2011 was kind of a mediocre year - pretty much everything I was looking forward to music-wise has somehow slipped to 2012. Oh well, that'll just make 2012 that much more exciting! Now let's check out what DID come out in 2011...
Top Albums for 2011:
1. I Am The Avalanche - Avalanche United
2. The Subways - Money And Celebrity
3. Funeral For A Friend - Welcome Home Armageddon!
4. Cave In - White Silence
5. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
6. Drive: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (compilation)
7. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Tao Of The Dead
8. Thursday - No Devolución
9. Glassjaw - Coloring Book (EP)
10. Funeral For A Friend - See You All In Hell (EP)
11. Thrice - Major / Minor
12. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
13. Bush - The Sea Of Memories
14. Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu
15. Taking Back Sunday - Taking Back Sunday
The last 5 are separated because I feel there's a big difference in quality between the groups. Those last 5 are ones that either surprised me by their continued relevance but didn't stick with me too much (Bush, Foo Fighters, Lou Reed & Metallica), or were anticipated and ended up disappointing me (Thrice, Taking Back Sunday). In a stronger year, these wouldn't have made the list at all, but I didn't want to stop at just 10 this year.
So, next year.... Looking forward to new music from Every Time I Die, A Wilhelm Scream, The Bronx, Lostprophets, The Mars Volta, Queens of the Stone Age, Murder By Death, and hopefully plenty of pleasant surprises. And no slipping to 2013 goddamnit!
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Best of 2010:
1. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis
2. Lostprophets - The Betrayed
3. Funeral For A Friend - The Young and Defenceless (EP)
4. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
5. The Damned Things - Ironiclast
6. !!! - Strange Weather, Isn't It?
7. Murder By Death - Good Morning, Magpie
8. Against Me! - White Crosses
9. Norma Jean - Meridional
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (compilation)
11. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
12. Sundowner - We Chase The Waves
13. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
14. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
15. The Flatliners - Cavalcade
Best of 2009:
1. Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic
2. A Wilhelm Scream - A Wilhelm Scream (EP)
3. Brand New - Daisy
4. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
5. Broadway Calls - Good Views, Bad News
6. Propagandhi - Supporting Caste
7. Sabertooth Zombie - ...And Your Fathers Are Dead In The Ground
8. Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive
9. Cave In - Planets of Old (EP)
10. Converge - Axe To Fall
11. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
12. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
13. Thrice - Beggars
14. Defeater - Lost Ground (EP)
15. The Von Bondies - Love, Hate, And Then There's You
1. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis
2. Lostprophets - The Betrayed
3. Funeral For A Friend - The Young and Defenceless (EP)
4. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
5. The Damned Things - Ironiclast
6. !!! - Strange Weather, Isn't It?
7. Murder By Death - Good Morning, Magpie
8. Against Me! - White Crosses
9. Norma Jean - Meridional
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (compilation)
11. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
12. Sundowner - We Chase The Waves
13. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
14. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
15. The Flatliners - Cavalcade
Best of 2009:
1. Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic
2. A Wilhelm Scream - A Wilhelm Scream (EP)
3. Brand New - Daisy
4. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
5. Broadway Calls - Good Views, Bad News
6. Propagandhi - Supporting Caste
7. Sabertooth Zombie - ...And Your Fathers Are Dead In The Ground
8. Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive
9. Cave In - Planets of Old (EP)
10. Converge - Axe To Fall
11. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
12. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
13. Thrice - Beggars
14. Defeater - Lost Ground (EP)
15. The Von Bondies - Love, Hate, And Then There's You
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Best of 2008
Either because 2008 was a busy year for me and I didn't get much of a chance to really give things the time they deserved, or just because the music of 2008 didn't get me as excited as previous years have, I don't have too much to say here. So we're just gonna do a straight list broken into 3 or 4 tiers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tier 1 - Great
Murder By Death - Red of Tooth and Claw
The Bronx - The Bronx (2008)
The Subways - All Or Nothing
Norma Jean - The Anti Mother
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Metallica - Death Magnetic
Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
Tier 2 - Good
Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On
Funeral For A Friend - Memory and Humanity
Tom Gabel - Heart Burns (EP)
The Night Marchers - See You In Magic
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath
Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV: Air & Earth
Thursday / Envy - Split EP
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Bloc Party - Intimacy
Tier 3 - Interesting
This Is Hell - Misfortunes
The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
Weezer - Weezer (Red Album)
These Arms Are Snakes - Tail Swallower and Dove
TV On The Radio - Dear Science
The Faint - Fasciinatiion
The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
Just disappointing
Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopefully 2009 will be more interesting - the odd years seem to be the active release years for the bands I really like.
So far in 2009:
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
The Von Bondies - Love, Hate, And Then There's You
Hellmouth - Destroy Everything. Worship Nothing.
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - The Century of Self
Morrissey - Years of Refusal
Thursday - Common Existence
Looking ahead:
A Wilhelm Scream
Every Time I Die
Streetlight Manifesto
Lostprophets
Brand New
Head Automatica
Glassjaw
Alexisonfire
Thrice
and hopefully many more.
Comments always welcome, take care!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
What he's doing is looking adorable. And what he's thinking is "WHOOOOO I get to stay in college!!!"
Yes, my seemingly never-ending battle with the NEU housing department has ended. And I won. Which is good, because I'm not accustomed to losing.
I had a series of nice chats with various employees of the department, ranging in topics from comparisons of fish to turtles from a healthcare perspective, to the inherent imperfection of any system of rules. I firmly believe that it is the role of administrators to interpret rulings in a reasonable manner for the benefit of all those living under them - not hide behind a 30-year-old rule and refuse to even revisit it for fear of opening "Pandora's Box." We never saw eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but I feel the ruling speaks for itself and is victory enough.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Super-belated 2007 Best-Of Extravaganza
Yeah yeah yeah, March 2008, super late, no excuse, blah blah blah. I'm plenty ashamed, don't worry. Let's get on with it.
update: I provided links to bands' MySpace pages so you can get quick and free (and legal!) listens if you want to give them a try.
Music: Best Of 2007
1. Career Suicide by A Wilhelm Scream
Genre: Punk / Metal
Ever liked a band, but wanted them to pull out the stops, skip the slow songs, and put out a really fast, powerful album? A Wilhelm Scream was one of those bands for me. And holy shit did they deliver, above and beyond what I ever expected possible. This is a barn-burner of an album - 13 songs of pure fury.
I don't want to scare anyone off this - this is not hardcore, or really even metal besides the guitar tone and complexity, and there is no screaming or thrashing or stuff like that. Melodic guitar, harmonized vocals, and the catchiest hooks you ever heard. But this is a mean album. The passion in every song is stunning - every member of this band is at their peak. Saying this in 2007 is pretty much heresy, but I feel no shame in asserting that this is a punk rock masterpiece. From the gasping, fervor-filled lyrics, dripping with wit and sarcasm, to the breakneck dueling guitars, to the relentless, metronome-like drumming, this is an album I'm going to enjoy over and over throughout the years to come. I simply can't recommend it enough.
Standout tracks: The Horse ; Pardon Me, Thanks a Lot ; 5 to 9
Link: http://www.myspace.com/awilhelmscream
2. Somewhere In The Between by Streetlight Manifesto
Genre: Ska / Punk
Ska is a new one for me this year - never thought a Ska Punk band would make my #2. This band is catchiness incarnate. Seriously, listen to this band and be prepared to have it stuck in your head for the next week. Best described as a perfect mix of guitars and horns, Streetlight Manifesto doesn't lay the corniness on too thick like some other similar bands, and offers an album full of diverse songs. Some of the opening tracks are light and fluffy, while the latter half (the two closers especially) is brimming with passion and deeper themes. This is stuff you can put on anytime and just feel happy - and it also has the depth for more serious listens.
Standout tracks: The Receiving End Of It All ; What A Wicked Gang Are We ; We Will Fall Together
Link: http://www.myspace.com/streetlightmanifesto
3. The Big Dirty by Every Time I Die
Genre: Metalcore / Southern Rock
This is a tough album for me to review. ETID's 2005 album, Gutter Phenomenon, was my top choice for the year, and their 2003 Hot Damn! would surely have been as well if I was writing these little columns back then. There's no shame in being behind AWS's Career Suicide as that's a once-a-decade type of album, but them being behind Streetlight Manifesto as well is kind of telling. This album simply wasn't what I was hoping for.
A lot of people were up in arms over Gutter Phenomenon's newfound Southern Rock stylings, but I felt it was a strong direction to go in, even if I didn't like it as much as Hot Damn!'s genre-defining breakneck metalcore. This, however, is a mish-mash of styles without a clear direction. In some ways, it's a step back to their first LP, Last Night In Town, and I really felt they were still finding their sound back then. The Big Dirty dips in and out of metalcore and southern rock, but doesn't always find a suitable middle ground. When the album shines, it shines - "We'rewolf" features one of the best riffs they've ever written, and has an amazing climax that is the very definition of rock 'n' roll. "INRIhab" is a first for vocalist Keith Buckley, showcasing him dropping the (admittedly clever) puns and wordplay, and focusing on more serious, personal issues. Others like "Rendez-voodoo" and "Buffalo Gals" see the band trying some different, interesting melodies out. But others are a lot more cookie-cutter. I'm obviously not too unhappy with the album as it's still my #3, but I have such high expectations for ETID. Now, the long wait until 2009...
Standout tracks: We'rewolf ; INRIhab ; Buffalo Gals
Link: http://www.myspace.com/everytimeidie
4. New Wave by Against Me!
Genre: Punk / Folk
Another new band for me this year, although hardly new themselves. Against Me! have a legion of fans from their early acoustic, extremely low-fi work, and they are none-to-happy about the recent major label deal and all the radio play. I say 'Meh.' This band has unique lyrics, raspy vocals, great guitar tone, and no shortage of catchy hooks. I've had many an Against Me! song stuck in my head this year, especially after diving into their back catalogue as well.
Standout tracks: Piss And Vinegar ; Americans Abroad ; Up The Cuts
Link: http://www.myspace.com/againstme
5. Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
Genre: Rock / Alternative
I'm hesitant to call this "indie rock" as that's not really a genre, but the colloquial usage of that term is probably a good description of Arcade Fire. There was something majestic and beautiful about their debut, Funeral, and a lot of that is missing from Neon Bible. But give this enough time, and you really get a completely different, equally amazing feel. There's a pervasive quiet pensiveness to this album, and some really touching moments that take you out of whatever you're doing and smother you in sound and emotion. Real undeniable charm.
Standout tracks: The Well And The Lighthouse ; (Antichrist Television Blues) ; Black Mirror
Link: http://www.myspace.com/arcadefireofficial
It gets tougher to really order them past this point, so take exact numbers with a grain of salt. They're all undeniable winners, have no doubt.
6. Icky Thump by The White Stripes
Genre: Garage Rock
Have you thought that The White Stripes have gotten really weird in the past few years? Yeah, me too - I pretty much hated their last album, Get Behind Me, Satan. This album was a real revelation, however - going back to their garage rock roots, Jack and Meg (or probably just Jack...) have written some really great tunes here. Most of this album is classic rock and roll greatness. Rag and Bone has one of the best riffs of the year, and the interplay between the two vocalists is hilarious. There are some odd moments, sure, but in general they are a lot more reigned in, and there's very little I don't like about this album.
Standout tracks: Rag and Bone ; Icky Thump ; Catch Hell Blues
Link: http://www.myspace.com/thewhitestripes
7. Ire Works by The Dillinger Escape Plan
Genre: Math / Metal / Pop?
Their last album, Miss Machine, really divided people, what with it's Faith No More-esque detours into creepy pop. Ire Works continues down that trajectory, but it does it in a smart fashion, and still brings the metal when it needs to. The tracklist is a little sparse, considering that a few too many of the tracks are just instrumental interludes, which is a shame. But when your biggest complaint is "Why isn't the album longer?", I'd say that's a good thing.
Standout tracks: Milk Lizard ; Fix Your Face ; Black Bubblegum
Link: http://www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplan
8. Super Taranta! by Gogol Bordello
Genre: Punk / Gypsy
This is eastern European gypsy punk, with thickly-accented vocals, accordions, and every random string and percussion instrument you can think of. It's loud, it's catchy, and it's weird.
Standout tracks: Wonderlust King ; American Wedding ; Supertheory of Supereverything
Link: http://www.myspace.com/gogolbordello
9. Lifetime by Lifetime
Genre: Punk
There's not much to say about this because it's really no frills - fast, genuine-feeling, catchy punk. Simple lyrics and songs, but it resonates so well and really sticks with you.
Standout tracks: Can't Think About It Now ; Northbound Breakdown ; Records at Nite
Link: http://www.myspace.com/lifetimenj
10. Sky Blue Sky by Wilco
Genre: Rock / Alternative
Like this year's White Stripes album, Wilco's latest is a return to more simple rock after an album of experimentation. Catchy and honest, this is great mellow music with occasional dips into face-melting guitar solos.
Standout tracks: You Are My Face ; What Light ; Shake It Off
Link: http://www.myspace.com/wilco
Other notable albums:
11. Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight
So catchy, and Jenny Lewis's voice is so hot.
12. Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
There are 3 or 4 songs here that would put the album in the top 5 if only the rest of the songs on the album were like them. Sadly, they are not. Check out "Turnin' on the Screw," "Sick Sick Sick," and "I'm Designer."
13. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
Same comment as QotSA's Era Vulgaris right above. "Spitting Venom" is a classic, though.
14. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Some pretty interesting stuff on this album, and of course there's the whole internet distribution gimmick, but it didn't stick with me the way it did with some.
15. !!! - Myth Takes
I don't know if they'll ever top "Me and Giuliani Down By The School Yard." They certainly don't here, but there's some cool dance punk served up on this album.
16. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
It's certainly nice to be past With Teeth's almost rap-like nonsense. "Zero Sum" is stunningly beautiful, and "Capital G" is probably Trent's catchiness since TDS's "Closer," but in general the album is as juvenile as most of his recent work.
The Ugly...
Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
The Pretender is a crazy-catchy song, but the rest of the album is meandering bullshit.
From Autumn To Ashes - Holding A Wolf By The Ears
Oh god, please make Francis stop. His whiny voice is just terrible. Without Ben, this band is pretty much shit.
Funeral For A Friend - Tales Don't Tell Themselves
FFAF is still convinced that their early work was childish, and they need to be super serious and deep to be "artists." Enter their first concept album. Hopefully their last. Though I don't know why I even still care - they haven't done anything good since 2003, and they've pretty much disowned all their early work.
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
I don't even know what is wrong with this band lately. Their debut album was perfect southern rock and roll. Then they got all boring. Not a single song on this album has the slightest bit of spirit.
Thrice - The Alchemy Index vols. I & II: Fire & Water
This is a real disappointment, as I've loved everything Thrice has done up until this point. Normally they're so passionate and technical. This felt droning and dull. Hopefully it was just a slip up, or something they'd been wanting to experiment with.
update: I provided links to bands' MySpace pages so you can get quick and free (and legal!) listens if you want to give them a try.
Music: Best Of 2007
1. Career Suicide by A Wilhelm Scream
Genre: Punk / Metal
Ever liked a band, but wanted them to pull out the stops, skip the slow songs, and put out a really fast, powerful album? A Wilhelm Scream was one of those bands for me. And holy shit did they deliver, above and beyond what I ever expected possible. This is a barn-burner of an album - 13 songs of pure fury.
I don't want to scare anyone off this - this is not hardcore, or really even metal besides the guitar tone and complexity, and there is no screaming or thrashing or stuff like that. Melodic guitar, harmonized vocals, and the catchiest hooks you ever heard. But this is a mean album. The passion in every song is stunning - every member of this band is at their peak. Saying this in 2007 is pretty much heresy, but I feel no shame in asserting that this is a punk rock masterpiece. From the gasping, fervor-filled lyrics, dripping with wit and sarcasm, to the breakneck dueling guitars, to the relentless, metronome-like drumming, this is an album I'm going to enjoy over and over throughout the years to come. I simply can't recommend it enough.
Standout tracks: The Horse ; Pardon Me, Thanks a Lot ; 5 to 9
Link: http://www.myspace.com/awilhelmscream
2. Somewhere In The Between by Streetlight Manifesto
Genre: Ska / Punk
Ska is a new one for me this year - never thought a Ska Punk band would make my #2. This band is catchiness incarnate. Seriously, listen to this band and be prepared to have it stuck in your head for the next week. Best described as a perfect mix of guitars and horns, Streetlight Manifesto doesn't lay the corniness on too thick like some other similar bands, and offers an album full of diverse songs. Some of the opening tracks are light and fluffy, while the latter half (the two closers especially) is brimming with passion and deeper themes. This is stuff you can put on anytime and just feel happy - and it also has the depth for more serious listens.
Standout tracks: The Receiving End Of It All ; What A Wicked Gang Are We ; We Will Fall Together
Link: http://www.myspace.com/streetlightmanifesto
3. The Big Dirty by Every Time I Die
Genre: Metalcore / Southern Rock
This is a tough album for me to review. ETID's 2005 album, Gutter Phenomenon, was my top choice for the year, and their 2003 Hot Damn! would surely have been as well if I was writing these little columns back then. There's no shame in being behind AWS's Career Suicide as that's a once-a-decade type of album, but them being behind Streetlight Manifesto as well is kind of telling. This album simply wasn't what I was hoping for.
A lot of people were up in arms over Gutter Phenomenon's newfound Southern Rock stylings, but I felt it was a strong direction to go in, even if I didn't like it as much as Hot Damn!'s genre-defining breakneck metalcore. This, however, is a mish-mash of styles without a clear direction. In some ways, it's a step back to their first LP, Last Night In Town, and I really felt they were still finding their sound back then. The Big Dirty dips in and out of metalcore and southern rock, but doesn't always find a suitable middle ground. When the album shines, it shines - "We'rewolf" features one of the best riffs they've ever written, and has an amazing climax that is the very definition of rock 'n' roll. "INRIhab" is a first for vocalist Keith Buckley, showcasing him dropping the (admittedly clever) puns and wordplay, and focusing on more serious, personal issues. Others like "Rendez-voodoo" and "Buffalo Gals" see the band trying some different, interesting melodies out. But others are a lot more cookie-cutter. I'm obviously not too unhappy with the album as it's still my #3, but I have such high expectations for ETID. Now, the long wait until 2009...
Standout tracks: We'rewolf ; INRIhab ; Buffalo Gals
Link: http://www.myspace.com/everytimeidie
4. New Wave by Against Me!
Genre: Punk / Folk
Another new band for me this year, although hardly new themselves. Against Me! have a legion of fans from their early acoustic, extremely low-fi work, and they are none-to-happy about the recent major label deal and all the radio play. I say 'Meh.' This band has unique lyrics, raspy vocals, great guitar tone, and no shortage of catchy hooks. I've had many an Against Me! song stuck in my head this year, especially after diving into their back catalogue as well.
Standout tracks: Piss And Vinegar ; Americans Abroad ; Up The Cuts
Link: http://www.myspace.com/againstme
5. Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
Genre: Rock / Alternative
I'm hesitant to call this "indie rock" as that's not really a genre, but the colloquial usage of that term is probably a good description of Arcade Fire. There was something majestic and beautiful about their debut, Funeral, and a lot of that is missing from Neon Bible. But give this enough time, and you really get a completely different, equally amazing feel. There's a pervasive quiet pensiveness to this album, and some really touching moments that take you out of whatever you're doing and smother you in sound and emotion. Real undeniable charm.
Standout tracks: The Well And The Lighthouse ; (Antichrist Television Blues) ; Black Mirror
Link: http://www.myspace.com/arcadefireofficial
It gets tougher to really order them past this point, so take exact numbers with a grain of salt. They're all undeniable winners, have no doubt.
6. Icky Thump by The White Stripes
Genre: Garage Rock
Have you thought that The White Stripes have gotten really weird in the past few years? Yeah, me too - I pretty much hated their last album, Get Behind Me, Satan. This album was a real revelation, however - going back to their garage rock roots, Jack and Meg (or probably just Jack...) have written some really great tunes here. Most of this album is classic rock and roll greatness. Rag and Bone has one of the best riffs of the year, and the interplay between the two vocalists is hilarious. There are some odd moments, sure, but in general they are a lot more reigned in, and there's very little I don't like about this album.
Standout tracks: Rag and Bone ; Icky Thump ; Catch Hell Blues
Link: http://www.myspace.com/thewhitestripes
7. Ire Works by The Dillinger Escape Plan
Genre: Math / Metal / Pop?
Their last album, Miss Machine, really divided people, what with it's Faith No More-esque detours into creepy pop. Ire Works continues down that trajectory, but it does it in a smart fashion, and still brings the metal when it needs to. The tracklist is a little sparse, considering that a few too many of the tracks are just instrumental interludes, which is a shame. But when your biggest complaint is "Why isn't the album longer?", I'd say that's a good thing.
Standout tracks: Milk Lizard ; Fix Your Face ; Black Bubblegum
Link: http://www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplan
8. Super Taranta! by Gogol Bordello
Genre: Punk / Gypsy
This is eastern European gypsy punk, with thickly-accented vocals, accordions, and every random string and percussion instrument you can think of. It's loud, it's catchy, and it's weird.
Standout tracks: Wonderlust King ; American Wedding ; Supertheory of Supereverything
Link: http://www.myspace.com/gogolbordello
9. Lifetime by Lifetime
Genre: Punk
There's not much to say about this because it's really no frills - fast, genuine-feeling, catchy punk. Simple lyrics and songs, but it resonates so well and really sticks with you.
Standout tracks: Can't Think About It Now ; Northbound Breakdown ; Records at Nite
Link: http://www.myspace.com/lifetimenj
10. Sky Blue Sky by Wilco
Genre: Rock / Alternative
Like this year's White Stripes album, Wilco's latest is a return to more simple rock after an album of experimentation. Catchy and honest, this is great mellow music with occasional dips into face-melting guitar solos.
Standout tracks: You Are My Face ; What Light ; Shake It Off
Link: http://www.myspace.com/wilco
Other notable albums:
11. Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight
So catchy, and Jenny Lewis's voice is so hot.
12. Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
There are 3 or 4 songs here that would put the album in the top 5 if only the rest of the songs on the album were like them. Sadly, they are not. Check out "Turnin' on the Screw," "Sick Sick Sick," and "I'm Designer."
13. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
Same comment as QotSA's Era Vulgaris right above. "Spitting Venom" is a classic, though.
14. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Some pretty interesting stuff on this album, and of course there's the whole internet distribution gimmick, but it didn't stick with me the way it did with some.
15. !!! - Myth Takes
I don't know if they'll ever top "Me and Giuliani Down By The School Yard." They certainly don't here, but there's some cool dance punk served up on this album.
16. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
It's certainly nice to be past With Teeth's almost rap-like nonsense. "Zero Sum" is stunningly beautiful, and "Capital G" is probably Trent's catchiness since TDS's "Closer," but in general the album is as juvenile as most of his recent work.
The Ugly...
Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
The Pretender is a crazy-catchy song, but the rest of the album is meandering bullshit.
From Autumn To Ashes - Holding A Wolf By The Ears
Oh god, please make Francis stop. His whiny voice is just terrible. Without Ben, this band is pretty much shit.
Funeral For A Friend - Tales Don't Tell Themselves
FFAF is still convinced that their early work was childish, and they need to be super serious and deep to be "artists." Enter their first concept album. Hopefully their last. Though I don't know why I even still care - they haven't done anything good since 2003, and they've pretty much disowned all their early work.
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
I don't even know what is wrong with this band lately. Their debut album was perfect southern rock and roll. Then they got all boring. Not a single song on this album has the slightest bit of spirit.
Thrice - The Alchemy Index vols. I & II: Fire & Water
This is a real disappointment, as I've loved everything Thrice has done up until this point. Normally they're so passionate and technical. This felt droning and dull. Hopefully it was just a slip up, or something they'd been wanting to experiment with.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Oh TV, why have you forsaken me?
This writer's strike is seriously pissing me off. There hasn't been anything good on TV for like 3 months now. Some of the writer's union's demands are reasonable, but others are the usual union bullshit where they want to control the whole industry, and frankly it's disgusting. Thousands of makeup artists, cameramen, stage hands, and other entertainment workers - the non-famous people who really need the steady paychecks - are out of work because the writers want bullshit like the right to engage in sympathy strikes without penalty, or the right to unionize reality TV writers (HAH! Best oxymoron I've ever heard of). Thanks a lot jerks. Go back to writing Lost and Battlestar Galactica.
I can't stand reality TV. Who gives a shit about Hulk Hogan's family, or who some C-list star picks to be his latest girlfriend. And what is with all the shows about families with large numbers of kids? Last time I checked, getting knocked up wasn't some kind of special skill.
I don't like to watch a ton of TV, but I'm really anxious for Lost to return and make a steady schedule for the remaining 48 episodes, so I'll be happy when the strike is resolved. Classes have started up again, so I'm pretty busy for the most part. I am working on my 2007 music year-end wrap-up, it's just taking longer than I expected. I apparently bought 55 albums that were released in 2007, so it's a lot to organize. But it is coming.
I can't stand reality TV. Who gives a shit about Hulk Hogan's family, or who some C-list star picks to be his latest girlfriend. And what is with all the shows about families with large numbers of kids? Last time I checked, getting knocked up wasn't some kind of special skill.
I don't like to watch a ton of TV, but I'm really anxious for Lost to return and make a steady schedule for the remaining 48 episodes, so I'll be happy when the strike is resolved. Classes have started up again, so I'm pretty busy for the most part. I am working on my 2007 music year-end wrap-up, it's just taking longer than I expected. I apparently bought 55 albums that were released in 2007, so it's a lot to organize. But it is coming.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Life Lesson #47: Do NOT fuck with a man's turtle.
The journeys of my turtles have gotten complicated in the last 6 months. First, Bitey & Franklin decided that they no longer liked each other, and instead wanted to bite each other's limbs off. So they had to be placed into separate tanks (Bitey is currently at Libby's parent's house, as two tanks was a bit much for a small room). Then my Residence Director flip-flopped on her decision to allow my turtles to stay in the dorm, and I had to go over her head. And then over that person's head. I'm pretty sure all the RAs in my building hate me now, but meh. As it stands right now, the university-wide policy on pets is being reviewed based upon my arguments. The lesson here? Don't fuck with a man's turtles.
Today's my last day of the official co-op period here at MIT Lincoln Labs. I'm going to continue working for them part time in the spring, and may return for my 3rd and final co-op. But from tomorrow until December 28th, I will be in Florida, away from this ridiculous snow.
I'm working on the usual big end-of-year music write-up. I don't know when it will go up, but it will.
Happy holidays everybody. Or as I like to say, "If you'd rather die than live in the poor houses, then perhaps you should, and decrease the surplus population!"
Bah-humbug, I'm out.
Today's my last day of the official co-op period here at MIT Lincoln Labs. I'm going to continue working for them part time in the spring, and may return for my 3rd and final co-op. But from tomorrow until December 28th, I will be in Florida, away from this ridiculous snow.
I'm working on the usual big end-of-year music write-up. I don't know when it will go up, but it will.
Happy holidays everybody. Or as I like to say, "If you'd rather die than live in the poor houses, then perhaps you should, and decrease the surplus population!"
Bah-humbug, I'm out.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Sportsball
I don't hate baseball. I quite enjoy it on certain occasions. And I certainly don't begrudge those that really get into it. I get excited over lots of things that most people would find boring or insipid, so I have no place to judge what other people find interesting.
With that said...
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK BOSTON?!? IT'S JUST A BASEBALL GAME.
Seriously. I'm glad you're having a great time, but the world doesn't need to start and stop because the team you're vicariously living through wins or loses. Campus-wide warnings and 'safe alternatives to enjoy the game' should not be required. Cops should not have to patrol the area all night. I shouldn't have to be kept awake until 3 in the goddamn morning because assholes are driving up and down Huntington Ave., holding their car horns down, and yelling "WHOOOOO, RED SOX!!!" We shouldn't have to worry that there will be more needless violence like that which occurred during the Patriots riot or the Red Sox riot in 2004 - both of which led to the deaths of college students.
Maybe I should get into the things I like as much as people get into the Red Sox. You know, I'm still really fucking pumped about that A Wilhelm Scream CD. I'm going to hold it over my head and run up and down the street, kicking over trash cans and yelling my brains out, at 2 o'clock in the morning. I feel that is my prerogative. The whole city needs to know just how much I like them.
With that said...
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK BOSTON?!? IT'S JUST A BASEBALL GAME.
Seriously. I'm glad you're having a great time, but the world doesn't need to start and stop because the team you're vicariously living through wins or loses. Campus-wide warnings and 'safe alternatives to enjoy the game' should not be required. Cops should not have to patrol the area all night. I shouldn't have to be kept awake until 3 in the goddamn morning because assholes are driving up and down Huntington Ave., holding their car horns down, and yelling "WHOOOOO, RED SOX!!!" We shouldn't have to worry that there will be more needless violence like that which occurred during the Patriots riot or the Red Sox riot in 2004 - both of which led to the deaths of college students.
Maybe I should get into the things I like as much as people get into the Red Sox. You know, I'm still really fucking pumped about that A Wilhelm Scream CD. I'm going to hold it over my head and run up and down the street, kicking over trash cans and yelling my brains out, at 2 o'clock in the morning. I feel that is my prerogative. The whole city needs to know just how much I like them.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Random
I got a call from my dad today, saying that Billy Corgan, the singer for the Smashing Pumpkins, was in his shop today. My dad wasn't there himself, but my grandfather was helming the desk and called to tell him that "William Corgan, who's in some 'something something pumpkins' band" bought a couple thousand dollars worth of furniture. Pretty crazy.
good tunes
2007 has been a pretty amazing year for music so far. There have been some big disappointments, sure - Smashing Pumpkins, Kings of Leon, From Autumn To Ashes. But there have been some incredible albums, some that have just blown me away.
As of last Monday, I was pretty sure what my top album of the year was going to be. It was kind of boring and predictable to pick the new album by your favorite band, but Every Time I Die's newest, The Big Dirty, is pretty great and is another solid evolution of their sound. Then A Wilhelm Scream's new album, Career Suicide, dropped on Tuesday and I was in love after the first listen through. Holy shit do they fucking tear things up. 13 songs, and not a clunker among them. 35 minutes of barn-burning fury. The lyrics, the vocals, the guitars, the drumming - they have delivered on everything. I've loved their last 2 albums, but this is simply beyond them in every way shape and form.
There are a couple records left to come out this year that I'm really looking forward to - Jimmy Eat World, The Hives, Thrice, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Thrice's sounds pretty bad, but I'll give it a chance. Dillinger and JEW have a chance of being really great, so I'm waiting with baited breath for those. I think all those records have leaked online already, but I still have plenty of already-released stuff to listen and re-listen to, so I can wait. Hell, I've only listened to the new Radiohead album once - coming out a day after Career Suicide didn't exactly work in its favor, haha.
As of last Monday, I was pretty sure what my top album of the year was going to be. It was kind of boring and predictable to pick the new album by your favorite band, but Every Time I Die's newest, The Big Dirty, is pretty great and is another solid evolution of their sound. Then A Wilhelm Scream's new album, Career Suicide, dropped on Tuesday and I was in love after the first listen through. Holy shit do they fucking tear things up. 13 songs, and not a clunker among them. 35 minutes of barn-burning fury. The lyrics, the vocals, the guitars, the drumming - they have delivered on everything. I've loved their last 2 albums, but this is simply beyond them in every way shape and form.
There are a couple records left to come out this year that I'm really looking forward to - Jimmy Eat World, The Hives, Thrice, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Thrice's sounds pretty bad, but I'll give it a chance. Dillinger and JEW have a chance of being really great, so I'm waiting with baited breath for those. I think all those records have leaked online already, but I still have plenty of already-released stuff to listen and re-listen to, so I can wait. Hell, I've only listened to the new Radiohead album once - coming out a day after Career Suicide didn't exactly work in its favor, haha.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Oh internet....
The internet is supposed to be such a great thing because anyone can post whatever they want, and you can communicate with people all over the world. The problem, of course, is that most people are mouth-breathing morons - people you wouldn't trust to take out your garbage, nevermind give insightful information into all of life's little quirks.
But every once in awhile, you stumble upon something really striking. The somethingawful.com forums are normally a cesspool of misinformation and mis-directed anger, but I found a real humorous gem the other day:
But every once in awhile, you stumble upon something really striking. The somethingawful.com forums are normally a cesspool of misinformation and mis-directed anger, but I found a real humorous gem the other day:
"Fuck all the pop song puppy love bullshit. Your heart skipping a beat isn't love, it's cardiac arrhythmia. It's not about shortness of breath, either, or how turned on you get or whether you tell yourself you'd throw yourself in front of a bus for her or whatever. You can convince yourself of a lot about how you feel and what you would do in exchange for regular oral sex.
Love is when she drives you insane sometimes. And I don't mean merely "aggravating" or "annoying," I mean flat-out fucking in. Sane. And in a way nobody else can do it in a million years. She'll drive you to the point where you'd gouge out your own eyeball with a melon baller or smack your scrotum a half-dozen times with a ball peen hammer if it means you can be done with this conversation. She'll make you want to chew your own arm off to get out of talking about this. And I don't care how many fucking times you've had this conversation, each time, you know you'll have it again:
Her: I thought you turned the heat on.
You: I did.
Her: Well, I'm still cold. Are you sure you did it right?
You: Yes, I'm pretty sure I know how to turn on a thermostat.
Her: 'Cause you know you have to flip the switch to "heat" and....
You: Honey! I know! How to turn on! A thermostat! I went to college for it and everything.
Her: Well, I don't feel any heat blowing in here.
You: I know. I think you broke the thermostat again.
Her: I didn't break it.
You: Yes, you did, you put that halogen lamp right next to it again.
Her: That doesn't do anything.
You: Yes, it does.
Her: I thought you fixed it?
You: I did fix it, and you broke it again.
Her: Are you sure you fixed it right?
You: Yes, goddammit, I fixed it right.
Her: How do you know you fixed it?
You: 'Cause it worked when I fixed it!
Her: Well, it's not working now.
You: 'Cause you broke it again!
Her: How'd I break it?
You: You put the goddamn, fucking lamp next to it!
Her: I don't see why a lamp would break a thermostat.
You: OK. I'm going to explain this. One more time. Slowly. Thermostats have a coil inside them that expands and contracts based on the temperature. This is how they know when it is hotter than the setting of the A/C, so it can cool the room off, or colder than the setting of the heating, so it can heat the room up. Halogen lamps generate heat. Halogen lamps generate a lot of heat. That's why you burn your fingers when you touch the bulbs after they've been on for a while. So when you put a halogen lamp next to a thermostat, it causes the coil to keep expanding and expanding and expanding past the point it's intended to expand. This makes the thermostat think it's really, really hot all the time, and it makes the coil less sensitive in the future, and it'll eventually break the coil so I'll have to replace the thermostat.
Her: That doesn't sound right.
You: Trust me. It's right.
Her: How do you know?
You: BECAUSE I TOOK SIXTH GRADE FUCKING PHYSICS, OK?!
Her: Well, I don't think they should make thermostats that can be broken by something little like a lamp.
You: Fine. Don't think that. Write a letter to the manufacturers. Write a letter to universities and tell them to build a better thermostat. I don't fucking care. But that's how they make them. That's why I keep moving the lamp, that's why I keep telling you not to put it back to the right of the bookcase, that's why I've had to fix the thermostat four fucking times now. Stop! Putting! The lamp! Right! Next! To the thermostat!
Her: But on the other side of the bookcase, the front of the hallway is dark, and I can't see inside my gift closet.
You: Well, you can turn on the hall light to go through your gift closet, or you can sit here and be cold! Your choice, honey!
Her:
You:
Her:
You:
Her: I don't think you fixed the thermostat right.
You: GOD-MOTHERFUCKING-DAMMIT, I'M GOING TO FIX THAT MOTHERFUCKING THERMOSTAT TOMORROW, AND I SWEAR TO MOTHERFUCKING CHRIST IF YOU PUT THE LAMP NEAR THE THERMOSTAT AGAIN, I WILL SMASH IT TO A MILLION FUCKING PIECES AND SHOVE THEM DOWN YOUR GODDAMN THROAT!!! MOTHERFUCK ME, JESUS!!!!!!
And if the seventh time you have that conversation, knowing full well there will be an eighth time, you'd still rather have that conversation again than imagine a world she's not in, you're in love.
Especially if you do fix that thermostat... again... the next day, and not just so she'll shut up about it, but because you really don't want her to be cold anymore."
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The Simpsons Movie
When you've been waiting for a movie for over 10 years, it's hard to really be objective about it. Especially when the series has been in a decline for so many seasons. But I'd say they really did right by The Simpsons when converting it into a big screen adventure, and the results are better than I expected.
A lot of old writers from the glory days of the show returned to work on the movie, and it definitely shows. The first half of the movie is as comical as some of the better episodes. Homer's manner of disposing of a hornet's nest, and his reaction to Bart almost falling off the roof, are classic bits sure to earn laughs. And of course there's Spider-Pig, something I'm particularly fond of. The majority of worthwhile characters from the Simpsons universe make funny, albeit brief, cameos, and the first half hour or so is just spent coasting from one laugh to the next. There are a couple good jokes on the nature of making a movie out of a TV show, and one really good jab that pokes fun at the very studio funding them.
The Simpsons formula has always been pretty familiar - the first act appears totally random and offers many jokes, and then somehow meanders into whatever the main issue is by the second act. Then there's some kind of major dilemma, and finally all is resolved in some unorthodox way in the final act. That's preserved here fairly well, just stretched a bit to fit the new hour and a half format. In some ways, the movie is just like a really long TV episode - but honestly, it's a pretty damn good episode so I don't mind. Not everything can be the South Park movie, and I honestly didn't expect it to be anything like that.
The film slows down a bit towards the end, and you have the usual thematic hokeyness - love conquers all, we're nothing without our friends, blah blah blah, the usual - but it stays consistently entertaining and restores the status quo in a (semi) plausible manner. Overall, I enjoyed my movie-going experience. This isn't a redefining of The Simpsons, but it's another solid chapter in a very long career that was starting to look like it had run out of steam.
A lot of old writers from the glory days of the show returned to work on the movie, and it definitely shows. The first half of the movie is as comical as some of the better episodes. Homer's manner of disposing of a hornet's nest, and his reaction to Bart almost falling off the roof, are classic bits sure to earn laughs. And of course there's Spider-Pig, something I'm particularly fond of. The majority of worthwhile characters from the Simpsons universe make funny, albeit brief, cameos, and the first half hour or so is just spent coasting from one laugh to the next. There are a couple good jokes on the nature of making a movie out of a TV show, and one really good jab that pokes fun at the very studio funding them.
The Simpsons formula has always been pretty familiar - the first act appears totally random and offers many jokes, and then somehow meanders into whatever the main issue is by the second act. Then there's some kind of major dilemma, and finally all is resolved in some unorthodox way in the final act. That's preserved here fairly well, just stretched a bit to fit the new hour and a half format. In some ways, the movie is just like a really long TV episode - but honestly, it's a pretty damn good episode so I don't mind. Not everything can be the South Park movie, and I honestly didn't expect it to be anything like that.
The film slows down a bit towards the end, and you have the usual thematic hokeyness - love conquers all, we're nothing without our friends, blah blah blah, the usual - but it stays consistently entertaining and restores the status quo in a (semi) plausible manner. Overall, I enjoyed my movie-going experience. This isn't a redefining of The Simpsons, but it's another solid chapter in a very long career that was starting to look like it had run out of steam.
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Bourne Ultimatum
I just saw the last film of the Bourne Trilogy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and I'm definitely of the opinion that this series is one of the better ones to grace the cinema in some time. Each movie is strong in its own right, but as one cohesive story it is really quite outstanding.
Watching the first film, The Bourne Identity, you'd really have no idea where the series was headed. Very much an action movie, Identity is filled with a lot of set pieces and adrenaline-fueled moments. But there's also a lot of exposition that serves to really create a framework for the world you're entering, and there's a lot of character development. By the end of the movie, you really like Jason Bourne, and you really feel he's found love. And you feel he's really found closure, having thrown off the collar of the agency he believed brainwashed him and forced him to become a killer. This happy ending to the first chapter is risky, because it makes the entire ordeal seem extremely easy to resolve, and kills a lot of interest in any subsequent movies. But if you stick it out, the payoff, the betrayal of this ending, is when things really start to get good.
In The Bourne Supremacy, Jason learns he can't simply run away from his past. It catches up to him, kills his love, and places him back in the middle of things. We begin to question who Jason Bourne really is. We're terrified of him when he holds a gun to Julia Stiles' head and screams that he'll kill her if she doesn't tell him what he needs to know. Is he really the killer the government groomed him to be? Initially I didn't like Supremacy. I went into it expecting another action movie, and it's really far from it. There are some fights, yes, but it's all filmed in the shakiest, jerkiest manner I have ever witnessed. I didn't really appreciate it for what it was, only lampooned it for what it wasn't. Watching it again, it's easy to see what a dramatic, emotional movie it is. The scene where he speaks with the daughter of his first two victims is heartbreaking. As is his final confrontation with the leader of the program, where he doesn't kill the old bastard because "she wouldn't want me too."
Ultimatum takes the emotional ambiguity of Supremacy and the action of Identity and runs with them. It is an exhausting movie - over 2 hours of near constant momentum. The camera manages to stay still a couple of seconds longer here and there, and we're able to see some truly impressive fights. The sense of urgency is overwhelming at times. And we learn, at the same time Bourne does, how he became the man he is today. This is a movie about accountability. About responsibility. About how, at the end of the day, we have to come to terms with the things we've done.
"Look at what they make you give." Clive Owen's character says that, as he stares down at his fatal gunshot wounds towards the end of The Bourne Identity. The Bourne series is about what Jason had to give. In The Bourne Ultimatum, we see what he had to do to start to get it back. By the time the haunting 'Extreme Ways' by Moby (the song that ends all three movies) started to play for the third and final time, I felt I had witnessed something remarkable.
Watching the first film, The Bourne Identity, you'd really have no idea where the series was headed. Very much an action movie, Identity is filled with a lot of set pieces and adrenaline-fueled moments. But there's also a lot of exposition that serves to really create a framework for the world you're entering, and there's a lot of character development. By the end of the movie, you really like Jason Bourne, and you really feel he's found love. And you feel he's really found closure, having thrown off the collar of the agency he believed brainwashed him and forced him to become a killer. This happy ending to the first chapter is risky, because it makes the entire ordeal seem extremely easy to resolve, and kills a lot of interest in any subsequent movies. But if you stick it out, the payoff, the betrayal of this ending, is when things really start to get good.
In The Bourne Supremacy, Jason learns he can't simply run away from his past. It catches up to him, kills his love, and places him back in the middle of things. We begin to question who Jason Bourne really is. We're terrified of him when he holds a gun to Julia Stiles' head and screams that he'll kill her if she doesn't tell him what he needs to know. Is he really the killer the government groomed him to be? Initially I didn't like Supremacy. I went into it expecting another action movie, and it's really far from it. There are some fights, yes, but it's all filmed in the shakiest, jerkiest manner I have ever witnessed. I didn't really appreciate it for what it was, only lampooned it for what it wasn't. Watching it again, it's easy to see what a dramatic, emotional movie it is. The scene where he speaks with the daughter of his first two victims is heartbreaking. As is his final confrontation with the leader of the program, where he doesn't kill the old bastard because "she wouldn't want me too."
Ultimatum takes the emotional ambiguity of Supremacy and the action of Identity and runs with them. It is an exhausting movie - over 2 hours of near constant momentum. The camera manages to stay still a couple of seconds longer here and there, and we're able to see some truly impressive fights. The sense of urgency is overwhelming at times. And we learn, at the same time Bourne does, how he became the man he is today. This is a movie about accountability. About responsibility. About how, at the end of the day, we have to come to terms with the things we've done.
"Look at what they make you give." Clive Owen's character says that, as he stares down at his fatal gunshot wounds towards the end of The Bourne Identity. The Bourne series is about what Jason had to give. In The Bourne Ultimatum, we see what he had to do to start to get it back. By the time the haunting 'Extreme Ways' by Moby (the song that ends all three movies) started to play for the third and final time, I felt I had witnessed something remarkable.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Music: Zero-Sum by Nine Inch Nails
This semester has pretty much done everything in its power to destroy me - but I've pulled shit like this off in the past, and I'm sure I'll do it again.
I have two finals left, and then I am finished. The unfortunate part is that both of these finals are on Monday morning, one right after the other, but I've already gotten myself into crunch mode so things will be fine. The hardest part is always getting yourself into that crunch mode - going from being able to watch a movie, lounge in bed, go for a walk, etc., to not having any life outside of your course load. But I'm there, I'm ready. I'm wearing my favorite ETID tshirt and days-old jeans, I've got a fridge full of energy drinks, and I've got playlists full of great music. In less than 40 hours I will be free, and I will shower and sleep and rejoice. Until then however, this is serious adult business, so get your hellin', damnin' ass back in that bitchin' damn room, damn it!
--------------------------
Shame on us,
doomed from the start,
may God have mercy on our dirty little hearts.
Shame on us,
for all we have done,
and all we ever were,
just zeros and ones.
This semester has pretty much done everything in its power to destroy me - but I've pulled shit like this off in the past, and I'm sure I'll do it again.
I have two finals left, and then I am finished. The unfortunate part is that both of these finals are on Monday morning, one right after the other, but I've already gotten myself into crunch mode so things will be fine. The hardest part is always getting yourself into that crunch mode - going from being able to watch a movie, lounge in bed, go for a walk, etc., to not having any life outside of your course load. But I'm there, I'm ready. I'm wearing my favorite ETID tshirt and days-old jeans, I've got a fridge full of energy drinks, and I've got playlists full of great music. In less than 40 hours I will be free, and I will shower and sleep and rejoice. Until then however, this is serious adult business, so get your hellin', damnin' ass back in that bitchin' damn room, damn it!
--------------------------
Shame on us,
doomed from the start,
may God have mercy on our dirty little hearts.
Shame on us,
for all we have done,
and all we ever were,
just zeros and ones.
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