To BE That Feeling

I read Aimee Bender's The Girl in the Flammable Skirt yesterday and by page eight I was messaging my favorite reading buddy.  "Have you ever read any Aimee Bender?" I asked.  When she asked me if I recommended her my response was emphatic.  Then I admitted that I was on page eight.  

But like hearing the first few measures of a great song for the first time, it didn't take long before I felt rhythm and voice slip into the marrow of my bones.  Art is beautiful like that.  In an instant it can sweep you off your feet, fill you with happiness, and stick with you forever.

I justified my especially early reading recommendation with some version of that feeling.  Then I thought about the first time I heard the intro to a song that to this day smears a grin on my face and leads me directly to my dancing shoes.   

I wonder, what if you could BE that feeling?  You'd jump around all day from place to place, filling people with a contentedness so good they sometimes can't find words for it.  I suppose sometimes late at night, you'd long for something deeper.  But to be that feeling to be savored, to exist as a thing so pure and reliable.  Your only need would be happiness, and it would always come because you could provide it for everyone you touched.  

I can't stop thinking about that.  And I can't stop listening to The Portland Cello Project's collaboration with Thao called "Tallymarks."  Both The Portland Cello Project and Thao are brilliant, I'm sure.

Paper Heart

I got word of Paper Heart a few months ago and when I finally saw the trailer I was immediately in love. I don't really know what to expect from this movie, but it seems to me like a reinvention of cinema in a way.  Charlene Yi seems promising and there's something about Michael Cera that seems like he could save the world. I don't care that he's always the same character, his sincerity will always make me melt and Yi seems to share the same delivery of heartfelt sarcasm and sensitivity.  

If you haven't heard of the movie yet, check out the trailer below and watch for lines like "Take somebody to Applebee's and give them hot wings," "I mean he doesn't even know me, how could he like me," and "I think I'm going to get the Mexican Beach salad. I want to say that to the waiter. He'll look at me and say, 'Oh hey, this guy gets around."

For music that will steal your heart and a voice that will leave you in chills, check out Brown Shoe.
Brown Shoe - "Aquarium"

I Know What You Did Last Summer...And Just A Second Ago

I figure it's only a matter of time before someone releases a movie in which Twitter is the central character? Perhaps they'll call it Twittered, or Tweet? I predict it's only a matter of time and suspect that the film will fall into the genre of horror.

Perhaps a quick release, poorly constructed slasher film where the killer knows exactly what you did last summer...and just a second ago. Or maybe they'll avoid the film because the prospect of Twitter stalking someone to their demise is just too realistic... Nevertheless, sometimes I think Twitter: The Movie is only a matter of time.

On a happier note, I'm going back to basics with an artist I don't think I've mentioned yet but have loved for a few months now. Check out the soulful Little Jackie, a duo who will leave you with head bopping hooks long after the song is over.

Little Jackie - "Go Hard or Go Home"

Little Jackie - "The Stoop"

A Date or a Dentist Continued (see below)

For some reason the formatting on the last blog was a nightmare. So instead of toy with it longer, I'm posting a continuation here:

While you're deciding if I should go with a mature dentist with a four star bedside manner or a young blonde with five stars, feel free to lose yourself in the sweeping sound of Rey Fresco. This groove lounge harp, drum and bass concoction has a West Coast vibe to leave you feeling like you can conquer the day.

Rey Fresco - "Fairline"

A Hot Date Or a Future Dentist?

Apparently finding a dentist in New York City is much like finding a date online.  I know of no hygienist bar scene and unfortunately I don't know anyone (or even know anyone who knows anyone) who accepts my insurance, and so I have (gasp) resorted to the internet.

When I started my search I expected to read small blurbs about each of my dental options in the city along with a potential review or two.  Instead I found entire profiles outlining everything from bedside manner to average wait time.  What got me most though, were the dentists' profile pictures.  

Allow me to show a few of the dentists' pictures below, and I'm not bluffing.  

CBS Sunday Morning

I opened my eyes slowly this morning to a slight tinge of regret. I had missed yet another CBS Sunday Morning, and not just because I slept in late after a Fourth of July packed with Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst, 40,000 fireworks shells (1,200 per minute for 26 minutes), an Apples to Apples marathon, and loads of food. It wouldn't have made much of a difference when I woke anyway, because I don't have a television or DVR. Buying one or both would probably be for the sole purpose of witnessing Charles Osgood and the crew's thought provoking journalism, but I just can't justify it. Every now and then I catch a few clips and video recaps on the CBS Sunday Morning website but I miss Osgood's narration and I want the ability to sit down and feel the comfort of watching an entire episode ceremoniously from start to finish.

I know internet television advertising isn't as profitable as traditional broadcast (which I think is twisted based on a number of reasons including the sheer volume of target demographic that is starting to actually prefer watching television online), but I know a gaggle of New Yorker reading, non TV owning people like myself who wish they had a way to catch up on Sunday Morning on their computer and after the fact. So give me Flanagan and give me Osgood. Bring me politics and show me pool prodigies. Move into multimedia, Osgood, and let's move soon. It will certainly help me wake up every Sunday morning without that haunting tinge of regret.


Until you can catch CBS Sunday Morning at least you can listen to some tunes. Check out Anya Marina. Her style varies from Karen O like boldness to quiet and silky and pure danceable. "Vertigo" has had me red in the face and dancing for weeks.

Anya Marina - "Vertigo" (This video is really quiet so the version on the link above is better, but I figured I'd add this for pure convenience.)