doing things you probably shouldn't do with those you probably shouldn't, sung with a cadence like a shrug. "I'll not let hate be the one to make me naked for you/ my self esteem is heating up the room/ you're intimidating as all hell, but I ain't scared of you." Mayfield let's us know on "Our Hearts Are Wrong" she's a talented songwriter, but even more a talented story teller.

10. Das Racist - Relax




Das Racist are hilarious. I saw them a couple years ago and wrote them off, but with this year's "Relax" and their other mixtapes I was converted. Almost every line on this rap record out of Queens brings a smile to my face. It's not just the sardonic wordplay that makes these guys stand out, they write songs that are catchy as hell and can out MC most rappers out right now.

9. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake



Just before the Arab Spring and Occupy protests came to define 2011, PJ Harvey released a heavy weight protest album. While a lot of indie is criticized for not being socially involved, this year saw a change in that with more artists voicing their support for the Occupy movements, but none releasing a preemptive and strong armed work like this great record from the classic songstress PJ Harvey.


8. The Sandwitches - Mrs. Jones Cookies



The video for "In the Garden", the first track of San Fransisco girls "Mrs. Jones Cookies" finds the ladies doing an out of sync, sultry dance to this dark, creepy and sexy song while a nun in drag and other weirdo dudes watch and dance. Those visuals could set the vibe to the whole record; a beautifully seductive and spooky, heartfelt crooner.

7. Atlas Sound - Parallax



I've been a fan of pretty much everything Bradford Cox has put out the past few years beginning with Deerhunter's 2007 "Crytograms". Atlas Sound has become a home for some of Cox's most accessible songs, with "Parallax" he finds himself placed between his sunny drone and mournful pop, in the right place as usual.

6. The Black Lips - Arabia Mountain




"Arabia Mountain" kicks off with a rollicking devil, "Family Tree" that these Atlanta boys make sound like running through a swamp being chased by an alligator. Whether it's vicious garage punk or dirty jukebox slow dances about Peter Parker, this is the record of their catalog most likely to get stuck in your head.

5. Cults - Cults



In 2010 Cults released the single "Go Outside" and other then that not much else was known about the bubble gum pop group. With just a couple songs online they signed to Columbia Records and released a short, sweet, to the point and highly infectious pop album that makes you wanna go outside and dance all day.

4. Yuck - Yuck



The Pavement comparisons are inescapable, but these 90's nostalgia enthusiasts from London deserve more credit for making one of the most driven rock records of the year. There's a certain yearning in the feeling of the record this band reflects that's missing in a lot of today's more apathetic indie. They seem to nail it without really trying, especially in the first three tracks.

3. Tom Waits - Bad as Me



"Bad as Me" in some ways seems like a best of Tom Waits record. It's everything you've loved about him from the past 25 years on, but more succinct. The rowdy bar songs are rowdy, the ballads are tender not cheesy, and the weird ones are weird. Props for those funny promo videos too.

2. The Babies - The Babies



I think this record was overlooked by a lot of people because of the "indie super group" nature of the band (it features Cassie Ramone from Vivian Girls and Kevin Morby from Woods). I think Vivian Girls backlash in particular, the Twitter ready, adorkable, (I can't believe I fucking said that), gossip inducing girl group made people dismiss The Babies self titled debut and the band altogether. This is a big problem with the "Hipster Runoff-ification" that's been going on lately, when bands with attractive people make catchy music, blow up, and then are hated a week later. All this aside, this record is at the top of it's field. It's goes from punk, to pop, to almost country anthems without feeling like switching bands. It really hits it's stride with the last two sprawling heartfelt jams "Wild" and "Caroline".

1. Times New Viking - Dancer Equired




Okay, this might be a weird one. Times New Viking's third full length and debut on Merge Records fell off the radar for most people and was received with pretty mixed reviews. The Ohio trio that was "lo-fi" just before it was a thing cleaned up their act a bit for this just after their tour with the reunited Guided By Voices, to whom they owe a great deal of influence. This was a tough choice, but I went with this because it was one of the records I spent the most time with these year, and like The Babies, seemed to sum up things other bands were trying to do, but better. The double guy/girl vocals, jangly guitars, and goofy keyboards go between the sweet lines "I wanna know everything about you" to the nasty "fuck her tears" carelessly. It was an easy album to put on whenever for both it's sweetness and meanness. It has me convinced these guys are only going to put out better in years to come.


Honorable Mentions: Future Islands - On the Water, Man Man - Life Fantastic, Paper Cuts - Fading Trails, ASAP Rocky - LiveLoveA$Ap, Trash Talk - Awake EP, The Antlers - Burst Apart, Zola Jesus - Conatus, Mastodon - The Hunter, Fucked Up - David Comes to Life, Ty Segal - Goodbye Bread, Youth Lagoon - Year of Hibernation, J Mascis - Several Shades of Why, The Dodos - No Color

My Top 30 Albums of 2011 (30-15)

If 2011 wasn't the most remarkable year in music, it at least seemed to solidify some of the trends that have been going on in the past 2-3 years, mainly the dominance of electronic based indie rock, along with a more than healthy dose of garage rock for those who need their guitars. It was a great year for women in indie rock, as well as independent hip hop and R&B blowing up with online mixtapes. Unfortunately, the trend of faded neon neo-psychedelic triangular poster and album art seems firmly planted for now. At least there were slightly less upside down crosses.

Here's my top 30 albums of 2011:

30. The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient



The War On Drugs have the unique ability to make contemporary rock sound like classic Americana, their newest record's songs pulling on each other like driving hundreds of highways. It's reflective in the ways those best classic American records are.

29. The Weeknd - House of Balloons



Ebel Tesfaye is the prolific Canadian behind The Weeknd, releasing a trilogy of mix tapes of dirty, dark ass R&B. Listening to these songs no matter where you are makes you feel like it's 4 in the morning and you're naked and fucked up somewhere you're not supposed to be.

28. Rival Schools - Pedals



Queens native Walter Schriefels has been making music for years, fronting legendary hardcore bands like Gorilla Biscuits and Quicksand. In 2001 he formed Rival Schools making a formidable post-hardcore band blending the elements of emo that were just about to explode at the time and late 90's alternative. The result, sort of a Jimmy Eat World with balls. Unexpectedly, Rival Schools got back together and released another album this year that sounds like they never stopped from ten years ago, in the best way possible.

27. EMA - Past Life, Martyred Saints



EMA's "California" is essentially a semi-sung, semi-spoken monologue about 22 year old Erika M. Anderson's life from South Dakota to the West Coast, it's meandering, intensely personal, and feels like an angry proclamation, or confession. In a time when lyrics are taking a back seat, Anderson isn't afraid to put her story out in front.

26. Widowspeak - Widowspeak



Brooklyn's Widowspeak's beautiful self-titled debut drags like smoke in a hazy basement. Vocalist Molly Hamilton sings just above a whisper "I always think about you" in "Harsh Realm", but the atmosphere is so relaxed it doesn't seem like she'll do anything about it.

25. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost



Girls returned with an epic third full-length album this year to heaps of critical hoorahs. Deservedly so, The album jumps between bouncy pop to intimate rock songs conjuring Elliott Smith in a way no artist seems to have been able to in the past decade.

24. Big Troubles - Romantic Comedy



Big Troubles transcended the bin of lo-fi garage rock groups this year with "Romantic Comedy", whose title is so aptly fitting as the group sings about love and loss with their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks. "Love is in the air/But I don't care/Because I don't want to love anymore/And if I hear the word again I think I'll shoot a hole in my head." the group sings to irresistibly catchy shoegazy power pop.

23. Twin Sister - In Heaven



Brooklyn's Twin Sister's first proper full length is a simultaneously delicate and dancey arrangement of dream pop songs firmly planted on the 80's tip. Andrea Estella's seductive voice creeps over quick beats and synths, perfect for the end of a dance party.

22. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy



Annie Clark's third full length release blends her diverse pocket of styles into a wonderfully fun and powerful album. Seeming to pull from every decade, she manages to sing over her insanely weird little guitar solos packing tons of fuzz and taming it down just in time.

21. Pure X - Pleasure



For all the bands smothering their sound in reverb these days, for Pure X it seems a creative choice rather than a trend. These slow shoegazey pop songs feel like they're being brought to you from a jukebox from the 50's that you're listening to in the Twilight Zone.

20. Woods - Sun and Shade



Three years in a row Brooklyn's Woods have put out three incredibly solid records more or less clinging to the same formula of short, fuzzed out folk songs blending into noisy jams. This year was no exception, and singer Jeremy Earl's falsetto rings over the songs to give it their signature timeless sound. Earl's also from my hometown, Warwick, NY, where he records bands at his Buttermilk Studio for the Woodsist label.

19. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo



The finger picking and background atmosphere the first seconds into "My Baby's Arms" on "Smoke Ring for My Halo" lets you onto the fact that Vile has really found his place as a song writer. A perfect love song, Vile never seems bothered by much in his songs, but his snarky Dylanesque whine keeps you gripped throughout.

18. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues



The highly anticipated sophomore release from Seattle's Fleet Foxes didn't disappoint most. A more personal album, the groups harmonious folk songs flow together once again in beautiful, if occasionally precious introspection.

17. Male Bonding - Endless Now



London's Male Bonding return with a pack of loud, fast and short pop punk songs that dip their toe just enough into My Bloody Valentine territory so as to not be confused with early Blink 182. Probably at the head of their peers who are turning this not too long ago derided genre into once again legitimate punk.

16. Iceage - New Brigade



Brought to you by a bunch of 18 year old kids from Denmark, Iceage exploded with their debut this year in an 18 minute record that blends old school hardcore, melodic punk and sonic Joy Division-esque pop styles into fist pumping anthems.

15. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic



Written just before the year long Pavement reunion tour, Stephen Malkmus goes into full on 90's rock mode and it couldn't be better. Cutting out some of the noodling that took up a lot of his past solo work, these songs are shorter and rock harder, his lyrics as goofy and inscrutable as ever. On Senator: "I know what the senator wants, what the senator wants is a blow job/I know what everyone wants, what everyone wants is a blow job."

Tomorrow I'll post 15-1!

xo,
chris

Defense Mechanisms, Part One

Or, "Castrating Despair with the Lightsaber of Radical, Starry-Eyed Idealism"

Today's Fact: It's kind of impossible to make a living as a playwright.

Today's Reason to Despair: You're a playwright.

Today's Act of Radical, Starry-Eyed Idealism (ARSEI): Do your work. Do your work. Do your work. You're a playwright, not a salesman. (And all playwrights know what happens to salesmen.) Do your work. Do your work. Do your work. Fall in love. Be generous. Do your work.

Source of today's ARSEI:

Not long since, a strolling Indian went to sell baskets at the house of a well-known lawyer in my neighborhood. "Do you wish to buy any baskets?" he asked. "No, we do not want any," was the reply. "What!" exclaimed the Indian as he went out the gate, "do you mean to starve us?" Having seen his industrious white neighbors so well off -- that the lawyer had only to weave arguments, and, by some magic, wealth and standing followed -- he had said to himself: I will go into business; I will weave baskets; it is a thing which I can do. Thinking that when he had made the baskets he would have done his part, and then it would be the white man's to buy them. He had not discovered that it was necessary for him to make it worth the other's while to buy them, or at least make him think that it was so, or to make something else which it would be worth his while to buy. I too had woven a kind of basket of a delicate texture, but I had not made it worth any one's while to buy them. Yet not the less, in my case, did I think it worth my while to weave them, and instead of studying how to make it worth men's while to buy my baskets, I studied rather how to avoid the necessity of selling them. The life which men praise and regard as successful is but one kind. Why should we exaggerate any one kind at the expense of the others?

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