I often enjoy wildlife photography, but the stories behind the photos are sometimes as interesting as the photos themselves. Hearing about (and seeing) the encounter with this massive Leopard Seal is awesome. I don't know if I would've been as calm and focused as Nicklen was upon the initial encounters.
Kansas City is supposed to see snow tomorrow afternoon just in time for Christmas Day. However, all precipitation is rain currently. While on the way home tonight I noticed how even though most of the rain had stopped the wet streets reflected light very well. Ignoring common sense in the short-term, I grabbed my camera and shot these pictures as I headed north on Main Street.
Though they lack technical perfection for the most part, I do like the impressionistic feel to them. In the third photo the camera focused on water droplets on the windshield. I like how the cityscape of downtown buildings is distinctly unclear.
These aren't meant to be serious photos, but just something different on a wet night in Kansas City.
I stumbled upon Transfer recently while checking out free Amazon.com MP3s. Here was something of value, yet I could sample it for free! Sounding like the best elements of bands I like this song drew me in and provided hooks my ears found pleasing.
Upon further investigation I discovered Transfer hails from San Diego. The self-released Future Selves came out in November. They received an 8.0/10 review from PopMatters for the album. The band's site states 'Losing Composure' refers to schizophrenia:
"It was originally inspired by delirium tremens: the condition where the symptoms of severe withdrawl from alcohol cause major hallucinations. I thought of someone that had such an intense hallucination he felt he was sent on a government mission to collect information from an unexplored planet and save the earth. The person I imagined gradually lost his mind over time and this particular trip was his grand maul meltdown."
Based on the songs I've heard so far Transfer is a band to watch. Check them out and let me know what you think!
Losing Composure by Transfer (7662 KB)
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I saw this guy in a local Wendy's yesterday about lunchtime. I initially saw him upon entering and immediately noticed a bushy tail and the large furry ears. As impressive as it was, I wasn't prepared for the makeup, which essentially transformed this guy to a fox (with catlike contacts to boot).
He was with his mother who seemed fine with his costume. When I asked him why the elaborate get-up he said it was a 'social experiment.' It seemed to work on some level; adults were incredulous, kids were fascinated. Still, not your everyday Wendy's patron.
It's really a shame Private Eleanor didn't achieve a higher profile before going on hiatus in late 2007. The band from Baltimore had several well-regarded releases, including what should have served as their breakthough in the 2007 album Sweethearting. Their combination of softly lilting songs and guy-girl vocals are exactly what appeal to fans of Mojave 3 or Yo La Tengo, groups to which Private Eleanor has been compared at various times. Add in a healthy dose of upbeat, slightly jangly tunes and you have a band to watch.
Private Eleanor came to my attention with a track on a Magnet Magazine CD sampler as each issue had a disc of new music. It was a spring night in 2007 when I first heard 'A better way to run' and could not stop listening. I've always been attracted to catchy music and this was ear candy. I immediately found the band's website and purchased the CD. I was pleased to receive the album in a package mailed by PE primary songwriter Austin Stahl.
It is hard for me to compare Private Eleanor with anyone else. No, they're not the most original band, and I understand why Mojave 3 or Yo La Tengo get used as comparisons. My own personal comparison is to the seemingly long-forgotten Aussie band Sea Stories.* They had a similar song dynamic and were similarly lost in the public consciousness despite releasing a couple of albums on I.R.S. Records.
*Music geek story/trivia: I met Sea Stories members Simon Honisett and Penny Hewson in 1996 when they were touring to support their post-Sea Stories project Gigantaur. Both were exceptionally nice people as they co-hosted an episode of my Sunday night radio show and played in-studio. During our discussion I learned Simon's dad had done artwork for many Australian postage stamps, some of which were in my collection. It was an odd connection but one we thought was funny at the time. The last I heard Simon was living in Portland, Oregon while Penny was back in Australia and ran the Choc Chip Records label for a while.
What Stahl and the rest of Private Eleanor created was a sublime sonic tapestry. The instrumentation is always just right on Sweethearting; nothing is too loud or too soft. It probably helps that much of the album was recorded live in the same room, but having producer T.J. Lipple was a good move as well. The results display the work and rehearsals that must have been involved in producing the album.
What really helps Private Eleanor stand out is the vocal interaction between Stahl and Marian Glebes. It seems to me this is a case of two voices being better than one. When Glebes and Stahl mesh the songs excel. That is not to say it's necessary for everything to be a duet. On a quieter acoustic guitar/piano driven song such as 'Consider the archer' you feel it when Stahl sings "Tonight feels like home, but I wonder if it won't be recalled as the end of something." It's a plaintive song and Stahl conveys the emotion perfectly.
But it's the more upbeat numbers where I fell in love with Private Eleanor. There is a nominal story through the album, and it ends with a mostly optimistic outlook in 'This year I'm going to see the sun.' I understand the hopefulness in a lyric such as "I'd forgotten how the light looks when the sun's this low in the sky, and the feeling of possibility when you know it's on the rise." However, it is immediately tempered by "But the sensation's fleeting." It is that cautious optimism I found endearing in Private Eleanor.
Due to band member's schedules, school responsibilities, life, etc. Private Eleanor announced they were going on indefinite hiatus in November 2007. All is not lost though: the band is still selling copies of Sweethearting on their site for $5 shipping included. Treat yourself to a lost treasure.
A Better Way To Run by Private Eleanor (5382 KB)
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This Year I'm Going To See The Sun by Private Eleanor (8149 KB)
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If you order Sweethearting you may receive a free copy of the Baltimore band compilation This City of Neighborhoods if any are left. On it are a couple of tracks by Pupa's Window, a band of which Austin Stahl is a casual contributor. Though 'Warm Embrace' hasn't been released on an album yet, I thought this short song was very promising.
Warm Embrace by Pupa's Window (3564 KB)
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