So today I received a huge ten pound box at my doorstep. And it was from my secret santa, KEVIN MOTHERFUCKING WELLS. As embarrassing as this is, I recorded myself opening the gifts to show Kevin just 'cause I know it would make him happy. Well now he's seen it, and you can, too!!
It's 11 minutes, but you get to see how happy I am! And you can skip around if you feel like it, I suppose, but take a looksy!
What is in this box! from Anna Crain on Vimeo.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, KEVIN!!!!!!!!

Hello ladies and gents! I come to you beseeching advice in regard to the blog title.

I have wanted an electronic keyboard for a very long time, but never actually had an opportunity to get one until now. My parents have been asking me what kind of keyboard I would like, which leads me to believe they would like to buy me one as a Christmas present. The problem is, I do not know what kind of keyboard or synth I would want because I don't know anything about them! So here's where I come to you guys for help, hoping that some of you are more knowledgeable about this topic.

Any advice? I don't know where to start researching! I think I would prefer a synth. And also, if this helps at all, my friend and I are thinking about starting a band. What says you? I have looked at one called the Alesis Micron and it looks neat! Any thoughts?





Cool, right?!

So excite.
This festival is the bomb. They have a skating ramp and mechanical bull this year! Who does that!

There is no reason for this blog other than
I am so
fucking
excited.

Today, Les Savy Fav.
Tomorrow, MOTHERFUCKING DANZIG.

Alright mangs and womangs, I made a mix of songs for you today. Last night in baconchats, Omair asked me kindly if I would put something together, so I thought I'd try my hand at it, and I ended up with something I'm pleased with.

I called it "Samplers" because all the songs are fairly short, the longest being 5:36, so it should be an easy listen. The track listing is as follows:

The xx - Heart Skipped A Beat
Former Ghosts - The Bull and the Ram
Cold Cave - life magazine
Neon Indian - Should have taken acid with you
The Octopus Project - Wood Trumpet
The Depreciation Guild - Darklooming
Lotus Plaza - Sunday Night
Karen O and the Kids - All Is Love
Slow Club - Me and You
The Dovers - What Am I Going to Do
Dirty Projectors - Temecula Sunrise
Joe Pug - Speak Plainly Diana
Pavement - Texas Never Whispers
UME - The Conductor
Sufjan Stevens - Year of the Tiger
Mount Eerie - Moon Sequel

Samplers Mix

Feel free to leave comments about how much you love it or hate it. Hopefully I'll be able to introduce you guys to something new or cool that you like. :)
Enjoy!

From an extremely special dude.


Some of you might remember those delicious peanut butter marshmallow bars Brian brought to Chicago. Well today I received some of those in the mail from the guy himself! But wait! He replaced the peanut butter with Nutella, making some incredible concoction that makes my mouth do tastebud orgasms.
Annnnnddddd...


He sent me the remaining Nutella!!


And an 11-page note, which I enjoyed all the way through. :)

Basically what I'm saying is that I love Brian more than anybody in the world, and you all should too. That guy rules.

Also, I just got back from Where the Wild Things Are! How is your Saturday night?

OH MY GODDDDDDDD

DISCUSS THE HELL OUT OF THIS.

So I know there are quite a few bloggers, including myself, who are really excited about the new Where the Wild Things Are movie, and the soundtrack for it should garner just as much excitement. You know why? Because it is so damn great. I got a copy of it this morning, and I think it's really impressive as a soundtrack and as an album on it's own.

I want to share the wealth with you guys because I know you all are nerding out over this movie just as much as I am, so:
Karen O and the Kids - Where the Wild Things Are (2009) [V0]
In V0 so your ears will thank me later. ;)

GO SEE THE MOVIE WHEN IT COMES OUT, AND BUY THE SOUNDTRACK IF YOU CAN!!!

And here's a little background information about who all is included in the soundtrack:
To compose the music, O enlisted friends and fellow musicians she believed had a musical intuition that would bolster her intent to marry sound to vision. Dubbed Karen O and the Kids, these include Tristan Bechet (Services), Tom Biller (co-producer with Karen O and member of Afternoons), Bradford Cox (Deerhunter), Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs), Aaron Hemphill (Liars), Greg Kurstin (The Bird and the Bee), Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes), Oscar Michel (The Gris Gris), Imaad Wasif (The Folk Implosion, Alaska), Nick Zinner, (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and an untrained children's choir.

I WANT TO BELIEVE.

I believe you, Pitchfork. Oh boy, do I ever believe you.
Now all I have to do is pray that this is not a one-show thing. Can you please tour for me, Pavement? PLEASE?
I don't know if you could tell, but I am excited.

I don't think I can adequately describe the way I feel about this recent meetup in text form, but this will be my best attempt.

First and foremost, thanks go out to all of you that contributed to the meetup. Every staff member and every blogger, thanks for caring enough to hang out and talk to me. And even more thanks to everyone that took part in the bloggeraiser:
-Kelsi, for arranging it, and you can tell me you didn't do much besides bump a blog, Kelsi, but you're crazy, and I love you for organizing it.
-Especially thanks to anyone who generously donated their money or crafts. You guys are the reason I was able to attend this incredible event.
-Especially ESPECIALLY Phil. You know what you did, guy, and I would hug you a million times over for it.

This weekend was a very special and unforgettable experience for me. After all, I finally had the opportunity to meet my best friends for the past three years, and to be honest, I still can't comprehend the whole thing. I'm overwhelmed by everyone's loveliness, kindness, and awesomeness. Leaving you guys was one of the hardest things I think I've ever done, and I'm sorry I was such a baby towards the end!

I wish I had the chance to see you guys more often, but for now it's back to Texas. I'll be back next year, though. I'm starting the fund for Chicago post haste. :)















Au revoir for now, Chicago!

The new Atlas Sound album, Logos, is the best album I've heard this year. This will probably be my #1 album of the year.
By jove, I even like it better than Merriweather Post Pavilion, and I thought that album was impossible to top.

I just wanted to make this blog because this album makes me super excited.



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