From the silence and deep peace of this saintly summer night — from the pathetic blending of this sweet moonlight, dawnlight, dreamlight — from the manly tenderness of this flattering, whispering, murmuring love — suddenly as from the woods and fields — suddenly as from the chambers of the air opening in revelation — suddenly as from the ground yawning at her feet, leaped upon her, with the flashing of cataracts, Death, the crowned phantom, with all the equipage of his terrors, and the tiger-roar of his voice.

Thomas de Quincey, The Vision of Sudden Death

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Mice Parade – “Logic (Parts 1 & 2)”
Ramda

Mice Parade has always been a bit difficult to nail down. More recently, Adam Pierce (of whose name Mice Parade is an anagram) has been collaborating more and creating more easily palatable music, but it still has a lot of the old feel to it. Ramda, Mokoondi, and The True Meaning Of Boodleybaye will always be my go-to albums for him, though. “Logic” definitely starts out slow, but let it build and form itself the way it’s obviously meant to. I find it has a nice payoff if you just let it do its thing.

The divisions between all the different stripes of desperado and the regular run-of-the-mill inhabitants were so fine and subtle that it was nearly impossible to identify a decent man.

Mark Helprin, Winter’s Tale

Ah! what a vulgar thing does courage seem when we see nations buying and selling it for a shilling a day. Ah! what a sublime thing does courage seem when some fearful summons on the great deeps of life carries a man, as if running before a hurricane, up to the giddy crest of some tumultuous crisis, from which lie two courses, and a voice says to him audibly, “One way lies hope; take the other, and mourn forever!”

Thomas de Quincey, The Vision of Sudden Death

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Tarentel – “Ursa Minor, Ursa Major”
From Bone To Satellite

My favorite Tarentel song, from before they got really, really weird (We Move Through Weather). This nearly 18-minute epic has some of the best guitar tone I’ve ever heard – those first few plucks at the strings send shivers up my spine every time. And of course when it blows up, it’s beautiful and huge. Goes on for a bit after that, but it’s more expansive and ambient. (buy)

Me (briefly) on CNN. I’ve been covering CES this last week.