It's hard to believe it's already been six months since Aki came kicking, screaming, and pooping into our world, but it's true: last Thursday was Aki's "half-birthday." (It's also true about the pooping: it was the first thing the nurse who pulled him out into the world noticed!)
Right before our eyes, he's gone from newborn to the verge of boyhood.
He smiles, he laughs, he lights up and waves his arms when he sees someone he knows.
He stares at his own hands in stupefied wonder (like a character out of Dazed and Confused or Dude, Where's My Car?), then explores the texture of fruits, plastic bags, blankets, our faces, or anything else he can get his fingers or mouth on, as if he were an adorable little alien sent down to earth to gather sensory input and other data about our planet and way of life.
Aki's also taken quite an interest in food. He gives a long (and longing) look at every thing we spoon into our mouths, and seems especially interested in coffee and wine (should we be worried?).
A few weeks ago, we started him on solids, and now he grins, pumps his fists, and hollers when we break out the spoon, mini-latte bowl, and rice cereal.
Needless to say, we could go on forever about him. Did we mention that he turns pages when we're reading books to him? Okay, we'll stop!
Of course, one of the best things about this past month was that we got to share his growth with so many people we know and love: Uncle Sean was in town from Texas a few weeks ago for work, and Auntie Alex was just here for Spring Break.
We can't wait for Lisa's wedding, when more folks will be in town to drop by and play. Be ready for Aki to pull your hair or stick his finger in your mouth!
If you measured how good this decade's songs have been by how often they've been covered, Float On would be right near the top. Covers of this Modest Mouse track range from the bubble gum bright (like this cover by Goldspot) to the moody and melancholy (like this version by Ben Lee). I've gotta admit, I had to listen to the original for a few weeks before I got used to Isaac Brock's semi-frantic, semi-operatic singing, but now when I hear a cover, I definitely miss it.
Besides being one of the most ubiquitous and likable tracks of the decade, Modest Mouse's "Float On" also has one of the decade's coolest videos.
Part Joseph Cornell box art, part pop-up book, part Terry Gilliam-animated Monty Python cartoon sketch, the video captures the song's psychedelic carnival feel, with its simple boom-chsh! bass drum/hi-hat (almost like an organ grinder or carousel) and authoritative, Cure-like guitar riff.
Being a foodie with a baby is tricky, but not impossible. Cooking at home (or having food cooked for you at home: thanks, Mom and Dad!) is one way to eat well.
Another way to is to meet up at a gastronomic hot spot with a couple of baby-friendly pals. This way, you can pass the little guy around while everyone takes turns stuffing their faces. Win, win!
This is what we did with Mike and Sabrina a few weeks ago, when we started off a Saturday with coffee and breakfast at the new Urth Caffe in the Downtown Arts District and closed out the afternoon with sweets -- and more coffee! -- at Europane on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena.
Between meals, we strolled through one of L.A. County's best-kept secrets, the Norton Simon Museum, and learned one of Mike and Sabs' wonderful little secrets: they're expecting! Congrats, guys! We hadn't seen Mike and Sabs since they got hitched last December, so it was nice to kick back with them at the new Urth's outdoor tables, chat, and enjoy the boho-hipster ambience.
As always, Urth we gave an A+ for its ingredients; everything was organic, fresh, and attractive, and the coffee strong and rich. Urth's prices make us think they might've called the place "Sky" (or even "Space") but it's good to chow down here once in a while in the charming brick alley ambience of the Arts District.
After driving home to Pasadena to check out The Norton (which has got a pretty amazing collection, especially of late 19th and early 20th century painters), Mike and Sabs took us to Europane on Colorado. It's right in our 'hood, but somehow we've always missed it (although we have sampled their sweets at Jones Coffee on Raymond).
Mike swears by the Egg Salad Sandwich at Europane. Still kind of full from Urth, we stuck with sweets, and weren't sorry in the least.
The apple pie Yuri chose was probably our favorite. We liked it so much that we took Tommy and Lisa there a few weeks later. We sampled every kind of macaroon in the house, and got a free sample of Europane's delicious home-baked bread from a nice German man in line in front of us.
And of course, we tried that egg salad sandwich. You were right, Mike! We're going to have to go back for that one soon.
"Shine a Light", a track off Wolf Parade's 2004 album Apologies to Queen Mary, has the drive and intensity of a Peterbilt truck. Maybe this has something to do with the trucker hat fad that swept the hipster nation a few years ago.
In any case, this is pure indie bombast from Wolf Parade, a Canadian band fronted by Dan Boeckner (who also fronts the Handsome Furs). Along with Arcade Fire anthems like "Neighborhood 3" or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's "Yellow Country Teeth," it's one of our favorite high energy tunes this side of Y2K.
While Yuri was still on maternity leave, her coworkers Nick and Nayda dropped by our place to meet Aki. Nayda, in particular, was smitten with the little guy, and we the feeling was definitely mutual.
(Aki's sporting the Vikings gear he got from his Lolo and Lola. This was back in early January, so the Purple People Eaters were still kicking!)
We grabbed a bite to eat at Burger Continental, always a good bet for both meat-eaters and vegetarians, then strolled through a couple of neighborhood shops.
Nayda snuck off for a second and got this adorable gift for Aki from Giggle, the new baby store down the street.
Needless to say, Aki loves it. He can't take his eyes off it when we change his diaper!
We think it's Horton from the Dr. Seuss book, but we call him Mr. Elephant Man. Thanks, Nayda, and thanks for coming out, Nick! Aki can't wait to see you guys again!
My good friend Ffej used to always say that the best songs always had hand claps in them. So what would he say about a band that actually has hand claps in its name?
It's hard to guess, since Ffej, a fellow Oberlin alum, is about as easy to get a hold of as J.D. Salinger. Still, I like to think this tune would be right up his alley.
This self-released anthem for the skinny jeans set is indie to the bone. But it's also indie rock at its catchiest and sunniest. It's the perfect song, in other words, for the hipster who likes to jog: cue up this track, pop in your ear buds, strap on a cotton headband, and take a lap around Silver Lake in your totally impractical suede Pumas.
I thought Clap Your Hands Say Yeah would disappeared off the face of the earth after bringing these five minutes of sunlight into our lives, but last week they showed up on Jimmy Fallon's new Late Show. Welcome back, boys! Now, whether Jimmy's show itself disappears in five minutes, only time will tell. Pray you have the same luck as Tina Fey!
Goldfrapp's 2005 album Supernature starts with good songwriting and lush vocals, then plugs it into enough electricity to black out the whole Eastern seaboard.
Will Gregory, the production half of Goldfrapp, writes film music; he has great composition chops and shows it. Goldfrapp's songs, like all great pop, have architecture and a backbone. Combine that with a diva like Allison Goldfrapp (you could mention her in the same breath with Debbie Harry or the Divinyls' Christina Amphlett), and you get gorgeous ballads, as well as some seriously catchy, electroclash dance tracks worthy of the trendiest clubs.
Our pick, "Ooh La La", is one of the most danceable tracks on the album. It's got an irresistible high-wattage hook and such a fresh, cyberpunk sound that it was featured in the episode of Heroes (Season 1, when the show was still good) in which Hiro jumps five years into the future.
Goldfrapp performing "Ooh La La" live
When Casino Royale came out in 2006, I crossed my fingers and hoped the producers of the Bond reboot would be smart enough to tap Goldfrapp for the title track: Goldfrapp has just the right combination of the lush and the edgy to reboot the Bond songbook, which gave us hits like Goldfinger and Live and Let Die. (Check out Time Out from the World to see what I mean.)
Instead, we got a horrible and instantly forgettable track by Chris Cornell.
Supernature, with its New Wave washes of electronic sound, marks for us the high point for this decade's retro-'80s impulses. But where bands like Muse clogged their stages with flashback synths to amp up the operatic intensity, Goldfrapp plugged in to just be fun, poppy, and sophisticated.
She's a lumpia-lovin' nisei. He's a ramen-ravin' pinoy. Our little boy is like our favorite dessert, halo-halo, which means "mix mix": the best ingredients stirred together, mixed well.
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