MONDAY 18 FEBRUARY

I didn't really do very much last night. Nothing creative, anyway. It was one of the most boring days at work of my entire life, and I was really... well, not upset by it per se, but just sort of annoyed that I had found yet a more boring level of boredom. I'm serious, there are actually levels to the boredom of copy-pasting information. I know, it's surprising, but until you've been there. I guess it's probably to do with the actual content, but that seems so inconceivable. I mean, if you're copy-pasting, how much is there to it, right? But somehow, I really enjoy the restaurant thing, but this awful one was... mortgages and home loans and boring crap that I really don't want to know about.

SO, in my infinite wisdom, I spoke to spacetiger all day as well as doing the most boring job in the world, and we talked of many things (as we do every day), but yesterday it was mash-ups. We shared, laughed, loved, and it was amazing.

Actually, no. We said how awesome mash-ups are, and then she sent me some songs on sendspace while I was at dinner, and I sent her some when she was fast asleep. Anyway, here are the awesomesauce songs that I decided to upload for her first, and then the others that she uploaded for me. She sent along some more today, and by all means send some more along because that's what music - especially mash-ups and bastard pop - is about. Sharing, taking, loving, and integrating into one's life. So, links please!

The Songs I Picked...

1. "Wolf Child Tribulations" - Patrick Wolf (Childcatcher) vs. LCD Soundsystem (Tribulations) - by Eve Massacre. 4MB @ sendspace HERE. The Patrick Wolf song is way too much for me. In its entirety, it pretty much kills me. It's a terrible, painful song about child molestation and assault, and makes me... well, like a lot of early Patrick Wolf stuff, it's just too on edge. Makes me nervous, jumpy, uncomfortable. And then, well. LCD Soundsystem is not known for their gravity. So it takes the first verse and chorus of the Patrick song - easily the lightest section - and melds it with this totally frivolous dance track and... well, it makes it easy to listen to.
2. "Justify My Thug" - Jay-Z (same title) vs. The Beatles (Rocky Raccoon) - by DJ Danger Mouse. 5MB @ sendspace HERE. This turns up perennially on my playlists, mostly because I had to study it for my Popular Music class in USyd second year. It's a great song, and so much of The Grey Album is just genius. I mean from concept (dude, it's The Beatles' White Album mashed with Jay-Z's Black Album) to execution, it's amazing. There are some really stand-out tracks - this one, "What More Can I Say," and most especially "December 4th" are really amazing. This one I had to write a paper on, though, so I know it like the back of my hand.
3. "Somebody Stole Your Beat" - The Killers (Somebody Told Me) vs. Bloc Party (Banquet). 3MB @ sendspace HERE. Mad props to Good Weather For Airstrikes blog for this and the next track. I got it a million years ago, but it's really great. I listened to it on a loop for so long that for a while I wasn't able to listen to either of the original tracks. Neither song is particularly good on its own (I always did like Mr. Brightside better, and even though I like Bloc Party they're not geniuses), but together it makes this... almost too slow version of two dance songs. And I love it.
4. "Bloc of Nails" - Nine Inch Nails (Hand That Feeds) vs. Bloc Party (Helicopter). 4MB @ sendspace HERE. I didn't immediately love it as much as the previous one, but omg I love it now. I'm in the mood for mash-ups, and this one is great. I don't know the NIN song so well, but it works amazingly with the Bloc Party song and... I don't know, I just love it. Helicopter has always been one of my favorite songs of theirs, and while I don't know or like NIN much, this is a really great mix and I love it. Props, again, and here's the post from GWFAS (which is, incidentally, a reference to a Sigur Ros song. How awesome.)
5. "Frontier Psychiatrist" - The Avalanches. 4MB @ sendspace HERE. Not a mash-up, but true bastard pop. This is not a song. This is various snip-its from various B-grade movies and music and it's just put together spectacularly well. I do - and always will - credit Nick Hornby with putting me onto this Melbournian band. And how sad is that! But anyway, this is a true masterpiece of bastard pop. I am really amazed by a lot of Australian hip-hop because of their new-world samples, but this is like... not just sampling. This isn't just mashing. This is making music out of culture, sub-culture, references that nobody even knows! Anyway. It's awesome. Download it.
6. "Boulevard of Broken Songs" - Green Day (Boulevard of Broken Dreams) vs. Oasis (Wonderwall) vs. Travis (Writing To Reach You) vs. Eminem (Sing For The Moment - which, ingeniously, heavily samples Aerosmith's Dream On) - by Party Ben. 6MB @ sendspace HERE. One of my first mash-ups. It was, admittedly, passed onto me by an ex that I don't like to talk to much anymore, but I do love it still. I listened to it so many times that I made it my own, and really... you should make it your own as well! Not only does it make me listen to new Green Day (I don't listen to anything past Nimrod, on principle), but it samples a tired-ass Britpop song (I love Oasis, and Wonderwall, don't get me wrong, but come on... how many times is it covered, guys?), a boring-ass new!Britpop band (I love Travis, but they literally put me to sleep on the Greyhound from Amherst to Boston for a year), and a controversial white rapper (I will leave my opinions on Eminem to myself, cough). I don't know how it works. It shouldn't. But it's amazing. And once you hear it, you won' be surprised that I picked more Party Ben, because he's a genius. Do as I do, and go download his newer stuff. Right now. He's amaz.
   
7. "Chic Franzie Boys" - Chic (Good Times) vs. Franz Ferdinand (Take Me Out) vs Beastie Boys (Triple Trouble) - by Party Ben. 7MB @ sendspace HERE. I am literally downloading all of Party Ben's new stuff because I really think he's that amazing. No questions. Even his Coldplay vs. Kraftwerk song (ie boring vs. boring) is great! Not kidding. No seriously. Go download. All of it. Now.

And so, after that RIDICULOUSLY long commentary on last night's mash-up commentary.... (ALSO TO PRE-WARN, we are totally making a podcast. You will need to subscribe. We may only have one episode but it's CROSS-CONTINENTAL it'll be awesome. I more than promise!)

TUESDAY 19 FEBRUARY

Tonight I made a great recipe, but unfortunately I didn't take any pictures! My camera was not out of commission, I was just watching the Supernatural special features so I was way too distracted. Not only was it the Jared, Jensen, and Kim Manners commentary on In My Time of Dying, but ALL of the Season One special features were there. Which, if you have bought SPN in Australia or have heard complaints of the DVDs that were released down here, is a real rarity. I got them in the mail today and OMG SO EXCITED!

I do have one question, though, before I give you an awesome recipe: WHO ARE THE KIDS ON THE BACK OF THE S1 BOX? For anyone who has bought the US version S1 boxset - there's a picture on the back... start with your eyes totally top-left. There's the box with the quote "Genuinely Scary" (not disagreeing here! I have sent myself to sleep scared three times already). The next box is a picture of the boys, very photoshopped, Sam looking scruffy (IE WRONG WHO ELSE FINDS SCRUFFY!SAM WRONG), holding flashlights and generally looking promo-shot like.... Then, under that, who are the two kids standing there? There's a boy and a girl and they are creepy as fuck, but who the hell are they?

Anyhow, here is the recipe!

INGREDIENTS

• 1lb (500g) tri-colored spiral pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1-2 cups milk (depends how "creamy" you like the pasta sauce)
  
• 1 jar pesto sauce mix (I used Leggo's 190g Creamy Pesto)
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 16 ounces (400-500g) firm tofu, drained and cubed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound (500g, or however many you like) fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup sliced black olives
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 sprig fresh basil

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in spiral pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. In a medium bowl, blend 1/4 cup olive oil, milk, and pesto sauce mix.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Place tofu in the skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Remove from heat, and drain on paper towels.
4. Place mushrooms into the skillet, and cook about 5 minutes. Stir in the olives, capers, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Mix in the tofu and pesto sauce. Continue cooking about 5 minutes before serving over the rotini. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese and basil.

This recipe is completely stolen from allrecipes.com - HERE is the actual link - but I didn't really change that much. So have at!

The only reason I count tonight's dinner as a flop is because I got too entirely wrapped up in the fact that it was going to be an AWESOME dinner and taste GREAT but then forgot that one of the people I was making the dinner for didn't like... well... most of the ingredients contained therein!

So really, that was embarrassing, and made me feel slightly ashamed of not listening and not catering to my... food!audience, but I got through it. Mostly because the dinner was actually amazing -- if you like pesto, mushrooms, olives, and capers (ie, THE RECIPE). So, if you like those things -- make it! If you don't... stay away!

And really... I've said this to two people already. I love writing, and I write too much maybe, but ohmygoodness. When I write, it's serious, and this entry is way too tl;dr. I'm leaving it here! Stay tuned, I have a SPN fic I'm going to post today! (Yes, i_speak_tongue , it's your crazy.... crack-that-didn't-turn-out-crack!fic :D)

Watch out, fen... here comes trouble! (*spn-fen, if you read this... please don't hold it against me. I'm feeling a little... LIKE THIS... lord help me.)