Happy Friday AMOK

This is awesome. The bigger the monitor and louder the sounds the better.

Yo La Tengo! Oh, Boise. We have arrived.

I cannot express how happy this makes me. Not only are they coming to Boise, but there is no opener and we get two sets. Two. Sets. YLT. O.M.G.

Unpretentiousil

And thank goodness, just in time for Treefort!

5 Mile Gulch

Nice to have good weather and dry trails again.

Look how TALL that boy's getting!

Hooky

Great morning for it. 

Happy Friday, from K.Flay

A new mixtape from K.Flay, for free at kflay.com.

Finally.

Think Summer

The break from inversion conditions lasted about 2 days.

But screw it--I got a Middle Fork permit! Launching August 17th. This'll get me through this weather.

Snowy Twilight

Finally, the inversion is gone and we're back to normal lovely winter.

The Midwest

Images like this one make me miss Illinois. This is college buddy Barry playing hockey with his daughter Megan and another college bud's son Ryan.

Barry says he dominated. I don't believe it. And I love that Megan kicks a** in pink.

Say what you want about alpine and skate skiing, about winter sports in the west. They're great, all right, but this is what I call making your own winter fun. I just want to know why Macri ain't out on the ice--or is that him, losing the puck to Megan?

Inverted Weekend

Getting pretty sick of the weather around here.

Heading up to Bogus Basin helps. Single digits and steel-colored low-ceiling here in town. About 12 miles up the road, sunny skies and 40F. That's good for the soul.

Bird Dog

Josie came to live with us a few months ago. I've been interested in bird hunting for a while, but never had the impetus to try it out. Now, I do. So our good friend Bill offered to take us to his favorite spot to see how she did. I bought a $1.75 hunting passport, with Bill as my mentor, and off we went.

We didn't get any chukar, but we did see at least a half-dozen covies that flushed from very far away. Not certain if that's because it's late season and they're wary, or because of Josie's unbridled enthusiasm. But, Bill got a couple shots off, and we had a fantastic day hiking this beautiful area for 4+ hours.

Josie did well. The amount of ground she can cover, seemingly effortlessly, is just staggering to me. Amazing energy and speed, and no fear whatsoever of a shotgun blast. It was even more fun than I imagined. I can't wait to get out there with her again.

Best Pals, From Now On

This evening, Theo asked Josie a very important question. He stood up, walked around to look her in the eyes, held her face, and asked, "Josie will you keep the Bad Bad Wolf away?" Felt like a pivotal moment in this budding partnership. 

She said yes, she would.  

Happy Winter

Enjoy every moment you can.

Grief and Anger

Nothing of meaning to say today. But having something funny here is inappropriate. And this is what I'm listening to as I work today, or try to work or think today, and it feels like a good thing to be listening to, so I thought I'd share it, in case anyone stopped by.

I am sick about what happened in Connecticut this morning. Full of anger and dangerous feelings and just disappointed once again by humans. I feel punched in the gut and I have nothing intelligent to say today. I'll leave that to Mr. Basinski.

Kids Songs With Cat Power from Cat Power

If you've ever seen Cat Power live, especially back in the late-90s, you will know why this is so incredibly funny. Hats off to Chan for this one.

Sea of Rock

SEA OF ROCK from infinite trails on Vimeo.

I think we need to change the name of our "Hard Guy" trail...

PFork's Year In Photos

The year-end collection of photography over at Pitchfork is worth a perusal. Above, my favorite, one Ms. Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

Thankful.

The Disintegration Loops

This is all I want for Christmas.

Temporary Residence has reissued William Basinski's otherworldly masterpiece The Disintegration Loops across 9 heavy slabs of virgin vinyl, 5 CDs, 1 DVD, and a 144-page book.

The mind boggles.

This is a haunting piece of work that gets under your skin and into your brain and does not leave you alone. The story behind the music is fascinating and compels you to listen on its own, but the background doesn't explain the almost overwhelming pull these sounds have once they get into you.

I recommend this music to anyone and everyone. I believe there is something to be found in it by any human who listens, if you open up to the experience and don't get caught up waiting for a beat or hook. This goes beyond ambient or minimalism or even high-concept composition to something more visceral and fundamental than that. It's the sound of decay, of death, extended in tone and preserved for reimagining. It's really something.