Song of the Moment: 20 Dollar Nose Job




Despite my affinity for totally over produced songs and brass sections in songs, this is my song of the moment.
Like I just said I love songs that a produced way over their need to be, and Fall Out Boy never fails to succeed in doing this flawlessly. This song, the penultimate song on their new album is a prime example of definitive over production gold. Not to mention brass—the superb horns in between chorus and verse and in the breakdown.
Getting away from the actual sound of the music, the lyrics are really good to. The second verse, par example:
It feels like 14 carats but no clarity When I look at the man who would be king The man who would be king goes to the desert to sing war his dad rehearsed came back with flags on coffins and said we won, oh, we won.
I’m fairly sure this is a complete dig at bush as he was on his way out, and it’s written so well. Which is another thing Fall Out Boy never fails at (for the most part)—writing good song lyrics.
Stepping back from the overload of Fall Out Boy Fandom there, its great to here Brendon Urie’s (Panic at the Disco) voice paired up with Patrick Stumps. They make an excellent combo which really adds to this awesome song.
Melodies and lyrics, this song has everything I like in a song. Best song on the album?

Why I don’t Like State of the Unions

…Or whatever that was that Obama did on Tuesday.
I should have posted this yesterday, or even Tuesday night when it had more relevance, but I felt like I still wanted to say this. I don’t like State of the Unions. And here are a few reasons why:
  • It all seems like a self-congratulatory mess. “Here’s what we did, nation, aren’t you proud of us?”
  • The self-congratulatory mess leads to series of applauses, which for the most part the republicans didn’t partake in. Bipartisan, what?
  • The applause interrupts the speech. “Wait, what was he just talking about—I mean before the 5 minute applause; while we waited for everyone to stand up and sit down”.
  • It looks like a demented Mexican wave. I mean if politicians can’t master the Mexican wave then we have no hope for politics.
  • Nancy Polosi has no idea what’s going on. The vacant look on her face and her mistimed applause supports this.
  • Joe Biden (and other politicians) is disinterested in what Obama is saying; his (their) booklet is much more interesting.
  • I don’t know a lot of the politicians there. Personally I believe if I don’t know your face, you’re probably not trying hard enough.
  • It sounds like president Obama still thinks he’s on the campaign trail. All this rhetoric is just campaign speak rehashed. You’ve won us; you don’t need to convince us anymore!
  • Obama claps like a retarded toy monkey.
Oh wait I shouldn’t say monkey:


This is not to mention all the leaders of America are in the same place at the same time? National Security, what?

This is why I love Lost.

(Spoiler alerts for those not up to the exact current episode [us])

So this past week the oceanic six returned to the island. In doing so lost answered the main question it had going for it this season. That is, how do the oceanic six get back to the island? But in typical (frustrating, yet entertaining) lost fashion, they start all new questions. Questions like WHY did they go back to the island. Why in 36 hours did 3 of 6 go from definitively not going back, to turning up on a plane at the airport? Also what happened to Aaron???
But the main reason I like lost is its references. The title of this latest episode is 316. Well, ok 316 is the flight number of Ajira airways on its way to guam—the flight that the oceanic six (five), plus Ben and Locke are on. But look a little closer, draw some connections. John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John Locke. And then Locke’s ‘suicide’ note (yea I don’t believe it was suicide…), “I wish you had believed me." This is GREAT writing!
Oh and everyone’s gotta love the guest appearance of Frank Lepidus. "We're not going to Guam, are we?"

the Take Action Tour at Webster (2/15/2009)

The Take Action Tour was last night (2/15/2009) at Hartford’s Webster Theatre. So Here’s a review of the music (because the only other thing I could review would be pant so tight procreation might be a problem further on in life):

Every Avenue:
We walked in right at the end of their set. From what I heard they sounded pretty good, though I haven’t had a chance to go back and check on them again.

Meg & Dia:
While the music of this band was decent, there were several key components that made them just an average band. The first was the twitchy fingered audio-board-ist whose constant medaling through out the majority of the show disrupted the bands cohesiveness. The second was the self-obsessed lead guitarist with his guitar so far up his ass he couldn’t hear that it was deafening anything anyone else in the band was trying to do. This also might have been the fault of Mr. twitchy fingers himself. Lastly dia, the lead singer’s voice was unbelievably soft, combined with ripping asshole guitarist and twitch was a recipe for disaster. (I’ll come back and edit this with a link to interview my friend did before the show because he’s almost as self obsessed as the guitarist)

Breathe Carolina:
All I’m going to say is that I can’t really comment on the music because I didn’t hear any. All I did hear was screaming and so much bass I think I acquired a heart arrhythmia. The lights were cool though.

Cute Is What We Aim For:
Like all the bands this night I’d never really heard any of them before. I was surprised when CIWWAF took the stage, admittedly they looked a lot older than I had imagined. As they began it was really like listening to a CD for the first time for a new artist (except with volume at 11). They did take a while to get into, but by the 5th or 6th song, I would have claimed to like the music that CIWWAF was playing. They’re overall stage presence is good—they have boxes up front which the bassist and lead guitarist pose and jump around on. The whole stage itself is very clean—all their speakers/amps are hidden behind cloth banners on stage.

The International

The film I’m going to rip apart this week is the international—Clive Owen’s new flick. Actually, in truth I’m not going to rip it because it wasn’t worse than Taken (but I doubt anything could beat that movie). Seriously now, it was not a bad movie, but it wasn’t any measure of great either.
First and foremost the plot left A LOT to be desired. Think of it like a stretched out Law & Order episode to two hours, except cut the last 10 minutes cut off and just end it there. Spanning across multiple nations, the investigation which the movie is centered about is somewhat intriguing but nothing exemplary enough to base a story around. Fact: we know that banks are corrupt entities and they get away with it, and there’s nothing Clive Owen can do against it—or any other investigatory team for that matter.
The tension in the movie rivals that of genre-sharer Michael Clayton. If one was to compare, it was a slightly better movie that Michael Clayton, but Michael Clayton had a better ending. There is one pretty awesome scene in the Guggenheim in New York City (Seen in the movie poster), which the Guggenheim lends itself very well too (even if it was a life size replica).
In the end though, the lack of a substantial plot ending really deducts from the overall feel to the movie. If you have the choice between Taken and the International go see the International because the majority of the movie is generous enough to merit your ticket price.

Wildfires in Australia

So if you haven’t heard about the massive wild fires across southern Australian you’ve probably been walking around with your head up your ass. Also, you might not know that I was in Australia 2 months and 10 days ago.
A quick recap for those with head-in-ass-syndrome: I studied in Melbourne for 5 months. These wild fires have been all across the state of Victoria. Mainly to the east and north of Melbourne. So I really had never been to any of the places which are being devastated by the fire.
That is until today when I read that Wilsons prom is also on fire. See this post for Wilson’s prom from my overseas blog. I happened to spend a weekend in this natural park, the most southern point on the Australian continent. A lightning strike set a fire Monday, and is (was) now burning down a steep valley 11 km from tidal river and 2km away from sealers cove. Which, by my estimations, is about the place where this picture was taken:While this fire is just being left to burn itself out (due to the high amount of fuel and inaccessibility (a 8km walk, and only walking track)), its weird to think a place I was at on the 26th of October at 1:20pm has been radically changed.

Wilson’s prom has other signs of wildfire damage, like the beginning of the walk up to Mount Oberon. But then again fire has always been an issue for Australia. In fact, certain Australian trees and plants only survive because of fire which allows their seeds to be dispersed and burnt open.

CNN, Facebook, T-Mobile and the Ad that beat all Superbowl's

I had a bit of a whinge last week about the SuberBowl’s ads. To reiterate: most were pretty awful, with a few stand outs. Well, CNN.com was reporting today ‘Facebook flashmob shuts down station.’ And being my inquisitive self I decided to check this story out. Basically a Facebook group invited people in Liverpool, England to group dance at Liverpool Station replicating a similar event that was actually a T-mobile ad. Furthering my investigation I tracked down that T-mobile ad. And what I found, I think, put most super bowl XLIII ad’s to shame.

The Advertisement:



How It Was Made:

Grammy Award Predictions

The 51st annual Grammy Awards are tonight (8pm on CBS). Me and a friend over at Harris Truth, have played a game to guess which artist, song or band would win each award over the past couple of years (and this year is no different). Usually we stick to the awards we have at least some idea of, a list which has been recreated (and abbreviated) below. Today, before the show, I've made my decisions and expect another post in the next couple of days with reactions to the Grammy’s and the awards.
blue = who I think will win
orange = who I want to win

Record Of The Year
(Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s), if other than the artist.)

Chasing Pavements
Adele

Viva La Vida
Coldplay

Bleeding Love
Leona Lewis

Paper Planes
M.I.A

Please Read The Letter
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Album Of The Year
(Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)/Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.)

Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Coldplay
(also want to win)

Tha Carter III
Lil Wayne

Year Of The Gentleman
Ne-Yo

Raising Sand
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

In Rainbows
Radiohead

Song Of The Year
(A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)

American Boy
Estelle Featuring Kanye West

Chasing Pavements
Adele

I'm Yours
Jason Mraz
(also want to win)

Love Song
Sara Bareilles

Viva La Vida
Coldplay

Best New Artist
(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)

Adele
(also want to win)

Duffy

Jonas Brothers

Lady Antebellum

Jazmine Sullivan


Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

Chasing Pavements
Adele

Love Song
Sara Bareilles

Mercy
Duffy

Bleeding Love
Leona Lewis

I Kissed A Girl
Katy Perry

So What
Pink

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

All Summer Long
Kid Rock

Say
John Mayer

That Was Me
Paul McCartney

I'm Yours
Jason Mraz

Closer
Ne-Yo

Wichita Lineman
James Taylor

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
(For established duos or groups, with vocals. Singles or Tracks only.)

Viva La Vida
Coldplay
(also want to win)

Waiting In The Weeds
Eagles

Going On
Gnarls Barkley

Won't Go Home Without You
Maroon 5

Apologize
OneRepublic

Resonding: Taken and Returned for no Refund

So I got this review to my last post, so I thought I'd respond.

Anonymous, February 8, 2009 2:22 AM:
You are being completely biased and exaggerating. The action sequences were standard with any other action movie that has come out in the past 5 years. The story was not as predictable as you claim, yes we know how it starts and where it will end but the story of how it gets there is not what most expect. A movie tells a story from beginning to end, if you don't want to know the middle then don't see it and then waste our time with your bias review. And how can you claim that "Liam Neeson is not ... James Bond", comparing apples to oranges is something you should have learned not to do in primary school; Liam Neeson, actor... Jack Bauer, character... James Bond, character played by multiple actors; none should be compared to each other. And fix your spelling and grammar.

"You are being completely biased and exaggerating"
I’m not arguing here, I went into the movie not thrilled with its original premise (which I knew).

"The action sequences were standard with any other action movie that has come out in the past 5 years."
Again, I stated this in the post…so no argument from me here. Thanks for endorsing my point. The action in this movie was completely ‘standard’.

"The story was not as predictable as you claim, yes we know how it starts and where it will end but the story of how it gets there is not what most expect. A movie tells a story from beginning to end, if you don't want to know the middle then don't see it"
We differ here. Categorically knowing the end of a film MAKES it a BAD film. You don’t want to start a book already knowing the end. You don’t pick up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and know that everything in the book is moving towards awarding Charlie the chocolate factory.

"And how can you claim that "Liam Neeson is not ... James Bond", comparing apples to oranges is something you should have learned not to do in primary school."
I’m sorry that I dumbed down my post so that it conflicted with your obviously high intellectual aptitude. I simply thought that brand names would be more recognizable than a series of actor’s names. Also, apples are red while oranges are orange; both are roundish: compared!

"And fix your spelling and grammar."
Stop being a bitch and hiding behind Anonymous comments.

Taken and Returned for No Refund

Liam Neeson takes to the screen in this big time flop of an action movie. Calling on Jack Bauer (‘open a socket Chloe’), and his Qui-Gon Jedi force powers to reclaim his daughter which he lost sometime in her childhood. The daughter, who appears physically unable to move anywhere without running (or running at all for that matter) is kidnapped by Albanians. Suddenly the family that he lost, and subsequently got shut out of wants him back for use of his ‘very particular set of skills’. Through his disturbing obsession with photographs, he figures out who took his daughter. That person subsequently gets run over by a truck (best part of the movie). Through a unfollowable and inane sequence of events included a jeep race through a god damn huge construction yard, shooting a ex-friends wife in the shoulder, uncovering a bribery scandal in the French police, saving a pop star, trying to buy a hooker, and racking up a body count of at least 30 he rescues his daughter for the sultan.
As an action movie it included the classic characteristics. Action too fast for the eyes to follow. Reliable two car chases. High body count. And voices deeper and more stressed than they need be. Its big downfall was that a) Liam Neeson is not Jack Bauer or Borne or James bond, and b) the plot was too predictable. We knew that he had to get his daughter back, and it was pretty probable that the daughter’s friend would die. Now redo the movie where the daughter dies. That’s a twist I want to see. And make the cause because she can’t manage to run in any measurable form or style.

666 Albums

I don't generally use Grid view in iTunes but for some reason today i was checking it out. I just happened to click on albums, and found out i had 666 albums! spooky, no?Actually,I added another album straight after this...so technically i have 667 now.
(and 481 artists)

5 Best Super Bowl Commercials

Carrying on a tradition I started last year I thought I’d name my favorite commercials from this year’s super bowl. (Why not? As it seems every other internet blogger has shoved their opinions down your throat with a plunger in the past couple of days). Another traditional I’ll carry on is the not liking the commercials. The commercials this year ridiculed the actual game play (the football thing that was happening) by trying to top its pointlessness (side note: who actually cared about Steelers vs Cardinals). Needless to say there were some that stood out in some sort of way, and they’re listed below in some order I haven’t actually figured out, and probably won’t.

5. Doritos, “Crystal Ball”
Comment: ha, he got hit in the balls.


4. Pepsi, “I’m Good”
Comment: ha, he got hit in the ass, back of the head, face, head, head and got electrocuted.


C. Monsters vs Aliens
Comment: its 3D! (Yes we got the glasses)…and no, this isn’t the same 3D as they will use in the actual movie. But who doesn't want to see a movie staring Seth Rogan, Hugh Laurie, Paul Rudd, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Will Arnett and Stephen Colbert.


TWO: Hulu, ‘Alec in Huluwood’
Comment: dugg for ‘An evil plot to destroy the world. Enjoy.’ …and Alec Baldwin


I. Carreerbuilder.com
Comment: Now I know. Now I know when its time. Now I know when its time for a new job.