My Favorite Albums of 2012 (cont.)

19.) Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

What do Pinkerton, In Utero, and Surfer Rosa have in common besides being some of my favorite albums of all time? Steve Albini produced all three, and this year he brought his signature sound of loud-as-hell drums and scratchy distorted guitars to upcoming act Cloud Nothings. He apparently didn’t do much else, which is okay since the songs came fully-formed, hooks and all. And the band came prepared to rock with a tightly-knit rhythm section. “No Future/No Past” announces itself with twinkling piano and burns slowly until it explodes in release. The epic “Wasted Days” sprawls all over it’s nine-minute runtime in exploration, and songs like “Stay Useless” and “Cut You” could even be called catchy. Another good rocker in 2012.

18.) Grizzly Bear - Shields

Grizzly Bear - Shields

I moved west from Atlanta to work in Yellowstone National Park over the tail end of the summer, and on the inaugural drive into the park I listened to Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House. This band was the soundtrack to the lush forests and the Bear’s newest release fit right in among the bears’ natural habitat. I Cued up Shields opener “Sleeping Ute” and hiked up to Observation Point to watch the Old Faithful geyser erupt around sunset. As I trudged alone through the woods on a gravel path and headed up and up, the majestic guitars crashed before giving way to gentle fingerpicked guitars. The geyser went off during luxuriant “Yet Again”, and I was stunned and silent at the power of the geyser shooting rushes of water into the air. I can’t wait to go back to the park next summer, and Shields is coming with me to accompany many more hikes in solitude.

My 25 favorite albums of 2012

     After a much too long hiatus from posting here, I’m afraid Casa Cabrones has sat dormant for quite some time. Well, I’ve been working on a few projects here and there, and what better place to post them than my old stomping grounds? I want to write a lot more in 2013, and I hope to post all kinds of interesting things here at Casa Cabrones in the future. But before we step into the new year, let’s get 2012 out of the way. First and foremost, my favorite albums released in the past year, hopefully posted before the idea of end-of-year lists grows stale. As usual, these are the albums I enjoyed the most, not necessarily the best. I like what I like and I’ll share my reasoning, but if our tastes don’t match up, well, good. We shouldn’t all think alike. And if they do, good…this is some fine listening going on here. I’ll post the first five tonight and move on from there, with all 25 posted by the 5th. Underneath the album titles are links to listen with Spotify. And once we get through 2012 we can move on to new exciting adventures. 

Here we go…

25.) How to Dress Well - Total Loss

     How to Dress Well - Total Loss

     Last year the Weeknd put out my favorite record and just like that my taste buds began to shift towards rap and R&B. Or PBR&B, a foolish name that most will shun but one that I kind of adore. And then I stumbled upon a video of How to Dress Well’s Tom Krell walking through the rain singing “& It Was You.” I sought this record out and gave it a spin while riding the bus up the mountain, and a world of decaying keyboards, shuffling beats and a fragile falsetto met the picturesque landscape of snow-covered pine trees for miles and miles. 

“& It Was You”

24.) Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light

     Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light

This album starts out majestically with a symphony, peppered with a western pinch. Then the guitars crank up, and we’re rolling through “Hey Jane.” The first half of the song is awesome on its own, but when the tempo kicks up and the coda starts charging towards the climax with oohs and ahhs galore, I’m sold. Jason Pierce manages to sound fragile, chaotic, precious, desperate and confused through the course of Sweet Heart, Sweet Light, and I’m left asking myself “Huh?” just like the title by the end of triumphant closer “So Long You Pretty Thing.” 

Nuclear Energy. What We Need to Know, Now.

For the past four days I have been anxiety ridden, sleep deprived, and absolutely glued to my laptop. But that doesn’t change the fact that right now I am sitting comfortably in my warm home, with abundant food, clean water, access to electricity, and have close contact with everyone I love. There are human beings in Japan who have lost everything, including homes and loved ones, and they are fighting for their lives as I write this. It literally brings me to tears.

This situation in Japan is exceptionally complicated for me to process. I was born in Tokyo, the daughter of a nuclear engineer, and have spent the past two+ years building a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing accurate arts-integrated information in support of nuclear energy. I started the organization to help bridge the gap between the realities of nuclear science, energy needs, and public awareness of these issues.

Right now people need accurate information about nuclear energy more than ever, as panic and sensationalized media reports are overshadowing the very real consequences of the catastrophic natural disasters that occurred on Friday. Citizens of Japan are suffering in unimaginable ways, and the rest of us are focusing in on the least threatening of the circumstances facing their survival: Nuclear Energy.

I want to provide some information in hopes that we can put the situation into perspective and refocus on meeting the immediate needs of the Japanese people.

First of all, I do not intend to downplay the incredibly precarious ongoing events at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Station. It is a huge issue that must be faced with great knowledge, caution and diligence. Thankfully, the Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Japanese Government are some of the most experienced nuclear facilitators in the world, and they currently have assistance on the ground from several of the most capable American engineers as well.

The risk at Fukushima is not the lack of technical knowledge or ability at the plant, it is the complete lack of infrastructure that they have to work with as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. They are doing all that they can to keep the damage to plants and the release of radiation to a minimum until electricity and transportation routes can be reestablished. As far as I am concerned the operators and engineers at Fukushima are heroes beyond heroes.

Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 though 6 have all had significant problems ranging from cooling problems to oil fires and explosions. As dramatic and frightening as it has been to watch this unfold on the news, the reality is that even if any or all of these plants meltdown, it will still be the least significant threat that the public is currently facing. Nuclear power plants are designed to meltdown in a very specific way. If the fuel overheats and the temperature inside the reactor reached a certain temperature it will melt into the containment structure. This is what happened at Three Mile Island, and no significant harm was caused to the public, though the plant never operated again. If there is partial or total meltdown at any unit, it will happen inside the reactor, not out in the open where it is an immediate public threat.

The fact that these plants stood up to an earthquake 7 times stronger than they were designed for, and then a subsequent 30 foot tsunami is evidence that they are holding up better than any engineer could have expected. The radiation that has been released is not life threatening, and timely safety precautions like evacuations and distribution of iodine, will ultimately keep the vast majority of the public safe from exposure. At this point the power plants have been shut down for 5 days and are cooling down, so the risk of a meltdown are decreasing over time, although you won’t gather that from the main stream media coverage.

The loss of infrastructure, including the plants at Fukushima, is the most dangerous part of this situation. Access to health care, clean water, food, electricity, transportation, housing and communication abilities are all compromised at this time, which means the death toll will continue to rise. Without these needs being met, the public is at great risk. We should be making every effort to help rebuild basic infrastructure as quickly as possible though personal donations and government aid.

As contrary as it may seem, part of the infrastructure Japan will need in the coming months and years is new nuclear power. There have been major breakthroughs in the nuclear sector in the past thirty years, and the public needs to know about them. Technologies like Generation III+ Reactors, Small Modular Reactors, Thorium Reactors and Next Generation Nuclear Power are stronger, safer, carbon free alternatives to fossil fuels (I won’t get into how poorly oil and natural gas plants have held up through this situation). I can’t help but think that the warming oceans and carbon-saturated atmosphere, has amplified the severity of recent natural disasters. We need energy technology that doesn’t contribute to the ongoing weather and geological anomalies that have become common place in recent years, causing unprecedented death and destruction in places like Indonesia, China and Haiti. Walking away from nuclear energy technologies now could be a mistake of epic proportion.

So please, take another look at the events in Japan, and take a little time to learn the facts about nuclear energy. The real disasters in Japan are the earthquake and tsunami, as well as the resulting humanitarian crises, not the issues at Fukushima. Once we get past sensationalized stories and fear based reporting, we can focus our concern and attention to the people who are suffering and meeting their immediate needs.

Lastly, just in case you are reading, I am sending my love and prayers to the Katoh’s and the Yamamoto’s. You are in my thoughts constantly.

- Suzanne Hobbs, 3/15/2011

For more technical information please defer to the experts: ( www.nei.org )

Bio: Suzanne Hobbs is the Executive Director of PopAtomic Studios, a non-profit organization dedicated to using the power of visual and liberal arts to enrich the discussion on nuclear energy: ( www.popatomic.org )

Class of 2010

   Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

   In the past three years Deerhunter has released four albums, two EPs and three solo albums, two from side project Atlas Sound and one under the name Lotus Plaza. Lead singer Bradford Cox is one busy songwriter, and one might worry that quantity would triumph over quality. There is certainly no issue  with their newest release, Halcyon Digest. The band has crafted a delicate mixture of crystalline guitars and murky soundscapes, all revolving around fully-formed songs. Cox and his fellow musicians adore the AM radio treasures of 1950s and 1960s pop songs, and they add their own weird arty sensibilities into the lyrics and production.

     Halcyon Digest is bookended with two musical clouds of atmosphere, starting with the foreboding “Earthquake.” A slow plodding drum machine sputters to life, soon joined by shimmering guitars and echoing loops. Cox has always been at home with his loops, and the closer “He Would Have Laughed” builds layers of them underneath a simple repeated melody on acoustic guitar. The song is a tribute to fallen musician Jay Reatard, who died on Jan. 13, 2010, of a drug overdose, according to Memphis’ The Commercial Appeal. As the upbeat tune rises over powerful drums, Cox’s lyrics swim in ambiguity before he laments, “Where did my friends go?”  Lead single “Helicopter” follows a similar formula, lifting itself through cloudy loops and a sharp guitar line to unleash a cathartic chorus over crashing drums.

     Tucked in between these thick moody pieces are the aforementioned pop songs, like the jangling shuffle “Revival.” “I’m saved, I’m saved,” Cox sings enthusiastically before mentioning that he “felt his presence in me.” Deerhunter later sneak in a sly nod to the Everly Brothers on “Basement Scene,” an echoing ditty recorded to four-track cassette. 

     The band also tries out new textures with harmonicas and bells on “Memory Boy” and a thrilling saxophone solo by Bill Oglesby on “Coronado.” The pacing is well thought out, with the soft ballad “Sailing” cooling the action between the more raucous rockers.

The cover art features a strange deformed woman praying in a black and white portrait captured by George Mitchell in 1983. Lyrics are included with the album as well as a tragic story about Russian boy with big dreams who was sold as a sex slave to an “organized crime figure.” This story sets the context for “Helicopter” and was reprinted with permission from Dennis Cooper. The band also employed a grassroots approach to promotion for Halcyon Digest, asking listeners on their Web site to print the cover art and to post it all over town like people did before the invention of the Internet. Deerhunter rewarded their fans’ perseverance with a free download of “Revival” before the album release date.

     Deerhunter played live at the Variety Playhouse on Oct. 1st, and the band opened with album centerpiece “Desire Lines.” The song was penned by guitarist Lockett Pundt, and he sings his universal lyrics over interlocking guitars and a propulsive rhythm section. After a set of choruses the song stretches out into infinity with shimmering guitar lines shining through the haze. During the encore, the band brought out former guitarist Colin Mee to revisit their older catalogue cuts. They treated the audience to “Strange Lights” and “Lake Somerset”, off of 2007‘s Cryptograms, before indulging the crowd with a massive wall of sound. The Atlanta crowd loved the guys and Deerhunter ushered in fall with a tight set of new songs and old favorites.

The new album has plenty of music and lyrics to decipher all autumn long, and there’s also a lot more variety here than their past albums for new listeners to discover. This album will contend for the album of the year this December, so go pick up a copy and learn for yourself what all the fuss is about. Forty-five minutes in Cox’s world is like a vacation into the void where anything can happen.

         Watch this space for new record reviews and editorials this week. I know I’ve said this before and disappointed, but schoolwork and long hours have buried me lately. As always, feel free to leave comments and tell me what you think.

-Landon Briggs, 10/04/10

Art-Based Nuclear Outreach Proves Successful

We here at PopAtomic have been formulating ways to use art to effectively reach young people with critical information about nuclear energy for some time now. I am excited to report that our first major Educational Outreach effort at Chattahoochee Technical College in Atlanta confirmed our theory that art can make learning about nuclear energy a fun and empowering experience.

As a part of their Service Learning Program for Introduction to Sociology, students watched a presentation about nuclear energy and art, then participated in making art that transformed negative imagery associated with nuclear into positive imagery. During the art making process students were encouraged to discuss the role of energy creation and consumption in the context of Sociology. Specifically we touched on how a viable clean energy source such as nuclear has come to be so misunderstood as well as ways we can change those misperceptions.

I think it is fair to say that I learned as much as the students during this program. Most had very little knowledge of nuclear energy and were grateful to be introduced to some basic facts. Essentially all of the students from the three classes I spoke to are now ready and equipped to have a meaningful discussion about energy outside of the classroom. I was amazed at how receptive and creative these students were in approaching this challenging subject.

Starting our Educational Outreach efforts in Atlanta was not coincidental. We hope to cultivate strong support of nuclear energy in Georgia as the Vogtle Electrical Generating Plant expands, especially among young people and the arts community. These efforts will be followed up by continued speaking engagements at Chattahoochee Technical College, as well as collaborative efforts with the Georgia Tech Student American Nuclear Society, leading up to an art exhibit to open in Atlanta during the 2011 Student Conference in April. And we may have just discovered a few more artists to participate in the exhibition!

To my my surprise not a single student tried to use the “I’m not creative” excuse that often comes out when you ask adults to make art. I wonder if it was because there was a sense of purpose behind the art making? Maybe this was just an exceptional group of people? Either way the art work that came out of this program is truly incredible. I will conclude with some images of student work that will really make you smile! Next up on my speaking tour: Idaho National Lab on Tuesday and University of North Carolina Asheville in September.

There’s so much amazing student work that we will have to share it over a series of posts and through our Facebook page. A special thanks to Leigh Keever for inviting us to speak to her classes, and to her wonderful students for accepting this challenge with creative and open minds.


-Suzanne Hobbs, 8/20/2010
( http://www.popatomic.org/ )

Exploring the Relationship between Fine Art and Nuclear Energy

I have long wondered why traditional advertising has not been well utilized to promote nuclear energy in America. The conclusion that I have come to is that the science, history and plethora of social issues surrounding nuclear are far too complicated to be summed up in a 30 second commercial or half page ad. This has led me to wonder what can effectively give context to the intricacies and benefits of nuclear in todays culture…and not surprisingly, I realized that Fine Art offers an equally sophisticated solution.

As an art student I became interested in religious icons, archetypes and mythology, specifically the role that art plays in the way that we understand ourselves and our purpose in this world (too much Joseph Campbell!). It is incredible to think of all of the meaning that a simple image can carry and how much it can influence our daily lives. For instance, the Spiral references the golden ratio, the double helix of DNA, change, motion, galaxies, evolution, connectedness. The Cross carries with it thousands of years of history, a cast of hundreds of characters and just as many stories that still inform contemporary issues today. A simple icon really can shift the way we understand the world, give us a sense of direction, and carry volumes of complex information.

So how can the power of the icon be applied to nuclear energy? Well lucky for us there are already a handful of powerful symbols associated with nuclear, although their meanings are not always positive. First there is the mushroom cloud, while is obvious to pro-nukes that weapons and energy are completely separate endeavors, most American do not have clear deliniation between the two. The fear of nuclear warfare, I believe, is a major contributing factor to the lack of support for nuclear energy. So, in developing new imagery, we try to use clean simple lines and bright colors to represent nuclear energy, in sharp contrast to the billowing grey mushroom cloud image.

My favorite, the Cooling Tower, is another powerful icon. This one is funny because not only do some coal plants also use cooling towers, but many nuclear plants use other cooling methods than towers. For whatever reason the cooling tower has stuck (I blame it on ‘The Simpons’ but that is a whole other post). Not only are we utilizing the cooling tower image in our design work, but eventually we hope to physically transform a cooling tower into a new icon by staining it with a fun new design. People, especially Americans like things to be big, and physically creating an icon in this way assures it will be reproduced in pictures, TV, online, etc. A project of this scale is venturing into the realm of the Statue of Liberty or Eiffel Tower, which is a sure fire way to bring positive attention to nuclear energy.

The atomic symbol is a favorite among pro-nukes and has already been done a million different ways, but there is nothing wrong with classic, and repetition is key when you are talking icons.

And while utilizing and transforming exisiting icons, we are also creating new ones. Here is an image sent in by Caleb Horn, a nuclear energy and art enthusiast, that utilizes an existing cultural icon for energy and associates it with nuclear.

Thanks Caleb!

So, if my philosophical meandering are on point, art might be the perfect companion for nuclear energy as it enters the next phase of its history as the energy source that offers timely solutions to our biggest problems.


To learn more of my contemporary energy solutions, check out my site: 
http://www.popatomic.org/

-Suzanne Hobbs, 7/21/2010