the waiting game.

I am currently waiting to hear back from a videogame company about them buying some commercials I've written for one of their games. They are planning on buying them, but they also MAY want me to take a trip to their location and pitch the commercial ideas firsthand. They are in France, just outside of Paris. This means I will need a passport, which I don't have.
They also said, or hinted at - all this happening BEFORE Christmas, which is over the next three weeks. In order to expedite a passport in that amount of time I will need a confirmed flight and departure date.

This waiting game is torturous.

...but I really want to go to France and work with this videogame company.

funny

My friend Nick introduced me to this on youtube. I'm still not sure why it makes me laugh as much as it does... Some guy called StSanders overdubs live rock video footage - with terrible guitar solos and other weird instruments. But he makes it look as close to the actual playing as it can get. It really shouldn't be as funny as it is - but I can't stop laughing. The whistling in this one gets me every time...


there are a lot of them on his youtube page. Check them out.

Enjoy your Turkey

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, FRIENDS!

Top 2007 Albums Con't (Great Videos Section)

Justice - cross
dance

Similar to Fujiya & Miyagi last year, Justice hit me at the right place and the right time. This album is a digital dance party (and this video is cool as hell). I'm guessing this album will make the top ten on pitchfork this year. It's in my top 20 for sure, but it probably won't break the 10.

Socalled - ghettoblaster
you are never alone

This album is not bad. Apparently this kid takes all his parent's old 45's and scours them for samples. Some crazy little jewish kid. This has to be one of the best videos ever.

Cold War Kids - robbers & cowards
hang me up to dry

I fell in love with this band last year and have listened to their song 'we used to vacation' well over a hundred times, according to iTunes. This album, while not as strong as many others released this year - isn't bad.
This video looks like a cut up Scorsese movie... I like that.

Wet Season

This is an old picture of Arlo.
The Rainy season has begun in Portland. I decided to try to take Public Transportation to work yesterday. It's about 4 miles from my house and there is a bus (77) that will take me 4 blocks away from where I work, according to Portland Pub.Trans. I got to the bus stop and waited for 15 or 20 minutes. No bus. So, I jumped in a cab and spent 10 bucks getting to work. Looks like I'm going to have to buy a wetsuit in order to ride my bike to work over the next 4 months. I'm not a fan of rain. Looks like I'll have to grow to appreciate it.

Best Song Ever

do you enjoy rock and roll cliche's?

Hot Shot City

West Coasting

So I have been away from Chicago about two months now. While I am writing this post about it, I haven't been missing much. I keep in touch with friends and I've got plenty of fond memories, but so much is happening so quickly I don't have time to sit down and wish things are the way they were. There is so much good out here in Portland on the West Coast, I don't really want it to be any different.
I got my first salary pay check (instead of through the temp office) at the Ad agency and by gosh by golly did it bring a smile to my face. It's only 2/3 of a pay period, too.
2007 has been a pretty darn good year. Let's keep this up, 'eh?

Top 2007 Albums Con't even further...

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
skinny girls:

I have only had this album for a month or so, but I'm listening to it the way I did Grizzly Bear last year. I love it. It's haunting and beautiful. I know it sounds like TV On The Radio playing Iron & Wine songs, but it's unique in that way. Every song on this 9 song album is perfect. Look into it.

speaking of...
Iron & Wine - the shepherd's dog
boy with a coin:

I love how full this album sounds. Sam Beam is getting more and more creative with each album. This has a much more full (and much poppier) sound. While the roots are still in southern folk, Iron & Wine are moving into different territory - and I like it.

Bishop Allen - the broken string
like castinets:

While this full album isn't as big and bold as their EP's from last year, it's still a great listen. Nice boy pop music. it's friendly and fun - and these guys are so nice.

There's a NEW york?

Took a crazy trip to New York this weekend for two of our best friends, Jed and Teresa - who went and got hitched in Battery Gardens. It's the southern-most point of Manhatten. The closest to Staten Island you can get. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. I got to see a lot of old friends, met some new ones - and chatted with the wonderful/crazy people in Jed's family. They're all great.
We took a red-eye flight out Friday night. It was supposed to land at 8am at JFK. The wedding began at 11 am. That's close. Closer still, the plane was delayed two hours. We didn't leave Portland until around 2 am. We got in at 9:45. The flight attendants on our JetBlue plane gave us a pointer about hailing cabs at an airport. Most airports have a cab station where you have to wait in a line. At JFK, it's almost always guaranteed that the cab line will be long and it will take you up to half an hour to get a cab. Instead of waiting in that line, go to Departures and get in a cab as it's dropping people off. It worked.
We spent all of 3 minutes inside JFK and got to Battery Gardens about 10 minutes before the ceremony.
It was crazytime for us. The flight home took over six hours. ugh.

After the reception, a group of us jumped on the Staten Island Ferry and boated past the statue o' liberty. It's something I've never seen in NYC - so it was great.

Overall, a lovely weekend.
Congrats to Jed and Teresa...
now get out here to Portland.

Top 2007 Albums Con't...again

Battles - Mirrored

God Damn. This album pushes boundaries. It has a lot of the future of music on display and it takes left turns at every possible stop. Seeing these guys live was a little underwhelming, but only because I have loved this album all year. There's no way they could live up to the hype. Plus - they had a SUPER SHITTY opening band, so that didn't help. This album is on the list fer sher.

Man Man - Six Demon Bag

These guys are just as crazy as this song and video suggest. Their live show was amazing. This album took me a while to get into, but after seeing them live - I have fallen into deeper love with it. They are great and I can't wait for the follow up record they apparently just finished.

the Teeth - You're My Lover Now

From the same town as Man Man (Philly) The Teeth popped onto my radar in April or May of this year. This album, while not nearly as crazy as Six Demon Bag - has it's fill of insane moments. There is also plenty of clever songwriting and fun all over it. It's well worth it. These guys are creative and could use some recognition.

many more to come...

Commmmmercialsss

I received a dvd copy of a commercial I shot a few weeks ago.
It looks really good.
The Ad Agency I shot it for told me it was now up to the company to buy the spots and use them however they want to use them...
Is this something Ad agencies tell actors - in order to pay them less than necessary.
I didn't get all that much for the commercial itself. It was fine for the 5 hours I was there - a lot more than a temp job for sure,
but I'm wondering - if these actually make it to local or national airways, I will have gotten nowhere near the $ commercial actors get for that.

The reason it comes up is - the quality of the commercial and the writing/idea behind it is pretty clever. I can see it doing well for the product.

I guess we'll see how it all turns out with the company...

Top 2007 Albums Con't

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala


Scandinavian / English Pop. The stuff that dreams are made of. I love this album (and this person) a lot more than I should. His music is so simple and beautiful. It gets me in all the right places. Thank you, Jens.

Beirut - the Flying Club Cup


Similar to Jens, Zach Condon wears his Eastern-European influences on his sleeve and creates beautiful (and old-worldy) pop music. I like this Sophomore Beirut album more than the debut.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible


Sure they're surrounded by Hype at every turn. It's well-deserved hype in my eyes. This band creates lush soundscapes and haunting rhythms.

all three of these albums are big in the public eye for my indie albums of the year, but they are all wonderful works.

Why do I hate Wilco?

I really shouldn't.
I never really liked them, but it seems now every time I hear them it grates on me.
I used to be able to dismiss them. Now they are like the Grateful Dead to me. When I hear them, I want to rip my ears off. They sound just like the Grateful Dead. They are slow and wandering and whiny.
People in my office like Wilco.

I am not one of those people.

It's kind of driving me crazy right now so I thought I would vent.

How do so many people LOVE this band?

Top 2007 Albums

It's November and time to start thinking about the year end best of lists.
There were a lot of great albums that came out this year. It's going to be tough for me to pick ten and put them in order. I just went through my itunes lists and put a playlist of my favorite albums released this year. The playlist has 37 albums on it. For the next few weeks I'm going to post some of the highlights of this year to help me slim down my choices and see what sticks.

Menomena - friend and foe

this album came out in January and I've loved it all year. I'm sure this will end up on the final list of ten... I just don't know where.

!!! - myth takes

Seeing this band live twice this year has helped me enjoy this album. !!! knows how to make you dance and this album is really great from start to finish... when I feel like dancing.

St Vincent - marry me

It honestly can't get more haunting and beautiful than this album by St. Vincent. I saw her in Portland the first time I visited the town. I have since moved to Portland. Now, I'm not saying I moved here because I saw her play here... but it's surely more than a coincidence.

Kinda Gross

I've noticed a lot of different names for companies that rent out portable toilets, but this one takes the cake on weird imagery... but I do like the fact that it tells you it's for both men and women on the door. With a name like Honey Bucket, it's not just a chemical toilet for the ladies.

ManManManMan

Last Sunday Stacey and I went to the Hawthorne Theater to see Man Man play. I had heard about how crazy and intense their live show was, but have never experienced it for myself. We effing loved every minute of it. The band doesn't banter much with the crowd, they just keep their crazy momentum going from one song to the next without much of a break anywhere in their hour-long set.

I wrote a review for the tripwire, posted here:
http://www.thetripwire.com/news/2007/10/30/live-man-man-hawthorne-theater-portland-or

5 years later...

Wow.
I did this short film with my friends Jason, Erin and Amber 5 years ago.


seems so crazy to think it's been that long.

you'll never see me shirtless in public again.