I've got some changes/updates to my bucket list!

1. Float in the Dead Sea
2. Go skydiving
3. Run a 10k
4. Become a licensed German teacher
5. Learn how to juggle
6. See the Grand Canyon
7. Attend a MMoCA rooftop film
8. Live in Berlin
9. Be in The Satorialist
10. Have a panda sit on my lap

Inspirational Women: Music Edition!

Making lists is one of my top five hobbies. Whenever I come across a super cool lady doing something awesome, I've been jotting her name down. I'm also trying to bulk up my music library with more female artists because I realized that most of my favorite bands were all guys, and while that doesn't make them any more or less talented or awesome, it's nice to balance the tables, especially when there's such a wealth of insane female talent around right now! Here are my favorite Music Mädchens:

1. Karen O.

She's the lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who I've dug for a while, and she continues to be fashion forward and an amazing artist. She composed the soundtrack to Where the Wild Things Are. You have to wade through a little bit of gross David Letterman, but this video inspired me to listen to their newest album, Mosquito, which can be streamed live online via Noisey. This is just the first song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-YWdBYwwPo&feature=player_embedded Hopefully I see her perform at Summerfest this year. (While typing this entry, I've listened to Sacrilege 4 times in a row, so good). 

Check out: Down Boy, Sacrilege, Maps, Y Control, Heads Will Roll

         
2. M.I.A.

I wish I was M.I.A.! Lately my iTunes has been her Kenzo mixtape and Bad Girls on repeat. She had one of the coolest concerts I've ever been to and I rock her t-shirt all the time. She's funky, worldly, unafriad to experiment, and makes a killer music video (case in point: Born Free http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeMvUlxXyz8). I remember waiting for that video for so long and watching it as soon as it premiered. It was banned from youtube for a while even. Her new album, Matangi, should be out later this year and from what I've heard, it's going to be SICK. 

Check out: Boyz, Bird Flu, bucky done gun, XXXO, Hombre

3. Alexis Krauss

I fell in love with the lead singer of Sleigh Bells when I saw them perform in Madison a few months ago. Her stage presence is so large and her performance was super loud and super fun. They're like lo-fi girl pop. Fierce haircut, cool tattoos, and I want to be her friend.

Check out: The entirely of the album Treats

4. Beyonce + Solange Knowles.
They are both so beautiful and consistently give me hair/fashion/makeup envy. Queen bee is busy running the world and Solange is a mega hip dejay and makeup artist. They both rule.
Check out: Lift Off, Bills Bills Bills, Single Ladies











5. Meg White

She's the kick ass drummer from the White Stripes, a band that can make such a huge song with only two instruments. It was refreshing to have kick ass, engaging, but simple beats and Meg was a driving force for the White Stripes sound. She also sings occasionally.

Check out: In the Cold Cold Night, Little Room, Rag and Bone, Well It's True That We Love One Another

6. Ko Ko Louise

If you know me, then you know that The Hard Lessons are one of my long term favorite bands. Ko Ko has such a powerful singing voice and hers are basically my staple THL tracks. She always wear red, black, or white, switches between blonde and brunette (a woman after my own heart), and is super nice in person. I've seen them live 8 times now I think, and am going to try to catch a show when I'm home this summer. 

Check out: All Over This Town, Talk It Over, That Other Girl, Roma Termini, My Kind, Don't Shake My Tree

7. Fiona Apple

When I was in Germany, The Idler Wheel was hands down my most played album. I would listen to it all the way through practically every day. I was inspired to get the rest of her discography and song after song would blow me away with her originality, vocal patterns, lyrics, and music. 

Check out: Hot Knife, Extraordinary Machine, Every Single Day, On the Bound, Ugly Girl, Criminal

8. Regina Spektor

There really isn't any musician quite like her. You never know what note is going to come next, her lyrics are fantastical and creative beyond belief, and she's even been invited to perform at the White House. It's become my tradition to listen to her music every time I'm driving into Chicago with the bus to and from Madison. I love her creativity! Every single person should dig Regina Spektor.

Check out: Just Like in Movies, Oedipus, Dance Anthem of the 80s, Pavlov's Daughter, 20 Years of Snow, Consequence of Sounds, Poor Little Rich Boy, Flyin, Back of a Truck

Bucky Bucket List

The last four years, I've kept this sort of fluid ongoing list of Madison/UW related things I'd like to do before I graduate. I'm excited to have this summer and a fifth year to do more and more. But since I am graduating soon, I figured I could expand this list into more of a life bucket list. I've already accomplished so many things that I've wanted to do, so this list only takes into account future goals :]

1. Float in the Dead Sea
2. Go skydiving
3. Run a 10k
4. Become a licensed German teacher
5. Learn how to juggle
6. See the Grand Canyon
7. Attend a MMoCA rooftop film

Near Perfect Albums

Blah blah, nothing's perfect. Ignoring this truth, these are some damn awesome albums through and through, and I consider them near perfect. To preface this list, these are according to my personal music tastes, obviously. I'm the first to admit that there are whole genres that I know very little about because I listen to them rarely, so there might be an amazing album out there that I just haven't discovered (yet). A lot of my favorite overall artists aren't on this list because while they may consistently make awesome music and I love it all, there's no single album that gets it perfect.
In no particular order:

1. Gasoline by The Hard Lessons.

I've been in love with this band since the first time I ever saw them in 8th grade. Now, 8 years and four albums later, I still think THL are some of the rockingest musicians out there. Gasoline is by far their least produced sounding album and I love that. Every song has some little thing, some creative hook or harmony or weird playing with the beat, that sets this album above and beyond your typical blues/rock set. THL have that White Stripes quality of making a really big sound out of not many people.

Stand out tracks: Milk and Sugar, That Other Girl, Inspired/Admired, Love Gone Cold.

2. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.

I feel like I don't need to say much about this album it's so ubiquitous with classic, awesome music. The reason's it's on my list, is that I'm a sucker for albums that blend together so they sound like one continuous track, and Dark Side does that well. Pink Floyd used techniques that people had never really done before to give their music out of this world qualities. One track will be a sped up electronic device, and the next is an improvised piano + vocal piece (which also happens to be my favorite song in the history of music). 

Stand out tracks: On the Run, The Great Gig in the Sky, Us and Them, Any Colour You Like.

3. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

Another album with some fantastic bleed through from song to song. There are so many things I love about this album from the Anne Frank-esque concept to the cover art to the fact that my favorite track, Oh Comely, was recorded by Jeff Mangum in one raw take. This album will make you rock out, sing at the top of your lungs, and cry, all within the span of a dozen tracks.

Stand out tracks: The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two and Three, Holland 1945, Communist Daughter, Oh Comely. 

4. This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem.

Sound of Silver actually has more of my favorite single songs by LCD, but This is Happening hit me like a train the first time I heard it. It's James Murphy's last CD as the band, and it's driving and danceable and fun the whole time, if you're into weird electro-y intellectual alt rock. Each song is so unique, but unlike their previous albums, they are fit so perfectly together as an album. I like the cohesiveness, plus every track is fantastic.

Stand out tracks: Dance Yrself Clean, Somebody's Calling Me, Home, Throw, I Can Change.

5. The Way Out by The Books.

No joke, I probably listen to this album all the way through once or twice a month, every month. Why? Because it is one of the most soothing, entrancing, creative, and engaging albums released in the past forever. From the very first track, you know this is something unlike anything you've ever heard before. Audio verite at its finest. The Books balance the weird, the scripted, the electronic, and the real instrument so so well, and on this, their last album as a group, they've hit the bullseye. 

Stand out tracks: Group Autogenics I and II, A Cold Freezin' Night, I Am Who I Am, Free Translator. 

Okay, that's solid enough for now. More to come, I'm sure!

Was höre ich

Wisconsin just awesomely beat Michigan in basketball and the whole union exploded! Nearly gave me a heart attack chilling here doing my German homework. I'm going to take it as an excuse to take a little break and post a blog- about music! I love music. I love music a lot. I'm a firm believer that there is the right song/artist/genre for every minute of every day. The only time I'm earbud-less is if I'm in class or at a meeting. Here's what I'm jamming to recently (or in real time, if you check out my last.fm: http://www.last.fm/user/rainerlegreat).

Dead Kennedys. I'm on such a kick. I need to get my record player fixed if solely to listen to them. Right now, In God We Trust, Inc is being the best homework music.

Nelly. Why not? I remember absolutely loving Nellyville when it came out, and I recently listened to it all. Still awesome.

LCD Soundsystem. They've become a staple for me. Right now I'm loving the London Sessions album, All My Friends, Us v Them, Get Innocuous!, and Losing My Edge the most.

Soul Coughing. I found this website with an archive of old Soul Coughing concerts available to download, and I listen to a 1995 gig at the Mercury Lounge as much as I do their studio albums. It's so interesting listening to how the songs have evolved, and there are some tracks that were never professionally recorded! My main digs are The Incumbent, Wooly Imbibe, Lemon Lime, Blow My Only, and You Lucky Dog. (Shut up, when looking up pictures for this post, I saw a ticket stub with Soul Coughing opening for Dave Matthews Band. AHHHH Best Concert Ever!)

Sherlock. My friend Bess gave me the Sherlock soundtrack and it's so beautiful. They're filming the third season soon and I'm already so excited for it. Anything Sherlock Holmes related usually has fantastic music. See: both Guy Ritchie films + BBC show.

Busdriver. One of my favorite rappers because of his style, speed, lyrics, funkyness, hilarity, everything. His entire discography is great, but I'm in a The Weather phase. It's a collaborative album and it's perfectly bizarre. 

editing to add The Books, specifically their last album The Way Out. The first and last tracks, Group Autogenics I and II, were the first two songs I played on my radio show this semester. I listen to this album any time I need to focus, relax, study, feel better, anything. It's brilliant, beautiful, and intriguing. The Books as a whole, as my dad often attests, are one of the most creative bands I've ever heard, and if you want to discover them, I'd start with this CD. 

So yeah, discover new music, listen to genres that make you uncomfortable, and keep your ears happy! 

Reappropriation

Change is good.

I'm going to try to restart this once study abroad blog into an outlet for photo sharing, musings, and documenting my life. I figured a proper intro entry would be my list of 2012. I've been compiling one of these the last few years and I find it a really enjoyable way to see all I've accomplished the past year, and it motivates me to go above and beyond during the upcoming year. Last year was pretty major for me, and I gotta say, it kicked a lot of ass.

-2012-

Went to England, Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia, and the Czech Republic.
Dyed my hair purple, blue again, then brown.
Saw Beirut, Kanye, Jay-Z, Flobots, Astonautalis, Scroobius Pip, the Hard Lessons, Sleigh Bells, and G. Love and Special Sauce.
Became WUD Film Director.
Got into the UW School of Education.
Cohort I.
Got a tattoo.
Adult Swim at the Children's Museum.
Marched in an LGBT rally with AHA.
Moved out of Bromansion 2 and into the Eleanor.
Quit CVS.

Started student teaching.

Adventure Time/Pixar Halloween costumes.

Saw local Madison play Opiate for the Missus.

Voted for Obama, our re-elected president.
Got third place at the College Improv Tournament.
The Avengers, Yid Vicious, RENT singalong, Lori Berquam at Reel Love.
Manet exhibit at the Toledo Museum of Art.
Got my ears pierced.
Shaved my head.

Hit me, 2013.