SXSW Recap!

My whole body hurts. A week of little sleep, lots of walking, the occasional open bar, and most importantly GREAT MUSIC has culminated in SXSunday. Exhausted and still putting this International Trade paper off, here's a recap of my SXSW.

Top Albums of 2010

It's that time of year again. The Top Albums of 2010. I'll list of 20-11 then write a little something for 10-1.

First a little background. This year my roommate decided to join me in doing album lists, but this year we would have a rating system. It goes a little something like this:

∑(track 1+...+track N + (N*album)/(2*N).

Or more simply, rank each song and add them up. Rate the album as a whole, taking into account flow, theme, length, etc, then multiply by the number of songs. Add that to the song rankings then divide by twice the number of songs. That way the album rating counts for half of the total rating and individual songs account for half. It's been pretty accurate. Onto the list, with each albums rating next to it.

Playlist I can't get enough of

This playlist has been playing on repeat on the iPod for the past month. It's a genius playlist generated by iTunes based of "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." by The Fall of Troy. A few songs it put in I didn't like so I trimmed it down to 22 songs. Go.

What Eric Johnson has been waiting for

After a long hiatus filled with finals, skiing, and Christmas, I'm back like Jordan for some END OF 2009 Lists. Let's start with the Best Albums of 2009.

Esoteric Radiohead Moment/The Stars look good

First off, let us begin with a qualifier. I am a huge Radiohead fan. The first section of this post may not make sense to you if you are not a Radiohead fan. Which means it will make sense to Dan and probably not many of the other three people that read this :P. Now let's get to it.

The Importance of a Good Closer: Thoughts on Blind Pilot and Mariano Rivera

Thursday night I attended a concert at the Parish on 6th St. The band I saw is called Blind Pilot, an Indie/Folk/Pop group that specializes in incredibly crafted music, brilliant textures, introspective lyrics, and emotional expression to create their distinct sound. The core of the band is the duo of the guitarist/lead singer and the drummer, but they tour as a 6 person ensemble featuring a female vocalist, trumpet/Fender Rhodes player, upright bass player, and (my personal favorite) a vibraphone player. The trumpet and vibraphone are a brilliant touch to the shimmering textures the band makes. The band's only album 3 Rounds And A Sound provided most of the songs on the setlist, including the hauntingly beautiful "Oviedo", "3 Rounds and A Sound" and "Two Towns From Me". The best song of the evening was the pre-encore finale, an off album piece entited "We Are The Tide", which brings me to the point of this post.

Bowling/Tool

Bowling is one of those special activities that all college students must do.  Bowling is the quintessential social activity for young people.  It's too bad that bowling has lost significance in American culture.  Bowling alleys used to be the place to be every Friday night.  What happened to Bowling?  Let's bring bowling back.