Coming Soon

The new Fig & Mint is currently under construction. When it's ready, you'll know. Oh, you'll know.

In the meantime, check out Figments of the Fall for inane babblings and updates.

Peace!

Still Sucks

Well, the fruits of my frustration have possibly resulted in some great changes happening at Fig and Mint headquarter. We're gonna f@#$ Blogger right in the ass. Stay tuned, as a fresh, new, totally awesome version Of Figs and Mint will be coming soon.

I'll be staying up late and working through the weekend (well...not technically working) to get the new site up and running, replete with the archives from this blog.

I also believe that I will be able to redirect the URL you see above to the new site so that you won't even have to change your favorites or feed settings (though I'm not positive about that just yet).

Stay tuned, it's gonna be a dandy warhol.

Peace!

Google Help Sucks

Did you know that Google (and thus Blogger) doesn't have live support? None?

Well, I didn't know this either, nor did I care until I started having issues.

I have been very much a fan of Blogger since I started this blog last year, but the last 72 hours have been frustrating as hell. The only "help" that they offer is a convoluted series of help requests and suggestions from non-staffers that you can try and chase until your problem gets resolved.

Yeah, it sucks pretty bad.

Thanks to all you guys who are bearing with me. What I've been trying to do is making a switch to a custom domain name that I've purchased, but using other servers than the ones that Blogger provides apparently raises tons of issues. These are compounded by the fact that I'm not computer savvy at all, so the learning curve here is pretty steep.

For the time being I'm back to the rebeldeadhead.blogspot URL, but if you check in and it redirects you to a site that doesn't work at all, please drop me a line (rebeldeadhead@gmail.com) and let me know so that I can continue to try and get us a little more independent up in here.

Peace!

Paper Sack Full of More Than Diamonds

A trip to a used book store that I like in Alexandria yielded the most productive results ever in the history of used book stores. I feel like the guy in Canada or wherever who was auctioning off the rare Velvet Underground side. Well, it wasn't quite that lucrative, but it's definitely the best I've ever had. This is was 20 bucks yielded:

Carson McCullers - Reflections in a Golden Eye
John Updike - Rabbit, Run
Ernest Gaines - A Lesson Before Dying
Philip Roth - Portnoy's Complaint
D.H. Lawrence - Four Short Novels (The Fox, Love Among the Haystacks, The Ladybird, The Captain's Doll)
John Keats - Selected Poems and Letters

And the grandaddy of the bunch...

an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Walker Percy's The Moviegoer!!!

Not only is Percy one of my favorite novelists and thinkers of all time and a figure to whom I devoted many hours of study in college and grad school, my interest in this, his first novel, has recently been piqued again by the discussion of it over the past few weeks on the New York Times' Reading Room blog.

It's almost as if something stepped in to spur a renewed horizontal search of some kind (you who know Percy may find that funny or kind of get it...I realize that comments like that are so terribly and artificially highbrow they totally suck but I'm not taking it out.)

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"Until recent years, I read only 'fundamental' books, that is, key books on key subjects such as War and Peace, the novel of novels; A Study of History, the solution of the problem of time; Schroedinger's What is Life?, Einstein's The Universe as I See It, and such. During those years I stood outside the univers and sought to understand it. I lived in my room as an Anyone living Anywhere and read fundamenteal books and only for diversion took walks around the neighborhood and saw an occasional movie. Certainly it did not matter to me where I was when I read such a book as The Expanding Universe. The greatest success of this enterprise, which I call my vertical search, came one night when I sat in a hotel room in Birmingham and read a book called The Chemistry of Life. When I finished it, it seemed to me that the main goals of my search were reached or were in principle reachable, whereupon I went out and saw a movie called It Happened One Night which was itself very good. A memorable night. The only difficulty was that though the universe had been disposed of, I myself was left over."

-Walker Percy, The Moviegoer

Happenings

Lotsa changes going on here at Fig and Mint headquarters. First of all, you may have noticed I've gotten rid of that pesky .blogger.com in the URL. We did it, we're official now, baby. I have purchased the rights to "figsandmint.com," meaning that (at least for the next 5 years) we have the fig-and-mint idea on lockdown.

Speaking of the fig-and-mint idea, I've been getting some emails from readers asking what the hell does that mean anyway. Although my response (a la "The Deep Red Sea") is typically "if you don't know then you don't deserve to know," for some reason today I'm not feeling quite so high and mighty so I'll shed a little light on the situation. One commentator, we'll call him Steve, correctly assumed a Biblical reference. I would point you to Genesis 3, Matthew 7, Mark 11, Luke 11,and Luke 13. Marinate those chapters with plays on the word "figment" for a while and you're on your way.

Now, back to URL purchasing, I've also bought the rights to "figmentsofthefall.com," which is now a tumblr where my random whims and thoughts will be issued voluminously (a link is forthcoming).

Essentially, all of my web projects are growing and I'm continually branching out it seems (possibly in direct relation to the fact that I have no life), so I am having to actually be organized to keep it all straight in my head. This is how it shakes out:

1. This blog is the hub. From here you can access anything I have going on and will serve as a more journalistic, exposure-oriented enterprise for the variety of sources who provide me with cool free music to review. Stay tuned here for hip new bands, album reviews, general artistic concerns, stuff that I think is funny and more crap of that nature.

2. On the right side of this page you can find links to other places, which will be going through some changes in the coming weeks. Here's how they break down:

a. Muxtapes are active playlists. I provide songs, you get to listen and tell me what you think. Awesome.

b. "Figments of the Fall" is generally how I refer to any artistic type endeavors of mine that I showcase on the web, including poetry, some original music, graphic design and photography. The online store link is that kind of stuff that I've put on t-shirts. Buy if you want, I don't make any money off of it but it's a fun hobby. Cool.

c. I am a contributing writer to Amie Street and Americana Roots. Those links will take you to all the stuff that I've written for them. Virb and MySpace, as everybody knows, are shameless exercises in self aggrandizement disguised as "social networking." It's OK, I'm pretty shameless.

d. I'm currently in the process of building portfolios of my [painfully amateur] photography. Online versions will hopefully be available soon at Carbonmade and Flickr. Whenever they are up and running, I'll also be adding the appropriate links on the side and whatnot.

Thoughts? Comments? Harassment? As always, feel free to drop me a line.

Peace!

Muckety Muck

In the digital music age, there is more than the death of vinyl to be lamented. Of course I'm talking about the mixtape. The scene in High Fidelity where Cusack talks about the creation of the perfect mixtape is right on, as opposed to this douchebag:



In the wake of the mixtape's demise, however, we now have the playlist. So, as a new feature here, I have set up a link to Muxtape, a service that allows anyone to post up to 12 songs to create playlists that people can listen to through the Net. First up is a selection from the recent playlist I posted for all your partying needs. Just click the tape on the right and you're ready to go.

Peace!

A Few of My Favorite Things That Alot of People Hate or Could Otherwise Be Misconstrued as Pathetic

1. The Grateful Dead - everything about them
2. shopping for clothes online
3. action movies
4. classic country music
5. Ryan Adams - all his albums
6. iAnything
7. chipotle - the seasoning and the restaurant chain
8. Phish - other jam bands are suspect but every time I break out the old show folder I am completely amazed at the immense talent and creativity of Phish in their heyday (1992-2000)
9. cooking
10. "Jessie's Girl"

Psychedelic Dance Party

I haven't done a playlist in a while, so here's a great mix for the next time you throw large, drunken soiree. Although a quiet dinner party is more en vogue among the educated hipster crowd that I find myself surrounded by in DC (alas, I pine for the days of wine and rednecks back in Mississippi), there's certainly something to be said about a good ol' fashioned raunchfest. As a case in point, I will be attending a dinner party next week with a separate playlist prepared; one of a more sober, intelligently conversant manner of course (I'm sure featuring lots of rare Coltrane and cuts from Sera Cahoone's latest)...but this baby's on backup just in case. I think you'll find that the mix of funk, dance and hip hop has the potential to elevate any decrepitly boring evening into one more reminiscent of the shady dive bar you frequented on Thursday nights in college because you knew the guy at the door and he's cool and OMG the pitchers are buy 1 get 1 free...

Anyhow, use this at your own next Psychedelic Dance Party or take it as inspiration to come up with your own list.

1. MGMT - "Time to Pretend" - Oracular Spectacular
2. Antibalas - "World Without Fear" - Talkatif
3. Robert Palmer - "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" - Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley
4. Beck - "Elevator Music" - The Information
5. Black Uhuru - "Big Spliff" - The Dub Factor
6. John Scofield - "A Go Go" - A Go Go
7. The Blue Method - "Get Back Home (The Bounce)" - Kill The Music: Volume 2
8. Talking Heads - "Crosseyed and Painless" - Remain In Light
9. !!! - "Must Be the Moon" - Myth Takes
10. Bob Schneider - "Bullets" - Lonelyland
11. Thievery Corporation - "The Outernationalist" - The Richest Man in Babylon
12. The Disco Biscuits - "Highwire" - They Missed the Perfume
13. Aloe Blacc & Four Tet - "Happy Now?" - Chrome Children Vol. 2
14. Air - "La Femme d'Argent" - Moon Safari
15. Gnarls Barkley - "A Little Better" - The Odd Couple
16. Zero 7 - "Destiny" - Simple Things
17. Medeski, Martin & Wood - "I Wanna Ride You" - Uninvisible
18. Herbie Hancock - "Hang Up Your Hang Ups" - Manchild
19. John Legend - "Let's Get Lifted" - Get Lifted
20. Lemon Jelly - "'93 a.k.a. Don't Stop Now" - '64-'95
21. Liars - "Houseclouds" - Liars
22. Amy Winehouse - "You Know I'm No Good" - Back to Black
23. M.I.A. w/ The Wilcannia Mob - "Mango Pickle Down River" - Kala
24. Medeski, Martin & Wood - "Big Time" - The Dropper
25. Hi Fidel - "Patty Farmington" - FF Express: The Company of Wolves
26. The New Mastersounds - "This Ain't Work pt. 1" - Be Yourself
27. Prince - "Life 'O' the Party" - Musicology
28. Rza - "Cameo Afro" - Afro Samurai
29. The Rolling Stones - "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" - Sticky Fingers
30. The Roots - "Pussy Galore" - Phrenology

You have to appreciate any list that pairs the likes of the Stones with the Rza, or Little Feat and Liars for that matter (wow...that would actually be a pretty incredible combination). Here's a thought...what lineup generates the greatest party band of all time? Here's mine:

Billy Martin - drums
?uestlove - more drums
George Porter Jr. - bass
Les Claypool - more bass/weirdness (you need lots of bass and drums, naturally)
Herbie Hancock - keys/synth
Trey Anastasio - guitar
Cut Chemist - samples/turntables
Prince - Prince - Note: he just has to be Prince...because that's enough...I'm sure he'll feel like taking the groove to the next 'Prince' level (the highest level a funky groove can attain) but how he does this, no one really knows. Or cares. Because he's Prince.

Not ideal enough? Suggestions? Let me know and I'll either placidly agree or unkindly suggest that you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Either way, everyone wins!

Can't Get It Right the First Time

As I've been reflecting on the recent post I made here concerning the best albums for 2008 so far (which is itself a ludicrous premise...but that's how we roll up in here) my lustily insatiable need for perfection has been wracking my brain with the dreaded "wouldves" and "couldves." Plus, Miller has shed some interesting light on the first quarter of 2008 in his comments (which I suppose are worth dignifying with some discussion) and my main man Andy Silva at Fanatic shared some enlightenment that changes the game a bit as well.

To recap, I shortlisted ten albums that I hold as the best examples of musical artistic achievement so far this year (dates limited to US issues between 1/1/08 and 3/31/08), but perhaps there are some changes that can be justified. At the same time, I recognize that my musical tastes can (and often do) change daily, as I get ripe on a particular album over another, or one doesn't particularly suit my fancy as it has been. Such is the nature of the beast.

The most significant change is the result of an ongoing email conversation with Andy concerning the incredible album Songs for Waiting from a little known band called The OaKs. Although I have offered some initial exposure here (in which I even hint at the recent release date), for some unknown reason I had it in my head that it was a 2007 release. Foolish me. It started with this poignant comment from Andy in a recent email:

"I was curious if The OaKs' latest Songs for Waiting has grown on you (pun intended?). This is hardly a record for waiting, it's about life, war, and history repeating itself - more than anything it's a really interesting listen. The OaKs are somewhere between Beirut and Sufjan Stevens, but with a much more impressive rhythm section than either (Antolick's drumming is incredible). I'm personally partial to their heavily layered folk instrumentation and dueling male/female harmonies in tracks like "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," but this is also the kind of record that you have to leave on to fully appreciate it's quietest and more dynamic moments."

Well said, sir. Though I totally agree with this analysis, I had left this album off the list because of my oversight. But, fair readers, this is no more.

Secondly, let's take a look at Miller's comments (inauspiciously posted under the strange moniker of 'John'....I don't know who this so-called 'John' is, but we'll get to the bottom of it). His Redness references what I like to refer to as the Big 3 of the first quarter of 2008: the releases from Gnarls Barkley, The Black Keys, and The Raconteurs have dominated the Internet chatter across Pitchfork, Stereogum, The AV Club and others, much more so than any other albums. His analyses, too, are spot on, top drawer and any other British analogy for world class astuteness you wish to throw out. Personally, though, I don't know that the latest from Gnarls and the Keys are better than the other albums on the list - certainly Danger Mouse is sick-straight-kickin'-out the jams, but, on the whole, neither album represents the best work from either group.

Consolers of the Lonely, however, is a different story. It's time to be honest. As horrible as it sounds, I actually didn't hear it until this past weekend. I went to Borders the day of the release, but, I suppose a result of the secrecy and lightning-fast release schedule, they didn't have any copies available and then I got busy with other stuff, so I just never got around to it. But it's awesome. I don't know if I thought that somehow Jack White was capable of releasing an album that was less that incredible, but apparently he's not. I think Miller says it quite well:

"Noncombative power duo continues to mesh despite differing styles, releasing good records along the way."

White and Benson are equally obsessed with the riff heavy punctuation of early AC/DC and the soul-rending, bleary eyed stylings of Mavis Staples to produce a raw rock sound that most bands can't seem to grasp or even approach. So this is how the shortlist of 2008 actually shakes out:

Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago
Ida - Lovers Prayers
Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP (digital release - absurdly good, garnering its inclusion in spite of being a mere EP)
Liam Finn - I Am Lightning
Marco Benevento - Invisible Baby
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
The OaKs - Songs for Waiting
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Sera Cahoone - Only As the Day is Long
These United States - A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden

I must apologize to my darling Basia and the ever-deft Tyler Ramsey, but it is what it is. Their albums are certainly great and may crop up again at the end of the year when the list is much more extensive, but I think that any more than 10 for the first quarter just gets a little silly. There have certainly been some other notables this year, though, including Vampire Weekend's critically acclaimed debut, Marah's Angels of Destruction!, Devotchka's A Mad and Faithful Telling, Revenge Songs from Jacob Golden, Beach House's Devotion and Tokyo Police Club's Elephant Shell, another one I picked up this weekend that is growing on me.

By the time all of the end-of-the-year lists are pouring forth voluminously it's impossible to tell where everything will shake out, but I can just about guarantee that the 20 or so different albums mentioned throughout this post will be lurking around web discussions in one way or another. I'll tell you, too, that My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges will be in a ton of Top 5's, mine included. If you haven't heard any of the buzz surrounding it's June 20th US issue date, some delicious tidbits can be found here.

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"From the driver's seat in the dark, he popped a tape in the dash of his car. And when the singer started to scream, I knew exactly what he meant. I never knew for sure - what a wonderful man he was."
-Jim James, "What a Wonderful Man"

Saw It Coming

Although I don't especially want this blog to be proliferated by tons of asinine videos, this is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.