Before The Dawn Heals Us, and others

I have a lot of things to think about today. But first, music.

Today's Music That Jason Stole From The Public Library is Before The Dawn Heals Us, by M83. This is an album that was recommended to me when I was looking for more electronic music, and I was fortunate enough to find it at the library. It's wonderful, ethereal music, the kind of music that makes me feel like I should be able to simply float off the ground and into the atmosphere somewhere. It's obviously influenced by some other artists I'm very fond of: My Bloody Valentine, Boards of Canada, even Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd. Keyboards are featured most prominently; some vocals exist, but they certainly don't drive the songs in the manner you would expect from a more 'pop' record. A few of the tracks are a little drawn out or too over-the-top for my taste, but as a whole the album shines.

I was surprised to find out (after a couple listens) that this is a relatively recent album; for some reason I always thought that it was almost as old as I am. It does have a little bit of a PBS vibe to it; I could easily see this music comprising the soundtrack for Stargazer though. If you've never seen Stargazer, just think about what a show about naked-eye astronomy for heavily medicated people would be like, and then animate most of it. (Side note: whenever I've seen Stargazer come on TV, it made me think that I should either start drinking or stop drinking, but that something definitely had to happen.) In any event, I am glad that M83 will (I think) produce more music for me to listen to and maybe blog about.

In other news:

I found some anime that I really like. It's called 'Seirei no Morobito', which roughly translates to 'Guardian of the Sacred Spirit'. Kind of a cheesy title, I know, but it's a very mature and smart anime with some great characters. Without spoiling too much of it for you, it's set in pre-industrial Japan, where a female spearfighter named Balsa is forced to protect a child bound to be assassinated. If you're curious, let me know and I can give you a link. It's very good. In particular, the main character (Balsa) is one of the best characters in anime that I can think of. (Note: I don't like a lot of anime, particularly stuff that has a serious premise but lots of dumb humor. I suppose the anime that I can stand is another blog altogether though.)

So tomorrow is testing! I'm actually looking forward to it, mostly. I have a hard time not thinking about it, and consequently being nervous, even though there isn't any reason for it. The only real concern I have is my back, which I injured at the gym a couple days ago. It isn't serious, but it will hinder me somewhat tomorrow. I think I'll be okay, though. Assuming it isn't so hot that we all perish, and that my back holds up for the first half of the day, testing will be a lot of fun. Wish me luck!