very few of you will care about this post...

...but i feel the need to publish it for the indie street cred.

Reflektor is basically the album that Karl Blau has been attempting to make for years, if only he would be willing to trade in his low-fi organic hippiedom for big-budget stadium-rock production. But let's get one thing straight: it's not because he couldn't. Because he could. Anyone can mix carribean rhythms with indie dance rock. But just try mixing dub with Tchiaikovsky. Point proven. The man's got soul, is a genius, but, well, just knows how to keep it real. Maybe too real, sure, but that's for another day.

advent plans

you've got about a week to get your advent plans together.

personally, i think i'm going to try piper this year.

you should probably listen to this new song mixed in with all your other christmas favorites. just listen to it a few more times than you will eddie money's 'everybody loves christmas.' in this house, that will be often.

the kindle version of the advent guide we put together a few years ago will be 99 cents starting tomorrow, 1.99 starting tuesday, back up to 'normal retail price' next saturday. so if you've been scared of being ripped off in past seasons, you know what to do.

my brain is a scary place to be, unlike eddie money's christmas hits i'd recommend limiting your exposure, but if you like taking risks or are unusually desperate this advent season, use the advent label here to see a long string of reflections, scripture, unusual music selections and other sources of inspiration that have accumulated through the years.

but first, happy thanksgiving.

papa, what's graffiti ?

the kid and i have been inspired by graffiti lately. it makes me a badly distracted driver, especially on the A86.

i do my best to make it clear that it's a bad thing, against the rules, unless you get permission.

but when you get permission, it can be a really, really good thing.

LeMoDuLeDeZeeR X Les Bains-Douches_Immersion 2013

but practice makes perfect, of course, and therein lies the problem. don't worry, i haven't shown him this yet.

tu nous entends ?

et ça y est, c'est le moment de laisser le foot à côté et réinscrire notre fils au cours de gymnastique.

skip to 1:40 if you're bored.

and it's also time to take my brother to grenoble.

harlem nocture

The metro doors closed and a man who had slipped in began playing the song on his sax. It took just a few seconds to recognize and all of a sudden I was no longer in the Paris metro, but on a high school auditorium stage, swinging hard in the background with our award-winning saxophonist wailing up front.

The version in the metro and the versions on YouTube tell me there are a lot of mediocre versions out there, but the one in my mind remains the best-ever-of-all-time-hands-down. We were all incredibly proud of Travis--who doubled as the sax player in our ska band--but we were just as proud to be a part, to play along. Because when we played, we were no longer on a high school auditorium stage, but on the nighttime streets of Harlem.

It's not a bad gig.