:: a.whisper.in.water ::

:: Sunday, February 22, 2004 ::

[i won’t let go i won’t let go…]

My, but it scares me how quickly I’ve fallen back into old habits, redoubled in their destructive efforts after a semester’s absence. As it stands, I’ve had 3 problem sets to do for Quantum and E&M each, and have only turned in 1 in each class. At the very least, I suppose I can be thankful that typical mid-semester slumping hit at the start, back when I was still taking a fourth class (Complex Analysis: fantastic subject matter, but killer assignments. I’ll miss it, and may wind up getting a textbook for reference. Imaginary numbers are fascinating, and I’ll hear none other); considering how out-of-sorts I am now, there remains no doubt that my decision was the correct one, though dropping E&M might have been a better move, given how much better a time I would have been having in Solid State. Regardless.

I’ve been mostly okay when around lots of friends and socializing, but when confronted with the heaps of leftover work and solitude, I’ve been doing pretty terribly. Whatever insanity this may be, it’s manifested itself in a few broken/mangled inanimate objects, a number of missed classes, a variety of casually self-abusive activities that don’t warrant elaboration, and a troubled relationship. Jenn is taking a well-deserved break from my insanity; I’ve been outright mistreating her, which only adds to an already-profound self-disgust. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve started wondering “when Aziz will come back,” and the like. Aziz may not have ever been a good student, but damned if he wasn’t a decent boyfriend. My usual high threshold for silliness and tomfoolery is practically out the window with the poor girl. After Valentine’s Day weekend, I honestly felt sorry for her for having to date me. Really, I’m relieved and grateful that all she’s doing is taking a break and not breaking up with me altogether.

I can, at least, say that I’ve had the pleasure of some fantastic music to keep me company, and just about all of it is al3x’s fault (not that he needs my little link for exposure), though the recent discovery of Ed’s decently-stocked FTP server is a joyous event for all those people asking me about Death Cab For Cutie. At present, it’s been a weekend full of Dntel’s Life Is Full Of Possibilities, a deliciously-textured fusion of his own brand of IDM and crooning indie vocalists. Doubtless, the amazing “(This Is) The Dream of Evan And Chan” was in some part indicative of the success of the more-circulated Postal Service, which features him and Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. Oddly enough, most of the folks with whom I’ve spoken about The Postal Service seem more intrigued by Death Cab. Don’t worry, borderline-inaccessible electronic music is long-overdue to totally bust out. I mean, there is always the Wesley Willis litmus test: have more people heard of a given band than him?

There’s a Broken Social Scene concert review waiting in the wings, but as far as wings may stretch, they tend not to hit the 5:30 a.m. timespan. I did, however, find a sample of an old Casio VL-Tone doing its bossanova thing (made infamous by “Da Da Da”) and arpeggiated the fuck out of it over a nastily-distorted 909-kick. That, along with a backwards sample of the howitzer from Civilizations II delights me, in that making such banging noisy loops is so easy.

Music: Adult. – Hand To Phone (Remixes). Electro didn’t really ever die, per se, but had it done so, its funky European corpse would rise from its grave and shuffle awkwardly to the lush acid thudding of Adult.. But only for a few months or so.

:: Aziz 5:39 AM [+] ::
...