F&G News: Poaching

Two recent poaching incidents have the F&G's attention this week.

Two bull moose were shot near Cataldo. Apparently, the poachers field dressed the moose, indicating that they were going to retrieve the game, but never did.

Conservation Officer Mark Bowen stated,

"This is a waste of valuable wildlife resources. Lots of hunters have applied in the moose tag lottery for years and have not drawn a tag. Then, they hear about a case like this. Those hunters hoping for the opportunity to legally hunt moose; and, all Idaho residents for that matter have good reason to be outraged by this."

Poaching in general is sub-sportsmanlike, obviously.  But poaching moose?  An animal that you can walk up to and pet if you wanted (something I've never done, but have had the opportunity to)?  That's sub-sub-sportsmanlike.

 Another poaching crime was committed near Winchester, where a large mule deer buck was taken.  I should say, only the head was taken.  That's a problem.

Conservation Officer Jim Pagel noted that this isn't the only poaching of this style in that area this year:

"Judging by the size of the carcass, the deer likely sported a large set of antlers. Several other deer have been found wasted in the same area this fall, so we really need people to make the call."

 As always, if you have information that would help the F&G put away the poachers, there's a cash reward for you.  Call the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999.

For more details go here and here.

~ J.Bunch

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Place: Albion, Idaho

Albion, Idaho, a small 2 restaurant town just south of Burley, is the gateway to the Pomerelle Mountain ski area. Mule deer hunting is good to the east of the valley in the sagebrushed breaks, but receives quite a bit of pressure. Pomerelle sports an elk herd, but is relatively small.

Gotta love the rocket ship water tower.

Albion sits in a high valley that likes to catch snow, and is known for catching cloud bursts in the Spring. Green fields and pastures attract game, as does the elk farm that's located just south of town. Mule deer hide in the tall sagebrush east of town, but where the private land turns to public, the pressure is high during season. This picture is taken just west of the town, looking south and west toward Pomerelle Mountain.

The biblical story is that Hagar was wandering out in the desert, where the Lord provided her with refreshing... Coke? Interesting name for a store.

~ J. Bunch

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Review: The Music of Youth Lagoon

When the sun is set, the day's work is done, the kids have gone to bed, and the waning rays of light are hinting that your own sleep is not far off, you know it's time to relax.  Pour that glass of wine, kick the boots off, recline, and notch the stereo's gain down a little bit.  If there's any time for that ethereal, dreamy, soundscape music, it's then.  Yes, I have been known to spin some Sigur Ros and Tangerine Dream at times just like that. And if I get real ambitious, I just listen to all of the live concerts recorded at the latest Moogfest.

Somewhere inside I find a particular attraction to a style of music that relies less on complexity, and a little more on simple crescendos and resolution.  Youth Lagoon, a one man studio band hailing from Boise, adds its own brand of the genre into pop culture's coffers.  Trevor Powers first posted a song as Youth Lagoon in May, and since then, it's gone "viral," as they say (at least on some scale).

Not long after, Powers found himself with a 2 record deal with Fat Possum, and the sudden need to figure out how to take his show from the basement to the road.  Youth Lagoon: proof that you can have indie success in a short amount of time thanks to basement studios, loops, and an internet connection.  A pinch of talent helps too.

In regard to lyrics, Powers explained in a recent interview with SPIN (where you can also stream the full album):

Powers recorded the LP in his room, basing the dreamy piano pop on personal concerns, including his longtime struggle with debilitating anxiety. "I hid it from my parents. I would have panic attacks in my room before bed over things that don't make sense to the average person," he says. "One of my fears was that I'd die before Christmas. I'd think about it so much that I couldn't sleep and it would overwhelm my mind."

Another troubled soul artist.  Oh well.  As Ella Fitzgerald swung it -It don't matter if it's sweet or hot, just give it that rhythm, and give it everything you've got.  We'll see how the music matures in years to come.

Perhaps the best thing to come out of Youth Lagoon is the teaming up with Film Director Tyler T. Williams, who produced the music video for YL's song "Montana."  One might even prefer to call it a film with a sound track by Youth Lagoon.  In any case, the film was shot in rhythm, creating scores of brief images that told a story intelligently and effectively. 

Youth Lagoon - Montana from Tyler T Williams on Vimeo.

Williams expanded upon the music video in his interview with Pitchfork, here.

If there's more art created that shows as much promise as the music video, then I'm keeping tabs on Youth Lagoon.  Musically, it's what I look for.  It's the kind of music that makes the chances of me going to sleep in my chair, and spilling wine all over my shirt, go up.  And that's a good thing.

~ J. Bunch

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