And We're Back...

Well, after a nearly six-month hiatus, brought on mostly by newly lifted internet restrictions at work, sketchy to non-existent internet at home, business, and general laziness, I am returning to blog writing. Who knows how often or for how long, but whatever, here's a post.

In what is to me a serendipitous coincidence, I happened to hear the new Bon Iver EP "Blood Band" for the first time today, just about an hour before heading off to the Research Park Blood Drive. It was not nearly so romantic an experience as the title track might lead you to believe. Also, my post-donation dreams of fresh squeezed OJ and homemade brownies went unrealized, I made do on SunnyD and box cookies.

In other listening, I finally bought Deerhunter's shimmering Microcastle LP last weekend. Four listenings in, it may be one of my favorite things from 2008, and it came with the 'eh' bonus CD (sounds like instrumental Broken Social Scene) for me to play in the car. The hauntingly beautiful track "Little Kids" stands out in particular. I also picked up Holly Golightly and the Brokeoff's newest album, Dirt Don't Hurt. I saw them play a few months back, and the LP really lives up to their live show. You know that White Stripes song, "It's true that we love one another" off of Elephant? Same Holly, and her songs have a similar rollicking, old-timey sound made a bit more ramshackle with clattering percussion and banjo plucks as well as a lot more lively and enjoyable. Plus, Meg White and her terrible vocals are not involved.

My little brother will be finishing up his masters in microbiology this spring and was just accepted into the UW's PhD program in the same. For Christmas I gave him a tshirt with this on it-