Torapher

I forgot a "G" in cinematographer in my post yesterday. It's corrected now. Brock, I hope you didn't panic when you didn't know what a "cinematorapher" was!

Storyboards

Brock H. Brown - Director/Cinematographer
For this first project anyway. I was originally going to be an actor but the group instead decided to put me in the directing position.

Today I've gotta meet and work with the DP (director of photography) and work out the storyboards.

BHB Regular

Sweet, I'll be a Brock H. Brown regular.

Brock, I hope you get a cinematographer part as well, or director. Sounds like fun. After we do our next monologue, we get to do scenes. I've been looking forward to acting with someone else. It's lonely doing a monologue. We also have to watch a play, and review it.

Mr. Cellophane

Excellent work Gabe! I knew you’d get a good grade, but an A minus is just great. With grades like that I just may have my own personal John C. Reilly.

Last week in my telecommunications 100-class (digital multimedia) the teacher broke up the class into crews to prepare us for our first filming. Tonight we’re going to assign jobs in our individual groups in order to prepare for our in-class production. Actors, a Director, a cinematographer and a two-person editing team as well as plenty of other roles need to be assigned. I hope I can snag a part as a cinematographer or even the director. Anything would be fine though just so long as I’m not an actor. I’d probably be better suited to some job behind the camera.

A...minus

We were graded in Acting class for our monologue performances. I got an A-. Not too shabby for a first performance, eh?

There's word that Braid will be doing a three month reunion tour this summer. You can't even begin to imagine how elated Brock and I are about this, unless you're a huge Braid fan as well. I had the opportunity to see them three seperate times. None of them happened. Finally...redemption.

My name is...

...Jonas?

That looks like a good tour. They’ve really laid down a plethora of dates in California this time around. The San Diego and L.A. shows are probably the most tempting on the list (for me anyway). I’ve never been to the Troubadour.

The bad blood between Weezer’s front man Rivers Cuomo and former member Matt Sharp was cleared February 12th when Cuomo joined Sharp onstage during a live acoustic performance at the Fullerton CSU campus. Pitchfork posted a lengthy article on it and included a track list for their new DVD. Interestingly, it also mentioned that the two are writing songs together again.

In regards to the three-name discussion, I really like the idea of going by ‘Brock H. Brown’. By simply referring to myself as that I feel like I’m instantly in that clique of actors and directors. Brock H. Brown has a slick feeling to it. I feel like I should have a website devoted to my work entitled BHbrown.com

Vagrant Comes Through?

It's good that Vagrant came through for Hey Mercedes. They're the red-headed stepchild of Vagrant (no offense to Bob and Mike, who I believe are both red-headed).

Ladies and Gents, we have a date for Casket Lottery's EP, Smoke and Mirrors - May 25th. Of course, we can pick it up earlier at one of their shows in mid-May. Here are the dates:

4-17-04 Lawrence, KS @ JACKPOT
5-6-04 Colorado Springs, CO
5-7-04 Salt Lake City, UT @ KILBY COURT
5-8-04 Reno, NV
5-9-04 ???San Fransisco???TBA
5-10-04 ???Sacramento???TBA
5-11-04 Santa Barbara, CA @ HARD TO FIND SPACE
5-12-04 Anaheim, CA @ CHAIN REACTION
5-13-04 Los Angeles, CA @ TROUBADOUR
5-14-04 ???San Diego???TBA
5-15-04 St.George, UT @ ELECTRIC THEATRE
5-16-04 Las Vegas, NV
5-17-04 Denver, CO @ ROCK ISLAND
5-21-04 Kansas City, MO @ SPITFIRE

Brock H. Brown

Hot diggity dog, Brock! You got that script done with a few days to spare! Phew. Now for some major critiquing and editing. Hand it over!

So, I was teasing my wife Rebekah last night about actors and directors with three names. Brock and I like to throw around intitials like PTA (Paul Thomas Anderson), JCR (John C. Reily) and PSH (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Brock, you should definitely use Brock H. Brown on your script and when you direct movies.

Last night I watched Glengarry Glen Ross on IFC for a few reasons. One, I always heard it was good and have been wanting to see it for a while. Two, I'll be performing a monologue from the play for Acting class. Now I'm set. The movie's pretty much word for word of the play, since David Mamet, who wrote the play, also did the screen adaptation for the movie. The only difference is that he added a character with a short part for the movie.

I received too many signs to do Glengarry Glen Ross. When I came into class Wednesday, I really hadn't chosen a monologue yet. The teacher was going through a students book and mentioned "Ooh, Glengarry Glen Ross would be good for you guys!" So, later I found the play on the Internet and downloaded it. The next night it's on IFC. I also get a magazine that night that has a brief article on...you guessed it, David Mamet. I can't go wrong.

Saved a Life

You’ll be pleased to know that the Hey Mercedes issue seems to have cleared up. Bob Nanna reposted on the issue and cited fan support as well as Vagrant's support for helping to clear up their lack of funds. Thanks should go to dedicated fans and also to Vagrant for their help in the matter. It’s nice to know that good music goes appreciate by both the fan community and the record label.

Here, at the end of all things

Thanks Gabe, that was a great post, man. And yes, he’s right. We’d enjoy hearing from some of you readers every now and then. Don’t be shy.

Anyway, I’m feeling quite productive this week. Every school quarter seems to have a few weeks or a certain period during the semester when it feels like I have to kick into high gear. This week is one of them, as I’ve churned out and shown my second project in class, a simple editing exercise. I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t have enough footage to show to the class however. When I started the project I had plenty of raw footage to edit together, but I seemed to be compiling it at a slow pace. Last night I finished the product with more then enough footage to show the class. Moreover, the class enjoyed the project and the teacher felt it was nicely done.

That isn’t all. Today is it. Today is the day the script ends. I’ve spent all of February working on this thing and it amazes me that I’ve been able to turn around a complete script in a ludicrously short amount of time. That doesn’t mean that it’s a good script, but at least I’ll have something to turn into the Film Festival.

Here's to you, Phoenix!

The Casket Lottery has posted some tour dates. Yee haw!! It's a West Coast tour. Is Phoenix on the list of stops? Nope. Yet again, the Casket forgoes Phoenix due to limited support here in the desert city. Oh well, another road trip to Cali!

Man alive, I can't believe we had our one year anniversary on Monday. And I missed it! I'm like the insensitive husband who's forgotten an all important date! A year did go by fast.

Ah, Brock, that's very sweet of you to say! But Brock's the writer here. I too forge on at this here Blog with the thought of keeping all those imaginary readers updated. Even if Brock and I are the only ones ever here, at least we have a place to rant and rave and we can appreciate each others viewpoints.

I am a major music lover. Sometimes, too much, and it irritates the wife. But she gets over it. I guess it stems from an early age. I'd pull out my parents' records and listen to them on my own initiative. It's pretty weird, actually. My parents weren't major music lovers so I'm not sure how it all really started. But I'd often go to sleep with the radio on. It sort of became my security blanket. The habit would continue on to my teens. I'd often put on my favorite CD of the moment, hit repeat, and go to sleep with the album playing all night. I have to hand it to my wife and her brother, Alex, for helping me expand my musical tastes. They only had to throw me a morsel and I ran with it, like a ravenous wolf. I'm glad Brock could share in our musical endeavors also. He too now has developed his own musical palate and has a passion all his own.

Ha, brilliant actor! We'll see about that. Brock will be more than a mediocre director. Trust me. In acting class, we now get to perform a monologue of choice. I don't know if we can do one from a film, though. I hope so.

Happy anniversary Eyes Like Static! If there's actually anyone out there, email us! We'd like to know. There are links at the top, right-hand side.

Blossoms and Blood

PTanderson.com posted links to two very interesting articles at the Film Journal on Punch Drunk Love.
They're pretty intriguing and both offer a unique angle to the film's conflicts and characters.

On a fairly discouraging note, Bob Nanna posted a rather sullen update on the Wire regarding Hey Mercedes. Due to the band's constant troubles with transportation (one van repair after another it would seem) they've decided to put their tour on hold for the moment. He also asked (rather embarrassedly) for any donations you could give to get the band back out on the road.
All I can say is, 'where the hell is Vagrant'? Can't they afford to kick back a few to help buy Hey Mercedes a nice van to tour in? If they can readily supply tour busses to their other bands then they should at least be able to pitch in when monetary issues keeps one of their own from touring. I swear, it's ridiculous.

Playwriting

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Eyes Like Static. I gotta admit, it kind of crept up on me. A year flies by just like that. When I realized that the one-year anniversary was coming up, I promised myself that I wouldn’t write an obscenely long post to mark the occasion.
In retrospect, I wondered just what it was that empowered me to create an online blog and stick with it for more then a week. I concluded that it was a number of things. For one, the imaginary readers helps me to believe that somewhere out there someone checks our blog regularly to see if we’ve put up a ‘new post’. Moreover, my love and interest in music and the many other topics we discuss here has enabled me to find a forum to express my thoughts and feelings regarding these great entertainment mediums. But most of all, this blog has survived because of its writer Gabe Loyer. Gabe loves music more then I ever could and in turn got me to appreciate it on a completely different level. His enthusiasm for the great bands, music and movies we discuss is the driving force behind our energy. He’s the brilliant actor to my mediocre director so to speak.

Thanks for being there, whoever you are,

-Brock Brown

Prove me wrong Willy Wonka, prove me wrong

I hope you guys have a good time in Flagstaff.

Yeah, the Edward Scissorhands DVD is a good buy. It’s got a Burton-Elfman commentary, but other then that it’s not heavily laden with features. But that’s not the point really; it’s simply an amazing movie. Burton has other ‘masterworks’ but Edward Scissorhands takes the cake.

You’ll have to tell me how that Talking Heads film is. I’m not too familiar with the band, but I know that they were supposed to be pretty good. I should probably check that out for myself though.

I purchased Grandaddy’s latest effort ‘Sumday’ today. I’m still listening to it and trying to decide where it fits in with ‘The Sohptware Slump’, so I’ll hold back any premature comments. I’ve been intrigued by them lately though. At least I’ve taken the precaution of not seeing them live with The Fire Theft and having no knowledge of their work.

On the Air

You can stream The Casket Lottery's raw and unmastered version of On the Air from their upcoming EP Smoke and Mirrors at Second Nature's website. A little preview.

Yesterday I picked up Stop Making Sense, a Talking Heads film by Jonathan Demme. I've heard nothing but good things about it so I picked up. Can't wait to check it out.

After hearing from Brock that he picked up Edward Scissorhands, I had to get it too. Hot diggity dog!

I'm off to Flagstaff this weekend with the wife. Maybe we'll do a little snowboarding. Depends on the weather and snow.

Writing Machine

Dang, Brock's a writin' machine!

Mmm, a Weezer DVD sounds mighty tasty.

Progress

Up to page 48 in my script. Gotta keep truckin'

Ready to Shred

Yesterday came the arrival of my beloved new Gibson SG Standard. It is a beauty.

It'll be nice to finally get the Star Wars trilogy on DVD!

The Force will be with you, always

You know, I got really excited when I heard that they'd be touring before Coachella. Like most fans, I thought that they'd be playing all of the major cities in the U.S. before heading to Coachella. I haven't seen the actual dates they've laid down yet, but if most of them are in Canada then it looks like Coachella might be the better bet.

Crock indeed...

I have to mention this bit of news in my post today; Star Wars is finally coming to DVD. No, not the Prequels, they’ve been on DVD for a while. I mean, the original Star Wars films: Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The films will hit American shelves September 21st this year. September is a long ways away, but at least the films will be released before the previous 2006-7-speculation date.

Crock, Indeed

How about that Pixies tour? What a bunch of weird cities to pick, most of them being in Canada! This pretty much forces me to go the Coachella Festival in Indio. Still thinking about that one.

Crocks

So the Grammys were last night. I didn't watch them but I heard that Coldplay's Clocks won best song, proving that the shadow of a much greater band can in fact win awards.

Mouse Trap

I hope I can melt some faces. We'll see.

If Sony/Epic wants to toy with us Modest Mouse fans, there in for some hurtin'! Yup, instead of a March release date, the album has been pushed to April 6th. That same day, Audio Learning Center's new album Cope Park will be available. April 6th will be a very good day, indeed.

Rumors are abounding that The Pixies are booking venues across North America. For those of us that never had a chance to see them - Amen! I just hope it's not $50 a ticket or something.

Face Melter

Give us a solo!
Congrads on the ax dude! Good choice of guitar too.

New Axe!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have purchased a new axe. A Gibson SG Standard. Much like this red one. Mine is black. I'm very excited.

Tonght, Tonight

I'm feeling an improvement today. My sore throat is almost gone, and I'm not that congested anymore. Maybe I'll be able to stage some kind of resistance!

Here's to hoping Corgan's next album is a keeper. Who knows, not having a band might be good for his songwriting. (He worked solo on Siamese Dream after all).

So I'm getting near the end of the pre-work on a script I'm writing for a possible submission to the Phoenix Film Fest (Gabe's a volunteer!). What's it about? I don't want to say. I can drop a hint or two though. Check out the film fest site.

Don't!

Brock, don't get sick again! Nooooo!

Billy Corgan is working on his solo album.

Please not a 4th time

I kind of had a sore throat yesterday and a bit of congestion. I hope I'm not getting sick again (everyone else around me is).

Fire Fight

The Fire Theft has posted their dates with Grandaddy and Saves the Day. It's a shame that Nita's is now closed, because it would have been the perfect place to hold the Phoenix show. At any rate, the Marquee Theater is a fine spot. We saw Zwan there I believe, and it worked. Keep an eye out for ticket sales imaginary readers, cause this is gonna be a big one.

By the way, Radiohead landed five nominations in the NME awards (which are voted upon by the readers of the magazine). They include:

• Best Album - Hail to the Thief


• Best Single - There There


• Best Video - There There


• Best Live Band


• Best UK Band

There's probably not much question that they have the best live band deal sealed. That's their shtick. They deserve it too, especially after this tour of theirs. You can vote here.

News, Oh News!

Well, Brock and I went to go see Rocky Votolato with Limbeck last night. We missed the beginning of Rocky's set trying to find this club in a strip mall. All because one of our good local venues, Nita's Hideaway had to close it's doors.

On a much lighter note, The Casket Lottery are finishing up their EP. Unfortunately their looking at a June/July realease date, but...they plan to have it available in May when the go on a West Coast tour! Woo hoo!

Braid's Killing a Camera DVD is slated for realease on May 11th! All I could say was, "hot diggity damn!"

Oscar Bait

Yes, I was also pleasantly surprised to see some of the nominations. I was telling people that Keisha Castle-Hughes was the best actress of the year, but I didn't expect a nod from the Academy. Word to that!

And they didn't nominate Halle Berry for Gothika!

Today they announced the Oscar Nominations for the 76th Academy Awards, and all I can say is that I'm extremely pleased with many of their selections. In fact, this is the first time I've been this excited about the Oscars.
For starters, Bill Murray got his nod for Best Actor, which is only fitting. He earned that nomination, every last shred of it. But he's going up against stiff competition. Johnny Depp, everyone's favorite pirate, seems to have a strong presence this year. I'm betting that Murray has a tad more edge in this competition then Depp does, but it's still close (and he's still got Sean Penn to worry about).
Speaking of the actress category for a second, it would seem I finally got my wish, although it was a tad late. Samantha Morton got a nomination for 'In America'. She should have been nominated for Minority Report, but this is just as good. And what's this about Keisha Castle-Hughes being nominated? Right on!!!
By the way, the Best Supporting Actor category has Djimon Hounsou in it, which is just fantastic.

And of course, the director category has Sofia Coppola, right alongside legendary directors like Peter Weir and Clint Eastwood. Something about that is just so damn cool, even if she doesn't stand a chance against Peter Jackson's 'make up' nomination.

Oh, and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King got a Best Picture nod. No surprise there. Ditto for Seabiscuit...they've been talking about that one for months.

But, the fact that there are so many indie actors and unexpected choices littering this year’s selection is what makes me so excited. Sofia Coppola, Djimon Housou, Samantha Morton, Keisha Castle-Hughes, it's like they've decided to pay attention to the actual talent this time around.

Ready for his close up

Damn straight.

Mark my words, Gabe will be the next Bogart.

Ready, Set...Act!

I have signed up for Acting I at a local community college. I'm nervous, but very excited to see what this class will be all about. At least now I'll have some credibility when auditioning for Brock's movies!

Now It's On

On the Wire Bob Nanna mentioned that Hey Mercedes is also touring with The Fire Theft, Grandaddy and Saves the Day (Which, is just utterly crazy).
I can sort of see how The Fire Theft would be a good recruit for Saves the Day’s shows, and as some of you will remember, Hey Mercedes toured quite extensively with Saves the Day a few years ago. But they’re also including Grandaddy in that lineup? I love Grandaddy as much as the next guy, but don’t they usually run with the Flaming Lips/Radiohead crowd? I’d think Saves the Day would be one of the last bands they’d tour with.

Yeah, I do need to let you borrow some Grandaddy dude. If you like The Flaming Lips then you'll probably like them too. (Coupling them with The Fire Theft is a stroke of brilliance by the way).

Save the Tour

The Fire Theft website has tour dates up for the Spring! With Grandaddy! BUT...also with Saves the Day, who will probably be headlining. Who puts these tours together? If Saves the Day invited them, I applaude their appreciation for great bands, but they need to realize that their core fans don't have the same appreciation.

Brock, I need to borrow some Grandaddy from you.

Yo

Class. Tonight. It's on.

Volunteers?

Psssst. The Volunteers.

Out Sick

I've been under the weather since Saturday night. Sucks. I don't have much news.

It sounds like Small Brown Bike's last shows went well. I heard they were playing upwards of 20 songs!! I'm trying to find anyone that taped the show. They'll be posting their video for Safe in Sound soon, and a last post. (sniff).

Mostly Harmless

As some of you imaginary readers might know, there’s been persistent talk of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie finally being produced. Time and time again these rumors have often been squelched in light of numerous setbacks. When Douglas Adams passed away I think many people decided that it would never happen.


Well, it is happening. Here’s a link to a prototype costume for one of the book’s (and now film’s) major characters, Marvin.

Spiffy.

DJ Fork

I was looking at their top 20, 50 and 100 lists today. Some of their choices are just flat-out weird but at least they support the electronic music scene. Gabe mentioned to me though that it seems like electronic music makes up the majority of these lists they put out.

'Tis Quiet

It has been quiet. I was just checking out Greenwood's Bodysong last night. Sounds like pretty good stuff.

I was ranting to Brock a couple days ago about Pitchfork and their top 50 list. I've been going through their list, trying to find some new bands to listen to. Not much luck because they mostly suck. Hey, I'm all about originality and creativity, but it needs to spark something emotionally!! Don't leave out that important element, Pitchfork!

Where's the posts?

Beats me. No, seriously, there just isn't all that much going on right now. Expect things to pick up later on though. February and March are going to be big months with lots of news to talk about. A quick rundown: I think Modest Mouse's 'Float On 7"' comes out in February as well as Johnny Greenwood's solo project Bodysong.
And then, March of course has 'Good News for People Who Love Bad News' and Audio Learning Center's second LP. It could possibly be a big reissue month too with re-mastered and extended editions of Modest Mouse's 'The Moon and Antarctica' and Weezer's 'Blue Album'.

Can't wait...

Best flicks?

Best movies of 2003? That's a tough one indeed. Honey is on the top ten, hands down. Oh, and Gigli.

No, honestly, did anyone see Pieces of April? I liked it, but I was especially surprised to recently find out that the movie only cost $200'000 to make. That's crazy! I believe the director used digital cameras instead of highly expensive film to shoot the movie. But really, I had a hard time telling the difference. It gives me hope as a student director that I just might be able to make movies free of studio interference after all.

Nice stores Gabe! Free shipping is nice. Fight the evil Amazon and get your copy of Ocean's 11 in one quick stroke kids!

Best Movies?

I thought about doing this but I can't remember everything that came out earlier in the year. I've been trying to find a list somewhere on the Internet that might list every movie that came out in certain years. IMDB couldn't even do it! Oh well. In America made a lot of top ten lists but it originally came out in 2002. So, what can you do? That was a good one by the way.

I have a couple of suggestions for Brock and all of you imaginary readers out there for purchasing CDs and DVDs on the web. They are Deep Discount CD and Deep Discount DVD. They often beat out prices of other places. Plus, buying from them is better than from the giant conglomerate that is Amazon. One gripe - the items can take a long time to arrive if you go with standard (but free) shipping.

Brock's Favorite Albums of 2003

Motivated or contrived, you decide. Seriously though, this is my list of favorite albums for 2003. I realize that there are only six albums listed here, but I felt that six was all that I could list. Although at least ten of my musical purchases this year where 2003 releases, I came to ask myself, ‘which albums from this year did I truly like?’ These are the few albums that I felt could be more then ‘good releases from the year 2003’. But for now, they’re simply my favorite from 2003.

Small Brown Bike - The River Bed
This album seems even better now with Small Brown Bike’s breakup then it did when I purchased it months ago. Tearful references aside: perhaps this was a glimpse at the direction Small Brown Bike hoped to take with future releases. Certainly, the lyric’s repeated reference to siblings and family account for some of its meaning. Whatever that meaning might be, the powerful guitars, drumming and songwriting display a unique direction for the band. New avenues will never be explored, but truly, The River Bed brings one to ask, ‘do they have to be?”

The Casket Lottery - Possiblies and Maybes
What more can I say? It’s an essential collection of songs for every Casket Lottery fan. It’s a gem, plain and simple. Here’s to their upcoming EP.

Hey Mercedes - Looses Control
I really can’t say that anything else on this album strikes me as well as Nanna’s lyrical play. It’s only with word-proficiency comparable to Wes Anderson that Bob can spout off strings of dialogue like “Goodnight, bloodsuckers. Sleep tight in your traps. The cheapest trash gets bought so fast.” I’d love to be able to think of stuff like that off the top of my head every time I meet one of Indy Rock’s detractors. Lyrics aside, Looses Control proves that Hey Mercedes is just a bunch of rockers out to have a good time. That alone puts them above the rest of Vagrant’s ‘emo’ lineup.

The Fire Theft - The Fire Theft
2003 was a year of hyped up comebacks. Unfortunately the hype proved to be greater then the product in many cases. New bands touted by legendary musicians fell flat on their face, possibly suggesting that you simply cannot reclaim your former glory. And then The Fire Theft was released. Fantastic songs, great production, dreary but melodic soundscapes, The Fire Theft had it all. Even more astounding was the impact achieved when you listen to the album from start to finish. It truly is an epic ride, complete with tragic ballads and wistful rockers. The album’s dark closer, Sinatra, seals the deal.

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
You won’t find popular songs like ‘Clocks’ or ‘Seven Nation Army’ on this album. You won’t hear of wild escapades between Thom Yorke and Gwyneth Paltrow. And you most certainly can’t expect to find an over-hyped, media driven status quo of a band performing on Hail to the Thief. Rather, you’ll find some of the best songs released this year. These songs provide an audio commentary on humanity deeper then most social commentary books ever could. Most notable of all, the band has managed to reconcile their electronic equipment with more traditional instruments. (Moreover, Thom Yorke’s ghostly howl has never sounded better)
Hail to the Thief has established itself as more then one of the best albums of 2003. Rather, it goes on to join Kid A and OK Computer in a place that only Radiohead can lay a claim to, a place where you won’t find Chris Martin or Gwyneth.

Rocky Votolato - Suicide Medicine
Is Rocky Votolato a one-man army fighting against the evils of the corporate empire, or is he heir to the thinking man’s rock? Suicide Medicine leads one to believe that he may be both. His lyrics and songwriting however leads me to believe that he may one day come to be the latter of the two, which would truly be fitting in light of songs like ‘Alabaster’, ‘Every Red Cent’ and ‘Prison is Private Property’.
With a vehemence missing from ‘similar’ artists, Rocky delves into material that goes well beyond the tortured relationship or boy likes girl dynamic. He builds a series of songs that darkly glide over the recesses of his life. They shed light into the mind of a person disgusted by the mass-produced attitude of big label music and the money driven lackeys that fuel it. They even manage to spark an inkling of thought in the listener. When I look back at everything music was this year, I realized that for most popular artists sensationalized by MTV and the media, sparking thought came last on their list of objectives, if it even came at all. That’s why Rocky (and Radiohead) are tops. Sparking thought seemed to be one of the top things on their agenda.

Gabe's Best Albums - 2003

Besides not having much time to write up reviews or an analysis for each album, I'm much too lazy. I'm not saying Brock has all the time in the world, but I think he's more motivated than me. This list may change if I realize I completely left one out. I had a hard enough time trying to remember all the albums I bought that came out this year. It was also difficult sorting them in order.

So, not only are the best albums for me of 2003, they were also the only albums I bought that came out in 2003. I bought other albums, but they were older ones.

1. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
Just a great album with a couple songs that could actually bring me to tears.

2. The Fire Theft - S/T
Very close to being number one, very close.

3. Rocky Votolato - Suicide Medicine

4. The Casket Lottery - Possiblies and Maybes
Much listened to.

5. Small Brown Bike - The River Bed
RIP

6. Jeff Buckley - Live at Sin'e
Possibley could've been higher on the list but I've only had it a week.

7. Cursive - The Ugly Organ

8. Hey Mercedes - Loses Control
Love the guys, but the other albums were tough to beat.

For sure

You'll get the first half of my 2003 recaps tomorrow, I think. Some of them are lengthy for an album. A paragraph or two for each highlight I'd say. And as you probably know, I'll be dishing out 'the bad' in addition to 'the good'.


Hoo boy...

Soon

It's in limbo for a day or two. Hence, enjoy Vagrant's list until I put mine up.

Favorites

Speaking of lists...where's yours, Brock? I'll probably do a short one that I'll just slap up here. I see Jeff Buckley's Live at Sin'e is on there a couple times. I just got that last week, the Legacy Edition, and it's quite the treat for Jeff Buckley fans.

One more thing...

Speaking of Rocky, Vagrant records compiled a list of their favorite albums of 2003 and Suicide Medicine gets mentioned numerous times on the list. Cursive pops in as well...

Suggested Viewing

Rocky will be coming back to Arizona to play two shows, one in Tucson at Club Congress on the 27th and another in Phoenix at Nita's Hideaway on the 28th. Whether he plans to headline the shows or open up for Limbeck and The Pale remains to be seen. However, if you're looking for something to do those nights, and you live in or around one of those two locations, think about checking it out. He's always worth your time.

It's away

Gabe and I have sent our mixes, let's hope that everyone else has as well.

Harshly Spoken

Yeah, "Big Miss" is probably too harsh on my part. It honestly wasn't that bad. Ewan McGreggor was pretty good actually. I'll tell you though, I'm especially excited to hear that Johnny Depp is slated to be Willy Wonka. Honestly, any actor Burton could have picked would have ridden on the coat tails of Wilder's performance. But at least Depp will have his own unique take on Wonka.

Movie Magic

Ouch. "Big Miss" is probably too harsh. This may be noteworthy - the screenwriter of Big Fish was also the screenwriter for both Charlie's Angels films.

Edward Scissorhands may be my favorite Tim Burton movie, but he may change that with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Oh yeah, can't wait for that one. Johnny Depp is slated to play Willy Wonka. I didn't know what to think about that at first, but after seeing him in Pirates, I'm excited to see him do it. Gene Wilder will probably be the best Wonka ever, though.

You can catch the teaser trailer to M. Night's The Village at Yahoo Movies. Apparently it's supposed to be attached to Return of the King but it didn't play when I saw it. Brock, when you saw it a second time, did it play? It feels too much like Signs. I look forward to it though. Many movies to look forward to!!

Alternate title

You could have also called it "Big Miss".

...heh heh...

Little Big Fish

Tim Burton's latest, Big Fish, is a visionary delight. However, I feel it's only a bit more than that. The majority of the movie brings to life the tall tales of Ed Bloom. In the background is a story of a son who feels as though he was robbed of time and truths during his childhood. Normally, such an issue would be central and important. It feels, though, that both son and father don't care that much about it. It can almost be summed up like this:

Son: "You told lies and you were hardly ever there."
Father: "They were stories and I was a busy man."

Father is dying. Son finds out stories were exagerrated truths.

Father (dying): "Tell me how I die, in story form."

Son makes up story how father dies. Father dies. Son cries. Everything's good.

I really would like to have seen the issue between father and son explored more deeply, or at least, feel more real. Therein lies the weakpoint of the movie. However, the visionary extrapolations of the stories were fun, and visually exciting.

Tolkien and Croaking

Believe it or not, I got sick again this week. Counting the cold I had a week or two ago this would be the second cold that I’ve gotten in a matter of two weeks. It’s really gotten me down to be sick so frequently. Moreover, it’s hard to keep recovering from cold after cold. There were a few things to help nurse me through the coughing and congestion though.

For example; The Spike Jonez DVD. I didn’t buy into the hype for this release, but when I saw it at ‘Best Buy’ for 14 dollars I decided I couldn’t pass it up. In that five-minute period between the music video rack and the cash register I decided that 14 dollars for Beastie Boys, Dinosaur Jr. and Weezer music videos seemed good to me.
But there’s plenty more on the disc that I enjoyed in addition to the music videos. The short film ‘How They Got There’ is of special consideration.
So if you walk into ‘Best Buy’ and have about 14 dollars to burn, think about picking it up.

I also saw Return of the King again. Happily, I can say I enjoyed more aspects of the film then I previously let on. Of the many things that come to mind, I really liked the soundtrack this time around. I still think that Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers have weak soundtracks. King’s soundtrack, on the other hand, felt appropriate (and original) for the tone of the movie.

For example, the music’s impact upon the film caused one of the true emotional moments for me: Frodo and Sam gazing up at Mount Doom, tired and worn, as the simplistic flute theme for the Shire plays. It isn’t gaudy or orchestrated. It merely reminds you of how far from home they are.

Those details seem like minor improvements upon my first viewing, but they were little things that made the film more relevant to me then an epic battle sequence.

Good News, Bad News

Modest Mouse's new album drops March 30th. That's quite aways from the original September (past September) date. At least there's news about it coming out. Can't wait.

Pop-in

Boo. I see you.

Return of the King: Now with 40% more slow motion!

I think my biggest gripe about the Lord of the Rings films is the belief that these films are restoring a level of cinematic storytelling to movies. While that may be true of 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'Return of the King' does no such thing. People gripe about the constant battle sequences and special effects in film series like Star Wars and The Matrix, but then gush over Lord of the Rings, when really there's no difference in genre or filmmaking taking place. Peter Jackson seems to be every bit the craftsman that Steven Speilberg is, relying on theatrics such as: drawn out conclusions and formulaic emotional pay-offs.

I'm sure at this point you think I hated the movie, but let me assure you that I didn't. I liked it very much in fact. However, I don't think that Peter Jackson is a godsend meant to deliver us from the greedy studios and their cookie-cutter films. Return of the King was a visually stunning movie with some good action. But it most certainly isn't the cinematic masterpiece that many are already making it out to be.

Really, most of my qualms with it come from the horribly long ending, which could have been cut down quite a bit without any loss of impact. If you've read the book you already know what happens at the end. Jackson altered it a bit and took out one of the major resolutions. And then he cranked up the slow motion. Waaaaay up.

Ultimately I enjoyed most everything about it, save for the half-hour long ending.

So, Gabe tells me that posts seem to be getting stuck. I looked into the control panel and sure enough, he was right. He's got two posts just sitting there unpublished! What's the deal blogger? We've always been kind to you. If this post doesn't go through I'm going to try 'republishing'.

Yeah, we missed Rancid, but it's no big deal. I've seen Tim Armstrong with the Transplants. I know, I know, 'you haven't seen Tim Armstrong unless you've seen him with Rancid'.

Hey, I bought the Appleseed Cast album Mare Vitalis today. Gabe put a song on his mix CD and when I heard it last night I asked, "who's this band?" Proof that it was time I bought their CD so I wouldn't ask stupid questions like that.

That's all for now I think. I should have that 'best of 2003' thing up sometime this weekend or next week even. Trust me, I've been working on it.

Cya,

-Brock

No Fire

Ticketmaster had the show listed for The Fire Theft, but it says it's cancelled. Plus, Tempe was the only city listed. Weird. Someone screwed up somewhere.

Return of Rancid

That's what we hope for anyway. I've become a neglectful concert goer lately. Rancid sold out and I didn't get any tickets ahead of time.

Possible exciting news. The New Times, an indy paper of sorts, is listing The Fire Theft as playing here January 14th. However, nothing is confirmed on TFT's website. Let's hope it's true. That would be awesome. Oh, and we'll get tickets ahead of time.

We did make it to the Return of the King, though. Mostly good. Stretched out ending that made it funny. I'm sure Brock will have more on it.

Things to do indeed

I’ve got a bit of a busy night ahead of me.

For starters, I’ve got to go down to my college and ensure them that I have financial aid for my classes. (Today was the payment date). Then, at 8:00, I’ve got to go to my other school and get my final math grade. For some reason, my math teacher thought it’d be a great idea to have all of his students meet in the classroom and collect their homework days after the class ended. I do want to get all of that back though; it’s not like picking that stuff up throws a monkey wrench into my plans.
Finally, I need to see if there’s a good slot or two for me to place a few more classes for next semester. I should have probably checked that out a week ago, but I was so busy with finals that I kind of neglected it. Oh well, everything’s relevant.

Today I worked on my ‘Best Albums of 2003’ list. I said that I would write that thing up during my winter break, and true to my word, here I am working on it merely 4 days after my last test. It’s going to be good, or at least I think so. There were definitely a number of good and not so good albums that came out in 2003. Hopefully, I can shed light on my favorites and ridicule some of my despised purchases.

And last but not least, I’m nearly done with my mix. It’s got plenty of good songs on it, but I’m having a hard time deciding the last few songs. I think I’m going to definitely use a ‘Sweep the Leg Johnny’ song as the mix’s closer, but the last few songs before that are up in the air.

Here’s looking forward to Rancid tomorrow night, and ‘Return of the King’ as well.

Things to Do

Well, there's a lot of stuff going on. Return of the King comes out tonight. Rancid is tomorrow night. I'm sure there's more.

Is Docto Octo supposed to have an accent? I dont' think he did in the cartoon. Not that I remember anyway. I have to say that the teaser got me excited to see the new Spider-Man. Looks thrilling.

Spidey Returns

Check it out! The Spider-Man 2 Teaser is online!

One complaint: Where's Doc Ock's accent? Maybe I'm mistaken, but isn't he supposed to have a Russian (or is it German) accent? Looks like they pulled a Rogue and had him drop it.

The Bike

Small Brown Bike posted dates for their final four shows. Last one is with The Casket Lottery!

Speaking of The Casket Lottery, they hope to put out a 4 song EP of their new stuff by X-mas. Sweetness!

Waitin'

Excuse the bad spelling or grammar mistakes if I make a few in this post...I'm currently waiting at school to meet with my advisor. Yes, this semester isn't even over and already I'm getting ready for the next. It's crazy.

I listened to a couple of those Old Canes demos, and they're pretty good! Not what I expected, but it's interesting at any rate. Hopefully the album is good.

Well, that's all until now. I'll try and drop in later.

-Brock

Old Canes

That is the name of the band with Junior from The Casket Lottery and singer from The Appleseed Cast. Go here> OLD CANES to download some demos!!

Hectic

Yeah, I probably won't be able to work on mine until after this week. It's going to be a little hectic, no time to mix or rate music. Glad you like the idea though. We've talked about what's come out in music so much this past year that it's only fair we make a list of what's the best.

Maybe I'll list a favorite band and song of 2003 as well.

Best Lists

I should really do a Greatest Lists of All Time list. Good thought, though, Brock. I shall do a list also. I must go back in time this year and try to remember all that I've gotten and where I rate them. That may take a while.

Best of the Best

The year's almost over... should I post my personal "best album of 2003"? I must decide what it is...

This is my last week of school, until next semester that is. Finally. I'm ready to be done and move on to the next round.

Hope you enjoyed your Sunday post. Next Sunday I'll be too happy to be done with school to even give this place a second thought.

No, I kid. Chances are I'll post plenty over the break.

Chime

Dime.

Much better

I like this new mix-tape much better so far... And I'm now done with the last few pages of Act I in my script. They're readable. Hurrah.

Loose Ends

I was reading down the blog and I noticed a post of Gabe's that I hadn't read before. It's about Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums list.

How did Rolling Stone compile the list anyway? What media?

I dunno how they compiled the list. I'm sure the staff put it together though.
The 'media' comment was just me being my bitter old self. The media, such as Rolling Stone, has never been very good at determining the best of the best when it comes to works of art (like albums).

Sorry, I didn't notice that post dude. I wasn't ignoring it.

Also, that list of songs in The Ballad of John and Yorke is a mix tape of Radiohead and Beatles songs. I thought you'd notice that by the title and that little quote before the list, but now you know for sure.

So I put together a rough mixtape, and I don't know if I like it. Some of it works, some of it doesn't.

*sigh* So does that make this Mixer's Block?

Writer's Block II

Unfortunately I haven't gotten past mine! I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the pressure of having to turn in the whole thing by next week. I don't know. I'm sure it also has to do with the little time I've actually worked on it.

Mix tape madness? Alright!

Writer's block

So Bob finally posted the lowdown on this year’s Mix Madness. Personally, I’m excited. If every one of the Hey Mercedes guys is going to be making mix tapes this time around then I’m going to send in one for sure.

I got past my writers block yesterday by the way… Thankfully I managed to write up nearly all of the sequence I was hoping for. I’ve still got some touch-up work between today and tomorrow, but it won’t be difficult. At least, I hope not.

Fight!

I’m stuck writing the final installment in Act I for my screenplay. And so far it isn’t going too well. I’ve got some solid stuff down on paper, that’s for sure. But I’m generally having a hard time getting the entire scene figured out. Part of me wants it to be quick and off the cuff, while at the same time structured. (Sort of like the fight scenes in Minority Report) Yet another part of me is simply terrified of writing a horrible action sequence. My script isn’t action heavy, and I don’t want this sudden scene to be cheesy or outlandish. But it kind of needs to be off the hilt. Do you know what I mean?

I’ll figure it out, I’m sure. I just need to get in the right mindset.

I’ve also got two very important math tests coming up and I want to be prepared for them. I’ll do just fine with the math though. All of the homework and study in that class makes reviewing for these tests more of a precautionary act then a necessity.

Keep an eye out on the Wire today for Bob to post the rules for this year’s Mix Madness.

If I can get these last few pages pounded out, then I’ll put together a mix tape.

See ya!

A Wreck

To be honest, I'm not too fond of those Shipwrecked songs either. They're kind of bland actually. I guess I shouldn't expect Small Brown Bike Redux out of it, but I certainly expected something a little tighter.

...At Last!

I'm a posting machine today. Too much news.

Hey Mercedes' video is up!!!! Check it HERE!

Obviously low budget. One location. But funny concept and it looks pretty good. At least they finally got a video made, though!

Ship

Maybe I should've listened to the Shipwrecked songs before I posted. Not what I expected. They're OK, I guess, but not what I was hoping for.

Shipwreck

Hurry, while mp3.com is still up, get some Shipwrecked songs here!

500 Greatest Lists of All Time

Out of the many lists I've read through over the years, I've realized that they're mostly filler and a way to sell more magazines. How did Rolling Stone compile the list anyway? What media? Sometimes it's reader polls, which can greatly skew a list if you have thousands of teens voting for the latest Blink 182 as the all-time greatest.

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time According to the Media

It seems like once every 6 months or so Rolling Stone decides to feature a complete list of the best songs, musicians or albums of all time. And this month we’re once again subjected to that treatment. This time around, they’ve completed a list of the 500 greatest albums of all time (because they did the 50 greatest six months ago). Needless to say, I have a few objections with the list.

For starters, it would be nice if they could keep some sort of consistency between their number one albums in each list. Last time they picked Revolver as the greatest record of all time, and now they’ve named Sgt. Pepper as numero uno. Really, all they’re doing is rotating the Beatles albums so that every one gets a stint as number one.
Ah yes, and then we have the beautifully repulsive All That You Can’t Leave Behind at 139, outranking Radiohead’s masterwork OK Computer at 162. Forget the fact that I’m a Radiohead junkie for a moment here and grasp the stupidity of that placement. By all means, a U2 album should be ranked above OK Computer (U2 is one of the bands that influenced Radiohead after all). But if you’re going to put U2 above Radiohead at least put one of their better albums at the top. Consequently, War is in the 221st slot.
Finally, two of the best Dinosaur Jr. albums (and arguably two of the greatest rock albums of all time) Bug and You’re Living All Over Me go unlisted.

Sorry for the rant, but it’s just disappointing to see more of these lists cranked out. They always plug the same stuff, just in a different order. If anything, they should be delving into the underground music scene and digging out the "50 greatest albums Rolling Stone magazine always neglects".

Appleseed Casket

Is that the new name?

Hopefully, I’ll get that Aquabats DVD soon (Probably tomorrow?). There was another DVD that came out this week that I wanted to check out: The Two Towers Extended Edition. And next week, X-Men 2 gets its release. There’s just way too many DVD’s I’m interested in right now.

That side-project sounds awesome. I tell you, those Kansas Kids think of everything.

Batty

So The Aquabats released a DVD this week. Sounds pretty cool. I'm waiting for Brock to pick it up!

Modest Mouse sure is playing with our minds. They have, yet, another new splash page but no updated news!!! The tension is killing me.

There's a new side-project band that sounds kick-ass! I don't know how many people are in it, but the two main players are: Junior, the drummer from The Casket Lottery and the lead singer from The Appleseed Cast. I forgot the name of the band. I deleted the email with the news on it. When I find out and I'll let everyone know.

Oh, and there's a new Q&A with Paul Thomas Anderson at Cigarettes & Coffee!

The ballad of John and Yorke

Radiohead are the Beatles of our generation -Alex

Challenge accepted:

• Magical Mystery Tour


• Paranoid Android


• Something


• Fake Plastic Trees


• Yesterday


• Karma Police


• I Am The Walrus


• Treefingers


• Blue Jay Way


• Like Spinning Plates


• Come Together


• There, There


• Hey Jude

$orry. The program un-expectantly quit.

I’m so pissed right now. Microsoft Word has been ‘un-expectantly quitting’ on me all day. It quit at least 4 times when I was working on my screenplay and it just quit after I had finished a big long post for you guys. I don’t want to even attempt to write another post right now…

For the Drunk guy

Looks like ‘later’ turned out to be much later. I’m sorry; it was hectic last week.

Speaking of Modest Mouse however, I really had a good time. Name a Modest Mouse classic and chances are they played it. ‘Paper Thin Walls’, ‘I Came As A Rat’, ‘3rd Planet’, ‘Wild Pack Of Family Dogs’, ‘Trailer Trash’, ‘Out Of Gas’ and even Gabe’s cover song ‘Bankrupt On Selling’ were on the set list. What was truly surprising though was the enormous crowd that greeted the band. That’s easily the first show I saw sold out at Nita’s Hideaway, and it outnumbered the crowd I saw attending Ugly Casanova a year or so ago.

Part of that factors into a comment that Gabe and Alex made that night. “Everyone was dancing at the Flagstaff show!” In other words, the Phoenix crowd can get a bid jaded at times. The lead singer Isaac Brock was quiet and reserved in front of the large audience and some feel that Modest Mouse is better to see in a smaller city like Flagstaff or Tucson.
Ironically, Modest Mouse played the following night in Tucson. But for the moment, I can only go on what I saw here in Phoenix: It was a fantastic set with a great band.

I do want to point out something from my experience at the show however. This is stuff that should probably be kept in mind if you ever see me at a show here in Arizona. Think of it as the first rule in concert etiquette when hanging out with Brock.

Behave for Brock

1. Get away from me rummy.
This was part of the fun at the show. A drunken guy with a buzz-cut approached me and leaned on me for a few moments. Then, staring me straight in the eye he muttered some incoherent gibberish and was on his way. First of all, never do this to me at a show. It bothers me, and your breath smells like urine.

That’s that for now. I’ll see you later.

Mouse it up!

Brock, I've been sitting here waiting for your "Mouse in the House" review. Just kidding. It was a good show. I'm too lazy right now to write my own review. Perhaps when I get some gumption.

Mouse in the House

Modest Mouse was last night, and I want to say something about that in a bit.

On a side note, I'm sad to hear about Face to Face's demise. They were a good band. In fact, I think aside from Radiohead, the most CD's of a particular group that I own would be Face to Face. Gabe told me last night they're probably going to put out a DVD, which will be good.

In a bit…

-Brock

The Good Times Are Killing Me

Gotcha. I haven't been to Modest Mouse's web site in a while. Last time I went they had the splash page banner up that said, "All of the good times are killing me". Looks like that's also alluded to in that set list they posted. Must tie into the album title...

Set List

No, Modest Mouse has had that splash page up for a little while. I'm sure it's from one of their shows. So far, all Modest Mouse has been updating on their web site is the splash page. No news!! Perhaps we'll find out tonight what the status is on the new album.

The Stars are Projectors

So what's the deal with Modest Mouse.com's splash page? Is that the setlist for tonight, or from their previous show? Or is it just some random image? If it's the set for tonight, yay for "Trailer Trash" being one of the selections.

I'm curious to find out more about Shipwrecked. Sadly, I only got to see Small Brown Bike once, but they were great. Hopefully, Shipwrecked retains some of SBB's sound.

Break it Up!

Small Brown Bike has posted a statement on their break up on their web site. There isn't a cut and dry explanation but they felt it was time to move on to other things. What is that?? Oh, well. I guess Mike's in a band called Shipwrecked that's supposed to be pretty good.

Also, Pele has broken up. I only have one CD of theirs. I don't remember how it is. I better pull it out. What's with all the break-ups!?

Face It

Face to Face has called it quits. Not a breakup really. They just feel they've run their course. They sure put on a good run. Thank you Face to Face. You provided a great chapter in the story of my ongoing musical epic.

Tenacious Thief

So what's this I hear about Tenacious D covering Paranoid Android and Airbag? I'll have to check that out.

Yeah, the Hulk beard thing always made me wonder. Maybe we'll find out in the sequel. (That's what I care about. Not Bruce and Betty getting together, nor Betty coming to terms with the rift between the Hulk and her father. I want to find out about Hulk's beard).

What to Write

I just don't know what to write about today. Modest Mouse is next week. That should be awesome.

That's a funny thought on the Hulk beard, Brock. Interesting.

Beard!

I watched the Hulk for the first time since I saw it in the theater. I was wondering about the ending, when Bruce Banner is in the (presumably South American) village and he’s got the beard. My thought was, when he turns into the Hulk, does the Hulk keep the beard? Moreover, does it become a huge wicked beard?

I Remember Music.

Poor Chris Carraba. Yes, Rocky’s show was enjoyable. He played one of the songs I wanted to hear too! (Alabaster) He didn’t play Every Red Cent though, or Crabtree and Evelyn. Still good to hear…

Without Ears Still Hearing

Rocky came, and he went. At a show I thought he'd be opening, he headlined. Despite this, his set was still short. I would've liked more songs for sure, but he did play one more at the beckoning request of the audience. Soulful and sweet. Songs that would make Chris Carraba wet his pants!