If you haven’t watched it yet, you can catch the complete “enhanced broadcast” HERE, complete with hilarious Colbert-esque graphics for people with short attention spans.

If you’re a die hard leftist, closet-socialist, or flaming anarchist you’ll find Obama’s pro-Amurrica, pushing numbers, economy talk to be a little GOP. I think he does a fine job of walking the thin middle line, a job no other candidate seems willing to do (or even capable of doing).

Here are some of my favorite highlights (for a variety of reasons) from the set.

If you wanna grab some friends and catch up on the state of the nation together, there’s this daunting State of the Union 2012 DRINKING GAME  to keep things moving.

Hot Springs, Arkansas: Boyhood home of Bill Clinton, favorite southern hideaway of Al Capone

Deep in the endless hills of the Ozarks, is this hidden 1920s oasis of geothermal activity. Secret tunnels between hotels and bars distinguish the underground topography of this early 20th century gem of a town that doubled as a spa retreat and hideout for one of America’s most distinguished gangsters. Art deco hotels and bathouses line the main street of Hot Springs, AR, where Bill Clinton and the man Al Capone himself came for some R&R among the majestic healing waters bubbling out of the surface of the lush hills of central Arkansas. A city out of time, the architecture and mineral-rich landscape is well worth the detour on your southern routes. The mixture of old time saloons, restored (and neglected) 1920s art deco buildings and elaborately renovated bathouses (sadly out of commission), and heavy southern accents sweetly lull you into this domestic oasis. Find yourself some locals and get a taste of this folklore of times past.

Deep in the heart: Memphis, Tenessee

Along the banks of the muddy banks of the Missississippi, the blues well-up deep in the river, pouring down Beal Street into the sweet notes of a guitar dripping over the mummur of a hungry and lovesick crowd. Memphis is a magical and haunted place. Go down to the river and listen for her song.

Tomato pie! : Chicago, Illinois

Can’t say enough about the hometown. Wherever it is for you, hopefully you can indulge in all its good and bad whene you get your ramblin’ self back there. You may be surprised by what home has to offer. Sufficice it to say, if you find yourself in Chicago, get you some deep-dish pizza from Lou’s, Giordano’s, or Gino’s and you are good to go. The skyline is not to be missed (but is much better in the spring and fall than the dead of winter or heat of summer). Bring an appetite and your walking shoes.

Rolling green: Bowling Green, Kentucky

A little town between here and there that is quite a beautiful spot. Stop for a coffee or lunch and take in the verdent landscape and friendly lilt of the locals.

Missouri: Between here and there

Tornaodes tore through Joplin, MO last year, but ‘Missourah’ is still intact and quite a pleasant drive to make between destination 3 and 6. Sunsets are hard to beat en route west, and there is a Steak n’ Shake about every 10 miles.

Skycrapers on the prairie: Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Surprising but true, the only skyscraper designed by the prairie-house man himself, Frank Lloyd Wright, is the great state of Oklahoma. Perhaps not the first place one would think to find such architectural feats, yet this is quite the treat after a long drive west. Nested among the northeast territory of the Sooner state, the Price Tower is a great little spot to check into along your journey.

The only: New York, New York

As Dorothy says, clicking her red heels together, ‘there is no place like home.’ And we’re glad to call home New York City. Snow in October, Hurricanes in August, protests in Union Square, or dancing in Brooklyn. Some of the best places to be are right there in your face.

11. 13 Chambers - Wugazi:  What can I say about this project? Every track works like it was meant to be. An earful of distortion, aggression, and angst – Wu Tang and Fugazi mash-up your adolescence revisited, but louder.  The whole album plays like a summer barbecue – effortlessly engaging, with hot, busy, sweaty, fatty tracks full of volume sizzlin’ like steaks on a grill. I love it.

Favorite Track –  “Forensic Shimmy”  - (ya’ll know the lyrics)

10. Lumpy - Life, Man: Bryan Highhill is a brilliant one-man band who’s music never fails to make me smile. His newest album is yet another drunken, loopy joyride that is great when you’re in the mood for a little bit of sunshine. Not to mention that he jacks up every track with fatty trumpet lines, which in my opinion, can never go wrong.

Favorite Track: “One Thing”

9. Fiest - Metals: This is not the cheerful, girl-in-the-sun sound of Feist’s last album, The Reminder. Instead, the tracks are dark and heavy. Often syrupy and definitely not sweet, they remind me of thunder and dark moss. Partially because the album lyrically dwells on land, water, and sky, and partially because the vocals are expansive and tumultuous, this album is like a night at sea. Distinct from Feist’s last sound, this is a brave (and successful) attempt to leave behind a perfectly good formula for stardom and try something new. For her bravery, she beats out The Strokes return album for a spot in my top 10.

Favorite Tracks: “The Circle Married the Line“

8. Juvelen - 1: I’ve loved this man from the first words I heard him squeal through my speakers. I thought he was a 16-year old boy when I saw his video, but it turns out he’s nearly 35, (Swedish) and brilliant.  He makes a marvelous Prince reincarnate, and I absolutely adore him for it. He doesn’t play the guitar, but nobody is ever going to touch the real Prince. This kid gives it gallant run, and the result in something deliciously, delightfully dance-y, bass-y, and full of joy. A couple of the songs miss the mark, but if this album doesn’t make you need to dance, it is because you suck, or you’re sad and have forgotten how to live.

Favorite Track: “Don’t Mess“

7. Casiokids - Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen: Usually calling something “easy listening” is an insult, but I say this about this Casiokids album in the best way possible. I mean it absolutely as a compliment- there is nothing obtrusive or demanding about this album. It goes down easy and works like a charm. Think Postal Service without the lyrical density (because I don’t speak Norwegian) meets Múm…always with that layer of that symptomatic Nordic wistfullness we’ve come to expect from those pale northern terrains. Put simply, I like it.

Favorite Track: “Det Haster!”

6. Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears - Scandalous: It’s exactly what it seems, doesn’t require much explanation. Black Joe Lewis is a turn of the century blues man revisited. His six-man band plays dirty, grungy blues licks that are perfectly familiar. What makes this even better than the ‘back then’ is the fusion of his dirty blues sound with sassy Motown horn lines. This album showcases a full brass section that keeps this album on my top 10 year round. Drink something dark and sticky while you listen to this. Then have a cigarette and get laid. In that order.

Favorite Track: “Mustang Ranch“

5. Cuckoo Chaos – Woman: Jeremy and Jackson are a formidable team of songwriters who have been working together on various music projects for over a decade. Their newest band, Cuckoo Chaos, is their most rhythmic and groove driven thus far. Woman is a perfect party album…or one of those sonic stories made for cruising down Hwy 1. They definitely sound like a band that lives 10 minutes from the beach, and their time in San Diego shines through the tight vocals and bass-y punch lines. They’ve been compared to Vampire Weekend in  every review, but since I love Vampire Weekend, I’ll repeat that mantra here. Fun times all around.

Favorite Track: “Just Ride It“

4. Thao and Mirah - Thao & Mirah: Mirah has been one of my favorite singer/songwriters for many years,  getting more play on my playlists than anyone but Joanna Newsom. For this album she teams up with Thao (from Thao + The Get Down Stay Down) for a playful collection of perfectly girly songs, just they way I like them. Mirah’s voice on this album rings clear as her own, and her tracks are probably my favorite on the record. The  album feels more like a compilation of Thao and Mirah songs, as opposed to a collaboration between the two. Not every song speaks to me, but the upbeat, neo-grunge production (by Merrill Garbus!) makes this still a fun bunch of tunes overall.

Favorite Track: : “Little Cup“

3. Scott Garriott – Dragon in The Doorway: This album by Scott Garriott is a compilation of previously released tracks from his earlier records. He’s a modern day blues man with obvious folk/ rock influences. It sounds like he keeps a collection of Dylan albums by his bedside. Probably the most prolific songwriter I’ve ever known, Scott is a lyrical fountain of wit with a signature sound all his own. If you don’t know Scott’s music, I recommend getting to know it before the cool kids start wearing his t-shirts and you have to hear it from them. Because of the sheer number of plays this album has garnered from me since summer, it has earned the #3 spot on my list this year.

Favorite Track: “Endless Path Behind The Shed Blues (Wildberry Song)“

2. Alexander – Alexander: This album comes from the leader of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, a big favorite from last year. Turns out his name is not Edward, it’s Alexander Ebert. This album has some familiar (Zeros) sound, and half a dozen other musical styles as well. It’s eclectic, but not random, a unique soundscape that borrows from electronic, hip hop,  funk, and pop rock influences. Each track stands alone, but together the album plays seamlessly as well – a huge feat for such a broad talent.

Favorite Tracks: “Let’s Win” and “Truth” — > Note: if you watch only one video off this post, make it this one. 

1. tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l s: Merrill Garbus is a vocalist you just can’t turn away from. Her power and control is mesmerizing. Often she twists melodies around in ways that are much too intricate to be as delightfully pop and digestible as she manages to make them. Every note is a wonder and a delight. She also does her own production, for which I have so much respect and admiration. I find her work on this album truly inspiring.

Favorite Tracks: “Powa” (!!!) and “Gangsta“

Happy Listening.  Happy New Year.

……

Honorable Mentions: The Strokes – Angles, Austra – Feel it Break, Broken Records – Let Me Come Home, Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Note: every album mentioned here is available for purchase on iTunes.

The police outnumber the people two to one. Not that police aren’t people, but when they put on that uniform and stand there, shoulder to shoulder, full arsenal on their cocked hips, arms crossed, eyes gleaming, well…they seem closer to cyborgs. If cyborgs had a rudimentary grasp of sarcasm. The condescension found between their brows would be alarming, if it weren’t for the presence of a secondary emotion: excitement. Yep, excitement, simmering just below the surface, observable in the quick twitch of the head and the way they are just a touch too eager to make eye contact.  “Please” they seem to be begging. The best you can do is ignore them.

The people occupy the square. They’re wrapped in cellophane “space blankets”, sparkling in the dim lights implanted in the concrete at their feet. Smiles, everywhere.  People sitting in huddles, standing alone, staring into space, selling neon star wars swords and funny flashing goggles. A band of musicians- three buckets, an air horn, and a euphonium- march past. It may as well be Disneyland. Here the excitement is external. Not brewing in some American macho fantasy behind the police façade, but buzz buzz buzzing around Zucotti Park, picking up energy from the hundreds of bodies that mill around with soft smiles and troubled eyes. It’s obvious a lot of people here don’t know what to do with themselves. They may not even know why they’re there. Who knows why I’m here. But the compulsion was enough that all kinds of people have stopped what they were doing to come down and mill about. Buzz Buzz. Occupying space.  This space and this time and a man wearing goggles paces the square with a sign held high over his head. “If not now, when?” “If not us, who?”

At the front of the park, “direct democracy” sweeps across the crowd in waves. The people hear the message to their right, turn their heads to the right, and repeat it with militant precision.

“NEXT ON THE BLOCK IS KAREN”

“Next on the block is Karen”

“next on the block is karen”

“HI, MY NAME IS KAREN”

“Hi, my name is Karen”

“hi, my name is karen”

“THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CONCERNS”

“There have been some concerns”

“there have been some concerns”

“ABOUT HOUSING FOR WOMEN, AND TRANSGENDERED”

“About housing for women and transgendered”

“about housing for woman and transgendered”

“GO ACROSS THE STREET”

“Go across the street”

“go across the street”

“TO THE RED LANTERN”

“To the red lantern”

“to the red lantern”

“AND ASK FOR LUKE”

“And ask for Luke”

“and ask for luke”

“SO YOU HAVE A PLACE TO SLEEP TONIGHT”

“So you have a place to sleep tonight”

“so you have a place to sleep tonight”

It matters, where you put your body.

I sit.

On my way out of the park, I overhear an officer complaining to his colleagues, ”this is so boring. I kinda wish something would happen.” A tall man in a long wool coat walks past with a blond, smiling woman on his arm. She waves to the officer. “Thank you officers!” she says. “You are America.” And then, turns in the direction of the protestors. “OCCUPY A JOB!” she manages to say without feeling shame.

We are the 99%.

Join the people this week: http://occupywallst.org/action/november-17th/

Erato. Members: Amanda Wikström, Petra Brohäll and Ebba Lovisa

Thank cottage cheese and Alexander Parkes for the inspirational percussion. Girls will be practicing this around their kitchen table for  months to come…maybe longer. I like their precise pop sentimentality and static harmonies, so I hope Erato’s got more tricks up their sleeves, and this isn’t the last we hear of them.

The song “Call Your Girllfriend” is a cover from the Swedish pop artist Robyn, who I’d never heard of until I saw the Erato version. The original song is über-produced and significantly less interesting, but the video may be worth watching just to watch someone dance shamelessly for a camera the way 15-year old girls dance when they’re drunk and home alone and absolutely sure no one is watching. Check that one out here.  

Video captured by Eric Sarmiento, inspired by the words of Jane Bennett

Many things pass through ones mind when going back through old cities. Distant memories walled into the buildings and streets feel as alive as they did when they were first pressed. Toulouse, for me, is one such place that has an almost stubborn steadfastness to its original version in my memories. Walking through la ville rose is like that old Ah-Ha video, “Take on Me,” where the man passes from reality into the drawing/animation. Unlike looking through old photos this last trip was akin to living in them. Pictures in motion from before, and I am the motion.

It does not seem fair to say that the city, and the people I associate with it, have not changed. They do. There is always something new to learn from Toulouse and her Toulousians. At the same time, it has the instant effect of making me feel as I did all those years ago: a bit lost, wanderous/wondrous, charmed, and relaxed. Ratatouille and canard, Place du Capitol, and la Garonne. The charm of that place, this sentiment, is that it makes life simpler; makes me strip down the layers that have built up for clarity, complication, and progress in my life, and makes me take note of the very specific and bare necessities that make me feel this elusive feeling of ‘happiness.’

The city gives me pause. Pause enough. I do not want to stay, but it is a refreshing burst of nostalgia and presence that her bricks and gardens contain. Walking along the Canal du Midi, le Jardin des Plants, old crypts under the city, the comfort of the Portuguese word saudade comes to mind (perhaps more specifically saudade de terre is more accurate here). Longing for something one cannot have or is separated from or never had. Potent in its ability to move us, to make waves.

Toulouse moves me, eases me to sleep. It comforts me like an old home movie: silly, entertaining, engulfing at first, but ultimately lulls me into a restorative slumber. A few days every once in a while, a treatment of sorts, restores me unlike any other place. I feel human-ed in her environs, more human, more real in her dreams-like state. Safeguarding old relics of my life, in case I get lost in the chaos of ‘living,’ she keeps a part of me safe from myself. The city is a treasure chest of old burdens and good memories that allow me to live fuller and happier after every visit.