F The Yankees!!

It's Christmas and I shouldn't have anything to complain about. More than that I just shouldn't be complaining this time of year. But when the Red Sox let not only the best hitter available, but arguably the best hitter in baseball, go to the Yankees I will complain about it. Bob Ryan says that the deal was "eminent" with the Red Sox. He was getting ready to start writing his article about Texiera and how great of a fit he will be with the Red Sox. How this deal keeps the Red Sox on par with the Yankees and all their winter workings. Then the worst happens...he signs with the one team you secretly wish would fly their plane into a small mountain or into a volcano. It is having your presents sitting under the tree for a couple days only to have your parents, on Christmas morning, tell you that the presents are for your rich neighbor that always has it a little nicer than you...or something like that.
Last night I wasn't devastated about the deal, or lack of deal. I tried to make the most of it. "With Youkilis and Lowell healthy, who needs a guy like Texiera." and "Give me our staff and pen any day of the week...Lester, Beckett, Dice-K, Masterson, the kid who threw the no-hitter at Fenway and nothing else since (I will not say or write his name until he does something worth mentioning...or just throws his fastball for a strike), Delcarmen, Miguel Gonzalez, and Paplebon. Fat CC will be a good pitcher, but give Lester, Burnett says he knows how to pitch now...ha! I am not worried. His numbers allow me "not to worry".

It would be easy to blame Red Sox management. Apparently, 1.5 million a year was the margin that kept the Red Sox from signing Texiera. I understand, to an extent, taking a stand and saying, "no that is all we will pay". But in the world of baseball 1.5 million a year is the equivalent to a weeks worth of lunch money. We will have 162 chances to resent this during the season. We will have 19 chances to watch and pray that Texiera doesn't single handedly destroy the Red Sox.
Even though this deal gives me a cold sweat and makes me a little nauseous, I can't wait until the baseball season starts. Being a Red Sox fan, you have had years to appreciate the "underdog" title (with all due respect to the Pirates and the Royals and the Marlins fans). We haven't been one for a few years now...until today. Thank God for Direct TV. This will allow me to watch all the games this year...to add informed commentary. A root equally for the Red Sox and against the Yankees. It will be a fun year. The AL East will be a bear. 3 teams that could win 95 games. 19 games head to head. Should be pretty great.
I can't lie though, I am devastated!!

If I Completely Forget About An Album Does It Mean I Really Liked It?...It Doesn't Mean I Didn't Like It!

Is an album really your favorite if you completely forget about it?
The Tallest Man On Earth-Shallow Grave
Maybe its not my favorite, but it's in the top five
I am putting it in my list
FORGIVE ME!

Also
The Walkman- You and Me is better than I gave it credit for
The Walkman [mp3] New Country

I am also adding Titus Androndicus because it was awesome and it was stupid of me to forget them
I also liked Times New Viking

They are now added to the list.

Pearl Jam Reissuing Ten

Pearl Jam is reissuing Ten in 4 different forms. It comes out March 24th which is so far away it doesn't even really count. Although it will be here before we realize Christmas happened.

The most basic of these Ten reissues is called the Legacy Edition. It features one CD with the original album remastered and another CD with the album both remastered and remixed by producer Brendan O'Brien. The second disc also includes six bonus tracks: "Brother", "Just a Girl", "State of Love and Trust", "Breath and a Scream", "2,000 Mile Blues", and "Evil Little Goat".

The Deluxe Edition has everything in the Legacy Edition but expands upon it by including a DVD featuring Pearl Jam's "MTV Unplugged" performance from 1992. The "Unplugged" show has never been commercially released before, and this DVD includes a performance of "Oceans" that was never aired.

Then there's the Vinyl Collection edition of the reissue, which is like the Legacy Edition without the bonus tracks and on vinyl: one LP with the original Ten remastered and one LP with Ten remastered and remixed by Brendan O'Brien.

Finally, there's the mother lode: the Super Deluxe Edition. This one collects everything in the Deluxe Edition and the Vinyl Collection but adds a couple very important things: a live set recorded at Seattle's Magnuson Park from September 20, 1992 called Drop in the Park on two vinyl LPs, and a replica of "Momma-Son", Pearl Jam's original demo cassette featuring "Alive", "Once", and "Footsteps". The package also includes a recreation of Vedder's composition notebook with replica notes, images, and other rare memorabilia.

Winning Takes A Little Patience, Not $160 Million (Yankees Suck!!)

I like what is going on in baseball right now. The Winter Meetings are taking place and agents are talking to players and owners and GMs about big signings. The big names out there, Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Texiera, Manny Ramirez, CC Sabathia, all will get huge pay days. Big name teams all bidding for these guys; the Red Sox, the Dodgers, the Mets, and the Yankees. I find the most humor in the Yankees, though. They desperately want to be the team that breeds their talent in their farm system. The Rays are the best example of this. They aren't necessarily doing it as a strategy as much as they are out of necessity. When you pack 13,000 a night into your shitty stadium you have no money for the big name free agents. They want to rely on Chamberlain and Hughes, but they don't have the patience...or maybe they just don't have the scouts to recognize "can't miss talent". They overcompensate for these defficencies (lack of patience, bad scouting, lack of team chemistry) by over paying for "talent". Carl Pavano, Bobby Abreu to name two. They are the fat kid who is paying to have friends. They are a collection of great talent that will not win. The Yankees are not a team, but a mirage that big "names" go to, to get paid and when they get there they realize the fucked up; that the pressure was too much for them to handle and they realize they should have stayed in Milwaukee or in Oakland or in Kansas City.
Sabathia will be the same as the rest of them. He is getting 7 years 160 million, which really is 4 years 160 million because no one can expect him to be effective for 7 years. He is 28 and throws more pitches than anyone in baseball. He has never won 20 games. He got hot last year...very hot...in the National League, not the American League. I expect him to be a good pitcher for the Yankees next year. He won't be great. He is a hired gun who might not think its necessary to throw 9 hard innings anymore. With that kind of pay day it doesn't really matter.

Favorite Albums of 2008

By the end of the year I try to compile a list of my favorite albums released this year. It is hard to think back to January and February and the albums released then. I always seem to forget a couple here and there. I rate them on a couple criteria.
1) When I bought the album did I listen to it over and over and have a hard time listening to anything else. This could be skewed if another good album was released simultaneously. This is not a scientific study though so I don't even think about things being skewed.
2) Could I put this album in 3 months later and still enjoy it. Some albums have not been out for 3 months so do not qualify. I have the ability though, to see into the future and I can tell if I will like the album in 3 months. The ability to see into the future only pertains to deterimining if I will like an album in 3 months. It is disappointing that "the gift" doesn't work for anything else...
So hear is the list. In reverse order...to build up to the suspense of #1...
My Favorite Albums of 2008
14. Times New Viking-Rip It Off
13. The Dodos-Visiter
12. My Morning Jacket- Evil Urges
11. Ryan Adams and The Cardinals- Cardinology
10. She and Him- Volume One
9. Sigur Ros-
**Titus Androndicus-The Airing Of Grievances
8. The Walkmen- You and Me
7. Sun Kil Moon- April
6. The Mountain Goats- Satanic Messiah EP
5. Conor Oberst- Conor Oberst
4. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks- REal Emotional Trash
3. Frightened Rabbit- The Midnight Organ Fight
**The Tallest Man On Earth-Shallow Grave
2. Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
2. Okkervil River- The Stand Ins
1. Wolf Parade- At Mount Zoomer

There you have it. Probably forgot something in there. Think Beach House came out this year and I enjoyed that album. Haven't listened to some of the albums on other peoples top 50 lists. I see Bon Iver on there quite a bit and should probably see what the fuss is all about. Forgot about Bonnie Prince Billy. I liked Lie Down in the Light. Don't know if it would make this prestigious list or not...

Ben Stein is the Commissioner of The Christmas Season

I can only hope we find God again before it is too late!!



The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning

Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a crïeche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK..

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talkin g about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is i n.


My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Ten is still better than any album fools are making today

I can't figure out if this has just been a terrible year for music or if my age is catching up to me. I wonder if I have become the person that feels new music has no relevance and that everything is beginning to sound the same. There hasn't been one album this year that has had me waiting outside a music store for the doors to open.
Last year had Iron and Wine, Band of Horses, The National, Beirut, The Weakerthans, Spoon...Handsome Furs...and on and on. This year has nothing that has interested me for more than a second. Okkervil River Stand-Ins is probably as good as it got this year and that is not bad. I liked the album a lot. I liked it more than Stage Names...
I liked Sigur Ros but you can only listen to that so many times before your brain needs to hear real words. I don't exactly know what I am waiting for, but I am waiting for something.
It was much easier when my expectations soley lay with Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and Radiohead. There are so many more bands to choose from. All the choices have watered down everything. Go back and listen to Ten or Vitology or Tiny Music or Pablo Honey. I liked it when things weren't so complicated. The music was amazing and you didn't have to think about why you liked it. It was just great.
What are you listening to all that other stuff anyway. You should be listening to Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole right now. Where are your priorities and sense of the Christmas season.
In unrelated news here is our christmas tree. We now have a glowing angel on top so add thatto what you are looking at.

Cardinology Is A Terrible Title To a Pretty Good Album

I kind of like this Ryan Adams and The Cardinals new album, Cardinology. It doesn't have that overall twangy country sound that a lot of Jacksonville City Nights and Easy Tiger has. And I have really grown to enjoy that sound. Five years ago I would have found it a bore, but I guess as I get on in years I like good old roots country tunes. This album sounds more pop like than some of his other, and thats alright. In a time where I am sincerely struggling to like any music at all, I find this record to be pretty good.
I like Ryan Adams because he pukes out songs, and not in a bad way either. He is a songwriter and for the most part a very good one. Here is one of my favorite songs on the album.


Ryan Adams and The Cardinals [mp3] Crossed Out Name

NBA Basketball is Back

NBA basketball is back. It is imperative, for professional sports leagues to be successful, that big name teams contend for Conference and World Championships. For the NBA to be truly successful and back in the living rooms of sports fans then the Celtics and the Lakers have to be successful. The Knicks need to be successful. It would be great for the Pistons and the Bulls to be successful. Right now the Lakers and Celtics are a combined 15-1 coming off their Finals showdown last year. The Knicks have found a way to get to 5-3 and the Pistons are a half game out of first in the Central. There are more guys I would pay money to see (Lebron, Kobe, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Troy Paul, Amare Stoudemire, Pierce, Allen, Garnett). The Trail Blazers are a fun team to watch, as are the Suns.
I am looking forward to watching the Celtics on Friday night basketball for the first time since watching Bird, McHale, Parish on those Friday nights before Church League Basketball. Shooting phantom jump shots in my basement during timeouts imagining that I was probably as good as Bird was at this age. Ha!
It seems that guys are playing harder. Playing with enthusiasm. The Celtics winning the championship last year was a great thing for the sport. No one cares if San Antonio or Utah or Miami wins it. We all want to see Boston or Detroit or Chicago or Clevland. With that being said. I would rather see Oklahoma City win the Finals Championship than the Hollywood Lakers.

The Unanticipation of Thanksgiving Makes it the Greatest Holiday since my Birthday

-Turkey, you are probably not alive anymore, and if you are you are on death row-

Thanksgiving is the most underrated Holiday in our country. Easily overlooked for obvious reasons and taken advantage of, as simply an extended weekend of discount shopping. I believe that I like it more than Christmas. Thanksgiving holds all the fun that Christmas does...getting together to eat lots of food over and over again, to drink alcoholic beverages over and over again, watch sports and movies and take naps intermittently throughout the day. You don't have the presents and of course, the birth of Christ and all, but most importantly, you don't have the pressure. Every year you get so hyped up for Christmas. More excited than anything. With overexcitement comes the dread of it ending. I dread Christmas ending more than I look forward to it.
With Thanksgiving you don't count down the days on a calender pulling out a piece of candy as you get closer to the big day. You don't prepare long lists of things you don't really need and you don't hang lights and torture trees...the day comes without a ton of overdone anticipation. You wake up when you wake up. Drink, eat, and watch football. Nap and eat and nap and drink.

5 great things about Thanksgiving
1. I don't love turkey. I don't request it for birthday meals or for special occasions, but on Thanksgiving eating plates and plates of turkey sounds better than meatballs during the Super Bowl.
2. Sleeping through the 3rd and maybe 4th quarter of the Lions game.
3. The Friday after Thanksgiving might be the busiest shopping day of the year, but it is irrelevant if you spend that entire day in your basement.
4. Saying, "The Thanksgiving Day Parade is on!!!" and then watching Sportscenter.
5. After the dishes are done and it has just gotten dark getting the turkey out and making the greatest turkey sandwich ever assembled.

I think that the best bands to listen to today are as follows--
Fleet Foxes
Sun Kil Moon
My Morning Jacket
Bod Dylan (just Blood on the Tracks)

A Wilco Song Written Just for Colbert

I thought the last Wilco album sucked. I know people said you have to let it grow on you, but it didn't grow on me and I didn't like it.
I have hope that their next album will be great and I will like this band again...as I liked them before. This song has been on plenty of other machines and that is what I do. Take someone else's orignial material on someone else's original machine and put it on my unoriginal machine for my two friends, who visit this daily, to view.

Happy Halloween (a reissue)

Was Charles Schulz an atheist? Is it evident in his 1966 Halloween television show It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? On the surface, an innocent cartoon, shown in late October, depicting children participating in the age old tradition of going to Halloween parties and trick or treating...but as you dig a little deeper it is much more.
Linus, a seemingly faithful gentile, full of naive wonder and optimism, stands out in a pumpkin patch all night waiting for The Great Pumpkin. While all the others dress up in costume for a Halloween party and trick or treats, Linus remains blindly faithful. Stubborn and hopeful, he waits for this deity of his to appear. He does not care that he is the only one who believes in “the Great Pumpkin”. He does know that he will be rewarded for his patience and faith. While the others go out enjoying life, going to parties, trick or treating; Linus waits. Please pay attention to the similarities here. The similarities between this story and in our beliefs today that there is a God...something bigger controlling our destinies.
Linus is a believer. He wants desperately to believe in this thing that he has not seen, that he can not prove, that everyone doubts. He wants to be good and faithful so that he will be rewarded in the end. He tries to pursuade others to join (Sally), all the while attempting to hide the perpetual doubt.
“Hey, aren’t you going to stay to greet the Great Pumpkin? It won’t be long now. If the Great Pumpkin comes, I’ll still put in a good word for you...Good Grief! I said “if”! I meant “when” he comes! I’m doomed. One little slip like that could cause the Great Pumpkin to pass you by.”
All the others are out tearing it up...living it up. Lucy and Pigpen, Shroeder and Frieda...even Charlie Brown. Chewing it up and spitting it out...living with reckless abandon. They are dressing up and going to parties and going trick or treating. They dont want to regret missing such a time. You don’t get to do such things forever, you know.
Linus stands behind his convictions, spending the evening waiting in a pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin. As his hope begins to fade they are brought back with a vision he sees in the night. You see, deep down he is trying to convince himself that this hope is real, that there is something beyond his visible, and concrete world. Out of the patch comes an apparition...a vision...THERE IS HOPE!...Linus faints and wakes up to find that “the Great Pumkin vision” was merely Snoopy trying to scare them. (a similarity to visions of Mary in Oak Trees or Jesus in a crumpled Coke can)
So in the end Linus is left with sleep. Thats it. Deep peaceful sleep. He is not rewarded for his penetance. There are no gifts, no prizes. Only sleep. He just realizes everything that he missed. All the fun. The parties. The people.

I love this show and curse myself for thinking of it this way. If you think about it Atheists are just as confused as the believers.

Where Have You Been? You Haven't Called, You Don't Write, It Seems Like You Have Forgotten About Us.

Too much time away from the machine here. I have been spending 95% of my music listening time playing The Mountain Goats and OK Computer. Somehow I forgot the OK Computer is one of the greatest albums in the history of music making and The Mountain Goats are always great.

Its pretty amazing that a band can come up with an album as great as OK Computer and then follow it up with Kid A, which is an album so good I have a hard time believing that human beings made it.
On to the Mountain Goats. They have two EPs out. I tried to post some of the songs earlier, but I did something wrong and I did not feel like persevering so I quit and never posted it. One EP is Satanic Messiah and it has 5 really great songs on it. Below is Sarcofago Live and it is great. The other EP they/he did with Kaki King and the name escapes me. Pear Tree EP or something like that. The song I have heard from that is the Mario song, which Mitchell reminded me of. Great, great song. I tried to post it down there but something went wrong and I have, ironically, terrible problem solving skills.

A couple things that have been on my mind lately.
Rick Riley is one of the worst people posing as a sports personality I have ever heard/read in my entire life. If you like Rick Riley then I don't like you. He is self-righteous and he thinks he is witty, yet he has no wit at all. I hated him as a "last page" Sports Illustrated writer and now I hate him as an ESPN "personality". He is a moron. I hope you all notice this.

The Phillies are about to win the World Series and no one, outside of the Pennsylvania area, cares at all.

Here are some songs. Lets start enjoying the fall a little bit. Its going to be 11 degrees before you know it and we will all be shivering and wishing our lives away.


The Mountain Goats [mp3]Sarcofago Live

The Mountain Goats [mp3]Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals Live At Fox Theater

Ryan Adams' shows are great for a couple of reasons. First, the music is great and he is a very good entertainer. Secondly, and maybe more intriguing is the fact that there is always a chance that he completely loses it on stage, jumps into the crowd and beats some smart ass rockabilly hipster into a mess. That tension and possibility makes for an enjoyable, but uneasy evening.
This last show would mark the third time I have seen him. The first time was unbelievable because he played his songs chronologically and played everything from Heartbreaker and Demolition and Gold. Very great show. The second time was after Cold Roses came out and I was bored by the show as much as I was bored by that entire album. I wanted the show to end and it never did.
The show on Saturday at Fox Theater made up for the previous one. He played new songs that I think are great along with a lot of songs from Heartbreaker and Love is Hell and Jacksonville City Nights. The songs off the new album have a little more of a pop music thing to them which I am sure certain critics will hate, but secretly enjoy because its just good music.
Ryan Adams went on about people sitting or standing, but this was just because the wishy washy people of St. Louis couldn't make up there mind. Some stood when they thought he wanted them to stand and then they sat down when they thought he was making fun of them. But then they just went back to standing again. And when I say stand I mean stand. They did not sway back and forth or bob their head...they just stood there like they were waiting in line to buy roast beef at the deli. Rediculous. People would yell at them but they stood strong like they were protesting animal furs being worn for scarfs. Utterly rediculous. We call it the Mike Shoemaker, after a one time friend of ours who would spontaneously get out of his seat during his favorite songs at a concert. He just stood. Straight legged and motionless. (Usually they were Neil Young covers.) Anyway, these were all confused concert goers. It made me laugh only because you could tell how uncomfortable the standers were when they were yelled at. Ha. I am an old man and hate people more and more as the days go by.
Concert ettiquette is a funny thing. It takes a little common sense and a little awareness for what is going on around you. Honestly...they just stood there...like zombie cows in a field. unreal. (except for the two girls R&B dancing a couple rows in front...I swear they had headphones on).
So the show was great and I am looking forward to the new album coming out soon. I don't know exactly when and I am not going to look it up right now, but when it comes out we should all buy it and listen to it on a jam box.

I Need Another 83 Degree Day Like I Need A Hole In My Face

I need a little interaction here. It has been 11 days and I have nothing to say about anything.
Fall is here. It started today at 10:44. It feels anything but fall like today. 83 degrees in late September might as well be 100.

I am looking to put together the greatest collection of fall songs ever.
So throw them in the comment section here below. Throw in your Tom Petty and My Morning Jacket and anything else that feels like a fall time song to you.

alright, begin....now!

Okkervil River The Stand Ins Is Better Than Great...Its Super!!!!

Will Sheff puts on one of the best shows out there. Karen O is better. Eddie Vedder is better. Isaac Brock is better, but thats about it. Black Sheep Boy was amazing and there are enough songs throughout all of Okkervil River's albums to fill an entire evening with great, great music. I was a little disappointed with The Stage Names. I don't know what it was, but I didn't like it like I liked all their other stuff. I just received The Stand Ins in the mail today, which made today a really great day. So I'm listening to it this evening and find it to be the awesomest.

I am just going to play you one song here today. It's a good one, maybe not the best on the album, but then again maybe it is. Its called Pop Lie and it starts right now...

Okkevil River [mp3] Pop Lie

The Walkmen-In The New Year

Here you go. A performance to watch today. I like this song and one day hope to own the cd.

Ce N'est Rien Mix Tape-Don't Forget Your Slippers and Your Gun or Sometimes Forest Fires are a Good Thing

Since I have been listening to these songs a lot lately I thought we could all listen to them, together, far away on different computer screens through bad speakers. Take a second and listen to them. I hope August doesn't come back for another 11 months or more.

DONT FORGET YOUR SLIPPERS AND YOUR GUN OR SOMETIMES FOREST FIRES ARE A GOOD THING
1. You Are Heaven
2. Did I Do Good Mama?
3. Taping Over Things
4. While We Dress Like Dirt
5. Backward Christian Soldiers!

I Like To Listen to My Morning Jacket In The Morning

My Morning Jacket [mp3]Rocket Man

If You Look Up The Word "Cool" In The Dictionary It Just Says Usain Bolt

As we grow up we wish to be many things.. Kids wish to be many things, grown ups wish to be many things. Many different kids want to be many different things. Some want to be doctors and some want to be ballarinas and some want to be Major League baseball players. Some want to build bridges and some want to run our country. There is, however, one thing that every kid wishes to be. Up through elementary school and into middle school, into high school and even as a post graduate student challenging his buddy in the parking lot of a baseball game. We all, at one time or another, have wanted to be the fastest. The fastest on the playground or the fastest in your PE class or the fastest in your school or the fastest in the world. It doesn't matter who you are, at one time in your life you wanted to be the fastest. The fastest kid in your class was the coolest. This was not a coincidence. The fastest kids are the coolest.
Your mother, the one person you can not picture running anywhere at any time, one day toed a line in her PE class and peered over at her classmates internally praying that her feet would move faster than theirs and she would be known as "The fastest person in school".
This is why we love Usain Bolt. His enthusiasm and excitement, which is unfortunately mistaken as arrogance by some, is accepted by most because what he has done is exactly what we all have dreamt about at one time in our lives. He is the fastest, and by definition, the coolest person on planet earth.
He is so fast that he doesn't even have to run the full 100m in an Olympic Final. He is so confident that he has a casual conversation, possibly about breakfast cereals, while he is standing in front of his starter blocks. He is so cool because he is the fastest kid in the class and the fastest kid in the class is always the coolest.

Here You Go, Listen To Tyler Ramsey. There Is No Way You Won't Like It.

All of these are from Daytrotter Sessions
Tyler Ramsey Please Stop Time

Tyler Ramsey Long Dream

Tyler Ramsey Ships

Tyler Ramsey No One Goes Out

Will Sheff and Carl Newman Singing a New Song From The Stand Ins

I pretty much just relay information from Pitchfork over here.

I Just Hope I Am Cool Enough To Listen To Electronica

Never would have thought to listen to this group. I like this song and its all because of my music correspondent Gary.
Here is a little electronic music to get you going on this Monday morning. A real Monday morning that involves waking up at 6am and earning a paycheck until 6pm.

MGMT [mp3] Time To Pretend

Santagold--Lights Out

I like this video a lot. I guess I like the song a lot more than I like the video. Before I heard this song I just thought she sounded like MIA. This song does not sound like MIA. More like Cyndi Lauper.

Okkervil River Is So Good They Are Great

I am excited for fall, and Monday Night Football playing in the background, and fall concerts and not complaining about my air conditioner not working, and winning money on College Football (when you win a bet it almost feels like you've won the game), and I am looking forward to the next Okkervil River album called The Stand-Ins. It comes out in September.

Okkervil River - The Stand Ins from David Lowery on Vimeo.

There are a lot of good times to be had here in the next few month. Find some shade and take a nap until we get there.

My Morning Jacket With The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Playing Gideon

This video has been there for 6 months but I saw it for the first time this evening. I like the idea for this video a lot less than I like the song. You can't get much better than Jim James can you.

Olympics 2008 Means As Much As An NBA Regular Season Game...Maybe Less

It has been years and years since I really cared about the Olympics. In the early 80's we cared because we wanted to beat Russia so badly. The Cold War and Star Wars and all that stuff that was going on when we were barely able to understand; it was the fuel for our hatred and the one way we could fight it was to beat them in the Olympics. We had Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses, and Michael Conely and we followed Greg Luganis and we secretly watched gymnastics. I remember in 1984 coming home from a tough day of 1st grade being momentarily pissed off that Scooby-Doo would not be seen due to the Olympics. I quickly forgot about cartoons as I got sucked into the competition and our battle with the Russians and that guy with the coffee stain on his forehead. It wasn't the US against the rest of the world it was US vs. Russia. It was awesome.
The last time I truly got interested in the Olympics was in 1992 when we had the Dream Team. Never again will there be a hype around a team like that. It was the best basketball players to ever play the game on one team. Bird, Magic, Isaiah, Jordan, Barkley. That is rediculous. We bought their jersey's and tried to wear them out and we drank dozens of large Cokes from McDonalds in our effort to collect all of the Dream Team cups. They beat their opponents senseless and watching those games gave you the same euphoric feeling as you did when you played Double Dribble on the easiest level and you beat your opponent 125-12. It was all quite amazing.
Today just doesn't have that feeling. The feeling of excitement the games once held. No one marks their calendar for the Opening Ceremony and no one really knows any of our track and field stars. There are no great divers we are looking forward to watching and some swimming chick has already been kicked out for taking an illegal substance. We know our basketball team is great but we secretly hope someone beats us because Kobe is not Jordan and Lebron is not Magic and Dwayne Wade is not Larry Bird. They are not a team, but a collection of individuals.
The one athlete I look forward to watching is Michael Phelps. I hope he wins 18 gold medals or something.
The Black Masks

Now I am embarrassed. It's bad enough that the entire world hates us. I don't mean dislike I mean HATE. I am not ashamed to be an American...its the best place in the world to be regardless of what those green shaded hippies say. I mean fuck everyone for hating us, you know. But now in the midst of everyone thinking we are the stuck up, rich, prep school assholes we enter Beijing with some of our athletes wearing surgical masks. Oh fuck, what the fuck. They say they were not trying to make a statement, only that they were concerned about the smog and pollution invading their precious temple bodies. Bullshit! They are all wearing black surgical masks. I have been to a few hospitals in my life and I am pretty sure I have never seen black surgical masks. Black masks, black gloves (Tommie Smith, John Carlos 1968 Mexico...yeah)...that means something. So thats a nice way to start things right. Show the world up close how pretentious and elitist we can be.
I will watch the Olympics this year. I love watching track and field and I hope table tennis is still an Olympic sport. There just isn't as much excitement.

Conor Oberst

I kind of hope Conor Oberst continues to make albums like this one for the rest of his music making career. Every good songwriter seems to be a traveling man. Married men with their roots in the ground tend to make less interesting music. This is just an observation without any real examples to give. Conor Oberst seems to be one of those traveling men. Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson...none of them you can picture mowing their lawn and firing up the barbecue pit.
Here is a song off of the Conor Oberst by himself album. All the songs on here are really good and if you like this song you will probably like the rest of it.

Conor Oberst [mp3] Cape Canaveral

A CD by Nas not called "Untitled"

I downloaded this album the other day. I haven't purchased "Untitled" yet, but I can't imagine it being much better than this.
Click on the link below and it will take you to a screen where you can download the entire album. It's called The Nigger Tape featuring Green Lantern. I don't know much about rap music, but I know that I like this.

I don't like this word one bit and I really have a hard time even typing it.
The cd is pretty great though.

Nas The Nigger Tape (zip file)

I Am Ill, But I'm Not Dead (Frightened Rabbit Week Continues)

Modern Leper

Frightened Rabbit--Modern Leper

I like ordering things off of Amazon because waiting for it to arrive gives you something to look forward to.
Both Frightened Rabbit cds are really good. Midnight Organ Fight and Sing the Greys are their two albums. They are from Glasgow. If you have an accent you can get away with making bad jokes and writing bad lyrics. Frightened Rabbit does not have to worry about bad lyrics because they don't have any. This song is so good that I will listen to it over and over until I can't listen to it anymore.
Its the first day of August and there is a full month of hell ahead of us.

Now that Manny is gone I think I kind of miss him. Jason Bay???? Really???

Frightened Rabbit [mp3] Modern Leper

Trade Deadline

Down to the wire here. Manny looks like he will go. I hope not to the Marlins for Jeremy Hermida and Josh Willingham. Hopefully Andrew Miller gets thrown in the mix or Cameron Maybin.
Yes he has been doing this for 10 years (as I was so informed last evening via text) but he hasn't been doing it this blatantly (5.45 seconds to first base on a groundball down the line to third), plus the Red Sox are struggling and when you aren't winning minor issues become problems.

Another Note
Ivan Rodriguez for Kyle Farnsworth is a better trade for the Tigers. Ivan Rodriguez is a non factor since he stopped using steroids. He doesn't throw out 47% of runners like his career numbers dictate. Why would you deal for him when you have Jose Molina who throws out everybody even though he doesn't hit at all.
Kyle Farnsworth, although a lunatic throws hard and could be devistating along the likes of Zumaya and Rodney. This is one of those trades that makes the Yankees look good to people that don't know shit about anything.

Irony So Thick You Can Steal It

A young African American girl walked into an Urban Outfitters yesterday and stole this T Shirt.

I Can't Believe I Am Saying This, But Trade Manny Now

I think this a bit overdue. The smart move would have been getting him out of town after last year (The Red Sox have done a better job of late getting rid of fan favorites in a timely fashion--Nomar and Millar are two that come to mind). Its not that he is not productive (.298 19 63) and I believe, if he sticks around, he will be a huge contributor in the Red Sox run to win the East, he just needs to go. You have to get rid of guys while there is still some something there. I also believe that he is a cancer in the clubhouse this year. There is no Kevin Millar in the clubhouse anymore and you tend to believe that sitting out against the Yankees is the worst, most selfish thing that a guy can do; even selfish for Manny.
He has a no trade clause and a 20 million dollar option for '09 so this doesn't make him a very movable piece. No way they will get equal value for him, but getting rid of him in a trade right now might be better than getting nothing for him in the off season.
The Red Sox are a mess right now. Starting pitching is hit or miss, the bullpen is embarrassing. A rotation that includes Beckett, Lester, and Dice K should be thought of as one of the best in baseball, but with a bullpen that can't keep them in the game, their efforts turn fruitless. Delcarman, Hansen are young but ineffective and Timlin's better days are far, far behind him.
In order for the Red Sox to win the AL East and make a legitimate run at another championship a couple things need to happen.
1. Jacoby Ellsbury has to pick it up. He is 5 for his last 46 and has only scored twice in the last 10 games. A lineup with Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ramirez, Ortiz, and Youkilis should be the best five in baseball. Without an effective leadoff hitter nothing gets going.
2. A deal must be made for bullpen help. No Larry Anderson for Jeff Bagwell deal, but something to get a good lefty like Fuentes in Colorado. I still think Okajima can get the job done, it just doesn't feel like Francona believes that.

The Yankees are hot and made a deal which makes me believe that the Pirates are owned by George Steinbrenner. Nothing is more demoralizing than getting swept by the Yankees at Fenway Park. Big game tonight.

Frightened Rabbit is my new favorite band this morning...Head Rolls Off

By the time I had finished listening to this song for the first time I had already purchased their two cds off of amazon.

Notes of Zero Interest

>Batman-Dark Knight is the best action movie since Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
>There has never been a more terrifying screen villain than Heath Ledger playing the Joker (more terrifying than Falcon Eddie)
>The only thing worse than watching a WNBA game is watching a "fight" in a WNBA game. (What a joke)
>I haven't bought the new Hold Steady cd and I don't know why
>Although Kyle Lohse doesn't have the best stuff in baseball no one has better control right now. (The Cardinals will be sitting at home in October, but he will win the Cy Young in the NL)
>Camden Yards holds 49,000 people yet only 29,000 come to the games. The Orioles are terrible but what else is there to do in Baltimore.
>Famous people practice funny religions and name their kids weird things like Hover Craft Tinker Toy because they are bored with their fantasy lives and are unfullfilled by the simple pleasures that make Midwesterners so happy, such as listening to music in the backyard while playing yard games and drinking beers as fast as you can.
>I think it is important for males in their early thirties to periodically embrace the early recordings of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.
>I think Tropic Thunder is a can't miss riot comedy. (There is nothing funnier than Robert Downy Jr. playing a black man)
>Control, the bio-movie of Ian Curtis and Joy Division is the best bio-movie I have ever seen and I have only seen two (Chris-Netflix movie in mailbox)

Ce N'est Rien Sings Immemorial!!!!! From Baby Hell EP

Everyone says I do better to take all my dosages at once
Like I won't know how to go on
My high school sweet, I wont say heart cause you had none

Ce N'est Rien [mp3] Immemorial

Famous and Not So Famous People Doing Things and Not Doing Things

IMovie Is The Best Hobby Since Alcoholism

It is a video about the murder of a melon
word

White Winter Hymnal Video---Fleet Foxes

I was kind of disappointed that I didn't get to see a clamation kid with his head lopped off into the snow...but its a good video anyway.

Ce N'est Rien--- Common Muse For Hack Commediennes

Another song from Ce N'est Rien.
Common Muse For Hack Comediennes
He kind of rocks it out a bit...
Here it is... the song

Ce N'est Rien [mp3] Common Muse For Hack Commediennes

Modest Mouse @ The Pageant

There are two points that should be made before I go on.
1) Modest Mouse puts on a live show that rivals My Morning Jacket and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as the best.
2) I think I am two years away from not being able to deal with people in social settings.
I saw Modest Mouse a few years ago and I thought it was the best show that I had ever seen. Isaac Brock goes fucking nuts on stage...I am always amazed by guys who do it every night and do it with an element of crazy.
They play too much from their last two albums, but you can't blame a band for doing such a thing. I don't hate We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, but I don't like it nearly as much as their earlier albums. Regardless the show was great.
I have come to the conclusion that if you go out and I notice you (because you are doing something to be seen) then I really verge on hating that person. I have enough self awareness to realize this is a problem, but I don't think it is going anywhere so I will just have to get used to it.
The four blond mannequins that sat in front of us spent most of their time looking around to see if anyone noticed them (nobody did but me because I am an old man and am irritated with everyone) and text messaging pages and pages of notes on their word processor telephone. I don't know why they were there and I guess that shouldn't be any of my concern... If someone told them that it was cool to be at a Neil Diamond concert they would be there text messaging their way through Sweet Caroline. (It is, in fact, very cool to see Neil Diamond)
Then there were the frat boys sitting a few rows up. Huge Modest Mouse fans right. Standing up and giving lots of "knucks" to buddies they are making throughout the show (upwards of 73 knucks in all). They looked like they were dancing to Crazy Town singing Butterfly...giving the overhead gun point. Huge Modest Mouse fans.
At times I wish I was down with the kids mosh pitting around. They looked like they were having a good time...without trying too hard.
The concert was badass though. Tiny Cities Made of Ashes was awesome and they rocked out for a long time. They played Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset which was thrilling. I wish they played Trailer Trash, but they didn't and I wish they played some other stuff from old albums (Building Nothing Out of Something, Lonesome Crowded West, Moon and Antarctica) but really everything they played--Float On (not my favorite), Dashboard, and Fire it Up were all pretty great.
The show I saw before was better, but I could watch them perform at their best or at their worst. They are the opposite of the New Pornographers. They look like they are happy to be there and they play like they like their own songs.
Modest Mouse is awesome. I don't like people in social settings anymore. I am a 92 year old man.
Set List (I have heard much better from them...Still pretty sweet though)
1. Dance Hall
2. Black Cadillacs
3. Satin In A Coffin
4. Here It Comes
5. Dashboard
6. Trucker's Atlas
7. Education
8. Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes
9. Bukowski
10. This Devil's Workday
11. We've Got Everything
12. Wild Packs Of Family Dogs
13. Float On
14. Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset
15. Satellite Skin
16. The Good Times Are Killing Me

Encore:

17. Bury Me With It
18. Fire It Up
19. Spitting Venom


Modest Mouse [mp3] Trailer Trash

With Our Ears Buzzing We Play Endlessly

The new Sigur Ros album called Med sud i eyrum vid spilum and I guess that means "with our ears buzzing we play endlessly". I thought Takk was great and I have enjoyed about everything these guys have done. When I am tired of listening to people singing words I understand I usually listen to Sigur Ros. I almost think the fact that I have no idea what they are singing about makes the songs even better. For all I know they could be singing about cats and wooden puppets or pickle brine and how much stubbing your toe hurts... but that doesn't really matter because the music is great.
I think this album might appeal to more people. Mainly because of track one, Gobbledigook. I really like the drums in this song.
LISTEN!!!!!!

Sigur Ros [mp3] Gobbledigook

Hoppipolla from Heima DVD

Eddie Vedder--Cant Keep on Burn to Shine

This is so great that they had to burn the house down afterward.

A New Band Of Horses Song Without a Name

Mitch did they play this song at one of the 17 Band of Horses shows you have been to?

Band Of Horses - New Song (Live @ Accelerator 2008) from Daniel Jordahl on Vimeo.

The Summer of 2008 is Brought To You By....

Budweiser has done an amazing thing. They took a beer like Bud Light, which is pretty much great all the time...smooth and delicious...except for those occasions when you have been drinking for a couple days strong and your body won't let you enjoy a fantastic beer like Bud Light...and added some delicious lime flavor and made a beer you can drink anytime. Bud Light Lime...You can drink it on a hot Saturday afternoon in June, or an evening in the middle of the week while you eat a hot dog on your front porch, or when you wake up at 2 in the morning searching for something to drink that will quench your thirst, or after a road race as you sprint through the finish line. It's delicious and its a smart move by the biggest brewery in the world. If this beer is a sissy beer then I don't mind being a sissy...not today.

The summer of 2008 is being sponsored by Bud Light Lime.

Past Sponsors
2002 Busch Light
2003 Kettle One
2004 Kettle One
2005 Kettle One
2006 Kettle One
2007 Kettle One
2008 Bud Light Lime

THE 8 MOST ANNOYING THINGS FANS DO AT ROCK CONCERTS

I found My Morning Jackets 3 hour Bonnaroo performance on the internet yesterday and have given it a good solid purusing. It's pretty great. They play a bunch of covers and also a lot of songs from their last three albums. Listening to a live album makes me think about all the rediculous things fans do at concerts. I have comprised a list of the most annoying things concert goers do during a show (in no particular order at all...they are all annoying)

MOST ANNOYING THINGS FANS DO AT ROCK CONCERTS
1. When the singer mentions the state or city the concert is in with one of his lyrics. The concert goer cheers..."wooooooooooo!!!!"
example:
Color in your Cheeks-Mountain Goats
They came in by the dozens, walking or crawling
Some were bright eyed, some were dead on their feet
And they came from Zimbabwe or from Soviet Georgia,
East St. Louis, or from Paris, or they lived across the street
But they came, and when they finally made it here,
it was the least that we could do to make our welcome clear

For fuck sake East St. Louis is in a completely different state.

2. When a singer adds an "F bomb" to a line. Once again the concert goer screams "woooooo"
It should be noted that I enjoy when a singer throws in a timely "Fuck" or "Fuckin" to a song... But I dont yell "wooooo!"
example:
Is there a Ghost-Band of Horses
"Is there a ghost in my house, my Fucking house"--AWESOME!

3. When girls or stupid hippy "men" decide that you can dance at any concert just like you would dance at a Phish show.
First, that is not dancing. Second, people that dance like this only do so because they don't know what the hell else they should do...they also want people to know they are having a great time...
example:
We were at a Radiohead show and these girls who were with my friends girlfriend were dancing like gypsys to Idioteque or some other great song that does not warrant stupid ass hippy dancing. They also believe because they like Dave Mathews they have good taste in music. Oh how people can be so wrong...

4. When a fan feels it necessary to prove to everyone they are the "Number 1 Fan" by yelling in an approving manner after the first note in a song is played that they know what song they are playing. They are basically saying "Yeah I know their stuff...after one note...I like them that much...woooooo! I love My Morning Jacket more than you....I discovered them...I have been listening to them for like 8 years...back when they were playing small dives in Louisville."
NO ONE GIVES A SHIT.

5. At an Iron and Wine show last month some asshole decided to stand up in the balcony and yell something to Sam Beam. This is more like a paragraph-monologue of gibberish than one single statement. He then takes his shirt off and lassos it around, throwing it into the crowd. "Look at me look at me" What a fuck face. The only funny part was when the bouncers grabbed him and threw him into the womans bathroom.
As usual St. Louisans don't necessarily know how to react in these situations. First people started cheering and encouraging and then as they look around in uncertainty they realize that some people are booing...then they decide to boo. Quite a weird bunch.
When Renteria came back in a Red Sox uniform it was hilarious to watch the Cardinals fans try to figure out what they were supposed to do. They booed and then they cheered and then they just sat down.... Kind of rediculous.

6. My friends and I were at a Pearl Jam show in Nashville a few years ago and we were jumping up and down...because it was a Rock n Roll show and that is what you do...you jump up and down.
Some dipshit in front of us turned to us and asked if we could calm down a little bit. Mind you, we were not making any contact with this asshole in his polo shirt and khakis. He just simply said, "come on man I am with my girlfriend here can you guys relax a little"
"no man, we can not relax...this is a rock show....but that is quite noble of you to defend your girlfriend like that (mumbled---Fuckface)"

7. I really don't like the cell phone as lighters encore display. There is someone out there taking credit for this. What they don't realize is that they are basically admitting to inventing the "thunder sticks" at basketball games. Not something to be proud for.

8. People that yell out requests in the middle of a show.
What do you think is going to happen...
Fan in a Clash T-Shirt (even though they don't know why they like this band)-- "Play Immortality!!!!!"
Eddie Vedder- "Excuse me, young man in the Clash T Shirt. What would you like to hear tonight?"
Relax fan in the Clash shirt you might as well yell "Play Freebird"--If you have yelled this at a concert you should stay at home and listen to music on your headphones. Never go to another concert again.

I realize that I hate most people. I hate them until I have a conversation with them and realize that they aren't that bad of a person. I hate people that do these things at shows. All the conversation in the world will not change that.


My Morning Jacket [mp3] Aluminum Park (live at Bonnaroo)

Tilly and the Wall- Falling Without Knowing

I once played Tilly and the Wall drinking beer in the backyard of my friends house. He said, "What is this Sesame Street shit?!". Nothing wrong with a good pop song to get you going in the morning.
Tilly and the Wall [mp3] Falling Without Knowing

A Sportsman's Guide To Enjoying the Hot Days of Hell (whisper...The Midwest)

Now that we have just snuck into the tunnel that is a long and fiercely suffocating summer it is important to put some things in place...not only to bear the heat and the similarity of every single day, but to enjoy yourself through the months of July and August.
A steady combination of yard games, good summer music, beer, and friends is a good start, but we need specifics. There is a certain kind of song that fits neatly between a 95 degree summer day and a grill layered with bratwursts...there is a certain kind of yard game that fits in between the swatting of vampire mosquitos and "glory day" conversations... and there is a certain kind of beer that works best with the fire burning sun to completely dehydrate your body in all this summer fun.

Music
I think everyone understands the concept of music following the mood of the season. Winter is riddled with The Decemberists (for less obvious reasons), Interpol, Modest Mouse and the Weakerthans. During the Autumn season we listen to The Red House Painters and the Beatles and John Vanderslice and Neutral Milk Hotel.
Summer you listen to Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and Iron and Wine and Pearl Jam and My Morning Jacket and Blue Sky by The Allman Bros over and over again. Anything with a good "middle america" feel to it will do just fine.

Beer
Something a little lighter. Busch Light has been a favorite, but has given way to Bud Light and now there is a new beer that is taking over and that is Bud Light Lime. At first I was apprehensive... kind of thought it was a sissy beer... and maybe it is, but its so fucking good that I don't care. I mean its not like we are drinking Zimas with watermelon jolly ranchers sitting on the bottom. Its just a beer with a gentle lime taste in a bottle with neon green writing. If thats not masculine enough for you, I don't know what is.

Yard Games
Washers is a no brainer.
Cornhole has become a new back yard favorite. ( I like it because of the high success rate, I can really get those bean bags on that board)
But the yard game of the 2008 summer is Portuguese Horseshoes or Wang. That is the entire title. You don't get to chose between the two names...that is the title.
Now let me briefly explain.
You need two waste high wooden poles sticking in the ground about 10 yards apart. You need an Ultimate Frisbee. And you need two beer bottles. The bottles go on the poles.
Instead of being on opposite sides with your partner you are on the same side.
I am not going to explain much more
You take turns throwing the frisbee trying to knock over the beer bottle. If the frisbee comes at you you must catch it. If your opponent hits the pole and knocks over your bottle you can dive and catch the bottle.
A great game for sure.

Or you can just sit inside and rewatch your favorite television series on DVD while sneaking peaks as everything die from outside your living room window.
Have a great summer!

The Hold Steady [mp3] Constructive Summer

Fleet Foxes on Black Cab Sessions

Not my new favorite band but I like them a lot. I have heard some say that it is the My Morning Jacket album they wish My Morning Jacket made... but its not My Morning Jacket (I am starting to slowly absorb Evil Urges...its really not that bad) its Fleet Foxes and they are good.

Wolf Parade At Mount Zoomer

I love new music. The new Wolf Parade cd called At Mount Zoomer is really a good cd. I have bought a string of really good albums. Titus Adrondicus and Fleet Foxes and now Wolf Parade. Here is a song off the new album. Quite good I think

Wolf Parade [mp3] California Dreamer

The Happening is as Entertaining as Watching the Wind Blow

When a person decides to make a movie...a shitty movie that lasts upwards of 2 hours...and expects you to sit and watch it because he has come up with some pretty entertaining movies in the past...that is just arrogance. And that is not the worst of it. The Happening by M. Night Whatever is maybe one of the three worst movies I have seen in my life (Lady in the Water and Made In America, which isn't a terrible movie, but thats what we always say is the worst movie ever...maybe because it stars Ted Danson and Whoopi Goldberg...or maybe because Gary says its the worst). The movie is simply a 2 hour public service announcement for preserving the Earth...and you know what it makes me want to do...it makes me want to drive SUVs and light chemical fires in my back yard...it makes me want to spill oil into the Atlantic Ocean and melt a dozen or so icebergs. I paid 8 dollars to be entertained not to be told, in so many, many, many, words that if we don't do something a scary wind will pick up and make us all kill ourselves. That last sentence I just wrote just told you the entire theme of the movie and I don't feel bad about spoiling it for you...I actually did you a favor and you all owe me one because I just prevented you from wasting two hours of your life.
Marky Mark is the worst actor of our time and the entire movie seemed like a competition to see who could act the shittiest. This is not an exaggeration. This movie was abysmal.
I do enjoy Zooey Deschenel and honestly she was the only redeeming part of the film. But she was in the competition with the rest of the actors. She did not win, but really who did?
If M. Night Shamalamadingdong wants to ruin his life by making terrible movies he should just leave them in his head and not subject the rest of the world to his dumbshit nightmares.