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Right now, "The Arabic Lounge," which is a fantastic blend of traditional Middle Eastern music/instruments with modern post-rock/idm elements. Really top-notch.

Today I felt like relistening to all of Do Make Say Think's albums, so that was pretty satisfying.

Otherwise, the new Decemberists album (Yankee Bayonet is just...I love that song. 4 real), and shuffle on my ipod.

I've heard great things about the new Clipse from pretty much everyone. I'd get around to it, but I'm afraid to start up soulseek. Every time I do I end up downloading the entire world and then I take a two month break or so.

ps: if anyone's interested in anything i mention, just ask, and i'll be more than happy to send somehow.

edit2: incidentally, the reason i'm listening to the arabic lounge at all now is because i'm playing prince of persia. no joke. and it's actually really, really cool and immersive ;o

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haha, kraftwerk:

i don't know what to do
what to do (doot doo doo)
i need a rendezvous
a rendezvous (doot doo doo)

COMPUTER LOVE

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Lesse. I've been revisiting my lovely post-rock recently, in the form of Dirty Three, Do Make Say Think, and Tristeza.

And, realizing I'd been neglecting the IDM section of my collection, put that genre on 'shuffle' on my ipod. Holy crap, I didn't even realize I had some of this stuff! I'll have to go dredge up the names later.

Otherwise, I've been laying low ever since I got a letter from my ISP for a-downloading too much :(. I'll get back into it in a little while.
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i'm redownloading stuff since my hard drive failed...

california guitar trio is ACE
mouse on mars is ACE
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Holy god. I feel great.

I just spent 5+ hours cleansing, reorganizing, and adding to my music collection, and now it's a pristine MACHINE. Despite the fact that I was constantly downloading during this pruning process, I ended up weeding so much stuff out that I gained gigs rather than lost them.

Got around to listening so many new things! Totally floored by Can, Aerial M, Japancakes, John Vanderslice, Grizzly Bears, and so much more. Can blew me away (the Future Days album, in particular). So did Vanderslice, whom* I'd heard before, but only live tracks. I liked them, but then I listened to Pixel Revolt. And I came 203,030209302913 times.

Anyway. Great, great day.

*(did I seriously just use whom? what the fuck?)
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I was going to offer that I really like Point.
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i can't swallow NWA for too long. But I love Express Yourself.
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xoc - smw: friggin brilliant; great, great stuff, immensely fun and original remixes of classic SMW themes.

jesu - conqueror: i had put this album off because it's slow on the uptake, but it's quite satisfying on a whole playthrough--the droning guitars and muffled vocals really put you in a trance at some point.
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art brut - bang bang rock and roll | skip it

this was supposed to be an endearing album. yay, another three-piece (or something) rock band! and they're self-conscious about it! how awesome! i tried to give it a chance, the allmusic review seemed to gush about how honest it was and such but despite some clever lyrics (they pointed out "i wanna be the boy -- the man -- who writes the song/that makes israel and pales tine get along"), i found the music itself to be unappealing. "formed a band" is so tedious and ugly i can't stand it.

maybe it's just because in general i've become less and less tolerant of lyrical music unless it's really unique and interesting. it's so easily god damned formulaic that i can barely stand to listen to it, yanno? i feel like "OH HERE COMES THE CHORUS GUYS."

battles - mirrored (2007) | check it out

an interesting album. i downloaded it on the precept that it was a 'post-rock/experimental' / 'math rock' album, which it is, to an extent, but definitely not what i expected. there are some very interesting tunes in here, but i feel like the way it's structured--as an almost bizarro disney land ride--means i will rarely listen to it again. it's got this almost tribal rhythm going in all the songs, and then in comes alvin the chipmunk to sing in this really creepy falsetto. but then, it breaks down into these really awesome, devilish droning riffs that just morph and evolve and shit so. i could do without the singing part. still an interesting listen.

plus, the final track is just so bitchin'.
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fairport convention - unhalfbricking (1969) | listen!

classic! love the almost feel-good homey, folky style mixed with long jams and rollicking riffs. i don't know what more to say except this is a fantastic album. a sailor's life, at about 11+ minutes long is the best this album has to offer; its length gives it the latitude it needs to sway in and out of long instrumental breaks. ++

flotation toy warning - bluffer's guide to the flight deck (2004) | listen!

oh wow. this thing is so aurally pleasing. this is exactly what i love about dream pop/psychedelia. i love these, these innately uplifting melodies: these sweet glimmering tones and notes. it's great. just great. it's going to be really hard for me to transition to something else after this. i just want it to never end.

edit: this came with the album in a .txt file:

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i love ege bamyasi and future days by can. i have some neu! but i never really listened to it--i mean i did listen to a little but not in-depth and i didn't like what i heard, but i know that's because i barely gave it a chance (i only ever really listened to it on my ipod when i was strutting down streets and wanted something funky and neu! was not it).
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Yeah. I gave The Heart of Saturday Night a good listen tonight. It's kind of strange, knowing Waits as I--thought?--I knew him. It's good, don't get me wrong, but at times I almost thought I could be listening to an early Elton John album.

Again, this isn't bad, but it's a lot more singer/songwriter-style, and much more sanguine. Waits's poetry is amazing, though it's far cry from the gritty, heart-wrenching stuff on Rain Dogs and Swordfish Trombones. Let's compare, shall we?

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KIYOSHI IZUMI - EFFECT RAINBOW
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