Please excues my emotional drivel, Huxley brings it out in me

So, this little blog is a big deviation from what you normally get.

So, I've read Brave New World for the second time in my life last week. If you haven't read it, it is phenomenal. But what really interested me was how my reception of it has changed. As, you may or may not know, the story takes place in a society where people are conditioned/drugged into believing that they are happy. No one participates in long-term relationships, no one gets hurt. There's no starvation, fear of death or illness, almost nothing to worry about at all.

Now, when i first read this story in high-school I was appalled. Young me thought: How dare they stoop to drugs to alleviate emotional pain? Why would anyone not risk the pain that can come of monogamous relationships? I mean, breaking up really sucks, but most of the time i don't regret getting into the relationship in the first place. In most cases I had fun while it lasted and learned something from the relationship.

But now that i'm older, I'm not so sure. I mean, there is no war in this world. No sickness. Everyone in the society is perfectly happy with their place, and if they are not they are of course free to leave. There are no weeks or months of recovery when you get rejected by someone you love, because no one loves. And that's a big thing for me. Because i'm pretty much a serial monogamist and I know i've hurt others and been hurt by breakups. Sometimes that weighs on my conscience a bit.

These thoughts kept running through my head as I was reading it. It's a little dismaying to realize that it is slightly tempting to me to essentially become a robot rather than continuing to endure the triumphs and failures that make me human. Especially considering i was never the druggie, pain-numbing type. When exactly did this happen? When did i become so exhausted with life?

I would have probably continued this argument if I didn't at this point start thinking about art. Afterall, if i hadn't experienced dissappointment in my life, would i write poetry, and songs? would i draw? Doubtful. And to be perfectly honest, I think i am willing to go through the pain that is life. I'm willing to face sickness, death, and ex-boyfriends if it means that maybe, someday in the future i'll create something that resonates as well as my favorite song or painting. If i was an emotional robot, I suppose i wouldn't need an emotional outlet, but I think i prefer things this way. I am vaguely aware that this last paragraph may seem a bit pretentious. I don't care.


the end.


For those of you who may have been wondering:
fav. song (for the moment)-
two steps behind by ryan montbleu

fav. painting-
without ceres and bacchus, Venus would freeze by hendrick goltzius

PS: I highly doubt I will ever create any work of art to rival Goltzius' work.

You may be wondering where i've been...

i've been a naughty little blogger, haven't I?

Yeah... School does not leave time to think.

Actually, school does. But school in conjunction with learning how to play the drums, my continuing guitar endeavor, and drawing does not give me any time for reviewing movies, talking about great music. I'm actually trying to get a webcomic going, but i'm a perfectionist and i refuse to put anything up that can't rival the sites i've previously droned on about. Actually it leaves me little time for movies at all... So anyway. to recap:


Drive by Truckers & the Holdsteady:
These two bands put on a fantastic show. I'd recommend you buy tickets to their tour immediately, but i think they said our show was their second to last one or something... Anyway, I had only vague notions of DBT before the show, and I enjoyed them way more than I anticipated I would. They are way more rock than any country band i know of. When i think country/rock my mind immediately turns to kid rock and i kinda want to vomit. But, this is nothing like that. The lyrics have a depth to them, I had never actually seen a pedal steel guitar, and the 'three axe attack' will melt your face off. On the other hand, I've revered the holdsteady for quite some time now. Now I face a problem. Their show was too good. It was in fact so good that when i listened to boys and girls in america i got kinda depressed. Because up until a few days ago i didn't think it got better. Now I know. They are even more brilliant in person and god only knows when i'll get to experience that again. I so rarely go to concerts, you know.

Wolfparade & Listening Party:
I have never heard of Listening Party. It was a really interesting set. They used loops very effectively and brought back visions of stomp (or what i imagine it was like since i've never seen the show) by playing drums on a trashcan, bucket and snaredrum with maracas. It was cool, but the songs were a little weak in my opinion. But I'm known to prefer giant supergroups and this was only a three person group, so maybe my vote is biased. Wolf Parade, however, was fantastic. My neck hurt for days, i was dancing so vigorously. I'm also really glad i went with my friend kevin. He knew so much more about music than me, so it was nice to have my questions answered. It also made me less self-conscious about dancing when there was a full grown man yelling "I love you stephen!!" and headbanging next to me. all in all. fun times.

For anyone who's actually interested, I've got a deviantart page now. It seemed better than the facebook photoalbum route. Now i can have them posted as they were originally made instead of having to shrink stuff down. the name is "luckpushedme1st" of course.


toodles

So, i've been reading too much of spin.com

And now i'm all jealous because there have been thousands of concerts and i missed them all (except for ham1 and elfpower @ chronic town), wrapped up as i was in my internships.

So, this isn't really a post so much as it is a list of upcoming concerts i really want to go to (in order of preference), if anyone wants to join me on an adventure.

broken social scene @ the electric factory (philly)- Nov 9th
margot and the nuclear so & so's @ crocodile rock (allentown)- sept 6th
of montreal @ the electric factory (philly)- oct 31st
tilly & the wall @ cornell 0ct 14 or @ starlight ballroom(philly) 24th
ryan montbleau band @ the kenswick theatre in glenside(near philly) nov 14th
Weezer(& tokyo police club!) @ susquehanna center Sept 27th
Ryan montbleau @ Philly folk festival Aug 15th (impromptu road trip, anyone?)

I tend to look for stuff in the philly area because 1) i know where all the good venues are and 2) I have a built in place to stay. So that's what i want.

I'd also like to implore the fratellis to come back to the us. Their "tour" of new york, california, and washington (wtf?) left much to be desired. Though it did give me yet another reason to move to seattle.

random

This song just came onto pandora. i've heard it before but i don't know where.

In the frame- Rob Laufer

i like it.

Wasting a few minutes before i catch the bus.

So, we're gonna play a game right now. it's called put your i-pod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs to play, no matter how embarrassing.

1-Copacabana-Barry manilow: this song reminds me of my two best friends from home. I'm really not sure why we almost always ended up listening to this song during our sleepovers. I also remember running down southstreet at like 2 am singing it really loudly after seeing stephen kellog in concert.

2-Blue Chair-Elvis Costello: as much as I love Elvis Costello. I really don't listen to Blood & Chocolate (the album this track is from) almost ever. It's not like the songs are terrible. I just seem to have a stronger emotional connection to his earlier albums. This is a good song though!

3-I Wanna Be- Eric Clapton & BB King: I instinctively turned the volume up to full blast when this came on. I normally only listen to the title track, "riding with the king", but this whole album is fricken awesome. I don't even know how to describe why I like this song, or anything off this album. It's basically two geniuses holed up in a studio having a really good time.

4-Cheatin'- Gin Blossoms: I've never actually listened to this song before... I was not aware there was country music on my i-pod...

5-Sympathy- The Get Up Kids: TGUK makes me think of highschool again. I didn't actually own anything by them till last year. But i have cruised in the passenger seat to their songs more times than I can count.

6- Gimmee Shelter- Rolling Stones: I have to admit I probably don't listen to the stones as much as I should. It's been months!

7- One more day- Karl Ruch: I saw this guy at bible camp... This was my favorite song for approximately a week. I haven't heard this in approximately five years.

8- Psycho-System of a Down: uh... the transition from a love song to this.... wierd.

9- I'm dying tomorrow- alkaline trio: OMG! the first song I learned to play on the guitar was an alkaline trio song. thanks Dan del

10-Welcome to the Jungle- Guns n Roses: My dance group did this song in highschool. probably almost gave my poor uncle a heart attack. It was hot. But, still very skillfull dancing.


Well, that's it. those songs were much less embarrassing than i thought they'd be.

The rhythm is gonna getcha

Today's blog serves two purposes:
1- I wouldn't say i'm hungover, but my brain feels like mush right now. I think if i start writing about something it'll give me the figurative kick in the head that i need to stop being a lump today.

2- I've found a lot of bands and songs that i really like. It is mainly due to spin magazine's website, with some help from Pandora's radio stations and the alt rock station on sirius radio.

And so, without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give to you my list... of stuff you just have to listen to.


Cold War Kids: So, I probably hear the cold war kids every single time my friend matt throws a party. Almost every time I say, "I love this song! who is this?" the last time he said, "if you ask me that one more time, i'm going to hit you." But anyway, I finally started listening to them sober, and they're still awesome. My favorite song is probably "We Used to Vacation."


Matt Costa: Pandora has this thing about playing Matt Costa songs no matter what kind of station I try to create. I guess it's because he has a very diverse style of songs. so no matter what kind of music you enter in, it's a pretty good bet that there's a Matt Costa song that sounds like it. He's on Jack Johnson's label, and you can definitely hear the influence. But i think he mostly reminds me of Ben Lee. His newest song, "Mr. Pitiful," was featured in the trailer for Ricky Gervais' newest movie. I think.

Mgmt: I originally saw this band on spin's website. there was a clip of them demonstrating the different types of dancers you see at festivals. it was quite funny. Turns out their music is just as entertaining. They're described as psychedelic synthpop. You can hear hear surf, and R&B influence at times.Their most popular single , "time to pretend," was in the movie 21. It's definitely one of their most "manufactured" songs, and strikingly different from my other favorite song by them, "pieces of what."

Port O'Brien- It's not really surprising that i like this band. It started with broken social scene, but pretty soon I realized i'm in love with pretty much any indie group that can keep the sound tight with 5 or more people. Their most popular song is probably "I woke up today." I'm kind of attached to the less popular acoustic version, probably because i heard it first. It's a tad slower, and more raw sounding. The singers are singing together, but the lyrics invoke alienation. "stuck on a boat" is pretty good too. I love hearing when a girl and boy harmonize well. which brings us to...

The Hush Sound: I'm a big fan of peppy, upbeat songs with semi-depressing lyrics (let's call them poignant, kay?) So when i heard "wine red" I got addicted pretty fast. Bob (guitarist) and greta (pianist) take turns singing for most of the songs. I like it best when they sing together rather than when one steps up alone, their voices just work really well together. Of the bands listed here, they're probably the only one where I like all of their songs across the board. "sweet tangerine" is a good one, as is "Lions Roar."

Okay, that's enough for today i guess.
toodles!

according to the rumors, my dreams are gonna come true!

Now that you all know i'm a nerd I'm going to go back to talking about things that are really effing cool.

So, it's been confirmed by multiple sources that after yanking our chains last spring, broken social scene has decided to come to state college this fall (youtube: 7/4 shoreline or fire eye'd boy). Yay! But i already knew that. The semi-big news is that The hold steady is in the works to
play here too! they'd be opening for drive-by truckers (I personally could go without, but they're alright). Furthermore, Vampire Weekend (you tube: oxford comma) and Tokyo Police Club (look up nature of the experiment or in a cave) are also both in the lineup for the coming school year.

In other words, two of my old favorites and two of my new favorites are gonna be in my town. Between that and the increased rent for a larger apartment, i fully anticipate being broke. Broke but blissfully happy.

Of course, i did get this information from a state college music scene insider, which means some of them may not go through. But i have faith.

More webcomics I love

So i'm taking a break from doing some interning work because reading teeny-tiny fonts was starting to strain my eyes.

You know whats fun? Research. So, rather than actually move forward on my own webcomic (really, it's getting there...) I've decided to tell you all about some more comics i love. So, without further ado:

1- Ctrl Alt Del
When I made the last list, this was one of the 1st that came to my head. But then i thought, "is there anyone who doesn't know about it already?" So, I omitted it. But then, whilst talking to a friend of mine i realized that not everyone knows about it... or he's just oblivious. Anyways, Ctr, Alt Del is by far the premier videogame based web-comic. It's basically about two guys who work in retail and a girl who's a pro-gamer (ah, to live the dream). The main character is lovably insane, and suffers from a crippling addiction to MMO's. It's comforting to me, since I once had a similar addiction, though I never tried to sell my best friend into slavery to support my habit. Oh yeah, and there's a robot built from an xbox 360. The author also does a bunch of strips to introduce the reader to the culture of gaming. They are all pretty hilarious, mostly because they are so true...
-Defining the nerd-universe: http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20071203
-These customers are the worst: http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20070924

2- Flaky Pastry
Flaky Pastry is... weird. It's basically what would happen if you took all the classic fantasy genre characters and had them all enrolled in College together in some generic big city. I really can't explain it, but it's drawn fantastically. It can get a little wordy though.
-police officers are so helpful http://flakypastry.runningwithpencils.com/comic.php?strip_id=65
-after i finish my spy training, i'll be able to do this: http://flakypastry.runningwithpencils.com/comic.php?strip_id=36

3-Sub Culture
it takes place in a comic book shop. So it's all about comics, natch. anyways... it's a little generic in the characters, but i think the humor and drawing style makes up for it.
http://www.subculturecomic.com/strip31.htm

So yeah, those are some more good ones. It saddens me that i don't have more to add. but a lot of the webcomics i've seen as of late are boooorring.

I have a confession to make.

As much as I hate to say it, those wily Disney music execs have bested me. they finally produced something that doesn't make me want to stab myself in the pop-infested eardrums. Cheetah girls couldn't do it for me and High school musical was annoying (thats right, i said it!). I thoroughly made fun of Terry and Doran for loving Hannah Montana's singles way more than any self-respecting college guys should. Then I heard "Burning Up" by the Jonas Brothers. Surprise! I actually like it (probably not as much as my 9 year old cousin). I'm not sure if this is a step towards being less elitist, my brain becoming less discriminatory due to loss of brain cells, or just some sort of freak accident.

http://www.viralvideochart.com/youtube/jonas_brothers__burnin_up__official_music_video_hq?id=ScXLHgPcZuc

Just remember Disney: You may have won this battle, but i will win... the next battle. Okay, that may be a lie because i am now actually kinda intrigued by the movie camp rock

By special request #2

so I should be doing one of three things right now.
1) cleaning my room
2) laundry
3) exercising

Instead i chose option number 4! laziness.

So I'm surfing the net. which reminds me that Erin (who hasn't read this in a half decade anyway) told me to post about my favorite webcomics. She seems to think I'm the "artsy one" out of our friends. I just think I've got a lot of time on my hands and enjoy halfheartedly getting a new hobby every six months. But here's the list of my favorite webcomics:

1) www.xkcd.com
xkcd comics had a tendency to pop into my life via other websites. I always thought the comics themself were funny or poignant. But I always figured they were a one time thing, since i generally spotted them as posts on other sites. Finally a friend showed me that xkcd has actually been around forever, I'm just not very, "with it." Anyways....The comics are generally about science, math, or romance. here are a few of my favorite:
- This one's about romance http://www.xkcd.com/150/
- this one's about science. It's my favorite. http://www.xkcd.com/18/

2) www.questionablecontent.net
Do not, i repeat, Do Not search dot com. It's not good stuff... But this comic is one of my favorites. It takes place at a coffee shop and i really like the drawing style (probably because it's a little like my own). The most interesting character in my opinion is hannellore. She's certifiable, afraid of pretty much everything, but she's a genius. But really all the characters have really nice story arcs. It's sweet. Also, the author has two characters who are "anthro-pc's." In other words, they're crazy little robots that run around making trouble. One's a pc, one's a mac. It's adorable.
- winslow and pint size http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=805
- This is one of my favorites http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=792
- Hannelore http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=865

3) www.licd.com
Least I Could Do is a comic about a self-centered, womanizing jackass. Yet, the main character redeems himself time and time again. It's kinda like house, but without all the blood. He's also a huge nerd, which I like.
- What I would do if i had movie fx artists at my disposal http://www.licd.com/comic/20080314
- Our daydreams are very similar http://www.licd.com/comic/20060812
- He's also a great uncle http://www.licd.com/comic/20060425
- awesome http://www.licd.com/comic/20060527

4) www.girlswithslingshots.com
This one's in black and white most of the time. The main characters are two girls and their hangout is a bar. But, it's written by a guy and it's not melodrama. It is a very odd comedy. They get up to all kinds of hijinks and the main character has a cactus named Pedro who starts to talk to her when she's drunk. Also, Pedro has a scottish accent...
- Pedro! http://www.daniellecorsetto.com/GWS151.html
- Hazel's a grumpy english major http://www.daniellecorsetto.com/GWS007.html
- Jameson goes on a date with a blogger http://www.daniellecorsetto.com/GWS034.html

5) www.vgcats.com
This one's all about video games. The original main characters are cats, but they branch out every once in a while.
- one of my favorites. http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=263
- Final Fantasy... who remembers breeding these? http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=72
- Vg kills pikachu http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=1

6) www.dieselsweeties.com
Diesel sweeties is drawn in this really wierd pixelated fashion. But i kinda dig it. Though the plots aren't as great, it's pretty funny.
- nerdy stuff http://www.dieselsweeties.com/archive/2030
- remembering the 90's http://www.dieselsweeties.com/archive/2024

By Special Request

So, way back when a friend of mine asked me to list a bunch of action movies I absolutely thought he must watch. My recommendations for action movies tend to be a little odd. They are generally obscure, could never be classified as "good" movies, and are either somewhat exploitative or just plain wierd. I'm intentionally not focusing on the "best" or "most popular" movies for this list. Lets face it, if you watch movies regularly or are a guy, you should have already seen Die Hard, Bourne, Indy, and every movie starring Jackie Chan.

so...

Cynthia's list of semi-obscure action movies I'm not even slightly embarrassed to say I've seen.

5) Fifth Element- yes i know this is a "terrible" movie. But it has entertained me on numerous occaisons and it's nice to see where Milla Jovovitch started. I watch it almost every time it comes on tv. Plus, chris tucker is hilarious.

4) Grindhouse- I love Tarantino. and whilst Death Proof may not have been his best movie, it is certainly entertaining and better than a lot of other action movies. Planet Terror is a superb throwback to all the weird low budget movies of the past (right now the only one I can think of is killer klowns from mars, but you know what I mean).

3)Shoot 'Em Up- Clive Owen KILLS A MAN WITH A CARROT. 'nuff said.

2) Crank- I have a mad crush on jason statham. He first surfaced in Guy Ritchie's Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and then again in Snatch. His movie the Bank Job was probably one of the best bank robbery movies to come out in a long time. He also played a small part in the remake of the Italian Job and was the lead in the Transporter movies. I could probably make this whole list about movies that Statham was in. But Crank is where I first fell in love with him. It's easily the most outlandish of his movies. I love it.

1) Leon: The Professional- this movie is probably the least odd of the movies on the list. Still, I'm always surprised by the number of people who haven't seen it. It is a classic starring Jean Reno as an assassin who is trying to protect a small girl from... somebody, Gary Oldman (<3!) as a cop chasing them, and Natalie Portman as the 12 year old girl. Turns out Portman was amazing even before she hit puberty.


This could be way longer, but I'm technically supposed to be doing work right now...

So yeah, that's my list... for my second "By Special Request" I'm gonna make a list of webcomics, as requested by Erin.

There's something to be said about having a hangout

For those of you who don't know my college habits that well, I pretty much live at the local coffee shop/bookstore. It has it's perks (hey-oh!); everyone knows me by name, they are extra friendly, i don't even have to tell them my order anymore (which is good, b/c I'm grumpy before I've had my coffee), occasionally i get to taste something for free, etc. But the best thing is all the crazy-friendly people i meet there. Which is where this story comes in...


So, I was sitting there, sketching out the web comic I'm thinking about starting, when these two guys walk up. They were probably in their mid-late 40's. One looked like a teacher. The other
looked like a mix between a lumberjack and a hippie.

The second one looks at me.

guy: You know about the Beatles?
me: huh?
guy: your shirt.
*i look down. I'm wearing a lime green Sgt. Pepper's shirt *
me: yeah.
guy: what'd you think of Across the Universe?

Now, since i had planned a whole series of posts on that subject (which i abandoned for media planning homework), I had my opinions all laid out. So we talked a bit about the movie, it's departure from classic movie-musical formats, it's portrayal of the time-period, the song covers, blah blah blah.

then...

guy: okay, last question. this is a two part-er. 1- If you could name one Beatles' album that everyone should listen to, what would it be? 2- same question, but you get to pick three songs.

Now, this is a good question. so here's my answer...

1) I'd pick Revolver for my album. I really kind of picked it as a reflex. But it really is an excellent choice in my opinion. First off, there's Yellow Submarine. This was the first Beatles' song i can remember hearing. It also represents their earlier stuff and their ability to keep things light. Then, Eleanor Rigby, Doctor Robert, and Taxman all show how they were icons who were aware. In a way that todays pop stars do not, many of their songs had social and political commentary. I also love Taxman because it's one of the few songs written by George (if i remember correctly). Good Day Sunshine, For No One, Got to Get You into my Life, and I Want to Tell You are seem to be their classic songs. They were real crowd pleasers, but somehow more than just pop songs. Then, of course, Love You To and Tomorrow Never Knows show them branching out from pop.

2)
a)And I Love Her- I feel like it's important to showcase one of their early, teeny-bopper songs. But I feel like everyone's heard the classics, you know, Help or Can't Buy Me Love. This song is good because it is so sweet that it effectively shows why the entire female population fell in love with them.
b)Get Back- This was mostly just because I love the songs where they are just talking and goofing around before or after they record (quick, where's this from- I've got blister's on me fingers!!!). It shows how they can tell great stories in four lines, though this particular story makes absolutely no sense. I'm actually just making this shit up, i just love this song.
c)Mother Nature's Son- This is one of their hippie songs, I think there should be one on the list.

I realize none of these songs would be on Rolling Stone/Spin/ whatever's top 20 Beatles songs list. But, that's why I think they are important. They aren't their best songs. They aren't the most well known. But what's the use of making everyone listen to the songs they already know about? Also, I'm not gonna regurgitate whatever music critics/ my father told me. These three songs are the ones that have stuck with me for whatever reason. They're the ones i like, not because someone told me to, but because i can feel it in my gut. So... yeah.

your thoughts? that's what the comments section is for. I heart comments!

Also,
I was super psyched that there's someone else out in the world that likes to make up random questions and quiz people they've just met. Yeah, i have an arsenal of those. They make the conversation more interesting than the typical "what's your major?" crap whilst simultaneously separating the cool people from the people who have nothing to say. I like people with opinions.

Hi Erin!

I haven't seen any movies or listened to anything recently that i particularly want to talk about. But I'm bored, and I did write a poem I want Erin to read. And we're never online at the same time. so...

*** 5.21.08 These poems have been edited a lot since i posted them a while back... They are way better now. The third poem is almost ridiculously different than the poem i wrote originally. By putting it up here I managed to get some really helpful feedback, but I still don't like it. I've replaced it with one that is much better, in my opinion.

*This poem is about my favorite painting from Rembrandt's era. It was painted by an unknown artist (or I can't remember it). I found it in an art book at Webster's Cafe, and then I went back to buy the book the next week and it had been sold. The painting can't be found via googling, so i guess it's somewhat obscure.

Cupid Writes an Oath of Fidelity in the Sand
He writes on
With fervor, eyes cast down, ignoring the heavens.
Lips pursed and brow furrowed,
He searches diligently
For the correct words.

Overhead,
Seagulls bob and weave across the sky,
Forming quick constellations,
Breaking away again.

Even as he writes,
Wind blows lightly and the sand trembles.
Still his hand crosses every "t" with a flourish.
Nodding his head, the last sentence
Is finished.

In no time,
Some sweet new muse entices him
To forget his silly words and write new, better prose.
Bacchus weakens his resolve
Neptune's high tide washes his old words away.


*This one I wrote a few months ago, but I just love it. I feel like it describes my grandfather fairly well.

Christmas 1994
It occurs to me,
As Pop-Pop descends the staircase
Draped in red and white,
That I’m pretty sure Santa doesn’t wear sneakers

He got the jolly part right.
Though the smell of cigarettes and old spice
Tickles my nose
And the Italian accent amuses my ears.

Underneath a towering, glowing pine,
Amid mountains of shredded wrapping,
Between giggles,
I’ll assure him I still believe.

I really, really wanted presents.

* This one is about being stuck on the side of the shoulder of the highway in February. it sucked.

The Afterlife
The road ahead is a shallow pool of tar
Our used car waded through,
As though determined
Until its pulsing metal heart could go
No further.

Tractor trailers race by,
almost smacking our side mirrors,
Splattering us with rain water and grime.
Each time the wind whips us
Our lemon rocks
Back and forth, scattering droplets
Before settling.

The bright blue sign ahead--
State College
62 miles--
Reveals itself and disappears
Under blinking hazard lights.

To the people who read this crap, I welcome your input. If there's anything i've learned this semester it's this : the sometimes harsh opinions of 15 english majors reading my work will make me upset, but the end result makes it worthwhile. I imagine this extends to the opinions of my many intelligent friends, as well.

My love of the song "for the girl" probably means I'm a masochist

Seriously. The chorus goes :
"She was into the Stones when/ I was into the Roses/ She was breaking my bones when/I was busting her noses/ She would tell me a secret/ I would lose it the next day/ Young love pleases you easy/ Makes you sick in a bad way"

But that is not where the story begins.

This is...
Hot Fuzz. It's one of my favorite movies of all time. I've loved the soundtrack for a long time, but I never actually took the time to find out if any of the bands have, you know, other songs. Actually, I didn't even know the song's titles and artists, despite listening to the soundtrack on a semi-regular basis.

So there I was last week, despairing over my lack of new music. "Self," I said, "it's time to get off your proverbial ass and do something about this." I finally took a look at the artists. I had already heard of the Kinks, Eels, Adam Ant, and XTC. But The Fratellis and Supergrass I did not know about.

I scoped the bands out and found they are both pretty fantastic, so I trekked down to city lights. First I had a quick chat with the proprietor about the soul sucking force that is itunes and how cd's are better if only for the feeling I get when I can hold something tangible in my hands. I'm sure if i was born five years ago I'd have a massive record collection, if only because it would make me feel even more like a music elitist. After impressing myself with my own pseudo-intellectual babble, I scrounged around for a bit.

Turns out Supergrass wasn't in stock, but there was a copy of the Fratellis' debut album, "Costello Music." The title itself appealed to me because of the possible reference to Elvis Costello. I snatched that up real quick. Since then it's been scrambling up my last.fm "top artists" chart with the all the swagger of Jack Sparrow.

Swagger really is the best word for it. It's all liquor and women. Each song is a story; Stealing a woman from her husband here, sex with a hippy in a van there. Most likely, the Scottish band rocketed to success so quickly (the band formed 3 years ago) because they sound exactly like the british alt rock sound that is oh-so-popular right now. But I am certainly not complaining. That sound may be over-done (if you look into it as much as I do), but there are only two bands around that pull it off with excellence. The premier band is of course the Arctic Monkeys (if you've spent more than an hour talking to me you probably know of my obsession). However, the Fratellis will also punch you in the face with their 20-something, liquor-fueled stories. I think, being underage and socially awkward I live vicariously through this type of infectious and rowdy alt-rock. Though it's misogynistic at times, it's exciting (much like my last boyfriend, hey-oh!). I can't be that crazy, but my music can be and that's why I love it.


Some songs you should look up:
1- Vince the Loveable Stoner- easily the funniest song on the album
2- Whistle for the Choir- their mellowest ditty
3- Creepin up the back stairs- my favorite

last.fm has a bunch of full-tracks to listen to (though not creepin up) and videos as well
or the songs are all available to stream on freenapster.com


I still don't know what "costello music" means... but that's not really important.

The secret's out.

This post is dedicated to my good friend J.A.M. wherever he may be (middle of nowhere pa making lasers like the super-genius he is). Well anyway, if he ever actually reads this, we may get in a fight.

So, I was on my way back from my habitat from humanity gig, when the song that J hates more than any other popped up on my iPod. The name of this song, you ask? Sir Duke. It's by Stevie wonder and the first blast of the trumpet makes J's face (and his brother's) turn redder than a wrestler going through serious roid-rage. The gears in his head start turning with fury and he waxes poetically about Mr. Wonder's many faults as a songwriter. I'd like it to be known that this particular friend of mine has unmatched disputation skills, so I just let him go on (for fear of looking like a fool).

However, there is one small fact I've managed to hide from Mr. M since we met my freshman year of college. I do not hate this song. In fact, I kind of like Sir Duke. I never put the song on purposely, but I won't skip it either. Most importantly, every time I hear it my toes tap and I start humming along. And you know what? I'm tired of hiding it!

I don't care if it's a "bad" song. I realize that the lyrics are banal at best. I can hear the song's almost complete lack of true originality. I just don't care. It makes me happy and I will no longer be ashamed. Stephen King said (in a column somewhere) that there should be no such thing as a guilty pleasure. He was speaking about movies, i believe, but the statement rings true with just about any type of art. Yet critics still chatter on about comic books versus painting, pop music versus the great concertos, and blah blah blah blah blah.

Art, no matter how trivial, is made because the artist has something that needs to get out. Hopefully, that art resonates with someone else in the world. Now, I will readily admit that 99.9% (maybe even all) of the poems I've written are complete and total crap. But that does not mean they are not art. Likewise, Sir Duke may be a "bad" song, according to some people's standards, but it is still music. And I like it. No guilt.

Yes, I realize that this whole entry goes against the notion that music should even be critiqued, thereby making all previous and future blog entries futile. But it's my blog, and I reserve the right to be a complete and total hypocrite. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, internet.

I'm freaking out man...

So, apparently god/zeus/ the great spaghetti monster doesn't want me to have fun on friday nights as evident in the weather, me driving to the wrong movie theater, and the numerous planning/scheduling conflicts I've experienced in the past couple of weeks. But I showed him. In the face of mounting hurdles on the road to fun, my friend and I decided to just pack it in and rent a movie. Our choice, you ask? Across the Universe. It was quite... trippy.

Now, I will make absolutely no attempt to review that movie. It was unlike any movie I've ever seen, I'm very conflicted about whether or not I actually like it, and I readily admit that I do not have the wealth of knowledge to dissect it in any way that is at all satisfactory. So instead, I'm offering up my opinion on the musical stylings of Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, and the various artists that made this movie what it was.

We'll start with Evan Rachel Wood. The first two songs she sung (Hold me tight and It won't be long) gave her room to belt and that was pretty impressive. However, I was slightly disappointed in her covers of "If I Fell" and "Blackbird". While it's clear the girl can hold a note, a feat that is impressive compared to the crap "artists" disney shells out, the songs dragged on like funeral marches. "If I fell" seemed even worse since it came after T.V. Carpio's cover of "I want to Hold Your Hand." Carpio instilled her own style into her song, revitalizing it a bit. "If I fell," however, just was completely uninspired.

The other lead character was Jim Sturgis' Character (Jude, of course). Now I have a weak spot in my heart for good looking brits, so I may be a tad biased. But I thought he was pretty good. I actually thought they had hired a singer to dub the songs until I looked it up on the internet. "All my lovin" was incredibly faithful to the original. My favorite songs were probably "Across the Universe" and "Revolution." The first song has a sweeping orchestra at times, and a chorus at others. The second is all Sturgis and angry guitars. It was refreshing to me that he could succeed at both the slow songs and the rock songs. He wasn't perfect, but he was at least not notably weak at any point.

Well, I've got a life to get on with... but next time, I'll probably write about the other two notable singers from the movie. Dana Fuchs played Sexy Sadie and Martin Luther played JoJo. Luther's songs were easily the best, but I'll save that for another time.

New music

So, there I was, on last.fm radio listening to iron & wine's similar artists. Out of nowhere (well, out of someone's shuffle mode) came this amazing, amazing man. His name is Jose Gonzalez, and the song was killing for love. It has this driving beat, but his voice is so mellow. So I looked him up. The song Storm is another one I love. It reminds me of a mix between iron and wine and ani difranco when she's not rocking out too hard. I love it.

There will be blood.

There certainly was... There will be blood was a character study that basically showed how the same characteristics that can create a business man can lead to his downfall as well. Daniel-day Lewis and Paul Dano were superb, but the movie did have it's flaws. I was a little confused about Dano's character for about half the movie, until I realized he was actually playing two characters. This is just one instance where the plot was not delved into enough to make things clear. The soundtrack was awesome, but at some points the music built up to... nothing.

But it was still a really good movie, and worth seeing. I wish I had more to write, but I saw it last week. I should have written then, but I was busy. I'm really interested to see where Paul Dano will go. Every time I see him he's awesome, and he seems just as good at comedy as he is at drama. Anyway, I hope he makes tons more movies, so I can hype him up a whole lot.

I'm not there

So, in a rather predictable move, I've gotten somewhat addicted to prowling the shelves of City Lights (state college's very own cd/record store). This place has an awesome mix of cds, obscure and popular stuff. Happening to be in a soundtrack mood, I picked up the both the "Juno" and "I'm not there" soundtracks. Both are awesome. Juno's music is suited perfectly to the movie. The songs are simple, yet poignant. My personal favorite is the song tree hugger by kimya dawson. "I'm not there" is a collection of covers of Bob Dylan songs. I'll admit I don't know a whole lot about Dylan, But he is an undeniably good lyricist. The artists create some amazing covers. Often, the leap they make to incorporate their own style is risky. But i think the risks pay off, because some of he songs blew me away. Sufjan's "ring them bells" and Mason Jenning's "the lonely death of Hattie Carol, are probably my two favorite songs right now.

Some things that are awesome

There are two people in my life that i sometimes (in my head) call Gods of music. From ACDC to Zero 7, they are all-knowing. One of these people I've known for less than a year, while the other I've known for almost a decade. One is a more... angry god then the other. This person, who's name rhymes with shmevin, he'd be the Jupiter to her Juno. As far as I know, neither of them are aware of my undying admiration and acute jealousy, although i think i may have said so on at least one occasion.
Anyway, Juno is leaving me soon. She's off to the Outback to wrestle dingoes and maybe learn a thing or two from the Aussies. Our last day we celebrated by eating her dad's famous cookies, playing video games, and stealing music from each other. It was just like high school. In the process I've found about a thousand songs/singers that i am now infatuated with. so, here's the list of stuff i think is awesome.

The Ataris- Now, in high school it was nigh impossible to avoid "boys of summer" and as a result I absolutely hated this band. However "Takeoffs and Landings" is pretty kickass. so I've decided to give them a second chance.

Ben Lee- I was already obsessed with Ben Lee. However, I had not heard the live version of "Catch my disease." I was thrown off when i tried to sing along and some of the words changed. It's less "Full" without the plethora of background singers. But it's got a more fervent energy than the album version. I feel like he's bursting with happiness, and it is awesome.

Blonde Redhead- this is a band I've always heard about, but never got around to listening to. Though the girl's voice can occasionally get on my nerves a bit, the song "Melody" is heart-wrenchingly good. I feel like it's just asking to be on the soundtrack of some Indie movie.

Brunettes- I honestly cannot make up my mind about whether i like this band or not. The song "Polyester Meets Acetate" has an old school feel to it. The singer reminds me of someone. I want to say velvet underground, but i can't be entirely sure if that's what i was thinking of.

Carbon leaf- This band is like train. They get me pumped and dancing in my bedroom, but I'm always a little embarrassed to say I like them. They're too catchy, too produced, too... early nineties. Also, it's got a little more of a country vibe than i'm entirely comfortable with. Yet "Life Less Ordinary" has managed to play four times in the last three days.

Dinosaur Jr- This is a band I had heard of as well. I only have two of their songs, so it's hard to be the best judge. Right now all I can say is they should definitely be somewhere on guitar hero.

Elf Power- I was a little sad when i realized i had heard all the apples in stereo songs I could find. Then i heard "Jane", by Elf Power. While there are significant differences between the two bands (Jane has more of an acoustic vibe than most of apples in stereo's stuff), It still has that incredibly peppy vibe that gets me hyped.

Alphabetically, this is about as far as i have gotten. But I think finding seven bands to ruminate on is a good start. So I think I'll settle into these for a while, then maybe work my way through the rest later in the semester.

Radiohead fans are rabid

Now, this is not to say that everyone who likes the above band is a crazy person. I liked Ok Computer as much as any sane person. But in my first class today, the kid who sat behind me dared to say that Radiohead was the "best band ever." One of my ex-boyfriends was the same way. While I'm grateful to him for introducing me to the band, I was a little freaked when I listened to what he said he believed was perfection in music. Now I'm not denying that they aren't original, influential, and downright awesome at times. But best band ever? Seriously, some of their songs are the musical equivalent of my fifth grade teacher's nails running down a chalkboard.

Furthermore, in a tide of "Best of 2007" lists in every magazine from Rolling Stone to Time, it seems like people across the country are head over heels in love with In Rainbows. And there's nothing I hate more than puppy love. It's obsessive, silly, and not thought out.

It was good, sure. And varied as well. The first song, "15 step", is compelling enough with a solid driving beat and satisfactory lyrics. But it's not amazing. "Body Snatchers" is a nice change, heavy on the guitar with much less of their normal computerized tinkering bullshit. However, "Nude" was deeply depressing. While it starts off morose and soulful, halfway through the singer just turns into this wailing, really annoying person that i want to hit in the face. The same can be said for "Arpeggi". Then, "All I Need" drags on for what feels like eight-million years. The lyrics, "I am a moth/ Who justs wants to share your light/ I’m just an insect/ Trying to get out of the dark" are quite intriguing, but the sheer repetitiveness of that song is well, lame. "Faust ARP" intrigued me with the title alone, and that song did not disappoint. "Reckoner" has a great riff, that is almost entirely drowned out by a tambourine. The mellow guitars in "House of Cards" remind me of the music i listened to when i was younger, though the rest of it is pure Radiohead style. "Jigsaw Into Place" is so kickass that for a second i thought I was listening to a different band. Then, of course they close with "Videotape", which though it has alright lyrics, simply bores me.

It's a solid album, with a few really awesome songs. But none of it is really revolutionary. With their slower songs, I get the feeling they're trying to reach the emotional pull of Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize," but just can't make the jump from "okay" to "fabulous." Maybe I'm just easily annoyed. After listening to all the hype about this album, I put off listening to it so that I wouldn't be swayed by the opinions of others. Now I have. And I found that I still feel the same way about Radiohead as I felt 6 months ago. They are better than good, less than best ever, and their rabid fans are really annoying.