The loudest ovation for Stornoway came after its quietest song. At the start of the encore, Brian Briggs asked the Bowery Ballroom audience if it was OK to play acoustic. “It’s going to be about this loud,” he said quietly from the front of the stage before he and his band—accompanied on strings by Rahul Satija and a member of the opener, Franz Nicolay & Major General—launched into “The End of the Movie.” After the music faded and the explosion of applause died down, Briggs wondered if they’d played loud enough. He’s genuinely considerate in that way a lead singer is when he can’t quite believe this many people are paying attention.

The unstated conclusion of “Could you hear OK?” is “Because last time we were in New York, we played to 50 people at Union Hall.” And while Stornoway has graduated from performing at venues in Brooklyn basements, the quartet certainly hasn’t forgotten its recent past. This is still a band that buys a saw at a hardware store to convince its drummer to play it with a bow. “Rob has been learning to play the saw,” said Briggs before launching into a song in which the drummer struggled valiantly to tame his unlikely instrument. Who knew a toothed implement of destruction could be so charming?

To close the night, Briggs asked if we wanted another unplugged song. This wasn’t idle chatter; our wish was his command. So we responded in the affirmative, and the quiet half of the crowd shushed the louder half as Stornoway began the jiggish “We Are the Battery Human.” “We’ve got the whole world at our fingers/ We’ve got the whole world in our hands.” We could hear Stornoway just fine.

Is this the highlight of Josh McRoberts’ career?

Aldenbarton – I Am New Yorker

The Wombats – Moving To New York

I told myself if I ever tired of looking at Lower Manhattan as the D train groaned across the Manhattan Bridge, I would leave New York.

Thirteen months ago, I tired of that view so I left.

***

“Moving to New York” soundtracked late 2006 as we grew comfortable in our adopted city and celebrated as old friends arrived, expanding the bubble of our new world. Tom traded Ohio for a Bushwick loft located in a converted factory that’s ground zero for the city’s bedbug infestation. He appeared on McKibbin St. weary from the day’s drive and a detour to Ikea. He looked horrified by his new surroundings, but happy. (Tom’s father, understandably, was straight horrified. He departed almost before we transferred his son’s limited possession from the backseat and trunk to sidewalk.) We blasted music loudly enough to drown out the skateboards of our upstairs neighbors, held poorly attended Red Bull-vodka parities, got in fights with the hallway trashcan, and wondered what the rock factory down the street produced.

***

I ran across the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday. It seemed like something one should do before one leaves San Francisco. I spent more time dodging tourists than jogging, but this is the price you pay when you choose iconic vistas over empty paths.

Eventually, I reached the other side. Bridges in San Francisco seem to lead away from the city. The Golden Gate brings you to Marin County where you can choose Highway 1 to Stinson Beach, Point Reyes, and beyond, or take 101 through redwood forests. Either way, you’ll be fine as you drive further from SF.

The Bay Bridge ends at a seaport whose cranes provided George Lucas with the inspiration for Imperial Walkers. From there, it’s north to the genuine, overwhelming self-righteousness of Berkeley or south to Hayward and the Oakland International Airport. Either way, you aren’t in San Francisco anymore.

***

An 8′x6′x5′ storage unit arrived today. The young black guy who forklifted it off his flatbed truck laughed when I told him I moved to San Francisco last year with only two suitcases. He told me he threw out most of his belongings the last time he changed apartments. We bonded over purchasing new possessions we liked. “I bought a new computer table. I’m not getting rid of it, you know?” I smiled and didn’t mention I’m abandoning the perfectly-sized desk I bought for last year for $125.

***

Tomorrow, a couple friends and I will cram all my worldly possessions into less than nine cubic yards. Throwing your life into a dark wooden box is both depressing and liberating. Try it sometime.

***

I will, at some point, tire of the view once again. But not Tuesday morning when I arrive in JFK on a red eye and make my way to Brooklyn. Not next week. Not next month.

***

I am not a New Yorker, but I think I’ll play one for most of my 20s.

Here’s a fact anyone I’ve ever met (also: everyone, everywhere) almost certainly doesn’t know: “Battle Flag” (or “Battleflag”; Wikipedia is non-committal or, more likely, all-encompassing), the only song you might recognize as Lo Fidelity Allstars, isn’t theirs. Pigeonhed, a Seattle-based, Subpop-signed collaboration between Shawn Smith and Steve Fisk, penned the original, and the duo released its version on 1997′s The Full Sentence. (If you’re so inclined, you can pay Steve Jobs $.99 to confirm what listening to iTunes’ 30-second clip will hint: it sucks. I come at this discussion from a place of experience; I’d suggest saving your money.)

Lo Fidelity Allstars remixed the song for Pigeonhed’s horrendously titled Flash Bulb Emergency Overflow Cavalcade of Remixes (seriously, what?) before including the version on its own wonderfully monikered How to Operate With A Blown Mind. The second iteration of “Battle Flag” peaked at No. 6 on Billboard‘s Modern Rock Tracks and is the only song off Lo Fi’s 1998 debut or, for that matter, in the band’s entire catalogue, worth mentioning. But at least the second group – featuring a lead singer credited in the linear notes of Blown Mind under the name The Wrekked Train – earned some acclaim for its effort, even if that means being relegated to the footnotes of history. Pigeonhed, the creator, finds itself scrubbed even from those.

It took two bands to create one “Battle Flag.” The first built the house. The latter moved in, demoed the existing walls, added its own superior details, and answered the phone when a producer for Cribs came calling.

I still don't understand what happened in Inception

But at least Christopher Nolan does. From Wired:

"I’ve always believed that if you make a film with ambiguity, it needs to be based on a true interpretation. If it’s not, then it will contradict itself, or it will be somehow insubstantial and end up making the audience feel cheated. Ambiguity has to come from the inability of the character to know - and the alignment of the audience with that character."

US U-20s progressing quickly ahead of Torneo de las Americas

Teen phenom Salgado can’t wait for SuperDraft

As tensions rose, Pyongyang became more belligerent, at one point reminding the South Koreans that it wouldn’t be hard to turn Seoul into “a sea of fire.”

I don’t even really like this song, but this is pretty great.

"But if this team can lose to the Pacers and Grizzlies, what exactly would it tell us if they beat the Magic? I suppose beating the opponents that matter says more than succumbing to the ones that don’t. Except what if, to Orlando, the Heat aren’t one of those teams that matter?"

Bethlehem Shoals sounds miserable writing about the Miami Heat but I’m glad he keeps these posts coming.

Stars. “We Don’t Want Your Body.”

I don’t know. This makes sense right now or something.

Perfect. I'm moving back to New York just in time for bear hunting season.

"The facts are clear, we have an overpopulation of black bears in New Jersey, and we must address that issue," Martin said. "A regulated black bear hunt is one important and necessary tool to deal with the growing number of bears, as part of the State’s overall, comprehensive approach to managing its black bear population.”  
Wow. Stay out of the northern New Jersey woods between December 6 and December 12.

Give Me Something To Read Best of 2010 →

geisen:

givemesomethingtoread:

This was my first full year at the helm of Give Me Something To Read, and to mark it, I’ve compiled this list of the best articles and essays I posted through 2010 (limited to those that were actually published in 2010).

I will be taking advantage of this over the break.

Boom is wonderful.

"i think i have to go."

Wednesday 11/24

The Wild Mushroom Pizza: Chanterelle, cremini, white button, oyster, portobello and shiitake mushrooms, French goat and mozzarella cheeses, garlic olive oil and fresh herbs.

So what you're saying is Geoffo and I could soon be coaching Chelsea?

In fact, the last team Emenalo coached was the Tucson Soccer Academy’s U-12 girls team in 2007.

Arcade Fire’s video for “The Suburbs” is wonderful and all, but if you want a video that prominently features BMX bikes, you really can’t beat N.E.R.D.’s “Lap Dance.”