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Oh You're So Silent, Jens - Jens Lekman

Updated May 16, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

Released in 2005, Jens Lekman's 'Oh You're So Silent, Jens,' collects songs from previous EPs and more sources, creating an album of great music and a wonderful introduction to this quirky, talented Swede. Reminiscent of a modern-day Jonathan Richman, Lekman's sweet earnestness is at times humorous, kind and sympathetically awkward.

Enjoyable indie at its finest.

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Seventh Tree - Goldfrapp

Updated May 16, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

This album emits a comfortable elegance and delicate assurance. Unlike the previous albums 'Supernature' and 'Black Cherry,' 'Seventh Tree' focuses less on glitz and more on natural, organic sounds. The audio effects they do employ with electronic influence are innocuous, and only add to the easy, laid-back, at times folksy feel of 'Seventh Tree.'

Perfect to listen to on Sunday mornings when you've slept in late from the night before, "after the glitter is gone."

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NPR : National Public Radio

Updated May 16, 2008

4 people recommended this item

Description

I love, love, love NPR. It's a fantastic source for news, and I love going to their website for such sections like "Kitchen Window" and their Music page. Through "Song of the Day," I've managed to find out about a gamut of artists I've listened to and liked.

NPR is fantastic in communicating world news on an individual scale, for example, in covering the current food crisis, they focused on a bakery in Connecticut that's encouraging its customers to grow their own wheat to prove to local farmers that wheat can be a good crop to grow in the New England state. They also went on about the rising costs of food by discussing each ingredient in a baguette and why the costs of the particular ingredient are going up.

Their "Climate Connections" page is informative not only on a local, American scale, but also in informing us about what other countries are doing to reduce carbon emissions and make things better.

All in all, NPR is a wonderful source of information about these strange times we currently live in.

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Antidotes - Foals

Updated May 12, 2008

1st to recommend

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'Antidotes,' the debut album on Sub Pop Records by Foals, is nothing short of brilliant. I absolutely love the energy emitted by the music, which mixes the sound of a rock band with tweaks of experimental touches.

Described as a "dance-rock band," Foals would get any sort of party going, and are a fantastic addition to Sub Pop's line-up. Every track is an absolute stunner, and mind the speedometer should you be driving while playing this on your system. Or, as was my case earlier, mind the road--I got a little excited while listening to "Two Steps, Twice." If I remember right, there was a bit of fist-pumping and general bouncing going on.

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Fox Barrel Cider Company

Updated May 11, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

Tasty like the yums! I love cider, and I think Fox Barrel Ciders taste better than Strongbow, my former favourite. I recommend the Pear Cider and the Blackcurrant Cider for something a little different from the usual apple, but their apple is pretty damn solid.

Bring this to a party I'm attending and I will be ever-so-grateful.

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Last.fm – The Social Music Revolution

Updated May 11, 2008

3 people recommended this item

Description

Ever since I joined Last.fm last year, my musical environment has exploded. I'm continually finding out about new music, oftentimes to the point where I'm harassing the local record shop about "a Czech band that sings in French" or some other golden find from this website.

I've been a subscriber for about a year now, and never looked back. This website has been an excellent way on keeping tabs of what artists are coming to my area, what sort of music my friends are into, recommending music to friends and the groups I belong to, finding out about new artists by listening to what's similar to artists I already like... seriously, Last.fm is ingenious.

And well-designed, I might add.

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Songs III: Bird On the Water - Marissa Nadler

Updated May 11, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

Marissa Nadler's haunting and melancholy voice reaches at your heartstrings with this one. A magnificent talent, Nadler has crafted a stunning album based predominantly on her lovely music and guitar-playing, with the help of a little reverb and other touches here and there.

Songs III: Bird On the Water is an album you'll want to listen to when you're alone and thoughtful, perhaps on a long drive in the dark, or maybe on a Sunday morning with a cup of tea. No matter how you listen to it, Nadler's magic will grasp hold of you and it will linger long after the last track has played.

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Red Yellow & Blue - Born Ruffians

Updated May 9, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

An amazing debut album from a trio of talented young men from Toronto, this album is filled with energy and fun. Lots of references have been made to Paul Simon's "Graceland" album, and I would agree with a caveat that Born Ruffians are hardly mere imitations, but new interpretations of the same earnestness Simon had on his iconic album.

Born Ruffians are amazing live, but if you don't get a chance to see them, pick up the album or borrow it from someone. As I told a friend of mine, it's as if the Lost Boys from Peter Pan's Neverland picked up some instruments and started a band. You won't be disappointed, unless you're some moody-ass bastard who doesn't know how to have any sort of fun.

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Silver Apples/Contact - Silver Apples

Updated May 7, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

This album is one I have turned on to a lot of people, and it's easy to see why. Their musical style, sampling use, electronic blips and sounds make the music seem extremely contemporary, despite being produced in the latter years of the 1960s. With quirky poetic lyrics, live drums and sound tweaks from a beast of machinery, Silver Apples were ahead of their era, laying the groundwork for experimental and avant-garde bands who came after.

And what's great about it is how "listenable" the music is. It's not just for a handful of sound engineers and music snobs to appreciate, but there's something on this album for everyone to enjoy who has an interest in music that's a bit quirky and unusual.

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Boxer

Updated May 7, 2008

6 people recommended this item

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An insanely amazing album, Boxer by The National shows a depth many indie bands eschew. From the wonderfully melodic social commentary of "Fake Empire" to the debonair "Squalor Victoria" to the muted, soothing "Gospel," this was my #2 album of the year for 2007, featuring my own personal song of the year, "Mistaken for Strangers."

Searingly eloquent, marvelously magnificent, I cannot conjure the words to impress upon one and all how essential this album is. If you get the chance, see them live, because they are so raw and intense when performing these versions.

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Tender Buttons : Broadcast

Updated May 9, 2008

2 people recommended this item

Description

An incredible album, Broadcast shows their talent with Tender Buttons. Perfect for those interested in a blend of vintage 60s sounds enmeshed with modern synths and female vocals. "Black Cat" and "Michael" are wonderful tap your leather mod shoes to, and "America's Boy" is incredible in its use of sound in a bit of an unconventional way.

Please tell this band they must come to Orlando! Or I shall be forced to see them in London next year or so.

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RUN AMOK

Updated May 12, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

I've bought a few items from this Etsy seller, and she's been super-awesome. She's a fan of using vintage fabrics, especially Japanese fabrics, in her elegant and whimsical creations, which is great for anyone looking for a touch of the unique.

Lately, I've been purchasing some of her hair pins, which use vintage buttons as decoration, and I've been getting compliments on them. If only I can manage to put them all in one place so I won't lose them....

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Queen Bee Creations Trucker

Updated Apr 28, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

I own two of these bags: one in the "Chirp" style seen here, and the other in a style that's apparently discontinued. Although rather pricey at $82, these bags LAST. I wear mine every day, and have had it over a year and a half now. I can't count how many compliments I get on it.

The other one is in semi-retirement because after lugging schoolbooks, notebooks, journals and all sorts of miscellaneous items, some of the stitching is just beginning to come out of the strap area, which is an easy fix... but I'm lazy.

There are two pockets under the flap for keys, change purses, condoms and what-have-you, and two smaller ones on the side big enough to fit mobile phones, hand sanitiser, breath mints and the like. Queen Bee also makes smaller versions, the "Truckette," for $63, as well as other bags for laptops, baby stuff and more.

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BUST Magazine

Updated Apr 19, 2008

4 people recommended this item

Description

I've been a happy subscriber to BUST for years now, and I love the articles, recommendations and other fun works and words encased within. Happy-happy stuff for geek-rockers, post-fem homemakers, art school drop-outs, lesbian fashionistas, button-pushers, indie chicks and rollerderby queens.

Definitely for those of us sick of the average women's magazine articles: "Straight-off-the-runway hair styles," "How to please him in bed," "What to wear now." Gah.

I had to put up the Elijah Wood cover, because he's so gosh-darn cute.

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BlueQ Shoppers - tote bags

Updated Apr 19, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

I've been using my two shopper bags from BlueQ, and often get compliments on them from the check-out employees at Publix and Whole Foods. They fit a good load of stuff, and I've had mine for probably around five or six months now, and there's been no breaks, rips, or tears. They're an awesome substitute for the bland tote bags often for sale in the stores, and they're a bit more structured than the larger, formless IKEA bags, making them a bit more practical for most shopping trips. I plan on picking up another bag or two, since I always seem to keep using the ones I have to the point where I sometimes leave things in them.

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The Flying Club Cup - Beirut

Updated Apr 19, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

From BaDaBing! Records:

The highly anticipated follow up to Gulag Orkestar does not disappoint. Recorded by Zach Condon with a full band, guest stars like Final Fantasy's Owen Pallet (who added lush string arrangements), and at a variety of locations, The Flying Club Cup is an expanse, glorious and enrapturing album which takes a nod towards the finest of France's musical culture.

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One of my most favourite albums of 2007, if not the top pick, The Flying Club Cup gives off a feel of sepia-toned Western European holidays and haunts, mimicking subconscious collective memories of an earlier time and an earlier sincerity. Zach Condon's voice is soaring over the melodies he performs with the proper Beirut band, who were minted with the EP Lon Gisland. It's gorgeous, enthralling and amazing beyond words and comprehension.

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Last Life in the Universe

Updated Apr 19, 2008

2 people recommended this item

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This is a wonderful story, showcasing both the lovely direction of Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and the talented cinematography of Christopher Doyle, who is also known to work with Wong Kar-Wai on his films.

The characters are both interesting, and their interactions with each other--the awkwardness of men-women relations coupled with language and culture barriers--are fun to watch. It was a unique treat for me, being a fan of both Thai and Japanese cultures.

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Surburban Light - The Clientele

Updated Apr 18, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

A collection of earlier singles, Suburban Light, released in 2001, showcases the lonesome dream-pop works from British band The Clientele. In comparison to their later releases, this collection is a bit more lo-fi and the melodies are sweet, melancholy and ever-so-lovely. The soft voice of Alasdair Maclean is best played loud.

Perfect for those who like to walk in the rain, linger next to a window darkened by the night, reminisce about a lost love, and enamoured with an aching sense of longing.

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Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates

Updated Apr 18, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

This book was my introduction to Richard Yates, who has become one of my favourite writers because of the melancholy lining his work. He writes a wonderful and tragic story of ambition, dreams deferred and desires that are never quite followed through.

Although sometimes referred to as a Beat Writer, Yates to me is set apart from Kerouac & crew, focusing instead on the undercurrents of unhappiness in "normal" life. The characters in the book are familiar and timeless, as the story itself was published in 1961.

That this was Yates' first novel is astounding. It's a work so exceptional and perfect, that the characters, especially April Wheeler, still enter my mind long after I've read it. If you love good writing and would like to see the quiet fuss about this "writer's writer," please pick up a copy of this book from your library or purchase a copy.

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Harakiri by Masaki Kobayashi (The Criterion Collection)

Updated Apr 17, 2008

1st to recommend

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This film is so good, it's out of control. One of my favourite samurai films, it deals with, and challenges, the myth of honour among samurai. Masaki Kobayashi, who also directed the amazing film of a similar motif, <i>Samurai Rebellion</i>, gives us some amazing scenes in this film, using camera angles to convey the twists and turns in the story into a visual form.

And it has one of the best fight scenes in Japanese cinema. The end.

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The 400 Blows by François Truffaut (The Criterion Collection edition)

Updated Apr 17, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

The 400 Blows by François Truffaut was truly a film that opened my eyes to French New Wave and foreign films in general. I had happened upon it while flipping channels years back and it was on television, possibly on Turner Classic Movies, late at night.

The film is amazing, truly a bright star amid the constellation of films. Although set in France, the character Antoine is easy to relate to in his rebelliousness and disinterest in school. He isn't a bad kid, per se, but perhaps all too human, with the faults and foibles that come with being one. The same could be said for many of the film's characters, and in showing the human struggles of ordinary people, Truffaut helped spawn a film movement we continue to talk about today.

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Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Updated Apr 17, 2008

3 people recommended this item

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This is the first volume of the two graphic novels that inspired the eponymous film, and it's excellent. It's a quick read, but the intensity of the author's experiences and family history are weighty, but very pertinent in helping us understand the Iranian Revolution, and its affect on everyday people.

The story is told honestly and in an entertaining manner, and I love the simplicity of the artwork as well. It's an essential read for anyone into graphic novels and memoir.

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Black Moleskine Squared Pages Notebook 5x8

Updated Apr 19, 2008

1st to recommend

Description

I'm using this for my journal at the moment, and the pocket is dead handy. I write on graph paper, since my handwriting is small and I just love the orderly look of little squares on paper--which I ruin when I scrawl my ruminations over it in black ink (always black ink).

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Suite Française - Irene Nemirovsky

Updated Apr 16, 2008

1st to recommend

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This elegant, heart-wrenching work by Irene Nemirovsky was intended to be part of a larger novel, but was left unfinished because she was sent to a concentration camp during World War II, where she met her unfortunate death.

What we do have from Irene Nemirovsky is a work of deep humanity, including a sympathy for her characters and their flaws, as well as an understanding in how people can be motivated in their actions. I loved this book--the writing is graceful and wonderfully descriptive, and it gives a slice of life during the Nazi Occupation of France, which is a subject not many Americans are familiar with.

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MONOCLE Magazine

Updated Apr 16, 2008

5 people recommended this item

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I discovered Monocle at issue 7, and have been a rabid reader ever since.

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Lists by quitepeculiar

1-5 of 5 Lists

films
Updated Apr 19, 2008
A selection of films I'm fond of, some of which I own, while others are ones I've just seen.
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cook and bake
Updated Apr 26, 2008
A list of items related to cooking and baking, including cookware, cookbooks, baking trays and other handy things to have around the kitchen.
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music
Updated May 16, 2008
I listen to many things, and these are some of what I find most interesting.
reads
Updated Apr 19, 2008
I'm especially keen on nonfiction, but like fiction as well. Magazines are featured here, too.
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odds & ends
Updated May 16, 2008
Other stuff.

1-5 of 5 Lists

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