Enjoy.
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
^ That one isn’t mine. As I write this, my South African study permit is being processed by the consulate. This is a nerve-wracking experience for a number of reasons: 1) the instructions are heinously unclear, and vary by consulate – not to mention the unclear designation of what constitutes a minor in South Africa, it may or may not be 21 these days; and 2) I’m applying pretty close to the wire because the University of Cape Town mailed my letter to the wrong address twice. It doesn’t help that I had to get a copy of my “criminal background” from the Massachusetts CORI board – no walk-in service and it still costs $25 to process. Highway robbery. Or something. I had to get my application for this record notarized, too.
And will I get this visa on time? Will I even get a visa? I can only cross my fingers that the nice people at Travisa (a ludicrously expensive visa-expaditing service) pull through for me. That’s another thing, by the way – the visa only costs $77 but the actual price is significantly more expensive. Here’s the breakdown:
- Consulate visa fee: $77
- Travisa processing fee: $80
- Doctor co-pay for physical/tuberculosis test: $25
- Photo paper for application headshot: $10
- Criminal record processing fee: $25
- Overnight shipping to Travisa: $22
- Overnight return shipping from Travisa: $22
Total? A hefty $261. Ouch! I suppose it’s good news that I’m studying with direct enrollment, then – the UCT application may have been a headache but I’m saving over $7,000. Makes that visa fee look like pretty small change.
The best news of all, however, is Vampire Weekend’s new album Contra – still a little baroque leftover from their debut but it’s still a nice departure from the original. Would all of these songs fit in on the first album? Probably, but there’s also something a little different in a really good way. Favorite song so far is probably “White Sky” – I know a few concert rips were floating around last year but it sounds SO good in-studio. It’s all streaming up on vampireweekend.com.
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
…A-Punked, that is. A lovely mash-up-ist by the name of Party Ben decided that Vampire Weekend and TI/Rihanna would sound lovely together.
I don’t know how he decided this was a good idea, considering how terrible the original “Live Your Life” is, but it works. A lot. This is great, amusing, and totally fun.
TI, Rihanna, & Vampire Weekend – Live Your Life, Punk [mp3 download]
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Thursday, December 18th, 2008
With a Poli. Sci exam tomorrow evening, I’ve pretty much locked myself in the library today. I procrastinate and you win!
Charles Hamilton – Brooklyn Girls [mp3]
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His first real track was that “Windows Media Player,” made almost solely from using sounds from Windows 98. Amusing, and the lyrics were tight. This is a little bit more playable, and DJ Benzi (as an aside, his new mixtape 10 Deep is fantastic) has been hyping him like none other. This is some good stuff – the beat is energetic but not out of control. It hits hard but would sound equally at home in my car (1996 Green Toyota Camry, thanks for asking) with the windows down, or in the middle of a massive house-party. The lines are clever and while I prefer the WASP-y/JAP-y girls that reside in Massachusetts, who am I to quarrel with Hamilton’s taste?
Peter Gabriel & Hot Chip – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa [mp3]
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Um… Holy shit. No, seriously. This is soooooo god-damn good. Considering that Vampire Weekend is probably one of my favorite groups right now, and that Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa is incredibly influenced by Peter Gabriel, I cannot believe this is actually happening. My favorite line? “Feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel too. And it feels so unnatural… to sing your own name.” Oh, and did I mention that Hot Chip worked on this with him? I’m not Hot Chip’s biggest fan, but this is damn cool.
The only gripe? It sounds like this was recorded with the F-word in it and then they silenced it for the final editing. The end of the “do you want to” is cut off in a strange way. Apparently this was supposed to make the single version of this track but was never released. This makes procrastinating soooo much easier. Made my day. Made my day. Made my day.
Daniel Meriweather & Wale – Pot of Gold [mp3]
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This track must have come out a long time ago, cause it originally appeared on Mark Ronson’s “Get Chai” mixtape from like 2004 – around when he started working with Meriweather. That said, this has a Wale verse on it, and it sounds a little cleaner than the version I have from the last mixtape. It’s got a good piano feel, with some hard-hitting drums that would feel at home in an early 90′s hip-hop party anthem. Anyway, I highly recommend you check it out.
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And… an amusing little music video from Wiley (featuring Daniel Meriweather’s voice). They did this in one take. How? Why? Thank you lord.