Well, I just finished sending off student grades for the fall semester, which means no work until February 10th. So that's nice. Grading 160 final exams at 40 questions each comes to 6,400 questions, unless my math is wrong, which is likely because my brain is mush. It would be nice to have a robot to do the grading for me.
Me: See that stack of paper over there?
Robot: I do.
Me: Grade them.
Robot: Master, before I begin, I should inform you that considering my limited abilities at reading human script, as well as my unfamiliarity with the principles of microeconomics, I estimate that I can complete the task in 214 hours, with a per-question error rate of 86 percent.
Me: Sounds good. Before you get started, put a case of Heineken in the fridge. As far as I've seen, your per-beer error rate is excellent. If you need me, I'll be on my laptop killing zombies.
Robot: Yes, Master. [Whispering] Fuck my life. Seriously.
. . . Because the only robots that I'll be able to afford in the future will be the ones with attitude.
Well, it's the end of the month, and I've picked up a few more albums recently. They're all pretty good.
Local Natives
Hummingbird
78/100
Atmospheric, shimmering indie rock. At its worst, it sounds like background music. When you're done with it, you don't remember what it is that you just heard. A few more plays and the beauty really comes out. This band sounds like a healthy mix of Band of Horses, the National, and Destroyer. While it is hard to identify any standout tracks, you get the feeling that the band is only going to get better, despite the fact that a few reviewers have claimed that their previous album was even better than this one. Well, that's nice to hear. Check out "Breakers."
Ex Cops
True Hallucinations
77/100
A collection of bubblegum pop tracks over half an hour, and many of the songs lasting just two minutes, this album really flies by. When it's done, you feel like you've just done a tour of what pop music has sounded like over the decades. I imagine that this album will become insanely popular, and soon Rolling Stone will be declaring them the newest version of the Strokes, or something equally gagworthy. Anyhoo, bonus points for experimentation. Below is "Broken Chinese Chairz."
Nosaj Thing
Home
81/100
I can't tell whether this album is instrumental hiphop or experimental dance music, or neither of these, because it doesn't make me want to dance, and I can't picture someone rapping over it. Although it isn't mellow music, it sounds like it should be played at night. Where Flying Lotus is so chock full of ideas crammed into songs so that you feel like you're about to be trapped in an avalanche, Nosaj Thing is a polar opposite, which is nice because music by Flying Lotus makes me nervous. Home has three really good songs--"Eclipse/Blue," with singing by Kazu Makino; "Glue," which you can hear below; and "Try," featuring Toro y Moi.
Overall, a very good week for music. Below, you can find all of the albums that I have reviewed this month. They are listed top to bottom from "very fun" to "lacks humanity."
Foxygen--We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic (88/100)
Yo La Tengo--Fade (85/100)
Wooden Wand--Blood Oaths of the New Blues (83/100)
Nosaj Thing--Home (81/100)
Parquet Courts--Light Up Gold (80/100)
Mountains--Centralia (78/100)
Local Natives--Hummingbird (78/100)
Ex Cops--True Hallucinations (77/100)
A$AP Rocky--Long.Live.A$AP (72/100)
California X--California X (70/100)
Pantha du Prince & The Bell Laboratory--Elements of Light (67/100)
Widowspeak--Almanac (67/100)
Brokeback--Brokeback and the Black Rock (57/100)
Everything Everything--Arc (46/100)
Me: See that stack of paper over there?
Robot: I do.
Me: Grade them.
Robot: Master, before I begin, I should inform you that considering my limited abilities at reading human script, as well as my unfamiliarity with the principles of microeconomics, I estimate that I can complete the task in 214 hours, with a per-question error rate of 86 percent.
Me: Sounds good. Before you get started, put a case of Heineken in the fridge. As far as I've seen, your per-beer error rate is excellent. If you need me, I'll be on my laptop killing zombies.
Robot: Yes, Master. [Whispering] Fuck my life. Seriously.
. . . Because the only robots that I'll be able to afford in the future will be the ones with attitude.
Well, it's the end of the month, and I've picked up a few more albums recently. They're all pretty good.
Hummingbird
78/100
Atmospheric, shimmering indie rock. At its worst, it sounds like background music. When you're done with it, you don't remember what it is that you just heard. A few more plays and the beauty really comes out. This band sounds like a healthy mix of Band of Horses, the National, and Destroyer. While it is hard to identify any standout tracks, you get the feeling that the band is only going to get better, despite the fact that a few reviewers have claimed that their previous album was even better than this one. Well, that's nice to hear. Check out "Breakers."
Ex Cops
True Hallucinations
77/100
A collection of bubblegum pop tracks over half an hour, and many of the songs lasting just two minutes, this album really flies by. When it's done, you feel like you've just done a tour of what pop music has sounded like over the decades. I imagine that this album will become insanely popular, and soon Rolling Stone will be declaring them the newest version of the Strokes, or something equally gagworthy. Anyhoo, bonus points for experimentation. Below is "Broken Chinese Chairz."
Home
81/100
I can't tell whether this album is instrumental hiphop or experimental dance music, or neither of these, because it doesn't make me want to dance, and I can't picture someone rapping over it. Although it isn't mellow music, it sounds like it should be played at night. Where Flying Lotus is so chock full of ideas crammed into songs so that you feel like you're about to be trapped in an avalanche, Nosaj Thing is a polar opposite, which is nice because music by Flying Lotus makes me nervous. Home has three really good songs--"Eclipse/Blue," with singing by Kazu Makino; "Glue," which you can hear below; and "Try," featuring Toro y Moi.
Overall, a very good week for music. Below, you can find all of the albums that I have reviewed this month. They are listed top to bottom from "very fun" to "lacks humanity."
Foxygen--We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic (88/100)
Yo La Tengo--Fade (85/100)
Wooden Wand--Blood Oaths of the New Blues (83/100)
Nosaj Thing--Home (81/100)
Parquet Courts--Light Up Gold (80/100)
Mountains--Centralia (78/100)
Local Natives--Hummingbird (78/100)
Ex Cops--True Hallucinations (77/100)
A$AP Rocky--Long.Live.A$AP (72/100)
California X--California X (70/100)
Pantha du Prince & The Bell Laboratory--Elements of Light (67/100)
Widowspeak--Almanac (67/100)
Brokeback--Brokeback and the Black Rock (57/100)
Everything Everything--Arc (46/100)
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