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I find it rare that a contemporary singer/songwriter truly captures my attention.  Armand Margjeka, however, has pricked my ears with his first single off the album “Margo, Margo.”  Originally from a small town in Albania, the musician shows a keen ability to merge his own roots with the folk and rock roots of his adopted home here in the US.  The result is a crafty musical journey that borders on passionate sappiness yet remains steady and grounded.

Currently, Lady Gaga seems to be the reigning queen of incomprehensible yet dynamic music videos.  That said, with the exception of “Bad Romance“, I always feel that Gaga’s videos are a bit contrived and inorganic.  Enter iamamiwhoami.  An electronica project led by singer/songwriter Jonna Lee, iamamiwhoami‘s videos are insane…and stunning.  Conceptually, each video seems to contain repetitive symbols, motifs, and allusions that are yet to be explained: white/black contrasts, people in underwear, animals, numeric codes, sexual acts.  All of it makes for some engaging visual stimulation.  Yesterday, the group released their latest video via their Youtube channel: a track entitled ; john. A single viewing and subsequent listening to the track has me hooked.

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Alright, I need to geek out for a moment.  I love my HTC Desire HD for multiple reasons: unlocked, Android, insanely large screen (I sometimes feel like I am talking into a personal DVD player), not an iPhone.  But, I must say, the touchscreen keyboard out of the box was horrible. I don’t even have big hands (no wisecracks), but couldn’t ever seem to hit the buttons I needed to consistently.   Enter the beauty of Android as an opensource project (take that Apple!).  Without even messing around with the core of my phone, I was able to install a new keyboard that is insanely customizable (color, key size, background).  I can’t even begin to credit all those who put this together, so just find out for yourself.  Here’s how I did it and am told, you can install this HTC version of a keyboard (considered one of the best) on any Android phone.  Just make sure you select the correct operating system version (i.e.- Froyo – 2.2):

1. Head on over to: http://www.gimpsta.com/themer/
2. Create an account
3. Go through the easy to follow directions (Choose background, Key Color, etc.) – the amount of customization is really quite impressive
4. Once you have chosen all your options, generate the keyboard and scan (with Barcode Scanner) the generated QR Code
5. This should download the keyboard IME to your phone (most likely your SDCard) in a .zip format
6. Open and install with Astro File Manager (or other File app – I like File Expert)
7. Go to:  Settings / Language and Keyboard and enable the HTC_IME Mod
8. Exit and open a new Text Message
9. Tap and hold on a text input box – a “Input Method” box should pop up
10. Choose HTC_IME

Bam!  New, customizable keyboard!!!  If you want to change the settings, go back to Settings / Language and Keyboard and choose HTC_IME Mod Settings.

Love this stuff….nerd alert!

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I hate when a band slips under my radar. Actually, since my radar is fairly limited in scope, my guess is that many bands escape my searches. I should say I hate when I miss out on a band like The War on Drugs.  If Bob Dylan went on a depression induced bender, actually sang instead of mumbled, and set his vocals and lyrics to lo-fi fuzziness, this would be the result:  ”The History of Plastic”.  Brilliant.

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A couple of weeks ago, I posted an impressive single called “Grey Ship” from a striking new artist, EMA.  Since then, I have eagerly awaited her album, Past Life Martyred Saints,  which is due to be released on May 10th.  Adding fuel to the anticipatory fire, her third single “Milkman” is a noise-filled ride that douses you in lovely discomfort.  As before, I am enraptured with this song’s intensity and passion.

Disappointment, however, has replaced this emptiness. Disappointment, sadness, and some anger. The celebrations that poured forth after the announcement from Times Square to university campuses to small towns in the West illustrate an incredibly simplistic view of the current world and situation we live in. The world is not broken down so easily into the dichotomy of good and evil. If we take this road, we only reestablish the unflattering, stereotypical image of America and its citizens as unsophisticated, over-zealos patriots who revel in anything that supports their viewpoint while displacing their responsibility and culpability.

We turn in disgust when we see our fallen soldiers dragged behind cars or burned in a riotous crowd and dismiss it as barbaric behavior. We find fault in dancing crowds who burn our flag and stomp on pictures of our president, our soldiers, and our iconic images. Yet, when the time had come, we decided to commit the same obscenities. Thus, instead of being a beacon of understanding and empathy, our actions these past few days convey arrogance and imperiousness.

For the past ten years, we have missed multiple opportunities to show ourselves and our nation to live up to our declarations of being a great country who embraces diversity, multiplicity, and tolerance. The killing of a major symbolic enemy was another. We did not have to show remorse or regret. We did not have to show sadness or pain. What we did have to show was solemnity and dignity for a situation that was made better because a person had to be killed.

Hooray For Earth – True Loves from Dovecote Records on Vimeo.

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it has been awhile since an artist i have never heard of, or been associated with any bands or scenes i have known of, has boiled and binged my blood into listening bliss; but Erika Anderson, under the moniker EMA, has slipped some salient stimulation into my auditory senses.  her first single, Grey Ship (click for .mp3 download), constructs a gripping, pleading journey along a surreal landscape in three distinct parts (movements?) that shackle you in uncomfortable, unnerving bliss.  it’s sorta like Patti Smith got Enya drunk.

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i am not sure how to take this one but find myself obsessed with it.  in fact, i find myself listening to it daily: The Electronic Anthology Project - “I Dim Our Angst in Agony”.

Built to Spill’s frontman Doug Martsch decided it would be cool to re-release seven of BTS’s songs as synth-pop.  what?  why?  but then again, why not?  it may just be some big swindle, but the results are pretty cool and don’t seem to take away from the originals. in my mind, it is all fun.

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I am on a roll here…I am not so much finding music as it is finding me.  I just happened across this photo and thought, “Is that a freakin’ owl?”  Little did I know at the time that my owl-curious nature would provide me with an amazing remix of Agnes Obel’s “Riverside” single, released in December of last year.  I am a little pissed off that this song was featured on “Grey’s Anatomy” but whatever, the music and lyrics are haunting, if not a little forced.  Nevertheless, the remix seems to push through those small lapses with downtempo beats that give the composition more unity and precision.  A delicious way to end the week.

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How can I compare thee to a mdma day?  The new track from John Maus, “Believer”, situates me somewhere mixed-up between my innocent days in 1989 when I was convinced that my ponytail and white pants made me the real deal and 1998 when little white pills convinced me that Leftfield was the greatest band in the world.  I have since dropped the ponytail and white pants, am still looking for white pills, and have somehow negotiated with Leftfield on their status in music history.  Regardless, my love for electronica continues and this track only codifies it all.  Have fun with this one…