i took some photos of our japanese magnolia through the beveled glass on our front door. i think they turned out pretty cool!

– ryan

i am enjoying the latest album from damien jurado called maraqopa. it’s one of his best records, especially from start to finish, and that’s saying a lot with this being his 12th outing. there are some classic jurado tracks on this gem, including my current favorite museum of flight, which you can check out below.

the seattle times recently posted some covers of damien jurado songs by local artists, including one by jeremey enigk. from what i remember, enigk, of sunny day real estate fame, first introduced sub pop records to jurado back in the day and they ended up releasing his first few records. so these guys go way back. you can hear that cover here.

for vinyl fans, you can order a limited colored vinyl version of maraqopa from secretly canadian, which includes a poster and 3 extra 7″s with 6 bonus tracks.

don’t miss damien jurado at the earl on wed, may 23th! you can get tickets here.

– ryan

damien jurado – museum of flight

our friend mike made some tasty luther burgers for the super bowl! for those who never made it to mulligan’s when it was around, a luther burger is a bacon-cheeseburger on a grilled krispy kreme doughnut. it’s an amazing experience to say the least!

– ryan & gub

atlanta has a ton of great shows this spring. don’t miss out on the fun! for a full list, click here.

march:

radiohead – the, mar 1st – phillips arena – $69 – 7:30pm – tickets
cults – tue, mar 6th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets
deleted scenes – mon, mar 19th – 529 – free – 9:00pm
neon indian – mon, mar 19th – the masquerade – $15 – 8pm – tickets
youth lagoon – thur, mar 22nd – drunken unicorn – $10 – 9pm – tickets
alcest – thur, mar 29th – 529 – $8 – 9:00pm – tickets
perfume genius – thur, mar 29th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

april:

school of seven bells – sat, apr 7th – the earl – $12 – 9:00pm – tickets
frankie rose – tue, apr 10th – 529 – $8 – 9:00pm – tickets
bowerbirds – sun, apr 15th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets
sharon van etten – wed, apr 25th – the earl – $12 – 9:00pm – tickets

may:

m83 – mon, may 14th – the buckhead theatre – $24 – 7pm – tickets
st vincent – sat, may 19th – variety playhouse – $20 – 7:30pm – tickets
damien jurado – wed, may 23th – the earl – $10 – 9:00pm – tickets

with m83 coming back to town, i figured i should finally review their show from last halloween at the the masquerade.

all in all, the show was great! the new songs sounded amazing live and the crowd was way into it. at the same time, this was my fourth time seeing m83 and i had high expectations. i was definitely bummed they didn’t play any old songs, including completely skipping dead cities, red seas & lost ghosts, which is one of my favorite albums. i understand they have to cater to their huge new fan base, but i still want a set list that goes deeper than their last two albums (they’ve released six since 2001).

i still plan on checking out m83 at the buckhead theatre in may, i just hope for a better selection of songs this time.

– ryan

fans of vinyl records and neutral milk hotel rejoice! jeff magnum recently self-released a vinyl only box set featuring their entire catalogue along with fifteen previously unreleased tracks.

the box set includes the in the airplane over the sea and on avery island lps in new deluxe gatefold packaging, the everything is 10″ remastered with 3 bonus tracks and new artwork, the new ferris wheel on fire 10″ featuring eight previously unreleased acoustic recordings, the little birds 7″ with 2 unreleased recordings of the song, the you’ve passed/where you’ll find me now 7″ with unreleased 4-track demos from on avery island, the holland 1945/engine picture disc 7″ with fold-out poster, and two 24″x24″ posters, all enclosed in a fancy box. they really went all out with on this one!

you can find this amazing box set at current jeff magnum shows or on his new website for neutral milk hotel records. it’s a little pricey at $88, but you could easily have paid more than that for just the holland 1945/engine picture disc 7″ before this repress.

– ryan

i recently drove by the big chicken in marietta for the first time. how did i not know there was such a cool 50s relic in marietta? the eyes and beak even still move!

– ryan

i tried out the recipe for country apple dumplings that i posted a few months ago. my results didn’t look nearly the same as the one i had at r&a orchards, but they were still super tasty!

– ryan

r&a orchards

5505 highway 52 east
ellijay, ga 30536
706-273-3821

country apple dumplings recipe:

ingredients:
2 large granny smith apples (peeled and cored)
2 x 10 oz cans crescent roll dough
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 x 12 oz can mountain dew

directions:
– preheat oven to 350 and grease 9″ x 13″ baking dish
– cut apples into 8 wedges each and cover with cinnamon & sugar, set aside
– separate crescent roll dough, and roll each apple wedge up in the dough
– pinch the edges to seal and place in dish
– melt butter in a saucepan and stir in the remaining sugar and cinnamon
– pour syrup mixture over apple dumplings and then pour mountain dew on top
– bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown
– serve with vanilla ice cream

it’s groundhog day! unfortunately punxsutawney phil saw his shadow this morning, so we can expect six more weeks of winter. lame! anyone else get up early and watch groundhog day?

– ryan & gub

UPDATE:

this just in, looks like georgia’s own general beauregard lee, who is 94% accurate, didn’t see his shadow today and is predicting an early spring! we like that prediction a lot better!

i’m really digging jessica jalbert’s debut album from the end of last year. if you are a fan of lo-fi indie rock with female vocals, ala the spinanes or early stars, then you will probably like it as well. you can listen to the album here or check out a couple tracks below.

– ryan