one eskimo - Kandi

I caught the last bit of this video on MTV as I was flipping through the channels a couple months ago and fell in love. Here's a link - go watch! It's charmed everybody who I've forced to watch it...which is almost anyone who's been near an internet connection with me recently.

I was trying to define what sort of music I like in this post, since what I like transcends genres. You know what I really like? Intense music. Stuff that's really aggressive and loud, or buoyantly happy, or relentlessly dark.

I collect very little music that's...chill. But I loved "Kandi" and I put the (eponymous) album on my Christmas wish list without worrying about how the rest of the album sounded, because I wanted to support the makers of that video. Turns out, the whole album's terrific, even though it's not my usual style. I listened to it on my way to work and had the chorus to Kandi stuck in my head all day.

Christmas songs

Christmas songs are so tied up in tradition for me - I grew up with Joan Baez and John Denver Christmas albums, so even though I don't care for either musically, I always have to listen to those. Other than my personal oddball favorites from those albums, I love mournful, traditional carols:

The Cherry Tree (apparently a well known traditional carol popular in the mid 1800s)
I wonder as I wander (not quite as traditional - from 1933)
The Coventry Carol (not originally a Christmas song, but ancient)
Down in Yon Forest (Renaissance)

I do have some modern favorites, though: I'm a big fan of this version of "God rest ye merry gentlemen", which plays all the time on the radio because it's awesome.

My sweetie insisted on including a personal favorite, which is the opposite of mournful or traditional...I had it on tape and the only version of it I could find on youtube is this one... I apologize for the video, but Bob Rivers' work is sadly underrepresented on the internet.

I like everything!

I have such a hard time answering when someone asks me what type of music I like. I used to get all flustered and say “oh, I like all types of music!” which is only partially true. I can find stuff I like and stuff I can’t stand in all genres. But now, if someone is hovering over the radio dial and they insist they don’t have a preference, I’ll tell them to tune it to a modern rock station. Modern/hard/alternative rock has the best chance of not annoying me enough to change the station.

So if my interests don’t really fall into genres, what do I like?

I like music that is interesting and not stupid. Except I have a certain fondness for the Bloodhound Gang (you probably will recognize “fire water burn” and “the bad touch” (NSW)) which is gleefully stupid and often offensive. Hmm.

Ok, I like to listen to music with more than two chords, that uses minor keys at least occasionally, has lyrics (if applicable) that say something interesting, has a unique sound, and doesn’t grate on my ears.

With a blog like this, it’s inevitable that I will have a bunch of posts devoted to “I like this” and “I can’t stand that”. I promise, however, that I’ll sprinkle in some more substantive posts that aren’t all me me me.

why a new blog?

I started Accidental Remediation for two reasons:

1. I didn't have any idea what I was doing when I started applying for jobs (and working) in environmental consulting. What was the industry norm for working conditions? How could I order around drillers with decades of experience when I had no clue what I was doing? Accidental Remediation is my way of reaching out to other young geologists who are looking for answers.

2. I have a whole collections of stories in my head. Some of them get written down, some of them just rattle around my head for a while. I have a tendency to tell the people around me a million stories, and the stories that involve work are usually a) boring or b) incriminating to the people around me. Accidental Remediation is the outlet for my "work" stories.

Ever since I started Accidental Remediation, I've had blog post ideas that don't really fit with that blog and are too long (too self indulgent?) to share on facebook. Most of them involve music, something that I've been actively involved with for as long as I can remember.

Welcome to the sideshow!