The newest frontier of wordplay. I can’t quite figure out which beat (got it – Exhibit C – thank you KCRW playlists!) was on repeat upstairs when the alarm went off, but that might have to do with the fact that I was having a dream about zombies (I totally hit snooze and jumped back into the fray). So I’ll post two videos. The first is a teaser for his first big single, titled Exhibit A:

Listen to the full song here.

The second track, called Dimethyltryptamine, is a heavy hitter, politically and visually. Be warned there is some disturbing imagery.

Hmm, for some reason the song playing on repeat in my head this a.m., called “Slow Down” by the lounge-hop group Morcheeba, seems to be sending me the wrong message. 2010 is the year I want to kick ass, and that’s making me think it’ll go fast. But it’s a good message any other day I guess.

And pretty nicely edited, as well. See the original post here for links to all the original videos. Favorites?

Bizarre dreams last night. Unfinished business or something.

I keep coming back to K’Naan’s second album, Troubadour, as a place to remember why music is made in the first place – to tell stories. The song “Fatima” was playing on repeat in my head when the alarm/call from the photo lab/text from my sister all went off at the same time. There’s no video, but here is a decent version of the track.

Also, if you have 45 minutes to kill, watch this fascinating and moving in-studio performance/interview on KCRW:

Heard this song on the radio the other day, and it brought me back to growing up listening to “Full Moon Fever” on repeat for hours on end. I even busted out a lyric from “Zombie Zoo” at a dinner party the other night, to completely blank stares. Guess that one only made an impression on me.

Anyway, this tune is off of Petty’s “Wildflowers” album, which is excellent and stands the test of time. I unfortunately couldn’t find a video embed with the uncensored lyrics, so at the part where he sings, “Let’s get to the point/let’s roll another note” – well, I think we all know what he’d really be rolling.

Yes, a cringe-inducing Swedish punk band. The song that was actually repeating over and over like an alarm clock in my head is called “Thanks For Nothing” (click link to play!), for which I could not find a video. But this one is pretty good too. Turn up the volume!

I’ve been realizing that nearly every morning I wake up with a different song in my head. I’m going to start cataloging them here. The excitement among my readers is palpable, I can tell.

Today it was this song:

It’s been a long, long time since my last post. I do have lots and lots of pictures to share, and a few stories as well, but for some reason I haven’t been bitten by the writing bug in a while and so those things may have to wait. But that certainly doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. I am definitely in the camp of people who believe that the internet is not a bad influence in the literary lives of our younger generations, and while I certainly watch a whole lot of video clips online, I’m just as likely to be reading any of several dozen blogs or news sources, or watching one of the fantastic TED or Google Talks.

In that vein, I wanted to share a comprehensive (not exhaustive – there’s a lot I left out, amazingly) collection of my links and bookmarks – everything from news sources to my friends who blog to stupid YouTube video aggregators. Some of these may be familiar, some not, but all are worth a look (all links open in a new tab or window).

Recent Finds:

Best of Craigslist – from novel-length explanations of why you should or should not be cruising the personals section looking for Mr./Ms./Mrs./? Right to where to get a duck egg that someone’s cat brought home for cheap. Always entertaining!

Best of Wikipedia – Twice a day, here you will find bizarre things on, or recently removed from, Wikipedia that you had no idea existed (today: “Triboluminescence“). Archiving this junk is exactly why the internet was invented. Except for porn that is.

Racialicious - Thoughtful, varied blogging on race issues and non-issues in contemporary culture.

News and politics:

The Daily Dish, by Andrew Sullivan – Hands down the most important political blog out there, and winner of the “Best Blog” category at least this year and probably previously. Written by a self-described “conservative” British expat who is homosexual, HIV-positive and married to an American. Thoughtful, exhaustive discussions and debates span the gamut of politics, religion, culture, war, civil rights and more.

Wonkette - A hyper-savvy political satire blog. Skews left but leaves no political misdeed unexposed, usually with a Blingee-enhanced picture attached.

Freakonomics - For when I want a fix of off beat economics-related wool-gathering. I highly recommend the book as a great way for those a bit intimidated by “the dismal science” to get initiated, and I am certainly convinced by their thesis that incentives (positive and negative) drive most of our behavior.

Climate Progress – I will refrain from listing the half-dozen or so “green” blogs (Green, Inc. being the first stop) and sites that I attempt to keep on top of, but this one is worth mentioning as a premiere source of climate change related no-holds-barred political commentary, backed up with studious scientific analysis. THE place for talking points when attempting to educate the flat-earth (aka climate change denial) crowd.

Also see: NYT, The Atlantic, New Yorker, Mother Jones, Reuters AlertNet, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Al-Jazeera English.

Arts and Culture:

Boing Boing – A directory of wonderful things that is one of the best sources of information for our wired, connected lives. Used to really capture the zeitgeist, but its writers are beginning to show their age and predictable patterns emerge. Thankfully they get an incredible variety of guest bloggers, from my buddy who helped launch the fantastical Atlas Obscura to a couple of Muslim bloggers who turned me onto All Things Pakistan.

Judith Warner – Blogs about women, motherhood, feminism and politics for the NYT. Good because it’s authentic.

Vice - Dirt dog takes over the mainstream. So played, and yet who else is there?

Consumerist - Look here before you buy anything. Also teaches you how to get results from any customer service rep in existence.

Things You Wouldn’t Know If We Didn’t Blog Incessantly (TYWKIWDBI) – Lots of interesting posts, from rare butterflies to old-timey photos.

Also see: Jezebel (and all of the other Gawker sites), Losanjealous, Buddyhead, Arab Parrot, This Isn’t Happiness

Comics:

Penny Arcade – About video games and stuff.

The Fart Party – About a whiny chick in Brooklyn.

Alien Loves Predator – Playing with dolls.

Foreign:

Pink Tentacle – Weird Japanese stuff.

Pestiside - Hungarian gossip in English.

PUFFF.hu – Hungarian electronic music site.

Funnies:

FailBlog - A guaranteed dose of “no matter how shitty I feel about my life, there’s always someone that’s more of a jackass than me.”

Fuck You, Penguin – Buy the book!

Item Not As Described – As described.

Dickipedia – A wiki of dicks. People, that is.

Also see: Passive Aggressive Notes Dot Com

Media:

The Big Picture – Awesomest mainstream photo blog I’ve found yet.

Pandora - Make up your own damn radio stations.

SomaFM - Groove Salad is the best ambient background funk around.

KCRW - One of the best NPR stations in the world.

Nations Photo Lab – Where I get prints done. Great prices and fine quality.

Today’s Big Thing – Viral videos.

Useful tools:

Flip - Makes your text uʍop ǝpısdn.

TinyURL - Makes a long link short.

Google News Timeline – Expresses news stories from a variety of selectable sources in a timeline that goes back decades.

GapMinder.org – Statistics about the thorny issues out there.

Good Guide – How environmentally and socially sustainable is your shampoo? How about your toothpaste?

Friends:

Curious Expeditions

Japandroo

YellyElly

Second Skin

Working Definition

Whew, that was a long list! You can see I sort of petered off there at the end. Probably I should get back to looking for a job now. Post your favorite links in the comments!