Dripping Dream, another song from Sonic Nurse over at stereogum. Somehow I like this though/because it sounds like I have heard it before. Quite polished and very hummable. It has got a dreamy wistful quality to it without dispensing with the noisy guitars. I have listened to six of the eleven songs now and I am convinced that Sonic Youth's newest album is definitely not bad but I am still not sure at all if it is great. Of course I will buy it when it comes out.

Der bis jetzt einzige Kommentar (kann man dieses hilflose Gestammel wirklich so bezeichnen?) im Werther-Weblog bis jetzt, das am 3. April startete. Dagegen ging bei unserem Minima Moralia-Weblog am Anfang ja wirklich die Post ab. Und es läuft und läuft und läuft... Auch wenn es nicht immer um Theodorius geht. Und wir eigentlich nur noch zu zweit sind.

P.S. Bei der Italienischen Reise sieht es nicht besser aus. Armer Goethe. Oder armes 21. Jahrhundert?

1. Grab the nearest CD.
2. Put it in your CD-Player (or start your mp3-player, I-tunes, etc.).
3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist)
4. Post the first verse in your journal along with these instructions. Don’t name the band, nor the album-title. (via ronsens)

There is something truly amazing about the new Morrissey video of Irish Blood, English Heart (via stereogum). This man is a diva. Is he playing a British version of Scissors, Rock, Paper with his left hand at the end? Or is it the sign language sentence of deaf and dumb speak for "I am the one and only"? The stilted way he creates his own halo with his left hand before really seems to impress the audience made up of young hipsters. He is doing what he has always done and it still feels alright despite/because of his advanced age of 44 years.

The weblog aggregator Kinja rocks. Here is my current (still incomplete) blog digest. Does anyone know why it doesn't seem to work with Antville sites?

I listened to four other songs from the new Sonic Youth album and I am quite disappointed after the promising I Love You Golden Blue. Those songs were not really bad but they were kind of bland. Plodding along. Continuing the prog-rock trip they started in Murray Street. No punch, no verve in Stones. Just flabby beer belly stuff. Kind of Sonic Youth on autopilot (e.g. Pattern Recognition) as Matthew from Fluxblog said in the ILM thread. The only real surprise (and it wasn't a good one) was the softness of Unmade Bed. Sonic Youth on sleeping pills. I have the feeling they have become boring old farts with this album. Probably I should let these songs slowly sink in. And maybe the other six tracks are outstanding. But somehow I doubt I will change my mind. Here are four tracks (via kingblind).

The second best song I heard was Lee Ranaldo's Paper Cup Exit (fluxblog). But even this one is not breaking any new ground. It's okayish not too hard rocking stuff with a nice collapse of the music in noise and chaos in the middle. Lee's Sprechgesang is slightly annoying at times but that's quite normal.

So it seems that this is another SY album much below their capabilities. Not bad but not brilliant neither.

Weblogging is like wanking in public.

I have changed slightly what Salam Pax, the Bagdad blogger said recently. He was referring to the addictive element of blogging. I think the exhibitionist EGO part is quite important too.

I don't remember from where I downloaded PJ Harvey's new single on Friday. It is PJ grand cru. I'll try to upload it tomorrow but right now I can't get my ftp program to work. She is on fire on this one like on her first album. I don't think there has been a woman as powerful as her in the rock music business after Patti Smith. A couple of years ago I went to Munich (350 km from here) to see my favourite band Giant Sand open for her. Howe and his sidemen were great but PJ was the real thing. Live she is even better than on record whereas Howe live is a mixed affair.

In the meantime there is this slow fragile rendition of the classic Moon River where she duets with Vincent Gallo. Jim O'Rourke, John Frusciante and Steve Shelley are providing the extras. Original post at said the monkey.