DABA Girls

I've never read anything that was simultaneously more hilarious and depressing than this: Dating a Banker Anonymous is honest commentary on the state of contemporary relationships that we all aspire to--it doesn't matter where you live, we all want to either be the big-swinging or the Jimmy Choo-wearing. It's proof of the existence of lopsided boys dating equally lopsided girls. Where they admit that their boyfriends were once math team captains and Friday-night bookworms, none of the girls will describe themselves or their beaus as nerds, ugly, or even short. They are mostly contrived girls living extravagant lives. It's very clear to me; while they rightfully (and articulately) describe the parallel collapse of his career and his ego, they ignore the connectedness of their own self-esteem.

This has particular resonance with me since I aspire[d] for that career precisely. I know the people that slave 100-hour weeks, the ones that measure a great deal of their own self worth in the size of their January checks. I don't know any of the girls though, and I didn't know that they were so photo-ready. It seems though, that their marriages were meant to fail with or without a recession. I am enthralled with them because they can be so brutally honest while ignoring the basic premise on which their relationship was built; that being one provides and one is hot.

I can see it already, either on HBO or the big screen, and apparently they've already got a book deal. The dynamics of their relationships and the role of Wall Street immediately make this more intriguing than the best episode of Gossip Girl. Proof that the best stories are never scripted.

The Virgins - Rich Girls

Progress Portraits For All

Click above to make yours! Or If you're feeling ugly, god loves you too.

Now you probably already know about Jay-Z's DC-mix of "My President is Black," but then again, maybe you don't. This hasn't been nearly as viral as it should be, so in case you're to blame, see it here, or listen to it here:

Jay-Z - My President is Black

If you've watched MTV for 15 or more minutes in the last week you've seen the original version of this song by Young Jeezy and Nas. I hope you were as disappointed with it as I was. Two (or more) narcissistic rappers making an election to be about them. I like Nas, but lines like: "History, black history/ No president ever did shit for me" remind me of how contrived rappers can take a country's success and make it completely about themselves. If you studied history Nas, you'd remember some words JFK said once in an inauguration speech.

The Old Standard

I had forgotten how nice it can be to wake up to a country led by a literate and articulate person.

This is a couple of months old, but I'm still digging it:
Sia - Buttons (CSS Remix)

The Most Popular of 2008

Ok, so no matter how much I try I can't get my mind off of posting lists. I lie awake late at night or in boring afternoons and just think about ways to order things. It may be the easy way out, but to be honest I'm still not done catching up on everything from last year. The Hypemachine has relieved iTunes from running its daily marathon.

I was a little premature in publishing my list of 6 best albums when I hadn't given myself to find 10 that I loved, in a year where that should not have been as hard as it was. And sometimes, to be honest, I think I hide embarassing songs or favorites to look cool--well, no more! To honor this commitment, I submit to you the unadultered* list of my most played songs released in 2008. This will exclude songs from 2007, even if they were more popular, and have obvious inclination towards early releases.

Laugh all you want... if there's something worth laughing about.

10. Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
9. The Ting Tings - We Walk
8. The Ting Tings - Great DJ
7. MGMT - Weekend Wars
6. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
5. Meiko - How Lucky We Are
4. Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
3. MGMT - Kids
1. Hot Chip - We're Looking for a Lot of Love
1. MGMT - Electric Feel

Songs that I was rooting for, but just didn't quite make it: Thao - Beat (Health, Life and Fire), CSS - Move, Brazilian Girls - St Petersburg.

*Yes I know this isn't a word.

The Best [songs] You [forgot you] Had

Dusting off the proverbial, well, dust from my relatively old mp3's has me stumbling all over some gems that I'd totally forgotten about. I bet that you might have forgotten about these too--assuming that you're like me and you probably have many of the same albums.

In the spirit of a new calendar, I was reflecting on how my music has changed over the past few years and it made me think of a relatively novel idea for a top ten list. I tried not to include obscure tracks that no one has heard more than twice, or not at all. If someone came up to me and handed me a list like this it would be like finding all the lost change in the cracks of my sofa and under the seats of my car. How valuable is that?

1. Sea Wolf - You're a Wolf
2. Muse - The Small Print
3. Incubus - Talk Shows on Mute
4. The Pixies - Where Is My Mind
5. Pearl Jam - Corduroy
6. Rilo Kiley - Close Call
7. Metric - The Police and the Private
8. Beck - E-Pro
9. Smashing Pumpkins - Mayonnaise
10. Interpol - Public Pervert

Viva la Really?

I've been trying to figure out something lately, maybe you can help me. Is Coldplay good or is Coldplay bad?

When something becomes ultra-popular I usually try to check it out. Part of me really just wants to know what everybody likes, and part of me needs reassurance that my taste buds are still thinking for themselves. A few months ago I finally got the latest Lupe album (O.K.), today I listened through Tha Carter III (good), and last week I finally caved and downloaded Viva and Prospekt's March (???).

You can't really tell how good something is until you've seen or heard it a few times, it doesn't really matter what it is. Usually I can tell if I like something within three spins. It was premature of me to give the third track, "Lost?" four stars, because by the third listen I was sick of it, more precisely I was sick of all three versions. The original, the acoustic one, the Jay-Z mix--they're all the same.

A lot of the songs on this album are exactly like that, they sound great in the Amazon preview, even after a listen or two; still cool. The title track blew me away when I first heard it, but now it only reminds me of the Joe Satriani song "If I Could Fly," which I never even heard before he sued them!

I've been listening to the newest album along with the orphaned tracks from previous albums trying to figure them out. I know I don't love them, so I should at least expect to know if I hate them. I don't think I do, I'm not sure. I guess by default I still don't really like them.

Hype has clearly made it nearly impossible to render an unbiased opinion of them. Speaking of hype, greatest Album of the Year Countdown ever on Hype Machine? No song today, go to the countdown and catch yourself up on 2008.