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Battles: "Atlas"

Thank you, shuffle, for bringing "Atlas" back to me this morning. This song is the best. (If you doubt me, just watch the build from 3:30 to 5:45.)

Dirty Projectors: "Useful Chamber"

via www.youtube.com

I saw the Dirty Projectors (again) live last month. It was a short show, but "Useful Chamber" was as incredible as ever.

Pulling the trigger

"This is the promise they all made in November," to contribute to change by getting more involved in the political process, he said. "I can't wait to pull that trigger on them."

The good news is that my dear friend, Anil Dash, has begun an exciting new venture that will only benefit from his expertise and passion. The bad news is that his unfortunate ending quote has probably caused the FBI to create an "Anil Dash" folder.

All joking aside, I only wish him the best of luck.

via www.dollarshort.org

Congratulations to Anil for such a fantastic and well-deserved opportunity!

Limone

A month passes. We go for a weekend away. At the hotel, a boy on a tricycle crashes into Joel.

"Limone," mutters Joel under his breath.

via Daring Fireball

Jon Ronson on the worst curse word in the world (and it's not "limone").

I want this sandwich!

This is the "banh mi du maison" from Ma Peche ("Momofuku Midtown") in New York. I want it.

In local news, I had a banh mi last week from a spot called Grab 'n Go. It was pork + chiles + cilantro + pickled carrots + bread, and it was cheap and tasty. Not the greatest banh mi in the world, probably, but very delicious & filling for $4. I'll go again.

Micro

I'm firmly on Team TypePad Awesome, and I'm totally proud of the entire team for the launch of the free TypePad Micro. This is a big day for TypePad!

Gainsbourg: Vie Héroïque

via Stereogum

There's a Serge Gainsbourg biopic, Gainsbourg: Vie Héroïque, coming out in January! I love Gainsbourg and find him endlessly fascinating, so this is exciting, and the trailer looks great.

Solange: "Stillness is the Move"

Oh, wow! Solange--whose Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams was one of my favorite albums of 2008--has covered the Dirty Projectors' "Stillness is the Move", one of my favorite songs of 2009. I love it.

Via Lizzyville.

Yep

“Bitte Orca feels nothing less than a modern equivalent to Talking Heads’ Fear Of Music” (Uncut)

DL: That’s not my favorite Heads album. Probably Remain In Light is the one I’ve listened to the most. Fear Of Music, is that the one that opens with “I Zimbra”? Whether Bitte Orca is more like that one, I don’t know. That’s a compelling thing. Is he just saying it sounds like Talking Heads, or does he mean it in a deeper way—like in terms of the way the songs are put together and the actual arrangements, it really reminds him of Fear Of Music? It would be dumb of me to pick hairs and disagree with these things. So, yep. I like the Talking Heads. [Laughs.]

via www.avclub.com

Dave Longstreth on the many X-meets-Y-on-Z comparisons that the Dirty Projectors receive in reviews, via A.V. Club.

Out of full disclosure, I have, in the past, compared the Dirty Projectors' Rise Above to early Scritti Politti (think "Skank Bloc Bologna"-era Scritti). And I stand by that comparison!

Amerie: "Why R U"

Amerie's new album, In Love & War, is really good, and "Why R U" is one of the reasons why.

Related: Idolator (R.I.P.) lists five reasons why you should give In Love & War a listen.