benton im the actor and co director you're the director, editor and special fx man, now send me a script or im walking off this set.

so a buddy of mine got this nice new camera situation & he's possibly banging into work sometime this week - me, im already off the whole damn week - having trouble getting off the couch, but any- i've committed to unemployment pages star in his next new film feature. which as you can tell we dont know exactly what it is yet-but we're both very talented & if it ever gets finished, i'll hopefully be able to provide a link for you or maybe even inbed (sp) it onto (hahaha) this very site.

sorry, im just trying to type very fast-

the reason i said "if" it ever gets finished is because, well, we've both started little projects like this before in the past & ya know,.....

but here i am, here we are, there i am, there we go,..ya know,..all that. the real estate album is pretty good, so is atlas sound. but ya pretty much i've just been sitting around. what have you been doing? do you have any ideas for our little project? if so, you know where to find me. i'll get ready and go here soon but im thinking our project should be called something like

little minute eccentricities

or something
like
that

or cheapen minuscule devotions

or tekken fury rage

or tax revolting eggheads.

merry muck

happy birthday everyone! have a happy happy - photo of me to wish wishes and such and time away from creeps & creep-a-zoids! w/love-hope all is well & peaceful in the world - love to all the new and old friends I've made this year-happy artful pursuits-enjoy your football- read your p's & Q's & mind your books - oh wait,....don't be spastic or annoying-be a cheapskate-love all & covert to what I like-it'll be better for you in the end,..oh & Shoes! ha

& one more quick thing here (an edit)
I found the following rant in the notes section of my phone-totally forgotten. (copied & pasted) sometimes on a sunday night I'll have trouble sleeping-& will subsequently

wake with words

In a haze of retribution, i must have tipi-typed these hateful words in anticipation of the work week that lay in abominate servitude at my feet. was i at all coherent of my venomous thoughts? who's bile did I have in mind whilst inspired? what poisoness substance thus peirced my heart to arouse such spite? only you hold the key to unlock the answers of my muck. decide for yourself.


Your sound is like a festering,
brooding sick
It gurgles in my stomach,
waiting to expel itself
from acidic innerds
Yes, these are twisted words
Your lipstick smears cold red
Your thoughts
are like a low murmur
eminating from a dark cave
Your solice haunts you
I have this incredible pain ,
in my wrist
I can't sleep
I can only lament
your existence,
not in the world,
but in me
I tone you out
When you say nasty things
I float above you
& your acid
& your ooze
& hope for the day
I can vomit you away
Send you back
From whence you came
& get things back
the way they were
To normal
to Rid myself
of this pain
In my wrist
slash

(there ya have it everyone-merry muck!!)
tis the season, right?

leftovers & crumbs,..

so what did you think of the top 10 of the yr? any thoughts? glad it's over - thinking of things to say is sometimes hard & makes you a bit sleepy in the end. alot of my guy friends wear Clarks shoes now, which i really like. we are like a small little clarks from england gang. all very handsome young men with handsome shoes. saw avatar - yep - it adds color into your life. The damned united & inglorious basterds (sp?) are the 2 best films of the yr though.

but i've just been here poking around on the internet slash blog situation for a while. (im such a bad typer) but wanted to speak on a few last second picks of good music for the year (then i'll leave you alone on that front for the time being) uuhhh:

The xx - solid, mellow groove indie from London - quite, sleepy
Fanfarlo - like a smaller arcade fire - lead singer sounds slightly like the guy from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - wasn't that the name of them?

blah - and im just all so bored by it now - just listen for pete's sake!!

2000 & 9 #1

#1

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest


In a landslide!

(I can see the headline the day after the release of Veckatimest) - "Brooklyn's finest sons return in '09 with not only the album of the year, but one of the most sophisticated, daunting, challenging and brilliant album's of the decade!!"

Where do I begin, what do I say, how do I form words? No, really, it's that good. (Locked in a trance!) Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen, Chris Taylor & Chris Bear straight bringing their distinct brand of experimental psychedelic art pop folk to the masses. An album that equally matches mellow basement groove rock (All We Ask), chirpy pop rock (Two Weeks) & grand ambitious guitar driven bliss (While You Wait For The Others) succeeds in all three & oh so much more.

If you're still not convinced, the further brilliance of Veckatimest comes from the bands willingness to construct as perfect an album as possible & their meticulous attention to detail. Intricate moments of unsuspected beauty attempt to weigh down the album & destroy it's very soul. But they never do, they only inspire. Take for instance the groovy, mellow Fine For Now which in my mind, perfectly explains Grizzly Bear's angle to crafting their masterpiece:

there was time
it took time
there is time
so much time

-Rossen slowly drones while Droste reassuringly chimes in the background. A piece of brooding, slow moving, yet building, simplicity. Cheerleader picks up right where the album needs to continue on to, a forward thinking, highly vocal, glorious attempt at mid-tempo pop. The songs on Veckatimest are balanced among each other with a striking accuracy.

Ready, Able is perfect in every way. With a reassuring, churning, underlying guitar line that soothes, the Bear's stroll through a frantic, almost hurried buzz of a midnight dream. It all culminates with a guitar solo, random voice effects, background electronic effect, until just drums and guitar are left solemn and alone.

While You Wait For The Others is from another planet. The riffy ode to what seems to be a petty disagreement is Grizzly perfection with guitar heavy bravado, vocal harmonies that angels would be proud of and ultimately a song so well structured, it's sickening. The song plays with you - the vocals and guitar exploits blend so heavenly together. The Ohh's and oh,..ohhh, ohhhhhh's play out as an explosion of voice while the guitar loses it's mind - it's all so perfect & HOW DID THEY WRITE THIS SONG!!!????

coming down now, I'm almost glad it's all over, thank you for reading.

Standout track - #10 While You Wait For The Others

2000 & 9 #2

#2

Arctic Monkeys - Humbug


heavy mate i'm 'avin it

If Radiohead is the best band in the world, Arctic Monkeys are easily my favorite, well,..them and Radiohead. The Sheffield lads returned in 2009 with their third release - all three brilliant in their own right. Humbug marked what's thus been their most mature sounding album to date. Probably darkest too, at times sludging (a made up word), like an angry stomping English monster. Erie!

Someone told me by email he loved the "understated sound of experience", which I thought was an incredible way to explain the slightly different direction for Humbug.

The Monkeys came out stateside to record in the Arizona desert with Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme. More a classic rock-Zeppelin feel than Jam or Clash, Humbug is a riff-filled, heavier attempt at their version of what made Britpop what it is to this day, see under Oasis, Pulp, Blur, etc. - Humbug seems to not quite be in a rush to go anywhere. It's less aggressive and an overall darker tone than their previous 2 records. Humbug beyond a shadow of a doubt proves The Arctic Monkeys have staying power.

The song Potion Approaching is a riff-heavy groove that blazes classic Monkeys sound -

I was biting the time zone
and we embellished the banks of our bloodstreams

yours is the only ocean
that I wanna swing from

-Alex Turner howls in his ode to a crazy girlfriend - wishing he could be someone else. Humbug is sure to not make every critics top 10 list. That's OK, for a band that was as hyped up as they were in 2006, it's a wonder they didn't eat themselves. They followed up their '06 debut with a gem in '07 and have been able to again, repeat the feat with another solid record.

Standout track - #7 Cornerstone & #1 My Propeller

2000 & 9 #3

#3

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion/Fall Be Kind EP


(a whoose & a boosh!)

If you haven't heard of Animal Collective this year then you really can't pretend to know anything about popular indie music. Such is not my attempt to be an ass-wipe, but my desire to tell you how incredible this band is & subconsciously say"shame on you for not finding these guys!"

I've been dreading writing about this pick & my number 1 pick for the last week because I simply knew how difficult it was/is going to be to explain greatness. Queue feeble attempt:

The sonic adventure that is Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion is the grandest attempt to challenge listeners to expand their boundaries since Radiohead's Kid A - one of, if not the most important, incredible album of the decade. The Baltimore group has expanded their experimental sound since their inception in 2000 reaching what I believe to be a pinnacle of perfect pop electro devotion & underground indie experimental beats (but all so new). My Girls could be a song that holds the record for most genres: dance, electronic, rock, hip-hop, space station visitation and Chinese hieroglyphics - simply wonderful and I'm still bobbing my head to it from my first listen 11+ months ago in Jan/09.

Merriweather is a mind-bending, original masterpiece - followed up with a gem of an EP recently entitled Fall Be Kind EP. The brilliance of Animal Collective is their struggle & ultimate success in creating a new sound without sounding desperate. Many will disagree, many will be wrong. The album plays out as a journey searching for new and exciting musical landscapes. Overall, the pieces are discovered and instead of meshing together from the get go, each unique variable floats on top of the record while you pick them out puzzling them together with each enigmatic beat.

Standout tracks - #2 My Girls
Fall Be Kind EP - #2 What Would I Want? Sky

2000 & 9 #4

#4

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca


Super original, highly intelligent indie art rock from Brooklyn -slightly to assuredly impossible to classify their brainy blend of crackly guitar licks, stylized vocal harmonies, mad-dash tempo influx and lyrical delivery - Bitte Orca is truly a masterpiece for the genius in all of us.

Part falsetto, part high flying trapeze guitar artist, lead singer Dave Longstreth brings to the masses the return of the semi-glamorous 90's R & B background singer fly girls and instrumentation so mind-boggling Einstein would be proud. It all meshes into an incredible album with enough pop hooks and danceable moments to make you pack your bags for Williamsburg.

Often times slightly bizarre, but always working, Bitte Orca is definitely a grower. It takes 5 listens to even figure out what's happening and to get a feel for the multiple layers on offer. The album does in fact have a softer side. Female vocalists Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian, sound, well, like 2 angles at times. The subtle Two Doves is pure orchestral pop elegance:

Your hair is like an eagle
Your two eyes are like two doves
But our bed is like a failure
All day up in the family
At the waning of the light

Useful Chamber is not only the best song on the album, it's got a hand in the pot of one of the best of the year. I'm still trying to figure out how Longstreth plays the guitar lick he gets away with. It's fast, unpredictable and on the verge of insanity. He sings:

I'm caught up in a storm
That I don't need no shelter from

-which explains his guitar playing to a tee.

For all it's charm and inventiveness, Bitte Orca is an album that has held up well throughout the year. Praised for it's originality and risk while succeeding in it's pop sensibilities and head turning virtuosity, Dirty Projectors have produced a classic for our time.

Standout track - #6, Useful Chamber

2000 & 9 #5

#5

Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms


80's influenced, bedroom electro-beat pop with aptly timed indecipherable lyrics that imaginably was made for cassette tapes - Alan Palomo, the brainchild behind this Austin, TX outfit garnered attention this year as a blog band resulting in Neon Indian creating one of the year's best underground albums.

With blips & bleeps that wouldn't be out of place in your favorite video game, Neon Indian resolutely placed themselves among the decade's best electropop acts. Psychic Chasms EP was released earlier in the year, with the EP consisting of the majority of the songs found on the LP Psychic Chasms. The LP was released in October with 2 or 3 new songs and a few short interludes.

At times, Psychic Chasms plays out as low-rent Daft Punk (stolen!! from pitchfork), but better. If low-rent means fuzzy, layered beats with druggie, horny lyrics, I'm in. Take Should Have Taken Acid With You as proof:

Should have taken acid with you
Touch the stars and the planets too
Should have taken acid with you
Melt our tongues and become unglued

Should have taken acid with you
Take our clothes off in the swimming pool

Neon Indian is hispter-enriched gold. With enough blog buzz to make you set your neon blue sunglasses & PBR down for a listen, the album itself is ultimately full of substance and enough 80's nostalgia to return to it's funky-chill ambiance.

Standout track - #2, Deadbeat Summer

2000 & 9 #6

#6

Girls - Album

(not all garage bands were formed in garages)

If you've heard of the band Girls, I'm sure you've heard the story of front man Christopher Owens growing up in the infamous Children Of God cult - if you haven't heard the maligned story yet, well it's important you do - you'll appreciate the incredible debut, Album that Owens and his band mate Chet White produced this year.

Christopher's older brother died in the cult as a baby due to the cults disbelief in medical attention, his father split, his Mom and him lived in various places around the world all the while his Mother was sometimes made to prostitute herself by the cult. As a teenager, Owens fled to Texas where a local millionaire took him in. Somehow he ended up in San Francisco where Girls was formed. (yeah, that's a true story)

With Album, Girls scuzzy sound is ultimately laced with Elvis Costello, The Beach Boys, and Buddy Holly. Owens often sounds a bit heartbroken, especially on Headache. Even songs where Owens sings with a playful identity, you can hear the wounded animal leftover from Owens traumatic childhood. On the bands hit single, Hellhole Ratrace, Owens laments his past, but celebrates his future:

and i dont want to cry my whole life through,
i want to do some laughing too.
so come on, come on, come on, come on, laugh with me.
and i dont want to die without shaking up a leg or two,
yeah, i want to do some dancing too.
so come on, come on, come on, come on, dance with me.

Album is a fantastic debut for Girls that will inevitably end up on tons of critics best debut lists. The members of Girls have been open and candid about their drug use during the recording of Album. Rock & Roll's past points to Girls fizzling out after a brilliant debut album - a drug abused story we've heard thousands of times over - and a story that would obviously be as disheartening as Owens poor chilhood. Here's hoping they stick around for at least the let-down sophomore album.

Standout track - #1, Lust For Life

2000 & 9 #7

#7

Monsters Of Folk - Monsters Of Folk

-(mof bringing pencil sketch back!)

The much maligned (by me, before it's release) album of indie-folk heroes Jim James (My Morning Jacket), M. Ward (She & Him), Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), and Mike Mogis (producer extraordinaire) could easily be the super-group album that actually & finally delivers.

For some reason I've never liked the idea of artists I like getting together and making a song or album that sounds exactly like what I'd expect from their respected individual releases. What's the point? There's usually little to no risk involved, the creativity suffers and the listener is left with the same old same old but with a sour taste in their mouth. The interesting thing about Monsters is that each one of the 15 tracks have a signature from the 3 main contributors on the songs they've penned. Yet the songs don't come across as stale or boring. You can tell the M. Ward inspired songs over the Jim James songs, but I like this, it's like a welcome feeling from an old friend, but in a new place.

Most of the album sounds exactly like what you'd expect a collaboration from these indie heavyweights to sound like. But again, it's OK, becuase the songs are legitimately good. Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.) opens the album as Marvin Gaye could have opened an album in the 70's: a mellow groove accompanied by a fluttering harp arrangement with crisp studio production. - The 3 verses are then sung by each contributor with patient, poignant grace. The song is a beautiful prayer to the man himself & questions God's reasons for allowing pain and suffering to continue in the world.

Dear god, I wish that I could touch you
How strange sometimes I feel I almost do
And then I'm back behind the glass again
Oh god what keeps you out it keeps me in

To be honest, there aren't a whole lot of surprises on the album. But the solid & consistent tracks on offer are enough to return to Monsters time and time again. Unsure if M.O.F. will release another full length LP in the future. They toured successfully shortly after the album's release in September. With the success of the individuals in the group, it's highly unlikely they'll get together & record again anytime soon. The project could go down as a 1 & done success. Fine with me.

Standout track - #8, Goodway

2000 & 9 #8

#8

Deer Tick - Born On Flag Day


Deer Tick (the oddest named band on my list this year) are a group of southern sounding sojourners (they're from Rhode Island) who ironically provide listeners with an authentic, down-home, country-roots, folk-rock sound (throw in a dash of roadhouse blues while you're at it).

Lead singer John McCauley sounds decades older than his early 20's reality. His voice reminds you of a road-weary boozing hitchhiker looking to punch you in the face, steal your cash & spit on your penny loafers without thinking twice (was that a stretch?).

Born On Flag Day, Deer Tick's second album, plays out as a raw and twangy stroll back to your home town bar after an absence in the City. For all it's raucous disposition, Flag Day, like albums from peers of Deer Tick, has moments of pure heartbreak & intimate emotion. Deer Tick by no means have lost their folkie roots on display from their 2007 debut, War Elephant. Song About A Man sounds as if it was recorded in one take in McCauley's bedroom during a round of beers & tears:

I've got a restless old woman standing by my side
She cannot wait for the finer things in life
She waited all this time so I suppose she has the right
But I drank away all the things I could provide

Born On Flag Day can be listened to & enjoyed in a myriad of ways - one could quite possibly partake in it's twangy charm on a warm summer night with a bottle of beer - but I'm just saying.

Standout track - #1, Easy

2000 & 9 #9

#9

The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love


One of my all-time fav bands came 'round in '09 with a different direction from their previous albums (that still hold up extremely well - classics anyone?). Exit days of literary wit & bookworm charm, enter the days of grandiose prog rock meant for the stage. Portland proud, The Decemberists returned with Hazards - their rather large & successful attempt at a full stage musical/metal rock opera. (on paper this album screams cheese, but I promise it's worth every second)

Loud, sprawling, violent, epic, lurching, - all easily describe Hazards which place characters against each other as star crossed lovers (the shape-shifting) William & Margaret battle villains and an evil queen who attempt to destroy all things love. Lead singer Colin Meloy sings multiple parts & guests pitch in to round out the cast of flawed characters. On Hazards, Meloy ultimately tackles some serious topics: marriage, parenthood, abduction & even the death of children.

An album that's slightly flawed due to it's running time (58+ minutes) ironically ends perfect. With one of the most beautiful & graceful finishes to a concept album ever, Meloy flawlessly paints a glorious picture of a beach wedding that ends not so beautiful. Check out these brush strokes:

So let's be married here today these rushing waves to bare our witness,
And we will lye like river stones rolling only where it takes us.

Oh Margaret the lapping waves are licking quietly at our ankles
Another bow another breath this brilliant chill's come for the shackle.

Ahh,..just be ready for tears. Hazards should quite possibly be enjoyed from start to finish, over-sized headphones optional. The record itself will only get better with time as has the band.

Standout track - #17, The Hazards Of Love 4 (The Drowned)

2000 & 9 #10

#10

Andrew Bird - Noble Beast


Concentration!!

Musical maestro wunder-kid Andrew Bird was back earlier this year with an incredible effort which I believe to be his best to date. Bird has never been one to "go with the flow", countless shifts in musical form & tempo, floozy whistling, plucked strings, words picked in the lyrics for the sound they give off as opposed to the meaning - all ask a lot of the listener. But Bird brings the goods immensely & brilliantly in his delivery & masterful musicianship. Take an example of Bird's word play on Tenuousness:

Tenuous at best was all he had to say
when pressed about the rest of it, the world that is
from proto-Sanskrit Minoans to Porto-centric Lisboans
Greek Cypriots and harbor sorts who hang around in ports a lot.

(gorgeous & delightful, but good luck figuring that one out)

Bird's incredible use of string instruments give the album a slightly classical but frenetic & at times mellow feel (one tends to overlook the warmth & intelligence in his voice). Large portions of the album are happy & peppy without sounding annoying. You'll often find yourself whistling along with Bird as he attempts to paint a poetic picture with his songs. Beautiful harmonies, lonely violins, layers upon layers of successful attempts, moments of precise intimacy and the odd head-bob make Noble Beast easily one of the best records of 2009.

Standout track - #10, Anonanimal

starting the start of the start of something I've been meaning to start

Lads & Lassies:

thus begins my annual jaunt into the eerie,
metaphorical,
psychoanalytical,
bombastic,
(slightly fantastic)
manly,
sexy,
many
mucho
gusto
soiree
par-tee'
muahahaha

YO! snap outta it: I'm only talking about the top 10 albums of 2009 - & can i just tell you that I'm starting to think about it - it's been a prolific year, not only for me & you in terms of creativity & certainty of thought, but also music in the so-called indie-scene-pop music funk mix-biz of electro-afro-inside outside beat-mix violin heartfelt situation,...so recognize your thoughts & realize your identity & feel that low pulsating rhythm & dance naked in your bedroom & other areas of your house.--& heaven forbid god forbid-have a nice time out tonight you twos - just remember to get back by 11 - No snogging,..no babies. no reason for any of the funny stuff-so,....without further ado, i'll begin to leave you but know that it's coming soon, very soon. most definitely drop one out per day with a little blurb & allow you to comment. boosh, we out!

we are england, we are england, we are ENG-U-LUND. i am benton

the
boi
is
back!
and back to stay on this freezing (what day is it)but wow! so much has gone on since we've last spoken. i've been writing, writing, writing about sooooo many passionate things in my life that mostly & ultimately result in FOOTBALL mate- it's MASSIVE, GET STUCK IN(hahahahahaha) remember me now? what,........you don't,..........? well what if i said this weekend is going to be a proper football situation? haha,...now do you know these things? i bet. !

so the world cup draw was today and my american friends are already starting crap with me but it stands thus far like this
me - muther england
justin-3lions
b-states
benton-states
shaun-dunno, prob states
mikey-argentina
me=every match known to man come next June,...but enough of that for now - so what is your favorite color & how many article/posts have you read of mine on EPL Talk? very proud, very stressed, kinda pissed, made a mess, got pissed (up)found (a) purp(i)se-still pen=paling (sp) rob smyth who is a proper writer that im making nice with for future fund injections. there's a few of you that ive not spoken to in quite some time. for that im sorry & i miss you, and still love you, & it's all starting to come back to me at this point. have you found any writers better than me since my absence? if so, who? i will slash their tires- i will block them in bball. i will watch them fall- i wont pick them up from the mall-ill smack'em in the jaw,..i'll tease their southern draw-ill pass my own law-i'll,..end this rhyme ......im getting thirsty

i'll now vow to never let such days pass before we greet, fellowship, inspire each other & spread such miraculous love & talk about beautiful moments in film and music & of course spicy tasty food & pints & most important of all football mate-& those times at night where the world & moon align to breath sunshine lips on you & blow flower breath in your ear you sexy deviant.

i am back