11.30.2007

PACK UP YOUR BAGS

Hello all. It looks like another couple of weeks went by here at Your Happy Makes Me Go Neglected Especially When I Am Stuck At A Computer For Exam Week and I Click Here in The Hopes For Some Sort Of An Update Only To Find That Our Fearless Bloggers Took An Unannounced Vacation From Posting.

So hello! I'm back and hope to stay back. To catch up on a post I had brewing here in the un-posted section of blogger.com, here's Kent "Toast" French as submitted by Friend and Midwestern Neighbor Devin O'Sullivan:



I really meant to share this a week ago, but substituted "publish post" for "save now." It seemed too good to delete, but I have no clever tie-in for this video except that it turns out that Toast French is the world's fastest clapper. Unsurprisingly, I like claps. And there you have it.

So yes - hello hello hello. To catch you up, we finished the record the Wednesday after Thanksgiving weekend. It's done. I don't think I can re-capture how brilliant that feeling was, but everything felt heightened walking around Chicago that night. We're done. What we started last October (a few of you have probably heard Noni's Field) and resumed late January (everything else)... it's just hard to explain the feeling having the entire efforts of your year rest in the palm of your hand.

"Look, there it is. 2007."

To remember the gray winter when we moved here, the first few months of hammering out songs on the third floor of Berry UMC. How early the nights began in January (and yes, again now)... learning the transit in the city, working temp jobs and then taking the Brown Line to the Western stop, working out melodies while still in a shirt, tie, and dressy casual khakis. Jumping back on the Western Bus to the neighborhood I really didn't understand yet, slowly piecing together the city of Chicago until the spring came and adventures came easier. Leaving for the Brand New/Colour Revolt tour with four songs finished, watching Bjork in the desert at Coachella, wandering the parks of Montreal with new friends, taking the van back from New York knowing we had an album to finish. The stuffy summer-long eight hour days back at Berry, lunches at Costellos sandwich shop, bike rides up Lincoln to Damen while trying to work out songs and dodge car doors, a hard goodbye to an old friend, tinkering around with handbells on late afternoons, how quickly the last song came together, how nervous we were entering Engine Studios. And then finally, the recording. The air-conditioning that kept us covered in blankets in late August, watching Neil take control of the sound room, late night vocal takes, the great times when all seven faces would be smiling listening to a mix, the hard times when friendships would be frayed, the best times when we'd all come back together.

We finished the record two Wednesdays ago. And all of that above, all of that work toward one thing... fits in my hand now. It's the strangest thing.

The day after we finished recording I jumped in a plane from Chicago to Atlanta. That's where I am now. The sun is still hovering over the trees, it is seventy five degrees outside. I hear it's a messy snow right now in the city and while I miss my friends... I really don't miss the beginning of winter. It is probably beautiful in a way but I'm also sure there will be enough for me when I come back. It's Christmas here in the south - something I haven't experienced before but like a lot. My girlfriend is here - we weren't really able to share this past fall - so these past couple weeks have been making up for lost time.

My apologies, of course, to the blog. Ha.

It's a nice time here. A nice way to let 2007 unwind it's way down to the new year. And in a way, too, it feels like - all the work of the past eleven months - next year will be when we get to discover where that work takes us. A new record, more tours, more traveling, new opportunities... in a way, it was all building towards here and to have finally seen it through. 2008 starts in a few weeks and I'm very, very excited.

I can't give too much of a mastering update - I wasn't a part of it! - but Matt drove with Neil (engineer friend) to New York City four days ago and saw it through. Maybe there will be an account of that trip later this month? And if not, I'll try to find a story or two to share.

For those of you with finals weeks or a little bummed out by the lack of sunlit hours in our lives, I'd like to end the post with this:



An example, maybe!, of finding little ways to brighten less than ideal situations. And for the inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, that way is spelled THRILLER.

Have a good start of the week! I'll be back tomorrow or the next.

p.s. a cut and paste from my inbox to your eyes:

"Big Scary Monsters Records have just put their first podcast up online and happily it features a track from us!

You can subscribe via itunes by clicking this link

You can also download the MP3 by signing up to BSM's Friend of The Family mini-site. Joining costs nothing and as well as the podcast you will also gain access to free gifts, special offers, pre-sale gig tickets, free music, competitions (including a chance to win a copy of everything the label has released in 2007!) and loads of other fun things, including the BSM advent calendar, which offers even more free stuff each day throughout December! Just click on the graphic below to register...



You can send questions, comments, fan mail and demo submissions to the podcast producers at this address"

(what this means - our first european release is coming soon: a two song vinyl on Big Scary Monsters featuring Entropy and Hanasakajiijii4... we're excited... and feel free to click on the above podcast if you'd like to hear the name "Anathallo" in an unfamiliar accent)

11.29.2007

TERRIFYING

No, not this. You know me - I love all things photoshop:



Both song and image credit goes to Mid-Michigan spirit brother Dan Louisell.

This, on the other hand... I'm pretty sure that Dan (or anyone I know, actually!) wouldn't want credit for the following:



I know I promised an end to football posts... so let's classify this under song and dance?

Creepy, creepy song and dance.

Love love!

11.27.2007

APPARENTLY WE HAVE AN AESTHETIC

It's true. And here it is applied to Kelly Clarkson's finest work.

(click for the fourth track, friends!)

OH. And if you're bored at work...



Heath Ledger dressed up all funny. For some movie or something.

Finally, our old friend Mr. Disposition drops by for the ROBOSAPIEN vs ROBORAPTOR debate. Or, actually, I think it's his brother narrating the video. Brother Disposition. Accompanied by Laughing Aunt Disposition.

robot dancing

Add to My Profile | More Videos

I am pretty sure the roboraptor can't dance.

Someone tell me if I'm wrong.

Okay, that's all!

11.26.2007

CUTS LIKE A KNIFE

It was Thanksgiving weekend. It's not anymore. I'm back!... and just found this:

"Hey Bret, at work i never do work, instead i just wander the internet. i have specific pages i frequent, lordsofpain, gamespot, facebook... recently, i have found myself checking your blog just as often as i check the wrestling gossip pages, and that's often, i'm talking multiple times a day. In conclusion, update your blog every hour or so instead of every couple of days, i can only read the same blog entrie so many time."

Not a bad idea! Another good idea, though, would be finding me with facebook's scrabulous (get it... fabulous scrabble... get it?). Seth and Erica are also hooked, and I think we'd all be open to any and all challengers to help pass the day. I am currently owning Patrick from Colour Revolt (I KNOW YOU GOOGLE YOUR BAND'S NAME, I KNOW YOU SEE THIS - I AM OWNING YOU) and - this just doesn't seem right - am ahead of the lady friend 130-13. After two turns.

Consider yourself warned, anonymous future scrabble friends.

But now - a post. I want to compile a You-Me-Go Christmas list from last post's comment section for our electronic chimney... if anyone wants to add, I think I'm giving it another day or two. Some very good ideas, though.

My cousin had advice... but it was video game advice. I loved it but you may not.

Feel free to skip the next two videos!

(or to love them... it's okay if you love them with me)

Mass Effect


You talk with aliens as if you were in a movie... and then it seems like you get to shoot some of them. I was very excited about the talking part. He thought it was strange that I wanted to know if "foreign diplomacy" was crucial to the gameplay. I think it kind of is, though. Maybe.

That would be SWEET.

Assassin's Creed
(a video set to Wolf Parade's "Dinner Bells")

(for real)



Obviously, you are an assassin. I am guessing there is more killing involved (crusaders, as opposed to aliens). However! You are, perhaps, a more realistic assassin who gets rewarded for walking slowly, not drawing attention to yourself, eavesdropping on conversations, and engaging in small talk with the locals.

Me: "So you have to walk everywhere? You can't run??"
Cousin: "No, the guards will get you."
Me: "They don't notice the big sword on your back?"
Cousin: "Not if you walk."
Me: "Oh."
Cousin: "You might have to hang out in the village for hours to figure out what you're supposed to do next."
Me: "THAT IS AWESOME."

If I had an X-Box, Santa could fill his sleigh right now.

I forgot about the time change, though, and my previously mentioned friend might have split from work already. I will hit post, though, and hope for the best!

------mixing should finish this week, mastering is still set for December 6th
------my parents liked the record!
------hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving
------bye!

11.19.2007

A SEASON OF CHEER

I am not getting ahead of myself and skipping Thanksgiving. But look!



Friends, show this to your fathers. Sign them up for credit cards. Bring joy to your neighborhood!

And why I show this to you now (and not, let's say, after you've eaten your turkey) is because of a family tradition... in three days, we will have had our Thanksgiving fill, watched the Lions heroically battle Brett Favre to a crucical and hard-fought NFC North victory, and then sit back and exchange Christmas lists.

The problem? I have no idea what to ask for. Here is my list so far:

1. Extra wii controller.
2. Wii controller battery recharger (if there is such a thing).
3. ????
4. ????
5. ????
6. ????
7. ????
8. ????
9. ????
10. ????

(not saying Santa is bringing me ten gifts... it's just a nice round number)

Any ideas? Do you know what you're asking for? Feel like typing in the comments section?



I could be convinced to ask for a robosapien.

Just saying.

11.17.2007

THIS PROVES IT



I can't lie... there's a part of me that wants to keep this information to myself. Knowledge is power, right? And this... this is something else! But in the spirit of upcoming holiday cheer, I present to you:

"How to Win at Monopoly - a Surefire Strategy"


Astound your loved ones! Baffle your friends and family!

(and if your last name is WALLIN, don't even think about clicking... your time is coming)

Have great weekends! We're back in the studio!

11.14.2007

ALMOST FAMOUS


You work and you work and you work... but when it finally happens? When you finally get there?

It's all worth it.

Whatever it took to get the top.

--------------------

Can you I tell you about my week?

I've been working for bioStrategies the last few days. It is eleven dollars an hour and all of my co-workers are wonderful. We even had an office birthday to celebrate yesterday in the conference room (and no one else at work had watched The Office last week... it was four berry birthday cobbler and organic vanilla ice cream) and another to look forward to tomorrow (again, Jim's idea last episode was pretty much the worst idea ever - I am living proof).


Which means I'm pretty much this guy. Before the promotion, of course.

But what exactly do I do for a company where "commercialization strategies for biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical devices companies" are their specialty?

I have my own office.
I sit at a desk.
I power up my laptop.
I get a cup of coffee from the lounge (BREAKFAST BLEND).
I open up my spreadsheet of doctor names.
I enter their names into the doctor search at Vimo.
I enter their phone and fax numbers back into the spreadsheet.

And that is my day. I did that for seven hours on Tuesday! And another five and a half yesterday.

Tedious, for sure. Mind-numbing at times? Probably. Still great temp work? Definitely.

Do I understand more of the 8-5 day and it's correlation to how much television I want to watch when I get home. ABSOLUTELY!

Last night I spent the evening in the company of Pushing Daisies, Private Practice (so lame, I don't care), and Dirty Sexy Money (ha ha ha). And then I went to bed!

But tonight... tonight there will be treasures:



MJ showed this to me months ago... and now Menomena is playing five blocks from my apartment. Perfect!

And how am I getting into said show? Well, we'll leave that up to some great friends from across the city. Maybe you've seen them play with us? Sybris is opening up the show (they just recorded their new cd! it must be in the air, right? us, them, colour revolt, and javelins - all busy bees!) and they are fantastic.

Friends forever:


And now I am off to work!

Have beautiful days, all of you.

11.12.2007

COMPARE AND CONTRAST PT. 2

Politics are dicey. But everybody's got them?

So here are mine:

If you have twenty minutes, Senator Obama is fired up.



I know we all won't agree, you-me-go friends... but I just wanted to share this. I thought it was exciting.

And if you only have 30 seconds, well. I know national security is important. It really is. But there's something about this ad... that pretty much terrifies me.



There you have it!

(and no no no, this isn't going to become an extreme habit - we'll be back in the studio in less than a week and I'm sure there will be plenty to post soon)

Love to all.
(even you, Mitt)

11.10.2007

COMPARE AND CONTRAST



--I like starting posts with pictures. And I like this picture! Just one of the many highlights from our mini-tour out to CMJ and back--

Hello again! Not too much to add this afternoon. We play in a few hours at Moody College and I thought I'd drop in for a little bit until the van comes to pick me up.

A van with friends in it (and not boxes).

First of all, an apology to the entire state of Indiana. Or well, specifically those of you in Muncie or who were planning to drive to the bustling metropolis this past Friday. We had been booked to play the Isotope Music Festival last night... but due to, well - extenuating circumstances? - we were unable to play. And by unable to play, I mean we were taken off the show. If you frequent our myspace at all, you might have come across this. Not the style I'm used to writing in but I think it was an alright frustration. Or, at least, an understandable one. Since then, Friend Promoter (Josh) finally did make contact. A number of miscommunications, to be sure, but this can be a lesson to you fledgling future promoters:

(1) it's important, when you book bands, to get a hold of them
(2) if you feel an e-mail has gone unanswered, the appropriate response is to call the booking agent or member of the band
(3) not answering anyone's phone calls the week prior to the show is probably a bad idea

So there you have it. What good could have possibly come from this? Well, let me tell you:

In the aforementioned not-so-slightly-frustrated-myspace-post, I mentioned that there was a part of me really looking forward to Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie.


BURN!

But also, I received some pretty great suggestions. Besides Transformers and Emperor's New Groove (outstanding, I'm sure, in their own right) most people had the same two pieces of advice.

The (perhaps) unfortunately titled "Wristcutters: A love Story"



(I think it looks completely fantastic)

and Sean Penn's inspired "Into the Wild."



I thought I would pass them along! I hope that's alright with you.

And finally, to tie in the title of this post (whom have I compared so far? what has been contrasted?), I present two dishes of equal grandeur and opulence.

The first, New York City's newly crowned most expensive dessert in the world. Take a look at the planet's first $25,000 chocolate sundae.



And no less intrepid... feast your eyes on the McDonald's pizza. (I know I can't make you click on any of these links... but honestly, especially for this one, seeing is believing)

Don't think I didn't try this one out, either.



That's our attempt, pre-cheese and pre-oven. I really can't emphasize how wonderful the above link is. And of course, you don't even need to ask how great this tasted. Or how angry my 25 year old heart was with me.

I think that's it, though! Consider yourself inspired.

And of course, enjoy the weekend!

11.06.2007

part three: running from the forms of the sparrow in july


After the ravings and recommendations of Bret, I finally got a chance to see The House Theatre's production, The Sparrow. Having grown up in a family that emphasized and encouraged the performing arts, I had the great fortune of exposure to the whole gambit of what can be called "the pop musical spectrum". My sister and I touched the fake fur paws of Skimbleshanks, the railriding tabby in Cats, interpreted psychadelic theology in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, gravely misunderstood the intentions of Uncle Ernie in The Who's Tommy... you get the point. Maybe it's the seemingly limitless possibilities for presentation of the artform, but despite the adolescent overload, the theater remains one of my favorite mediums for live experience of the arts. When it's on, there's really nothing like good acting. When it's bad, lets face it, it's really really awful (see definition below).



In it's third and most impressive mounting at the Apollo Theater in Chicago, The Sparrow delivers amazingly thoughtful and creative expressions of human experience through everything but bad acting. The comic book worthy narrative follows the hometown return of Emily Book, a teenage outcast with secret telekinetic powers. The only surviving member of her elementary school class killed in a tragic accident, Emily struggles to find a place among a mourning town faced with her symbolic presence. The play begs interesting questions about forgiveness in a high school context boiling over with a lively synergy between Tommy Rapley's choreography, Kevin O'Donnell's score and a well written (Chris Matthews, Jake Minton, and Nathan Allen) and directed (Nathan Allen) play. I wondered what all the fuss was about. Why the 8 Jefferson Awards? Why the two previous sold-out runs? Now I know. The investment of the company is so evident and pours through the obvious attention to every fathomable detail. Even NPR's Ira Glass thinks so... check this clip from a House Theatre benefit dinner. Preach it brotha!



If in any way possible, experience this play. I've seen it twice, mined what treaures I could, and am going back for more. Gold, gold, gold.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK

Friends! Here's where we're at:

The record is mixed through six songs... we'll be jumping back in next Saturday and working up until Thanksgiving to knock out as much as we can. After we've had our fill of turkey and family (wait, that's impossible!), we'll be starting back the following Monday for another week at Engine. Mastering (i.e. the point of no return) is still scheduled for December 6th and after that we'll be left with:

(1) naming the record
(2) finding a home for the record
(3) selling Anathallo themed advent calendars
(4) spending the last of our Vicks money on fireworks to welcome in 2008
(5) convincing Magic Eye Inc to do our album art (the rest of the band doesn't know this yet)
(6) watching High School Musical on repeat while waiting for our springtime tours



Okay, so I get chills when Troy and Gabriella stare into each other's hearts. Who doesn't?

Finally: a very heartfelt thank you to the commenters from my previous post. All feels well again... both the cryptic and the understandable. Life is more settled and how it should be. I even have proof:



That's pretty much how I've spent my last two weeks. Me and a van and some boxes. It's a lot like touring except my bandmates have been replaced with inanimate objects. But look at that twinkle in my eye! I'm BACK!

Love to all.

11.05.2007

part two: running from the forms of the sparrow in july


Ah yes. On Saturday night, some of us had the extreme privilege of visiting the Forms as they dreamily post-rocked the Beat Kitchen here in Chicago. When I get lost in shoe-gaze, the Forms find me. When I get bored with the (what ended up eventually becoming) conventions of grunge, the Forms reinterpret Nirvana's "All Apologies" into a meditatively wacked-out sort of beauty (yes - they really did cover "All Apologies" at the show). When I want to move to blatant and brash rhythmic grooves that switch back and forth between 5 and 4, the Forms hold it down. All of this within the context of 4 guys from NYC who just genuinely love to play music (it shows). Sometime in 2002 Anathallo played with the Forms in Pittsburgh at a place called the Mr. Roboto Project and ever since we've been friends and really big fans. The band had just recorded Icarus at the time (over 4 years ago!) and now they bring us their second self-titled full-length.


It was well worth the wait. The Forms brings... er... shoot... The Forms into a really full realization of the elements that made Icarus such a great record. That's not to say that the band is rehashing old territory (though some of the songs have been around for a while... I remember hearing them on the road). Instead, it's to say that the self-titled record presents the band standing in their own space, exploring different ways of arranging the elements... realizing that they "can't be what they are not." Instead, the Forms dig deeper into what they are... which, in the case of their new record, meant the freedom and sprawl of open tuning and major keys, new developments in insanely beautiful and bizarre vocal arrangements and a sense of travel pacing that invites you in with the first few tracks before releasing you into the second half of the record where you find some room to roam around in the compositions. Checkthemout, they're touring for the next few weeks!
Also - Matt (drummer) directed me toward this video clip from a collaboration he did with choreographer Spela Sterle:



radical.

11.04.2007

part one: running from the forms of the sparrow in july

In the spirit and nature of B-Dub here we go:
This week has been filled with all sortsa brick-a-brack. By brick-a-brack I mean to say that the shear number of sensory-charged moments experienced in the last seven days is enough to warrant blindness and muteness, lack of taste and numbness... a brief withdrawing from my small sorts of being in the world (once accepted and appreciated), now dim flutters of light in comparison to the grand expressions of life that I now know as possible. These grand gestures don't in any way diminish the value of minutia... in fact, they draw attention to the details. What is leading to this transcendental rambling? Why quite a few things... lets start part one of the series with last sunday morning and a gun shot:

And then, mile 13:


And then, mile 20:


And 26.2 miles later:


Yes! We did it! Now on to a triathlon. Seriously, anyone in Chicago want to train together?

11.02.2007

NOVEMBER CAME QUICK

Hey all, here's an update while I wait for my train this morning.

First, an apology. Our posts these past few weeks have been non-existant... and that's probably for a variety of reasons. Tour was wonderful and then we all scattered for a little bit afterwards for a (well appreciated) break. I'm guessing most of our guys (okay, and girl) have hardly been near a computer.

As for yours truly, I spent a week with some old friends in Lansing, caught up with my grandparents, and headed back to the city. I've had a couple people ask me if this you-me-go drought meant the Anathallo blog was working on it's way to a slow death. I can assure you that's not the case.

I always found it strange when real life intruded on writers whose sites I would visit. I would just get in the habit of hearing their voice every other day and not reading them as often was always a sad surprise. An "oh yeah, these people have days to balance out, too."

For a variety of reasons my heart hasn't been in putting together posts lately. Some understandable (my temp job these last few days has consisted of "move boxes" and "sit in the back of a van with boxes") and some cryptic (the ever disheartening "personal matters"). I'll be back soon enough with the usual assortment of youtube clips, bizarre oversized pictures, and record updates. Maybe some shorter link dumps this weekend.

Thanks for understanding. Talk to you soon.






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