February 2012

For no good reason, I pretty much left Larsen for dead in 2003. I’m so glad to see they’re still making worthwhile music that is very much their own. The cryptic tension at the core of their sound is now tempered with moments of relatively conventional beauty, which makes for a more dynamic and engaging record than Rever, where I left off all those years ago. Some songs drag a bit, and others demand your… See more →

Trying to think of another cultural phenomenon as baffling as discerning comedy fans’ near-universal adoration of Parks and Recreation.

My First Time (@ Shake Shack w/ 11 others) 4sq.com/yv5kRM

My new favorite Drake lyric: “In this bitch all drinks on the house like Snoopy.”

My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Hank Williams (84), The Louvin Brothers (49) & Loretta Lynn (38) tweekly.fm/twitter/robweycher…

Has any television character ever been as handsome as Don Draper and done as much vomiting?

Hey everyone, @ChamberMonster needs a good laugh. Please tell her a funny joke.

Do monkeys have to brush and floss constantly to keep their teeth from falling out? Fuck evolution.

I have owned LetterMpress from the beginning, but this is the first time I actually dug into it. Fun!

Inspired by Daniel Markovitz’s Harvard Business Review article “To-Do Lists Don’t Work”, I have been “living in my calendar” for a few weeks now. While I’m still a long way from becoming as productive as I’d like to be, I’m definitely getting more done, and I’m also getting a clearer sense of my capabilities (read: my ideal productive self may as well have been born on Krypton).

In a nutshell, my (evolving) process works like… See more →

Okay, Ken Burns’ Civil War, let’s go. If anything can make a man out of me, it is you.

My @thepastrybox post for this month describes my new, simple time management system: the-pastry-box-project.net/rob-weychert/2…

The original get-off-my-lawn anthem.

If you require a payment method for me to access a free trial of your service, I will bid you good day.

My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Tuatara (43), Hank Williams (39) & Console (22) tweekly.fm/twitter/robweycher…

“Wait, don’t I have another book on ornament? Oh yeah. I do.” instagr.am/p/HMqO96BM0e/

Every so often, I pull a brush through the beard because it seems like I should. No matter what else happens that day, it is not a good day.

Wide awake thanks to an insanely loud 4 a.m. dance party outside my window, wondering if it’s really that hard to be a decent human being.

My neighborhood bodega stopped carrying the bread I like, and the alternative loaf is much smaller. Now I know how Nigel Tufnel felt.

Finally upgraded to a @dribbble Pro account. No idea why it took me this long. dribbble.com/robweychert

In case anyone thought there was any justice, I just saw J.D. Williams (aka Preston “Bodie” Broadus) in a FedEx commercial.

Dat Politics are at their best when their laptops speak for them, but vocals have had an increasing presence in their shrill digital attack ever since 2002’s Plugs Plus. The vocals work to great effect when they are approached as just another element to be sampled and rearranged for rhythmic or textural effect, but when employed in the service of actual lyrics or melody, Dat Politics’ vocals aren’t up to the task (Gaetan C. Collett… See more →

Oh yeah. Asparagus.

My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: The Beatles (46), Deerhoof (39) & The Clash (38) tweekly.fm/twitter/robweycher…

My new iPad wallpaper, courtesy of @pdoughbrie:

Words with Friends is fun, but its growing pile of Zynga bullshit baggage has me just about ready to move on.

Listening to The Moth’s Chicago Grand Slam. It’s really weird to hear Peter Sagal swearing.

In case you were wondering, my favorite Turbonegro lyric is still, “So c’mon, gimme a kiss. But don’t gimme no lip.”

For the record, “anyways” makes me twitch.

Some say it’s “anyway” in writing and “anyways” in speech. Huh? Anyway, the dictionary says “anyways” is a nonstandard form of “anyway”.

Poll: anyway or anyways?

If you’re making a video to put on YouTube and you want to add some music to it, don’t. Your music is almost certainly terrible.

When I first heard that most of these songs had their origins as castoffs from David Lee Roth’s original tenure with the band, I rolled my eyes. But after hearing the album, I realized what a smart move it was. With Dave back in the fold after nearly thirty years (though sadly not Michael Anthony), dusting off old, unused songs was the closest they could come to picking up where they left off at the… See more →

Even if Björk’s work doesn’t connect with you, it is impossible not to admire her. nytimes.com/2012/02/06/arts/m…

The whole point of scheduling my grocery shopping to coincide with the Super Bowl was that other people would not also do that.

My Top 3 #lastfm Artists: Sunny Day Real Estate (40), Whiskeytown (40) & D.R.I. (35) tweekly.fm/twitter/robweycher…

A Guy Fawkes mask can only undermine your message.

Whatever great things you may have accomplished in your life, you were not responsible for the breakfast burrito I just made.

For some reason, it’s only every few years or so that I remember how great Meshuggah is. I guess that would explain why I never picked this one up, which was a mistake since it is easily the best thing they’ve done since Chaosphere. Obzen is a great example of what Meshuggah does so well: ridiculously complicated, dense metal whose bludgeoning, mechanical constitution belies the very human energy that delivers it. Stellar stuff.

One man, forty-four arrests, zero convictions (until now). Who sucks more at their job: the criminal or the law? philly.com/r?19=961&43=165761…

“All your music is on Spotify,” says an e-mail I received from @Spotify, who has chosen to begin our relationship with a bald-faced lie.

This video of a washing machine self-destructing really is kind of beautiful, and @jkottke’s commentary is spot-on. kottke.org/12/02/through-destruct…