i wonder who you are and how you are doing

nice avatar

Hey man, sorry for the belated reply. I will get back to you via private message soon :)

"i can lose myself in chinese art and american girls" ;)

Is you cup of coffee fine, agent Cooper?

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you just said. And I am also a fan of ATL, though, I think Benji is a much more consistent album and goes by way faster than ATL. Musically, Benji is so rich and I love the featured vocalists that you mentioned and how Mark's stream-of-consciousness lyrics feel so earnest and heartfelt. There is something so unique about his vocal delivery on each track, and I honestly feel like there aren't any musicians or songwriters out there who sound quite like Mark Kozelek. "Dogs" is growing on me. I still think it's a bit strange to hear him talk about intimate sexual experiences of his youth, but I admire his bluntness about it. What are your favorite tracks on Benji?

Yeah, it really hit me hard the other day, so thanks so much for recommending it to me a while back! Yes, Benji is a fantastic record. I think it's just as good as Perils, and even better than Among the Leaves. His storytelling seems more focused and the instrumentation is cohesive. What are your thoughts on it? The only song I'm having trouble loving is "Dogs." The sound of it is awesome, but the lyrics are a little weird for me. I feel like I'm learning more than I needed to know about Mark's sex life, haha. All the same, I think it was bold of him to write such straightforward lyrics.

I'm kicking myself for not listening to Lisa Germano sooner. Geek the Girl is spectacular!

Sunbather was one of my faves, some people are very torn on it

Favourite album of this year?

Hey man, haven't heard from you in a while. How's it going?

Also, are you a Codeine fan?

Their final album "Downward is Heavenward" is one of my favourite albums ever made. The instrumentation and production on that album are sublime.

Have you listened to any more HUM stuff now, man? I really have to start listening to them obsessively as I did when I first purchased their albums, amazing band.

no you

Also, no word of a lie, I have a HUM tattoo on my upper leg. I got it a few months when I pretty much listened to them everyday for like, 2 weeks.

Ah man, Hum are one of my favourite bands. "You'd Prefer an Astronaut" and "Downward is Heavenward" are sublime albums, the latter being one of my favourite albums ever made. Definitely check those albums out, man. You'll dig 'em :)

Awesome! I'll check those out. :)

Do you like the Cocteau Twins? 4AD band and very, very, very good.

Definitely sparks my interest. Which of their albums would you recommend starting with?

The electric version of New Jersey is SO much better than the "Rollercoaster" version. I find it really poignant. I'll check her out soon, man :)

Yeah, it's a lovely song. No, I haven't heard of them. They worth checking out?

I really love it, but I definitely think Mark's songwriting is radically different because of his straightforwardness and lack of metaphors. I need to listen to it more, though. I love "I Know it's Pathetic", "Moderately Talented Young Woman", "Among the Leaves", "Sunshine in Chicago", and "Track Number 8" (my absolute favorite song on the album). So good.

"New Jersey" (electric version) was the song that got me into Red House Painters. I have not, do you have any songs from her you could recommend?

I absolutely love the RHP demos. I think my favourite is the demo for "Japanese to English" it has such a ghostly feel to it. I definitely understand what you mean by that, they're all classified as sadcore/slowcore but none of them really share any similarities at all.

Thank you so much! Sadly, I can't seem to figure out how to download it. It doesn't seem to work. I appreciate you sending it, though! Yeah, Ocean Beach is such a refreshing album, and it definitely has a different feel to it from their other albums. I love Old Ramon and Songs for a Blue Guitar, but I need to listen to them more because I've been playing all the other RHP albums way more frequently. You said Ghosts of the Great Highway was your favorite SKM album, right? What did you think of Among the Leaves?

I only know a few Bedhead songs at the moment. I plan to buy all of their albums soon - I like what I hear, especially "Bedside Table" and "Crushing" nope, I haven't heard any of Idaho's stuff (yet) I will have a listen soon. I think RHP is the ultimate slowcore band, I'd even say that they're my favourite band ever. Have you heard the early RHP demos? The demo version of "Strawberry Hill" is extremely haunting (as is the album version)

yes have to agree on the outro thing though I did not (could not) listen to the words properly.. it sounded a bit raw.. but I know my ears will adjust sooner or later .. that happens with Koz you know (adjusting sense perception.. this time hearing lolz ).

I actually don't use Spotify, but I suppose I should start. Any way you could send me a link(s) through a private message? I don't think they can track that on here; I've sent people on here download links countless times with no problem. But if you're not comfortable with that, I'll understand. I'll probably end up purchasing some albums in the near future, if I can't find them. I think Ocean Beach is just as good as the early RHP albums. There is a precious beauty to it that really speaks to me. Musically, it's very cohesive and beautiful and reminiscent of Mark's folk side that he later shows on Sun Kil Moon albums. The songwriting is superb, and the last 3 tracks of it especially hit me very hard. It has a Summery feel to it that I can't wait to experience next year on a beach somewhere. What do you think about it?

I just listened to "Frigid Stars" the other day and thought it was fantastic, but you comparing "White Birch" to "Spiderland" has me convinced. I'll definitely give it a listen soon! I also will check out those lesser known gems- I appreciate the recommendations very much so. I have not heard that compilation, but I shall get on that! As for Idaho and Bedhead, you're right, I find their music nearly impossible to find online. Perhaps I'll buy an album by each sometime.

yes benji right? first of all it was great to know SKM is not dead .. then I was like holy shit! what's up with Koz these days? man working tirelessly it seems.. I was reading on the richard ramirez couple of days back in office.. basically the wikipedia page only.. read somewhere its sound is a lot different from the nylon-string sound of AFP ATL.. awesomeness awaits! (PS: People generally complain on their favorite artists making limited records and dying early aka Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Elliott Smith etc. but here is my favorite artist of all time producing great shit after shit.. the irony in this completely overwhelms me have to say)

And I prefer Codeine's version of "New Year's" :)

Both Codeine albums are pretty easy to get hold of over here in England, man. I initially downloaded both albums from iTunes, then, because I still love buying physical CDs, I ordered both albums from Amazon (new copies) both at a very reasonable price! I don’t really know many other slowcore bands, I've been getting into Bedhead, they’re pretty good and worth checking out, I’m planning to try and discover some more soon. I think RHP will also be my favourite slowcore band, even though it’s only their first albums that I would really classify as sadcore/slowcore. The rest are more folk rock/acoustic, if you get what I mean. Do you have any music you’d like to recommend?

Medicine Bottle, Drop, Smokey, Have you forgotten, Trailways, Summer Dress, Shadows, Revelation Big Sur, Moments, Grace Cathedral Park, Katy Song,Things Mean a Lot, Bubble, I feel the rain fall, Carry me Ohio, Glenn Tipton, Duk Koo Kim, Pancho villa, Lost Verses, Tonight in Bilbao, Tonight the Sky, Moorestown, Blue Orchids, The Light, Lucky Man, Admiral Fell Promises, Alesund, You are my sun, Third and Seneca, Sam Wong Hotel, Half Moon Bay, Australian Winter, The Leaning Tree, Young Love, Track No. 8, Lonely Mountain, Among the Leaves, Somehow the Wonder of life Prevails, Gustavo, Ceiling gazing, He always felt like Dancing. I'm sure I'm missing out on some songs here but each of the one I've mentioned has given me some tremendous moments at some point of my life.. and you?

Same with me! It's quite difficult to pick between the two, I usually pick "Rollercoaster" purely because it has more tracks than "Down Colorful Hill", haha. I like "The White Birch" but I definitely prefer their debut, it's a strangely addictive listen. I can listen to it track by track and not get bored.

I hope you'll like it, if you pick it up! No, I haven't heard that collaboration, but I'm sure it would interest me so I'll have to check it out! I saw your conversation below, and I just recently started listening to Codeine. I'm trying to discover other "slowcore" bands. I think I'm going to check out Bedhead and Idaho next.

Seam, Codeine and Red House Painters are my top three favourite bands! My favourite Seam album is "Are You driving me Crazy", my favourite Codeine album is "Frigid Stars" and my favourite RHP album is "Rollercoaster" What is yours?

Wowee Zowee is such a fun album with great experimentation and diversity. I really love it. I've heard very good things about Trust, so I look forward to hearing it. I need to listen to C'mon again because I haven't since it first came out. The new one is..I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, but let's just say that the first few times I tried to sit through it I ended up pausing it halfway through because I found it so bland and uninteresting. I've heard it's a grower, so maybe I should give it another shot.

Great taste, man.

Thanks. I definitely will check out that covers album! LCW is probably my favorite album, ever. It's awesome that you enjoy it so much! Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is my favorite Pavement album next to Wowee Zowee. As for Low, I don't have The Curtain Hits the Cast or Secret Name, but I do have Trust. I'll check the other ones out. Have you heard their new album? I had a lot of trouble getting into it, to be honest.

modest mouse = patrician

that makes sense. i like built to spill somewhat, not so much their ambitious guitar-heavy stuff but their nice little songs like "car." i also like husker du for specific occasions such as angst. melody is generally important to me, so i had trouble getting into bands too much heavier/more experimental than sonic youth. now that you likened modest mouse to some bands i like i think i will listen again. i love philosophy and it would be interesting to hear some in the form of music. also i am socially ...inept...so in theory they ought to be my new favorite thing.

what kind of topics do modest mouse write about? i know pavement's all over the place, except for Wowee Zowee, which contains more than a few songs about marriage, or fear thereof. i listened to one of modest mouse's albums like a year ago and couldn't get into it. since they are so similar to pavement, i'm not sure what's going on

I definitely need to hear the earlier Desertshore albums, in that case. I haven't heard the AC/DC cover album- I love the Modest Mouse one, though. To be frank, I can't stand AC/DC, so I've been hesitant about hearing his covers of their songs. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and LCW are two of my favorite albums of all-time. I actually like Galaxie 500 a little bit, but I haven't listened to them enough to really form an opinion. What are your favorite Low albums? I have like 5 of their albums, but I've only listened to a couple of them. I never know where to start with their discography.

I have a feeling that my favorite album Mark has done will keep changing because I love almost everything he has released thus far. I've heard the new album with Desertshore, but haven't heard his contributions to their earlier albums. Are they any good? Admiral Fell Promises just has a very distinct sound; I love the finger-picking and the songwriting especially. Perils from the Sea is definitely an acquired taste because Mark's deep voice sounds strange alongside electronic beats, but I somehow think it surprisingly works well because the contrast keeps it interesting. Nice to see you've been giving Modest Mouse and Pavement some listens lately! Two of my favorite bands. I also love Seam, which I should have mentioned before. What kind of slowcore would you consider boring?

what would you say is the main difference, musically, lyrically, whatever- between pavement and modest mouse?

I think my favorites are "Admiral Fell Promises," "Down Colorful Hill," and the Rollercoaster album. "Perils from the Sea" is brilliant! I'm surprised to find out that some fans don't enjoy it all. Must be the lack of guitar work on it, I guess. I think Mark wrote the most moving songs on this collaboration. As for Slowcore-ish music, I'm only familiar with Mark's music, Low, and Carissa's Wierd. What about you?

Definitely! What's your favorite album that Mark Kozelek has been involved in?

I believe we've talked before, but your taste is impeccable. Love your Cooper avatar, too!