Photodump Alert: Turks & Caicos
Last week (or I guess technically 2 weeks ago now) I had the privilege of going to the Caribbean with my family again, my second trip to that region over the span of 1 1/2 years. The first one was to Dominica, and this one was to the Turks & Caicos. This one sort of just came up as an idea my mother and sister hatched to celebrate several milestones within the family (my mother’s 60th b-day, my sister’s near high school graduation/18th b-day, and my 25th b-day). Anyway, we had a good time, though I think I was the only one who preferred Dominica over T&C, but I’m not really the beach type or someone who gets completely bowled over by pretty-looking water (which it really was; it was rather objectively stunning).
About to post the resulting photos from the trip in 3 sets. And as always you can check out all of those and more at ye olde Flickr. I also really need to get on putting together a print store soon since I’ve received multiple requests from people I know who want one.
Next up is wading through all of the video I shot and seeing what can be done with it. I’m a little worried that I wasn’t able to get enough diverse and compelling footage to put together another video like Dominica, but we’ll see.
Album Review: Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP by Daniel Rossen
I generally try to remain as objective and restrained as I can be when writing seriously about music because it’s too easy to get all fanboyish and gush about certain acts without actually saying anything worthwhile. That said, I’m probably about to get all fanboyish and gush for a moment about Daniel Rossen, one fourth of the indie folk/pop juggernaut known as Grizzly Bear, and his first completely solo album Silent Hour/Golden Mile. Simply put, I love everything this man does musically from his output along with college roommate Fred Nicolaus in Department of Eagles to his massive contributions to Grizzly Bear since Yellow House. His songwriting style, playing style, and voice have about as distinctive a personality as any other singer-songwriters out there currently.
This 5-song EP is the result of the months of seclusion and confusion between Grizzly Bear’s run of touring following the release of 2009’s Veckatimest and the beginning of recording of their new album (slated for sometime late this year). The psychological toll of creative inertia screeching to a halt is palpable throughout the lyrics and tunes - “I’ll dig until I bleed/ Drink until I rot/ Lord, I know it’s wrong” he croons on the standout “Silent Song.” The jangly, freewheeling songwriting he’s known for is front-and-center here (with the beautifully grim and surprisingly restrained piano and horn drones of “Saint Nothing” serving as the lone exception) but with an openness and maturity that allows every ounce of his fingerpicked guitar and warbly vocals to shine brightly. This is the work of someone who’s visibly grown leaps and bounds over the past decade as a musician (even amidst all the hype, scrutiny, and downright skulduggery from the blogosphere over the past few years) and clearly has plenty of space left to explore and create. It’s highly unlikely this EP will be in any way representative of what the Griz have in store with the new record, but after this release I know more than ever that at least with Rossen in the mix the result will be something great.
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Dominica & the Art/Music of Editing
I know I just made a post about my latest video Dominica, but I’ve received so many nice comments specifically about the editing from people outside of the Tumblr community who I’ve shown the video to already that I feel compelled to write a little about my editing process for some of my videos. Consider this part “how the sausage is made” and part my thoughts on what makes for good editing.
NCM Original - Dominica: Dominica is one of the lesser-known islands in the Caribbean, but those who do know it have marveled at its raw and still largely undeveloped beauty, as well as its incredibly friendly inhabitants. This video is a document of my time spent there and the hours of footage I shot simply for the sake of capturing some of that beauty.
I do not own the music by Tortoise used in this video.
