Whoever gave me this album, own up. You deserve some credit. François Virot’s Yes or No must’ve been sitting in my “to be listened to” queue for the last 4 months at least, before one of his infectious tracks forced it’s way into random play, and then into my consciousness. I have no doubt that this record was awarded to me in a huge music swap at some point in time and never given proper attention. Well today, I’m here to declare, that this stuff is mesmerizing.

Mr. Virot is a french songwriter who has the vocal inflection of Avey Tare circa Pullhair Rubeye, only if Avey had a good voice and could actually carry a tune. Virot’s instrument of choice is acoustic guitar often backed by hand claps, snaps, vocal ticks and other forms of bodily percussion. Other than that it’s his enchanting wail that leaps all over the melodic spectrum grabbing listeners perched on all levels of any given auditory wavelength. His songs are sweet but abrasive, catchy but foreign (not just cause he’s french). Try him.

After doing a bit of research into the world of François Virot I came across a lovely, startling coincidence. On his myspace he has a direct link to the page of amazing french 8-bit-synth-garage-pop band Clara Clara. This grabbed my attention because Clara Clara had a track represented on this year’s Friends and Friends of Friends compilation, organized by me and put out by Portland’s Tender Loving Empire. The song rules. Clara Clara rules. So it turns out that Mr. Virot plays drums in Clara Clara and is sibling to one of the other members. Fancy that. Virot’s rule. Clara Clara will also appear on a split with Kickball due out next spring on TLE.

François Virot – Cascade Kisses

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

François Virot – Say Fiesta

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Clara Clara – Dolphins

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Hi everyone. Sorry it’s been ages since my last post but often when I don’t publish for some time I get stuck in a writer’s block cycle that’s difficult to break.

However, the recent news has prompted me to return with a tiny ice-breaker. Hopefully you’ve all heard, but just in case you didn’t, I’m happy to be the first to tell you.

Scientists have confirmed the existence of water on the Moon. The above picture (although not too exciting itself) is a photograph of the plume of water and ice made by the probe that NASA shot into the Moon.

Now, I can already hear some of you saying, “So f-ing what?” I’m not gonna gush on here to try and convince you of why this is a tremendously awesome discovery… instead, I’d just like to point out that this is an incredibly substantial feature about our Moon that humans, before like yesterday, we’re not aware of. This means that from this day onward, it is every human’s task to change the way they think about the Moon. It is, in fact, not a desolate, barren rock desert like we have all been led to believe for the last century. This epic discovery shows us that the Moon is a truly dynamic and active celestial body that is worthy of our foremost attention and respect. Plus, water equals the ability to sustain life. Ever entertained the idea of living on the Moon?.. well it’s about 9 million times more reasonable a concept than it was yesterday.

I’m getting to a point here…

To elaborate on my point a bit further, I present Topic B; dinosaurs. The above illustration is of Dilong paradoxus, a tyrannosaur. You will note that it is covered head to toe in feathers. This may look strange to you because dinosaurs are supposed to have scaly, leathery, brown and green skin, right? No. Actually, surmounting discoveries over the last decade plus have taught us that a large, LARGE portion of the dinosaur kingdom was elaborately feathered. Household dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptor had grand displays of vividly colored feathers covering their entire bodies. Fact.

Now, I can already hear some of you saying, “Big f-ing deal.” What I’m trying to point out is that we humans all share a collective understanding the universe. This collective knowledge, what we call fact, is an ever-evolving, rapidly shifting awareness that we have to be on top of. Humans have to be prepared to abruptly rework our understanding of the way things are, the way things were, and the way things will be. It is imperative to our growth as a species to have the ability to accept a multitude of realities as they present themselves. Question everything, understand the facts, and do your homework. There’s a lot to learn.

Here’s what I’ve been listening to:

Julian Casablancas (Dude from the Strokes) – 11th Dimension

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Dirty Projectors – Ascending Melody (B-side)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Dead Man’s Bones – My Body’s A Zombie For You

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.