a few good things

I had a pretty shitty couple of weeks, but there are some good things:

• This vanilla chamomile tea that I am drinking right now is nothing short of amazing.
• I am reading The Origins of Virtue, which is incredible so far. It’s a perfect fit for my left-brained science nerd as well as my social science/egalitarian streak. It’s also packed with incredible tidbits of nature trivia (hence the previous slime mold post – just be glad I haven’t blogged every “holy crap, really?!” moment I’ve had)
• I went on an emusic tear and got a whole bunch of new music:
  • Angelique Kidjo’s new one – Djin Djin
  • New Gotan Project – Gotan Project is never brilliant, but I am a sucker for sleek downtempo electronic amplifications of music I already love – tango (specifically: Astor Piazzolla)
  • Here We Go Magic – no idea about this one, but the samples tickled my fancy.
  • Julio Jaramillo - “El Ídolo Del Pueblo - 15 Grandes Éxitos” – a compilation of his stuff
  • Some LCD Soundsystem EP – kinda enh, but hey, 45 minutes of music in one track. Emusic’s pricing is by track, so these deals are hard to pass up.
  • Little Boots EP – dance music, or something. I like it, shut up.
  • Moreno Veloso – Caetano Veloso’s kid – also of Moreno + 2. I have this as well – I didn’t realize he was Veloso’s son. He sounds just like him.
  • Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra – a new one by this guy. I found the last album to be a little uninspired, but I am giving this another chance. I am such a fan of 60s-ish film/lounge/etc music and this guy is a master of reproducing that sound. It’s like Mancini or Schifrin without the gift for songwriting, I guess. There’s some good stuff on the last one. We’ll see.
  • Telefon Tel Aviv - Immolate Yourself – dunno about this, but it sounded okay, so I got it.
  • The BPA – I Think We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat – apparently this is a new Fatboy Slim, with a bunch of guest vocalists. Iggy Pop, Martha Wainwright, David Byrne. Can they carry the album? I dunno, we’ll see.
  • The Ruby Suns – I liiiike harmony. [insert drooling here].
  • Lastly, I am taking the last three days of this week off, so tomorrow is Friday for me. Phew.</ul>