[...music...]: 2008-08

2008-08-28

split

what? a thursday/envy split?

yes, yes, thank you trl!

(i would want this, but too bad this is a vinyl release, and i don't own a record player. at least, it comes with a free cd...)

~~~

Labels: other

jaguar love + more

since i am a fan of the blood brothers and of pretty girls make graves (both disbanded), i had to check out jaguar love. their 3-song self-titled ep was quite good. today, i got the album "take me to the sea".

this is pretty much what i expected: johnny whitney's distinctive (high) vocals, with catchy almost dance-able songs.

highlight tracks: highway of gold / bats over the pacific ocean

(by the way, i am still disappointed that i never got to see the blood brothers live, even with all those times they played in montreal...)

i had gone to hmv just for the jaguar love album. i ended up getting other stuff too...

although i have not seen the film, i have been wanting the soundtrack for "the fountain" for some time. the music is by clint mansell, performed by the kronos quartet and mogwai. is that not the perfect combination for beautiful sounds? this is what i listen to when i am trying to concentrate on my studies, or when i simply want to relax.

and finally, an impulse buy: i grabbed a copy of tokyo police club's "elephant shell", from the display next to the cash registers. i had heard some songs, nothing too impressive. but this was a limited edition including a disc of remixes, and i've always been a sucker for things like that. besides, it was cheap, just a few dollars.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, jaguar love, soundtrack, tokyo police club

2008-08-25

aiaa/aas asc

last week, i was in beautiful honolulu, attending the aiaa/aas astrodynamics specialist conference. i experienced several firsts.

first time travelling alone, and it was to hawaii:

first time attending a 'grown-up' conference, at the hawaii convention center:

first time submitting a paper and presenting at a conference:

this was a good experience!

~~~

Labels: other

2008-08-24

city notebook: beijing

i bought my first moleskine city notebook: beijing! i found it at the barnes & noble store in the ala moana shopping center, in honolulu.

i know it's too late, since i've already visited beijing two months ago. but i still got this because it includes the olympic games area map. i'll be using the blank pages as a journal.

now, the other city notebooks that i am looking for are montreal and hong kong.

~~~

Labels: other

2008-08-08

4486 coloniale

i read about this webshow a couple of weeks ago, in the montreal mirror; it's called 4486 coloniale, named after the location of the store.

it seems interesting so far. the episodes are about 5 mins each, so they're easy to digest. i'm hoping to see more musical guests appear.

~~~

Labels: other

2008-08-06

cheap thrills + saddle creek

the last time i was at cheap thrills, it was to get tickets. after browsing their online catalogue, i found a lot of stuff i wanted; i even made a list. i passed by the store today, on my way home from school, and picked up a few items from the list.

alcest - souvenirs d'un autre monde
a french band. i first heard this album when i downloaded it, on a whim, just because i had some bandwidth to waste, and it was a suggested free-leech torrent on one of those somewhat exclusive private sites. at first listen, i immediately fell in love with this post-rock album, with airy vocals. hard to believe this band started out in black metal; at cheap thrills, they were in the 'heavy' section.

a place to bury strangers - s/t
a noisy rip-off of the jesus and mary chain. but i like. they are playing in montreal in september, opening for shellac. i don't expect to go, so i got this cd instead. listening to it now, it also sounds a bit like old stuff from the cure. i like even more.

voxtrot - mothers, sisters, daughters & wives [ep]
i love the title track of this release. it sounds nice. harmless pop songs. for some reason, it makes me think of 60's mod, even though it has nothing to do with that... listening to this again right now, i realize that they actually sound like an indie-poppier version of ted leo.

yesterday was the release of non-saddle creek albums by two (ex-)saddle creek artists. i got them today, after my visit to cheap thrills. yeah, i think i was in the mood for new music.

conor oberst - s/t
i am a fangirl, and i will buy anything he releases.

the faint - fasciinatiion
i heard a few songs, and it seemed fun enough, in that retro dance kind of way.

~~~

Labels: a place to bury strangers, alcest, cd purchase, conor oberst, the faint, voxtrot

school worries

i procrastinated on my conference paper, so i ended up working on it until 6:00 am this morning. then, i only slept for two hours, since i had to go to school, to attend some seminars as part of the requirements for my m.eng degree. at least, the topics presented today were interesting and varied, so i managed to stay awake throughout.

also, i feel like such an idiot. i need to prepare another paper, for a conference held at the end of september. i feel so stupid for not checking the manuscript submission deadline. it turns out it is on september 1st. ah shit, i have less than a month to produce a full conference paper. plus, i will be away for a week at the end of august for the aiaa conference.

yeah, i will need to figure out how to turn on my 'work mode', and get all of this done!! (i'm not sure if i should start feeling stressed yet...)

~~~

Labels: other

2008-08-03

lezzies on x + mogwai

i was at cheap thrills today. since i hadn't been since last year, i found a lot of stuff i wanted. i managed to restrain myself to just two cd's.

first, i got lesbians on ecstasy's self-titled debut album. i first heard their track "the pleasure principal" several years ago, on some college radio station; i thought it was catchy, with a bit of an edge. i saw this cd at the store today, so i picked it up. it's a fun album, good for parties.

lesbians on ecstasy - parachute clubbing

the second cd i got is mogwai's soundtrack for "zidane: a 21st century portrait". it's to add to my mogwai collection, even though i do not care much about a film on zidane.

~~~

i've taken the time to browse cheap thrills' online catalog, and i am finding even more stuffs that i want... damn, i wish i had the $$$ to get it all.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, lesbians on ecstasy, soundtrack