SXSW 2010, European tours, The Rosebuds

Although tickets cost nearly $700 USD, the music portion of SXSW 2010 is March 17-21 and I've been itching to go for a couple of years. If only money grew on trees in my backyard and I was the chief harvester. I will have to check out the Bonnaroo, Coachella, APW et cetera, et cetera line-ups to see which one will reign supreme.

Just a note on my not-so-recent trend in perceptions of bands lately: if a band omits North America from their tour, I suddenly value them twofold. This is likely an extension of my unremitting attraction to those who are emotionally aloof.

Lastly, I liked this acoustic version of "Life Like", give it a little view:

(turn off the HD on the right hand side of the video if viewing problems arise).

The Rosebuds "Life Like" from Jason Arthurs on Vimeo.

Ambivalence Avenue

Bibio makes me giddy. It's the kind music I can put on, listen to the entire album, and when it's over, wonder where that hour or so disappeared to (and then proceed to press play and listen all over again). Stephen Wilkinson flooding my ears when I walk induces a subtle smile and bounce in my step that only serotonin could rival. He draws much inspiration from BoC, who I've never been blown away by, but Bibio adds a folk element and antique sound that puts him in a class of his own. Better yet, he has been producing albums every six months over the past year, and his evolution seems to be in a positive direction. His new album "The Apple and the Tooth" comes out in November.

Tomorrow, in a Year

Could there be a better combination? The Knife and a Darwinian inspired opera? (My new found enlightenment still pins Darwin as a genius).

Take me! Take me! Take me!

What's so dirty about dirt?

We spend a profuse amount of time attempting to "wash" the dirt off us when really most of the things we put on us or in us are dirtier than dirt, in an inorganic sense.

It seems I was intrinsically nonspiritual until about four weeks ago. Preaching Dawkins, placing science on a pedestal, and stubbornly insisting that scientific reasoning must provide the singular answer as to why so many individuals across the world seem to be inflicted with the "disease" of religion (see here). Now, a light switch has turned on.

As with most things in my life, inclusive of religion, I am an all-or-nothing/black-or-white type thinker. Religion made no pragmatic sense to me and my rational beliefs, actions and morals. This changed however, when I discovered the simplicity in the "grey" of spirituality I never knew existed.