Onward + Upward

Been very busy lately, and I'm pleased to say that things are shaping up nicely for me to be bring some new music to the table soon in the form of a beautiful new project I've been working on, thetransparentcity. There is a very lo-fi mp3 (multi-tracked entirely on my keyboard) up for your listening pleasure. It's not indicative of the overall sound of the project, however (which falls somewhere between the epic dreampop stylings of Yume Bitsu, the shoegazery sludge of Paik, and the bombastic post-rock of Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky).

Other than that, I've been getting back into the groove of school and homework, and even though school has (and always has had) tremendous potential to suck, I'm really happy to be here.

I've kind of made a decision to start over this year, prompted by three things: a new haircut (the long hair I had and Jesus beard I grew this summer to go with the hair had to go), losing 40 lbs, and finally being able to bring some new music to people. I guess I kind of came to the realization that life is too short for me to focus on all the negative things that happen (something that this blog has been about way too much in the past). I apologize, therefore, to whoever reads this blog, for constantly inundating you with my solipsistic, narcissistic, whining. As James Mercer of The Shins once said, "Have I left my home just to whine in this microphone?" The world's too big, and life too short, for you to have to hear that from me. It's time for me to move on. On and ever upward, as they say.

Hopefully, that decision will stick and this year will spark a noticeable change in both my life and attitude. I hope it does, and I hope you stay around. I think you'll like the change.

Some GREAT New Music I've Been Digging Lately:
Air- Moon Safari
The Electric Twin- Demo EP*
Marianas- Onward + Upward**
Textual- Hindsight Sunglasses

*This is the demo from the guitarist and drummer of my old band, and is some of the most eclectic and well-written pop I've heard in awhile (especially considering that it's made by people not much older than myself). There's no demos on their site yet, but trust me when I say they're great. If there's any justice, these guys will be huge.

**Thanks to Ryan from Marianas for slipping me a copy of this beautiful gem of an album.