Skelethon

This post is a tad late, but I have to share with the world my two cents about Aesop Rock's new solo album Skelethon. This is Aesop's first solo album since 2007, and I was worried that it wouldn't live up to my grandiose expectations. Let's be honest here, the man's musical stylings are so important to me that I used them to vet prospective partners..."Ben, this is a test. If you don't like this music, we may have a problem." Three years later, Ben loves Aesop as much as I do.

Anyway, Skelethon.

Skelethon was worth the wait. Every song is a treat for my ears. I am choosing a song off of the album each day and listening to it on repeat for the entire day (that sort of thing is possible with Aesop because his songs are so nuanced that you NEVER get bored). In the past year Aesop lost a best friend and went through a divorce, so some of the songs are so raw that it brings tears to my eyes. For instance, on the track "Gopher Guts" he admits that he has been "completely unable to maintain any semblance of relationship on any level, I have been a bastard to the people who have actively attempted to deliver me from peril." Yeah, that's not what most people would expect from a hip-hop guy. On the same track you also don't expect a heavily bearded man who loves skateboarding to talk about letting go of relationships while complimenting the person with, " you will grow to be something essential and electric, you are healthy, you are special, you are present." The song literally makes me feel like things are stirring in the bottom of my rib cage. It is so beautiful that I can hardly take it.

Then there's "Grace."

"Grace" is some seriously funny shit. It's all about Aesop (Ian) as a child who hates green beans. He's stuck at the table being told to eat his vegetables while all of the neighborhood kids are out, he imagines, riding dirt bikes and skateboards. I laugh outloud every time he impersonates his father screaming, "this ends now eat the god damn beans!" My meager words can't convey just how awesome this song really is.

The entire album is brimming with tongue twisters, obscure references, obvious references, and amazing beats. It has been five years of waiting, but Aesop Rock has done it again.

Oh yeah, he also peformed these new gems in SLC on Monday night. Was I  there you ask? Of course! And it was magical.

Sorry for the poor quality photo, just know that it was fantastic.

Slacking

I have been slacking in the blog department, but such is life, right?

Here is the skinny on the past few weeks:

Ben and I took Jarom to the zoo for his sixth birthday celebration, and we had an absolute blast!  The Zoorasic Park exhibit that Utah's Hogle Zoo hosted was a sight to be seen.  The dinosaurs were very realistic, and the little man loved them.  The dinosaurs are gone now, but if you haven't been to the zoo this summer, I recommend going.  Sometimes the animals seem sad, but zoos are generally a wonderful place for knowledge, and the animals tend to be well taken care of (that's my take for those of you that are ambivalent about zoos).  On a lighter note, I braved the reptile house for longer than I felt was necessary, but I suppose that is a step toward personal growth?

Aesop Rock and the Hail Mary Mallon crew performed with Kimya Dawson at the Urban Lounge, and the show rocked my world!!!  Hail Mary Mallon played new music, and Aes and Kimya debuted some of their new material for an album they are working on.  Watch this video to get a taste (warning, you will want to cry): 

Natalie had a bachelorette party where we ate at The Garage in North Salt Lake, and afterward we all had a  "few" drinks at the Marriott downtown.  The burger at The Garage is delish, and their wings are pretty damn good too, for those that are interested.  Her party was every ounce as fabulous as she is.  Words can't express how fun it was to let loose with a group of funny, intelligent women. Alek and Nat tie the knot on Saturday, and I'm eagerly waiting to see how beautiful their celebration will be.  The update that follows their wedding will likely be a verbose one. (Speaking of, check out Nat's gorgeous bridal pictures.)

All-in-all: school is flowing along nicely, the gym is fantastic (I've been choking suckas on a regular basis), Ben and I are fantastic, my friends are behaving in their usual (aka marvelous) fashion, and I couldn't be happier.

I swear, I'll update with some pictures, it's just a matter of time.

Aesop Rock

I don't know if you know this, but I am totally and completely obsessed with Aesop Rock.  He is a genius.  I listen to his music almost exclusively.  Recently he collaborated with DJ Big Wiz and Rob Sonic to form the hip-hop super group, Hail Mary Mallon.  They released the album, "Are You Gonna Eat That?," and it is awesome.  Seriously, seriously, seriously awesome.

Aesop is also the creative genius behind the awesome site, 900  Bats.  I have blogged about it before, and if you haven't taken a look, well, don't be silly.  Go look.

We have driven all the way to Boulder, Co (1054 miles round trip), and to Reno, Nevada (1038 miles round trip), just to see Aesop perform.  I take his music so seriously that the man is one of my tests for a significant other, thankfully Ben passed; basically, if you can't boogie to Aesop, you aren't boogying with me.

Well, guess what?  He is coming HERE!  Here as in, Salt Lake City, Utah! This next trip to see Aesop Rock perform is only 47 miles, and that is round trip. He will be performing at the Urban Lounge, and if you like good music, you should go.

Me and Aesop in Boulder, CO

Cardboard City

The Alex Pardee print that I have had my eye on forever popped up in a store in SLC, and I happened upon it while walking to my favorite Indian restaurant (The Himalayan Kitchen.) The "Tonight, To Knight" print is available at Blonde Grizzly, it is print 3/45. I was convinced that the print was mine, because I was totally willing to drop at least two hundred dollars on it; you see, the print was originally only $80.00 online, but was sold out when I went to purchase it. I emailed the artist and he said that the prints were limited and no more would be sold. I have scoured ebay countless times to no avail, until the day that I walked by the fucking thing hanging on the store wall downtown! The store was closed, and I contemplated putting a rock through the window to steal the painting, which I decided was counterproductive (and there were too many witnesses.) I called and talked to the owner the second I was at work the next day, he thanked me for not vandalizing his store. The print is not $200, the print is $400! Needless to say, I cried (which is pretty pathetic,) and I've since been daydreaming about someone surprising me with the print.



Anyway, I follow the artist's blog at eyesuckink.blogspot.com and he has recently started a really cool horror-movie night at his newest retail store in SF. The movie night is limited to people who purchase one of twenty prints that are sold for $10 every Monday at noon. The print is your ticket, which is totally worth the money (why don't I live in San Francisco again?) I was reading the re-cap of the night, and looking at pictures, and none other than Aesop Rock showed up to the first movie night (he also lives in SF.) It was here that I read about Aesop's new website, 900bats.com. The website is awesome, which is to be expected from Mister Rock. Check it out:

Turn Your Faces Inside Out

We had another AMAZING road trip! This time, we followed Aesop Rock to Reno for a show at The Knitting Factory. To be quite frank, I thought that the level of awesome achieved in Boulder, CO at the first Aesop show that I saw was going to be a fluke, it wasn't. The sound in the venue was great, we were close to the stage, it wasn't too rowdy, and we arrived on-time. Essentially, it was the perfect concert.

I love Aesop, Big Wiz, and Rob Sonic more every time I hear, watch, or experience something new that they put out. My admiration grew leaps and bounds after Reno. This time after the show I was able to meet all three members of Hail Mary Mallon, and take pictures with each member individually. Rob and Wiz signed my ticket!! Rob Sonic is one relaxed dude, and Wiz is super nice. I love that while Aesop is signing autographs, the other two members are taking down sound equipment and projectors. They aren't relegated to stage crew work because they have to, rather, their fans have dissipated and they want to let Aes do his thing. Aesop was really great, he grew his hair out, and he looks absolutely fantastic! He signed my copy of "Daylight" that Ben bought for me after the show, and I have another picture of us together (which I'll post later!!!) My boyfriend is the best, that CD was one of the best gifts ever!! This time Ben was able to get pictures with all of the artists as well, and he had Aesop sign a "Fast Cars" CD and his ticket.

The road trip itself was fantastic, we listened to the Max Brooks audiobook, "World War Z" on the way to Reno. The book is extremely well written and the audibook is read by a full cast (including Alan Alda!) On the way home we stopped at one of our favorite places, Wingers!! MMMMMMMMMMM, we sure do love some wings! After Wingers we stopped in Wendover where we shamefully threw away $120.00!!!! The ride home was VERY fun, we ate tons of junk food, talked A LOT, and did other things to keep us busy. By the time we reached SLC we were pooped, it was the perfect end to my summer! School started on Monday, and the transition sucked a little less because of the weekend that preceded it!

Our list of places traveled to may not be impressive to most, but I'm loving making additions!

• Boulder, CO
• Arvada, CO
• San Francisco, CA
• Wendover, NV
• Reno, NV
• Irvine, CA

Next to the list we'll add Hawaii, Thailand and New York!

Aesop Rock

Ben and I traveled to Boulder, Colorado on the 18th for the Aesop Rock concert. We drove for nine hours (by we, I mean Ben,) in a freaking blizzard. The roads were hell, and we left so late that we had to drive straight to the venue without stopping at the hotel. The driving conditions and our tardiness did not detract from the fact that we had some amazing conversations, shared great stories, and witnessed things ranging from a palatial truck stop, to a horror-movie-esque gas station. We did manage to stop at the local Wal-mart near the venue to procure two silver sharpies; the sharpies were purchased with the hope that I would get Aes to sign the lyric book I mentioned in my previous post.

I was trying not to panic because we were running late, but I'm pretty sure that my excessive map checking and phone flipping gave away my anxiety. At one point while trying to find the venue I said something to the effect of "If we miss the show, my fucking life is over." I think my anxiety was compounded by the fact that I had consumed twelve times my daily dose of sugar, and we had been listening to an awful audiobook, Paulo Cohello's, Eleven Minutes, which could possibly be one of the most horrendous books I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing. As a serious aside, Cohello uses so much mystical language, and blatantly contradicts himself throughout the book, that I literally wouldn't hesitate to burn a copy of this novel. Anyway, we finally found the venue, The Fox Theater, but parking was virtually non-existent. It is a college town and we parked in a lot that was gated and had a sign stating that tickets would be issued for all cars parked after 11:30 p.m. I told Ben that the ticket would be worth it, and we parked.

Seeing "Aesop Rock" on the marquee literally gave me chills. We made it inside, and the show hadn't even started! I was so incredibly relieved that we didn't miss any of the show. We managed to get close enough to the stage that I could reach out and touch the stage, only two tiny people were separating me from the space that was going to be occupied by my favorite artist. The air felt electric to me, and the anticipation was literally making my chest hurt. Then, it happened, Ian Matthias Bavitz came onto the stage.

Aesop came onto the stage, and I screamed like a twelve year old at an 'Nsync concert. It was almost surreal seeing him perform, he literally sounds better live than he does on CD. His performance was flawless. He was accompanied by Rob Sonic and DJ Big Whiz, both accomplices helped to make the show one that I will never forget. Aesop dances like a total weirdo, but it fits with the music. At one point he was standing on one foot with the other leg stretched out behind him, both hands clasped in front of his chest, sort of like a handicapped ballerina. He smiles like a little kid, and closes his eyes when he raps. Between songs he gave numerous accolades to Big Whiz and Rob Sonic, there wasn't any of the pompous self-proclamations of greatness that most people associate with hip-hop. The only bling he wore was his wedding ring, that he pointed at and stated "I can't," to a skanky girl that was showing her boobs to him, and begging him to come over. This was a real performance, by a real artist, and the experience was better than I ever could have imagined.

He performed some of my favorite songs, "Labor," "No Regrets," "Daylight," "Nightlight," "Big Bang," "Catacomb Kids," "Fast Cars," "Pigs," and even Ben's favorite, "Fish Tales." Basically, I love every one of his songs, and each one made me happier than the previous when I witnessed his body spew the vibrations into the microphone. I could hardly move throughout the whole show, I just kept one hand on Ben's belt, and smiled from ear to ear!I probably looked handicapped with the way that I was acting, I have never felt so happy. It was surreal seeing his tattoos in person. I have stared at picture of this man for hours on end, and there he was, feet away.

The show ended, and he announced that he would be signing stuff at the merch booth. We waited for about fifteen minutes, and he came out. I stood in a line that was about three people long, and was poised like a dork with my sharpie opened in one hand, and my lyric book in the other. Each person that moved I took one small step forward.

I talked to Aesop Rock. I made Aesop Rock laugh. Aesop Rock put his arm around my shoulder. Aesop rock is immortalized in a photo where my head is resting on his shoulder. Aesop Rock signed my lyric book. Aesop Rock made my year, and he doesn't even know it.

I managed to stay cool as a cucumber during the encounter, but went beavershit crazy once we made it outside. I have never been so excited, I almost cried. I screamed, I beamed, and I hugged Ben over and over. We walked with our arms around each other, and I just kept repeating "I met Aesop!" I looked at the picture at least fifty times in twenty minutes. I called my mother and best friend (Travis) at two in the morning on a Thursday to tell them about the event. I now have the picture of Aesop set as the background on my Macbook and my Ipod. I'm getting the picture framed with the lyric book, and yes, I will gladly drive in inclement weather for hours on end to see him again, someday.

P.S. I feel terribly guilty that Ben didn't get a picture with Aesop, I didn't have enough of my wits about me to even offer. Thankfully, Ben didn't seem to mind.