Comic Flash

I’m going to forgo my Spider-Man essay for now. No, I’m not copping out! I just don’t have the time. I actually started it but the way I was going, it was going to be too long. I’ll sum it up by saying that character development could’ve been much better. It was just too flashy for me on a whole. Overall, though, it was pretty decent. It may have stuck to the original comic too closely. What!? Isn’t that a good thing? In my opinion, not really.

See, comic books themselves aren’t that deep. They’re mostly “flash” also. The majority of the comic is cool drawings and action. I’m not slamming that, it’s what they are and that’s perfectly fine. When they want to get deeper on a story, they do a graphic novel, a much longer version that you can fit more story into. Or, they run a long series. When a comic book gets made into a movie, though, it needs to build some depth. That’s what I prefer in a movie. I’d love to see some “exploration” on subjects that the comic books didn’t cover. For example, Peter Parker’s childhood. It would’ve been cool if they briefly explored that, even if it never was in the comics.

I must applaud Universal for going with Ang Lee to direct the Hulk. When you look at his filmography, he’s one of the least likely you’d expect to direct the Hulk. His previous movies are pretty deep and artsy. They include, The Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm, and the one that made him most famous – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I’ve seen most of these and they are excellent movies. I think he brought a lot of himself to Hulk and it showed.

It seems to be the trend with the studios for comic book movies - hire a lesser known director that has critically acclaimed movies. Then the studio makes up for the appeal by hiring big name actors. Those studios! Always copying each other!

Speaking of deep, artsy movies – Punch Drunk Love came out on DVD Tuesday. I hope to check out the extras this weekend.

Dang, I went rambling! I planned on a short post. Oh, well.

Mags

Not the magazine I was talking about, but I did look through that one also. Pretty cool. The one I was looking at, I think, was actually a program guide.

Eye candy

I bet you were looking at the latest issue of Cinefex, the magazine for special effects. I like that magazine a lot, and I think I have a couple of issues lying around here somewhere. I've got one on Minority Report and one on Episode II.

Bannana Fish?

Interesting title on that story. I'll have to check it out.

Cool picture! I just saw it today at lunch. I was at Border's Books & Music looking through some film magazine on the Hulk and it had that picture. It was some kind of guide to the Hulk, chock-full of information like interviews, the process, and effects. I think I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. It was pretty sweet.

Green mind

Whoo boy, look at this fancy new posting area! Oh wait, you can't see it. Right, right. Ok, sorry, I won't be a smart-ass or anything. Still, this is pretty nice. Blogger seems to be going a lot faster too!
So how's your week going so far? Mine's going great actually, I read a fantastic story today by the same guy who wrote The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger. That short story, A Perfect Day for Bannana Fish is in this book full of his amazing little short stories. Last night, I went over to my friend Marco's apartment and watched Ronin. I'd never seen that movie before, and I enjoyed it very much. Jean Reno was great in it, almost as good as he was in Leon.

Check out this cool picture/ad I found on TheForce.net for ILM.

I'll check in later or something!

-Brock

Peep

Just peeping in. Yesterday I tried to blog but Blogger was updating. There's a different look to the posting part (not here, when writing). It seems pretty cool. Too bad they didn't add anymore HTML tools.

Character development over flash...you decide

Pretty weak? Well, I am excited to see what Gabe has to say about Spider-Man. I might not agree with him on this one, but still, he always provides some valid points. I do agree that out of the two films, Hulk and Spidey, Spidey is the razzle-dazzle of the two. Ang Lee really seemed to focus on the story and character development behind Bruce Banner.

Spider

I'm going to have to post my points about Spider-Man. After seeing it about five times, I've come to see the shortfalls. On a side-by-side comparison to the Hulk, I'm afraid Spider-Man's pretty weak.

On a roll

Man oh man, where to start? Well, first of all, I just wanted to say that I was highly impressed by the Hulk. I knew it was going to be a great movie, but I did have some doubts about it. Two of those doubts remained very heavily in mind prior to watching the film: Bruce Banner’s father and the CGI creation of the Hulk.
Bruce Banner’s father was one of the most prominent concerns that I had about this film, not because I doubted Ang Lee’s ability to include him in the Hulk’s origin, nor because I neglected Nick Nolte’s acting talent. Rather, I was dubious about the role Bruce’s father played in his life, particularly in the transformation of the Hulk. As many people might recall, the Hulk’s creation was the result of Bruce Banner’s own anger in conjunction with a radioactive nuclear blast. Banner’s own fault though was in letting the Hulk gain control of his life; it was his downfall that he brought upon himself, not his father’s. The movie on the other hand presents a very different viewpoint into the matter, showing that it was the father who implanted the hidden ability in his son. A nuclear accident was thankfully the catalyst that ultimately released the Hulk, but the root of Banner’s transformation came from his father’s genetic tampering. However, I later recalled that Bruce Banner had an abusive father in the comics, a father who had destructive ramifications upon his family. With that in mind, Ang Lee’s adaptation of the Hulk remains faithful to the storyline of the comic book. True, some changes are present, but that almost always happens with a comic book film.
I think what sealed my acceptance of Bruce’s father however was Nolte’s brilliant performance. His charisma, hatred, abusiveness and outright insanity are perfectly portrayed by Nolte. If the Academy Awards weren’t so repulsed by comic book movies then I’d suggest that Nolte be given the award for best supporting actor. One of the best moments of the entire film is when Bruce is confronted by his father inside an army warehouse wired with electricity, a confounding situation made even more dramatic by Nolte’s sharp berating.

The other issue I had with the Hulk was the CGI, created by none other then George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic. ILM has done good work in the past with films like Star Wars, Minority Report and Artificial Intelligence, but I didn’t think they could pull the Hulk off. The Super Bowl preview only served to add fuel to my disgruntlement, a fire that was only quenched by actually seeing Hulk in action on the big screen. I tell you, one of the most fulfilling moments to ever take place in a comic book film had to be seeing Hulk bound across the desert in hot pursuit by the United States Army. He smashed tanks, he brought down helicopters from the sky, and he even grappled with airborne missiles. Ang Lee certainly knew how to bring Hulk’s action to life, and ILM did a fantastic job in animating the Hulk. Particularly engaging is the transformations that the Hulk and Bruce Banner endures throughout the film. If Nolte deserves to win supporting actor then Industrial Light and Magic at least deserves a nomination for the effects award.

All around, I liked the movie very much. For me, it stands next to Spider-Man as my second favorite comic book movie. Of course, Batman is still number one, and I doubt that anything is going to usurp the Dark Knight’s position save for another Batman film. Still, with X-Men 2, Daredevil, and now the Hulk, I’d say that Marvel is on a roll.

Forthcomming...

I'll put up a review soon of the Hulk, or some thoughts on it at least. I liked it a lot too, and I agree with much of Gabe's viewpoints on it. However, I don't quite agree with his take on Spider-Man...

Give me some time to gather my thoughts.

Chicago Pics

Check out some pictures I took on my Chicago trip. Unfortunately I used up most of the film by the time we got to the show. So I only have a picture of Rocky and none of The Casket Lottery or Small Brown Bike.

Hulk Good

Sorry for the lack of posts. It’s been pretty thin, especially from me. We’ll make up for it with fat posts.

Well, Hulk indeed smashed the weekend box office. It made a cool $62.6 million. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had all the elements – cinematography, editing, acting, action, direction, etc. And it nailed most of those right on the head. It’s not the best movie ever, probably wouldn’t be in my top 20, but it’s the best comic book adaptation movie since Batman. Hopefully Christopher Nolan’s Batman comes out soon. The original’s starting to look aged compared to all these new comic book movies. After all, it is 12 years old!

What I liked most about the Hulk was that it had depth and feeling, a lot more than the other comic book movies to come out recently. It centered on Bruce and the traumatic experience he went through as a child which was repressed deep inside. A loving Betty Ross coaxed Bruce to search through his mind to help remember what happened. It wasn’t until the end, when his own father related to him that fateful occurrence, that he learned of it. I loved how the tension and awkwardness between Bruce and his father played out. Nolte provided an outstanding performance for that role.

The Hulk himself was partly a manifestation of the rage resulting from his childhood trauma. Many people had gripes about the CGI representation of the Hulk, but it was appropriate and well done. You can’t please everyone. Especially outstanding was Hulk’s facial expressions. The CGI team went through a lot of painstaking work to get Hulk to be an Oscar caliber actor. And with his performance, he rightly could be. He was rage and anger, but just wanted to be left alone. He also meant no harm. It’s a notable mention that Hulk did not kill anyone. After 40+ years of the Hulk, I can’t believe people still have problems with his pants staying on. It has nothing to do with the physicality of it, it’s simply for decency and that’s that. Imagine having to do every drawing or every movie shot strategically just to avoid his “area.” Obviously it’s easier for the pants to just stay on.

Hulk had its weak moments – mostly the slow pace of the beginning and the countless sequences of microscopic close-ups. Overall, however, it was well done with characters and a story you could feel for. I’d give it **** out of five.

FAVORITE COMIC BOOK ADAPTATION MOVIES
1. Batman
2. Hulk
3. Spider-Man/Daredevil (Daredevil may beat out Spidey. I need to see DD again to know for sure.)
4. X-Men 2
5. Batman II

The more I see Spider-Man the less I like it. It seems like I’ve overlooked all the eye-candy. In fact, I think it’s 75% eye-candy and 25% story. It’s very flashy and kidsy. I still like it overall, though. It does hold a number three spot (for now).

Hulk Smash box office competition!

Tomorrow's the Hulk ladies and gents...hurrah hurrah! Sorry for the lack of posts today, I was busy with some stuff.

Tomorrow we will start fresh, I promise.

Insert Witty Title Here

I have a friend who loves Taking Back Sunday. Needless to say, he has no knowledge that this poll exists. Oh wait, I gave him a link to this blog once...maybe he does know! Well, anyway, vote for Hey Mercedes.

Vote Hey Mercedes

Yes, do what Brock says! The other bands pretty much suck; take my word for it if you don't already know. Taking Back Sunday is a pretty popular band on there, however. The masses of teenie bopper pop-punks may overtake us. Please, nooooo!

Hulk getting good reviews. Hulk happy.

Mission: do what Brock says

Ok Eyes Like Static fans (both of you), I've got a mission for ya. You see, there's this AMP Band Brawl going on, and in this brawl several bands go head to head to win a chance to have their own music video recorded free of charge. One of the groups entered in this contest is Hey Mercedes. (They are in the link on your right, under the Wire) I want you to go to the Brawl site and vote for Mercedes so they can get a free music video. Hey Mercedes has never done a music video before, and I think if they got the chance, it'd be great. All of their Vargrant friends have music videos...Saves the Day, Reggie and the Full Effect, the Get Up Kids, Face to Face...let's let Bob Nanna and his crew to take a crack at it.

In other news, looks like Gabe and I are going tour crazy over the Radiohead news. Hopefully, we'll both get a chance to see them in California, and maybe Gabe will get to see them in his home state of Colorado. It also seems that The Casket Lottery is going to be playing in California in July, so it's a given that we'll be going there as well. Unfortunately it looks like I'll be missing the Reggie and the Full Effect show here in Phoenix due to me being out of town. Oh well...between The Casket Lottery and Radiohead, I'm happy.

I can't wait to see the free shirt Gabe got from Nathan; it sounds like they had an awesome time in Chicago. I agree with the fact that Nathan is a great guitarist...I think that often goes unnoticed. Speaking of Rocky Votolato, I'm really into the song that Gabe stuck on that mix CD. I'll have to shell out some cash for some of Rocky's albums.

Well, that's all from me for today. Remember to vote in the band brawl kiddies!

-Brock

Gracious

Good restaurant review Gabe! It sounds tasty...

Beckah is over here hanging out, she says your posts are too long. Heh heh.

Intensity

Well, I made it back alive from Chicago, the “Windy City!” The hotel I stayed at had a computer with Internet access, but it was $15.00 for an hour or $5.00 for 15 minutes. Screw that! So I had to wait until I got back to blog.

First of all, good review on Hail to the Thief by Brock. Maybe mine should be something to the affect of: “what Brock said.” No, I’ll post a little something.

Let me start off on my post of Chicago with a restaurant review. The place – Sal & Carvao. This was a random pick from the local area guide that’s placed in hotel rooms. It was described as a “Brazilian Steakhouse”. That alone perked my curiosity. They have a fixed price for dining, then there’s drinks and dessert. It was meat heaven! You get a salad bar that is loaded with many different vegetables, including a few that may have been native to Brazil (all I know is that I’ve never seen them before). The place slow cooks fourteen different meats on skewers, all flavored with delicious spices. Each diner gets a coin with a green and red side. You flip it to green when you’re ready to gorge and to red when you need a break. Waiters dressed in authentic Brazilian garb come around with meat and carve it right on the table. I’m guessing I had twelve of the fourteen meats they had! My favorite was the garlic steak – tender, juicy, and full of flavor! I ate until I was ready to burst. You have to at $38 a plate. I guess that’s the only restaurant, so if you want to go, you’ll have to make a trip to Chicago.

The next day we visited the downtown area. What a cool city! We did the Sears Tower, going up the 103rd floor! I took some pictures from there. If they come out, I’ll post them.

Saturday night was the Small Brown Bike/Casket Lottery show. First off was Charlevoix, whom we happened to see here in Phoenix when Brock and I saw Small Brown Bike here. Then Rocky Votolato went on. He’s good friends with The Casket Lottery and also opened for them when we saw TCL here in Phoenix. He did a very good set, despite being very tired from having just flown in from L.A.

The Casket Lottery did an awesome set also, though it was a bit short. They did a new song, which sounds very awesome, and a couple classics. They seemed very into it and sounded the best I’ve heard them. I think they play too loud, though, as it gets very distorted at times. When they were doing quiet parts, you could hear how good of a guitarist Nathan is. They also played a couple from the SBB/TCL EP on their own.

Small Brown Bike was intense. The crowd was big and energetic for both bands. It was nice to finally be part of a crowd like that. Phoenix is lame in that category, though they did have a decent crowd size for SBB. They also played a song from the EP and then did “Wrong Hometown” with Nathan and Stacey from TCL. The crowd loved it! Nathan had that nervous look – “I hope I don’t screw up the lyrics because I haven’t sung in it in a while.” He did mess up a bit on the last line but no one noticed and all was happy.

I spoke with Nathan before the show and he was ultra-impressed that my wife and I came all the way up from Phoenix to see them. So much so that he gave us both free shirts! We tried to pay for them (knowing they don’t make much money) but he wouldn’t have it. Also, apparently they were going to do “Under Pressure” with SBB but SBB arrived too late for them to practice it. Dang nabit!! Oh, well.

I think this post got too long. I taped the show and think it came out good. Perhaps I’ll post an mp3 or two from it. It was also cool to be at the The Fireside Bowl, knowing Braid had played many a show there, including one of their last. A piece of history.

Woo hoo!

Radiohead just confirmed more American tour dates, and they're hitting California...several times over. I'm going, for sure.

woo hoo!

To myself

Looks like we've got the blog to ourselves until Sunday...we'll have to make the most of it. *Lights the carpet on fire*

Ok, maybe not that far...

So that was my massive, big, drawn-out Radiohead review. Actually, I'm quite proud of myself. I usually write 5 or 7 pages.

Today was pretty good. I watched the Blur video "Coffee and TV", visited the comic shop and posted my review. Also, I saw Radiohead's plans for the first month of their United States tour in August. I won't be able to go to the other dates, but I'm strongly considering the 28th in Seattle. It'd be cool if I could wrangle someone in on it, but we'll see. The thing is, that's just the August dates. Who knows what they'll do in September? Perhaps Cali, maybe even Zona. At the same time, if I miss out on the Seattle date, I could miss out on my chance to see them. Choices, choices. At least I've got two weeks to decide before tickets go on sale.

See you tomorrow,

-Brock

Radiohead in its right place

When the music industry last saw Radiohead, the band had unleashed 2001’s sister album to 2000’s Kid A, the jumbled Amnesiac. Amnesiac and Kid A both fared very well critically and commercially (Kid A took the number one spot on the U.S. charts) and both albums spawned a new legion of fans. However, there was one drawback: Many of the band’s older fans felt turned off by the new synthesized sound. Perhaps after the fantastic presence exhibited by OK Computer some felt that Radiohead had simply reached their peak. Meanwhile others discarded the electronic movement as artistic inspiration, similar to the fate that assaulted U2 at one time. Whatever the reason, Kid A and Amnesiac made an impact (for the record, I love both albums) and Radiohead continued to foster themselves as one of the next great rock bands. In the period after Amnesiac though a new climate entered the music scene, a reemergence of electric guitars in favor of electric keyboards. Bands like the White Stripes and the Strokes popularized the sketchy, rock sound of heavy guitar-work, something that had been absent from Kid A and Amnesiac. Other bands were outright bastardizations of Radiohead (Coldplay gets the gold here).
Just as the music industry was vastly changing, so too was the political climate of the world. Terrorism, rising oil prices, controversial elections and congruent wars littered the landscape and fueled CNN. Finally, after two years, Radiohead returns, shaped and molded by these subsequent events, to release their sixth studio album, Hail to the Thief.

Hail to the Thief, despite popular belief, isn’t OK Computer 2. For that matter, it isn’t Kid C, or Amnesiac version 2.0. One listen to Hail to the Thief reveals the workings of a band that has learned their lesions from OK Computer and the duet of Kid Amnesiac. Likewise, Thief calls to mind the earlier examples of Pablo Honey and The Bends. All of these influences and unique sounds blend together and interlace to create the ultimate result of Radiohead’s years of recording: The mastery of their sound.
This mastery is present in nearly all of the songs, jutting out from the record like jagged icicles raging between one another. On one hand Radiohead has their electronic experimentation, and on the other their precision guitar-work. Weaving the two together, Radiohead makes Thief an enjoyable, almost catchy album. 2+2=5 starts off with Johnny Greenwood plugging his guitar into an amplifier, quite obviously a sheer tease directed to the band’s guitar fans. Frothing forth with a mellow pace, 2+2=5 seems to surge with underlying energy and anger. The subtle guitar-work mocks the listener, reminding them of what Radiohead was capable of during the Bends, what they can do. And then they do it. 2+2=5 explodes in a furry of Yorke’s anger and the band’s edgy resonance. Immediately after the song implodes upon itself, the album shifts to the electronic tinged beats of Sit Down, Stand Up, a piano laden venture that calls to mind some of Radiohead’s earlier experimentation. Clashes like this are prominent on Hail to the Thief; Sail to the Moon is followed by Backdrifts while the Gloaming leads into the tribal There, There. It’s a real battlefield on Radiohead’s sixth album, a place where the mastery of Radiohead’s soaring guitars brushes up against the bitter self-loathing of inspired electronics. In this battlefield the only thing that keeps all of Radiohead’s subsequent styles in check is Yorke’s beautifully haunting voice. Thankfully, unlike Radiohead’s last two ventures, Yorke’s voice is for the most part unhindered by electronic abstracting (although, that isn’t to say that I disproved of it for Kid A and Amnesiac). Amidst the war between electronica and rock one thing becomes abundantly clear through Yorke’s howling din: Hail to the Thief is a product of its timeline, a commentary on the world we live in. But you knew that already, didn’t you? Still, there are some moments on the album that are entirely unique while at the same time remaining connected to Yorke’s feelings of doom and gloom. One such song is the amazingly ethereal track “Sail to the Moon”. Here, Yorke isn’t berating his listeners for choosing undemocratic world leaders, nor is he pondering the impending fate that rests upon the world’s shoulders. Rather, he looks forth into the future of his son’s life with an air of wonderment. “Maybe you’ll be president, but know right from wrong” he asks. “Or in the flood, you’ll build an ark, and sail us to the moon” his darker connotations shine through.
Here, in the doom, the gloom and Yorke’s hopeful wishes, one other thing becomes abundantly clear: Out of every other Radiohead album, this one is the most fun to listen to. Hail to the Thief is truly a mastery of Radiohead’s style, the band sitting back and doing what they do best. It radiates the boundless energy of Pablo Honey without all of the grunge album’s naivety. It deplores the dehumanization of society and the greater evil lurking in the world, like OK Computer. It demonstrates the feelings of alienation given in the Bends, and it extends the introverted glance at one’s self that Kid A and Amnesiac provided. It’s experimentation under restriction. It’s alternative rock without the convulsions. It’s Radiohead having fun. Good thing, because it’s fun to listen to.

It’s better to spend a night with Thom Yorke in a bunker than with Chris Martin and Gwyneth after all!

Favorite tracks:

I Will: Fans will remember this song as a previously unreleased track that emerged around the period of OK Computer. In the inspired vein of Nude and Big Boots, I Will seems to be a sheer Yorke track. It’s kind of short though…
Myxamatosis: It’s like a kick in the jimmies!
Sail to the Moon: Move over Pyramid Song, Sail to the Moon is another one of Radiohead’s epic piano masterpieces. With Yorke’s crooning voice at the helm, the song features an electric guitar that seems to mold itself around the prominent piano.
A Wolf at the Door: Quite possibly the best track on Hail to the Thief, and easily one of the best tracks Radiohead has written in years. A Wolf at the Door seems to picture Thom Yorke pushing up against the door to his house in distress as the elements of a troubled world close in on him. One interesting tidbit to keep in mind is the fact that this track is completely written by Johnny Greenwood, Radiohead’s guitarist. He also wrote several other tracks on Thief.

Windy City

Glad you like the mix, Brock! Well, I'm off to Chicago! Bu-Bye!

The Late Post Strikes Back

Radiohead review. Tomorrow. I promise.

I can't write the darned thing forever. Besides, I want it to be extra good. Also, I might put a goodie up this weekend.

I'm just checking in to let you guys know that I just finished listening to Gabe's mix CD. All I can say: wow.

Slammed

Man, I've been slammed at work! I'll be pretty busy tomorrow and the beginning of next week. Pretty unusual for me.

Well, I listened to my taping of the Jets to Brazil show. It came out pretty decent. I messed up when it first started. It was my first time, so, cut me a break. The obnoxiously loud people didn't stand out too bad on the recording. When I get back from Chicago (and get a bigger hard drive) I'll put that show on CD.

I've been listening to Radiohead's Hail to the Thief like crazy! I would like to put up a review soon too. For now I'll just say that my two favorite songs are "Where I End and You Begin" and "A Wolf at the Door". As a friend at work put it "there so good I want to weep."

Radiohead returns

I'll have a review up soon...tonight or tomorrow...but here's a preview:

Thom Yorke speaking with Coldplay: We can wipe you out anytime.

Till then,

-Brock

Late Post

Let it be know that this is my latest post ever! 10:00 p.m. I just couldn't let the day go by without one. The meat will be served tomorrow.

All Things Good and Nice

Above the earth, beneath the sky, with eyes like static...

Last night was fantastic: Gabe, myself and our friend Alex joined up to go see Jets to Brazil at the new Nita’s Hideaway, and the show didn’t disappoint. From the get go it was an energetic and lively performance. The guitar work, the new drummer and the keyboarding all came together to create an invigorating experience. Reaming with the energy (and subtle grandeur) found on their albums, Jets churned out a cool set with some coveted classics. Part of the magic though came from the fact that this was the first time I’d seen Jets to Brazil live. Gabe mentioned in passing that they put on a good show and as a result I had coveted such a concert for a long time. I couldn’t help but smile to anyone and everyone when they played live versions of infamous tracks like “Sea Anemone” and “Chinatown”. Their music is one of my lesser-spoken tastes; ultimately they get lost in my torrent of praise for groups like Radiohead or The Casket Lottery. Nevertheless, their music made a giant impression upon me. As you may have noticed, our blog is even named after a lyric in their song “I Typed for Miles”. (I got it off a list of potential band names Gabe sent me) Regretfully, they didn’t play that song last night, although plenty of people spouted out requests for it.

I think Gabe’s recording went over well too. He hasn’t said anything about it, but I think it should turn out ok. Thankfully, no one patted us down.

P.S. I owe Gabe some moolah, (he got me Hail to the Thief: Limited Edition).

Slip into the Vortex

That is indeed strange, Brock. Freaky deaky! That was a wierd saying. May I never use it again. I failed to post Friday because I took the day off from work and spent the day painting a wall at home. If you didn't already know, I blog most of the time from work. It's a vortex in itself, that I can't seem to get out of! Help! Yep, so blogging is one of the highlights of my work day. Woo hoo!

Jets to Brazil will be awesome! They were last time I saw them. I may be taping the show tonight if a friend can come over with his stuff. Want a copy? Email me!

Hail to the Thief! Can't wait!

Friday I'm off to Chicago. I'll be seeing the Casket Lottery, Small Brown Bike, Rocky Votolato show there. If I happen to run into a public computer with Internet access, I'll blog from the Windy City. If not, I'll blog all about it when I get back!

There are stories of coincidence and chance, of intersections and strange things told

Well folks, I seem to have crawled out of the social lethargy that held a grip on me over the weekend, and as a result, I’m now primed and ready for a week of blogging. Good thing too, because this is going to be a crazy week. For starters, we have the Jets to Brazil show tonight; a group Gabe and I never got to review here on the blog due to their Phoenix cancellation. We’ll be sure to tell you how it goes tonight. I’m expecting it to be fantastic, but we’ll give you the lowdown regardless. Second, we have the release of Radiohead’s sixth studio album tomorrow, Hail to the Thief. If you’ve been following our posts for the past few weeks you’ve probably noticed that Gabe and I have been discussing this new album rather frequently. I’m very excited to get it in my palms and I know that from the pirated tracks floating around the net that it’s going to be well worth the wait. I’m sure that I’ll have plenty to say in the coming days about Thief.

Let’s talk about the here and the now though, particularly my newfound ability to manipulate coincidence. Take Gabe’s mix for example: He put Golden on the first draft of the mix, a Failure song that I had discovered just a few days earlier. Last week though, the coincidences seemed to extend beyond the realm of mix tapes and into chance encounters. For instance, I went to the mall on Wednesday to window-shop and eat lunch. It was nice, and I un-expectantly ran into a friend from my previous communications class. Matt was his name, and he was an all around nice person. It was good to see him and catch up on how things have been since the communications class. However, chance encounters are fun, but they soon became freaky. Fast forward to the next day when I was in Best Buy purchasing some music, namely The White Stripes and Modest Mouse, when suddenly I’m tapped on the shoulder by the person behind me in line. I turn around and see Matt…again. Two days, two chance encounters, I felt like I had crossed over from my life into some weird Paul Thomas Anderson film.

Still, I let it go, and I went about my usual business. Fast forward a few more days and I was in the waiting room of the doctor’s office, reading, when all of a sudden I hear a familiar voice. Turns out it was another classmate from the same damned communication class, Hector. Now I was freaked out. These chance encounters have moved beyond a few instances in Best Buy to my doctor’s office. Next thing you know I’ll wake up and find that the teacher moved in next-door or some horrible twist of fate.

Now if only I could figure out how to use this anomaly for my own ends…

Haze

So tired and lazy...I'll blog later.

-Brock

Barrage

Well, after a barrage of posts Tuesday, there were none yesterday. Oh, well. We must've been blogged out.

While it is depressing that Green Plastic has removed lyrics and tabs, it's promising to hear that Radiohead is aware of the situation and none too pleased. Hopefully that gets resolved soon! At least Follow Me Around still has their lyrics up.

Batman and Leonard

Ok, I signed it! I urge everyone else to sign it too. If these Radiohead sites get this kind of a blow then chances are the Radiohead fans will be sad. And if they're sad then I'm mad...and if I'm mad...Brock Smash!
No, seriously, I won't smash...I'll just drop depressed and withdrawn messages here on the blog and rain on everyone's parade.

Christopher Nolan is directing Batman 5?!! Holy cow, this is fantastico! Chris Nolan by the way is one of my favorite directors, he's one of the reasons why I wanted to get into the film biz in the first place. A shame it's not Tim Burton, the man himself, but...this is still great. In fact, judging by Nolan's detective, mystery style films, he could make a Batman movie as well as, if not better then Burton. We'll see, but I'm stoked.

Holy Director, Batman!

Speaking of Christopher Nolan - apparently he will be directing Batman 5!

I guess I tried to visit followmearound.com when they were down. Phew! That was the first site I ever went to for comprehensive Radiohead information. I hadn't been back in a while. Did you sign that petition, Brock? There's a link from the news bit on the letter. I don't know what good it'll do, but it doesn't hurt to sign. I did. Anybody else that may read this, sign it too! Petition!

The Last Laugh

I saw that letter on Green Plastic too, and it's sort of discouraging. I dunno if I'd ever have the time to get around to it, but I'd love to start my own Radiohead website eventually. In between all of my other projects and items in life, it doesn't seem plausable, for now. Still, if that letter isn't a prank, then it would mean that my site-to-be as well as the sites of other Radiohead fans would have to take down their lyric and tab sections. Truly, that's a downer. I don't have any other way to read the lyrics to the Radiohead songs, and it's not like Thom York has taken to printing those lyrics in the booklet of each CD. It's ironic too, I thought Radiohead was supposed to be against big corporation business. Looks like Time Warner gets the last laugh.

Follow Me Around is still up and kicking, at least...the last time I checked it was. They had a little server problem for a while there, but they got it fixed. Still, I hope those two Radiohead websites, Green Plastic and Follow Me Around, don't get slammed by legalities. They're two of my favorite destinations on the web!

I really, really need to see you some stories. I know...I'll send you my story on the evils of cloning. It was a rejected school essay about a man who's into cloning technology for the publicity and media attention.

Melted Plastic?

Speaking of "Follow Me Around", is that website no more? I hope that doesn't happen to Green Plastic Radiohead! If you haven't heard, they received a letter from Radiohead's label, asking them to remove the lyrics and tabs. The letter seems too informal, though. I wonder if it's a prank. If it's real - it sucks!

Hope to see some stories, Brock. I have yet to read any of yours. Send me some!

Follow me around

Hey hey folks!


I have to agree with Gabe on the Hulk; not only does it have potential to be a great film, but also potential to be the greatest comic book movie of all time. Yes, I’m going to say that if Ang Lee plays his cards right (and it looks like he did) then this could rival or surpass the original Batman film by Tim Burton.

So how was the weekend? Mine’s was pretty good, I got a chance to read up on some books of mine and I’ve been listening to Radiohead’s Kid A like crazy. Lately I’ve been trying to write down some short story ideas so that I might possibly have something worthy of being submitted to a magazine. When I’m done writing I think I’d like to share some of those stories here on the blog. I know I’ve said that in the past, but I mean it this time. Here’s the pitch for one story: You know how you can often walk into a restaurant or a store and subconsciously begin watching people? Just standing there, glancing from person to person, you begin wondering what they’re thinking, where they’re going and who they are? I’m writing something along those lines, a man who people-watches in order to fill in the void of human contact. The catch? People subconsciously watch him too.

If you remember your Indy Film history, you might recall that Christopher Nolan, the director of Memento, already wrote and filmed a story similar to that premise. Regardless of whether or not I’m ripping him off, I’m still going to finish the story (it’s a little over half done) and see how I like it.

Maybe I’ll pop in later and let you know how the day is progressing. Until then,

-Brock

Mix Change/Hulk Mad

Wow, Brock is winner! Winner! Winner!

My mix is done and burned. A couple changes - I took out Failure's Golden. Brock already has it and Alex heard it when I was testing my mix CD in the car. I changed Jeff Buckley's tune to Last Goodbye and added Deftones' (featuring Jonah from Onelinedrawing) cover of Sade's No Ordinary Love. It is fantastique!

OK people, a few words on the Hulk. I've been hearing a LOT of negativity towards this movie, mostly regarding the CGI creation of the Hulk. Let me just say, that I predict this to be one of the best (if not THE best) story driven comic book movies done. I think it'll even compete with the best movies of the year. That should get people past the CGI Hulk, I hope. You also have to realize that they could never come up with a Hulk that everyone would like. Some people say "he's too green!" If they made him less green people would say "he's not green enough!" So on and so on. Get my point? So move on with that!! He's actually growing on me the more I see him. Perhaps this article will help: How Bana Became The Hulk.

Quickie...

I had a good post, but Micro$oft word crashed on me and I lost it. So here's a minor one for the moment:

-The next Radiohead single is Go to Sleep...a winner is me.

-Brock

Paperbag writing

First of all, I'm glad you named your post Wattage. It was a play on his name that I was going to use for my own post. Second, I'm not disappointed. Yeah, he sounded like he'd be cool to see, but it wasn't an end-all-be-all show. We'll have other chances to see him in the future. Personally, I'm kind of tired. I don't think I could have pulled the show off even if I really wanted to. No apologies needed bud, I'm on agreement for this one.

Speaking of Radiohead, it's supposed to be Radiohead week on MTV2 or something. I think they're going to be playing all of their old videos (here's your chance to see Karma Police and Paranoid Android) and the new vid for There, There. Those b-sides, Paperbag writer and Where the Bluebirds Fly are decent. I've heard better b-sides from Radiohead (Palo Alto, Fog, The Amazing Sounds of Orgy, Bishop's Robes, etc...). I'm sort of bitter that they didn't put 3 of their legendary unreleased tracks on the single as b-sides, Follow Me Around, Big Boots and Big Ideas/Nude. I remember the band's guitarist, Johnny Greenwood, stating that the There, There b-sides were a special treat that the fans would enjoy. Bah! Thanks for leading us on...

Here's my new "self-pondering" question for the week...guess the next Hail to the Thief single. My money is on 2+2=5 or Go to Sleep.

Wattage

I hate to break it to you hear Brock, but I've decided not to go to Watt. It wasn't an easy decision. These mid-week shows, though, are killing me. The venue is the furthest of all the ones we've been to (way out in Mesa) and I have to get up for work about 5:40 in the AM. I'm sure he'll come back, hopefully on a better day and closer venue. My apologies.

So the There, There single came out in the UK on Monday. I wonder how those B-sides are?? Actually, I've heard them and they're not that great. Radiohead normally has cool B-sides but these seem to be more of their electronic songs. They're not too bad, though.

Movie news - Alien is supposed be re-realeased in the theaters this October 31st! Most of us never had the opportunity to be frightened by this movie on the big screen. I'm sure it will include a surround sound mix also. This is our chance!

He's golden

Note: While I was writing this post I was listening to the Failure track Golden. And now Gabe's going to put it on his mix? Something has ripped in the fabric of the universe, I've been seeing crazy coincidences like that all weekend.

Once again, I’m sorry for the lack of updates. It seems Gabe and I get wrapped up in other things and neglect to post for days at a time. I know it’s not that big of a deal, but I’ll try to not let it slip again. I did have a good weekend though, for the most part. Last night was the “Year of the Rabbit” show in Phoenix, I believe. However, neither Gabe nor I attended. Like I mentioned earlier, I do plan to see them live eventually, but not at a price of 20+ dollars. Speaking of Year of the Rabbit, two websites devoted to the band have gotten massive facelifts over the past week. The first is of course the official Year of the Rabbit website, a great place to get official information from the band. The second is a fan-site entitled Placid Minds, one that I highly recommend due to their extensive bootleg tracks and live pictures. Check those sites out if you have a few free moments, and download the new bootleg track “Strange Eyes”.

Nice mix Gabe! I don't think I've heard any of those songs (aside from Golden).

Tomorrow we’ll get an earful of Mike Watt…later!

-Brock

Here is my current mix CD track list:

• And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Relative Ways


• Blur - Coffee & TV


• The Cure - Six Different Ways


• Cursive - A Red So Deep


• Engine Down - Pantomime


• Ester Drang - The Greatest Thing


• Failure - Golden (old demo)


• Jack Johnson - Flake


• Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should've Come Over


• Johnny Cash - A Boy Named Sue


• Kill Creek - Divorcee


• Koufax - Move Out Move On


• National Skyline
- A Million Circles

• Onelinedrawing - Softbelly


• Pedro The Lion - The Rapture


• Rocky Votolato - Crabtree and Evelyn


• Starflyer 59 - The Lights On


• Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The High Party

Whew!

Mixin' It

Another long stretch of no-posts. Sorry folks, but it was a holiday weekend. And it was a pretty good one at that.

Since Brock's doing a mix CD, I decided to do one myself. Today I start on it. I'll post the track list when I figure it all out.

Tomorrow, night: Mike Watt.

Proud representatives of the Air Guitar/Drum association

Maybe I should clarify what I meant when I said that I disliked The Bash on Ash. You see I've never been to a bad show there, in fact some of my favorite bands (Hey Mercedes, The Fire Theft) played at Bash. Nevertheless, I remain indifferent towards Bash. Why? Well for one, the sound there isn't great. Whoever works the sound doesn't seem to have the utmost pride in their work, and the result can be disastrous (Exhibit A: The Hey Mercedes show). Moreover, they have this cool lighting set up that looks really impressive when they turn it on, but they almost never turn it on. Little things like that irritate me in addition to the big gripe of bad sound. But like Gabe noted, the sound last night was better then it's been in a long time. And Dredg was cool: They had a bunch of weird paintings and tree branches littered around the stage. If I had a camera I would have taken a picture for you to see.

Oh, and what's up with the obnoxious fans? I mean, come on...I'm standing right here and you keep bumping into me. It's not like we're all crowded in, there's plenty of room for you to play air guitar over there. Yeah, the third guy who joined in played air guitar at one point… Before the show Gabe and I went to a little indie record store called East Side. At the store they had this huge dog and I'm almost 100% sure that they sick him on anyone who comes in asking where the nearest Sam Goody is. I need to get a dog like that...then no one will bounce into Gabe or I at a show.

Dredg Fan Idiots

Damn it! This is my second post. Blogger ate my first one, which was kind of lengthy.

Dredg was very good. They played well and had a good sound. The sound at The Bash was the best I've heard there. Dredg must've had their own sound tech.

Sometimes I feel like an idiot fan magnet. What did Brock and I do to have the two most annoying fans in the building (maybe even ever) stand right next to us? Completely annoying. How? They were bouncing around, bumping into us, swinging fists in the air, air drumming and yelling/screaming an obnoxious "YEAAAHHH!" twice a song. How clueless can you be about how annoying you are? A third guy even joined them for a couple songs, doing the same crap! They all knew each other too! They must be part of some "Annoy the Hell Out of Everyone You Can" fan club.

Wants, needs and desires

I would have popped in and said something, but I've sort of been leading a boring life this week. I'm trying to compile a list of the DVD's and Albums I currently want/need/desire.

I forgot that Dredg is tonight...that should be cool. I'm not crazy about Bash on Ash but it'll do. I think I must have gotten spoiled from hanging out at Modified last week.

Oh, and that mix CD I was working on got junked. I didn't like the track listing so I re-worked it. It's much better now.

• 2+2=5 ~ Radiohead


• Chain ~ The Fire Theft


• If That's How It's Gotta Be ~ J. Mascis and the Fog


• The Dream ~ Audio Learning Center


• See You In Hell ~ Small Brown Bike


• Burn ~ Year of the Rabbit


• Happy V-Day ~ Reggie and the Full Effect


• Of A Broken Heart ~ Zwan


• Svefn g englar ~ Sigur Rós


• Under Pressure ~ The Casket Lottery with Small Brown Bike


• Seven Nation Army ~ The White Stripes


• Cold Heart of Stone ~ Frank Black


• Static ~ Beck


• Hidden track Diamond Bollocks ~ Beck


• Hidden Track 2 Rabbit in your Headlights ~ Thom York with DJ Shadow

What up, y'all?

It's been a while. I expected to see some posts from Brock-O, but it appears he's also been in hiding. I've been extremely busy at work with little time for anything else. The other night I had to come into work at midnight and worked until 3:00 a.m. because of some phone issues. It sucks!

Well, tonight is Dredg at the Bash on Ash. It should be a good show. They have a good variety of songs on their first CD alone to make for an interesting show.

Infinite Keys...?

As you probably noticed, we changed the format for the blog. A few days ago Gabe suggested the idea to me alongside the fact that a new format would allow us to post links where everyone could see them. As much as I liked our robot format, this is better. Now you can see our e-mail addresses off to the right side (feel free to say hullo) and the archives are now easily selected from the lower table. But aside from the ease given in finding our links it’s also much more professional looking…in my opinion at least. Good work on selecting the format Gabe!

Last night my friend Alex and I joined two other friends at Modified to see Pedro the Lion perform. It was quite a show, but to my chagrin they didn’t play any solo-acoustic songs. Nevertheless, they put on a good show. Neither Alex nor I have heard much of Pedro’s music, but that didn’t hinder the set any. Even more astounding was the fact that they played without their keyboardist. I guess their van broke down in Texas and they had to leave him behind with it while they hit Modified. It was all around enjoyable though. I think I’m going to have to check out their albums as well as the opening act, Ester Drang.

Well that seals the deal, see you later…

Down the Rabbit Hole

You know, when you think about it, the original Matrix has transcended celluloid to become more then just your everyday box office hit. Much like previously acclaimed films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey or Pulp Fiction, the Matrix has managed to imprint itself upon our pop culture. The images of Neo dodging bullets and fighting the Agents are just as recognizable as Dave traveling through the wormhole or Norman Bates’ motherly sneer. For that matter, it managed to turn the word “Whoa” into every bit a catch phrase as “Luke, I am your father.” Fittingly then, Matrix: Reloaded has some large shoes to fill. Likewise, I thought that the original Matrix was more then simple eye candy. Once you get past the flashy wormhole sequence in 2001 you have the star-baby discussion to deal with. Similarly, when all of the bullet time is said and done, the viewer is left pondering over the mythological and philosophical meaning to “the One”.

Building upon the concepts introduced in the first Matrix, Reloaded picks up those ideas and begins to expand them and question them. As Gabe mentioned, this version of the Matrix is not as thoughtful as the first Matrix. Rather, it’s very sharp, a “blink and you miss it” type of film. Still, where I found little philosophy I instead discovered dark brooding against the ideas raised in the first film. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but the Wachowski brothers certainly set out to make the viewer question much of the story that they themselves developed. And of course, they also set out to make an action-packed popcorn flick. The action, much like the story, is fast paced and fun. Neo fighting Agent Smith is probably one of the big highlights, but I personally enjoyed the high-speed chase across the freeway. Yet, despite the improved special effects and fight choreography, Reloaded’s action isn’t as impacting as that of the first film. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, it just has the misfortune of being the second movie. As a result, people will probably remember the first film’s bullet time sequences as opposed to the second film’s action sequences.

Ultimately, I think I’m going to have to see it again before I can pass any kind of final judgment. But I do want to say that it was well worth it; I eagerly look forward to the third one as much as I look forward to re-watching this one.

Silly rabbit, Matrix is for kids?

I feel I need another viewing of The Matrix Reloaded before giving a detailed review. But here's what I can say for now:

I immensely enjoyed this movie. Its entertainment factor is sky-high. But was it good? I think so. I may need to see it again so I can concentrate on the story side. Recently I read someone’s comments on the first Matrix. This person mentioned that when he saw it the second time, after the “wow” factor wore off, he was able to see it for what it really was – an eye candy movie with a shallow story line. I disagree. I’ve seen the first Matrix numerous times and I continue to be marveled by the entire movie. While the concept is complex, I would have to agree that its presentation on screen is more palatable.

Did the story become even more thinned out in this sequel? On the first viewing, it appears that it may have. Any philosophical discussions between characters were quite short and the dialogue was very fast paced, as if they were trying to avoid time for the audience to ponder, and perhaps find any discrepancies.

The Matrix Reloaded was the first half of a whole movie. Maybe the story will come to play in the second half, which is Matrix Revolutions. Overall, though, it was a good time and still leaves you thinking.

Hangin'

Well, I got back from the Matrix about an hour and a half ago; Gabe and I decided to see it today. I know I have many things to say about that movie, but I’m going to let them hang here for a bit so I can talk about Small Brown Bike. It’s less complicated that way.

Small Brown Bike was of course, great. I didn’t think it would be a bad show, and they played some good songs. They even played a few new songs from their brand spanking new EP. If you’ve been reading their website then you probably know that they’re destined to put a new album out sometime this summer, and I assume that I few of the new songs they played were from that venture. Still, I do have a few gripes, but they have to do with me and not the band. First of all, I need to get a pair of earplugs. I don’t have fresh, “virgin ears” anymore. As good as a show is, the after-ring isn’t, so to speak. Gabe also mentioned that the sound at Modified might have been better towards the back, near the soundboard. When Small Brown Bike took the stage we both went up towards the front, and that may have caused some of the problems with the sound and hence, our hearing. That’s not to say it ruined the show…all I’m saying is that I enjoy my ears ring-free.

So then, I guess that leaves the Matrix, doesn’t it? I will comment about it, but I need to organize my thoughts. Right now they’re all construed and unfocused. If I talk about the Matrix I’m sure the only thing I’ll say is “Holycowthosewhiteagentskickedbutt!!!”
I want to investigate the intellectual aspects to this movie in addition to the “wow, that’s purdy” factor. I do want to say that the Matrix Power Aid ad is horrible…

Toga, Toga, Toga!

Well, that cliches it. I'm done with school for now, I just got out of my Psyc exam. So how did I do? Very well, I'm happy. Time to party! Toga, toga, toga

Oh yesiree... Small Brown Bike is tonight, and it's going to be great. In addition to my thoughts on the Matrix: Reloaded, I'll have something to say about the concert. I'm sure it'll be good, it's Small Brown Bike after all. I've been thinking about their stellar performance of "See You in Hell" on the Michigan Fest DVD and my mouth has been watering in anticipation. The only thing that could make this sure-to-be great show better is a surprise appearance by Nathan Ellis of The Casket Lottery. Yeah, I know...not gonna happen.

Anticipation

Small Brown Bike tonight!!! Can't wait.

Going back through my previous posts, I realized that I failed to post about X2: X-Men United. I liked it overall and better than the first. That's all I have to say.

Continuation

I agree with Brock. I really want to go into Reloaded as if I just walked out of seeing the first one for the first time. Whoa.

I promise

I'll try to go in the theater without any pre-conceptions about how I expect it to be...I promise. All I will say is that those white jackets the evil agent twins wear are neato-skeeto.

Is that a sequel you're watching?

The Fibonacci Spiral wasn't discussed in the actual movie, just in discussions about it, including Ebert's commentary. The city itself is in the shape of a spiral.

Well, Matrix: Reloaded comes out tomorrow night. There's a lot of buzz about it. Rotten Tomatoes has it at a fresh rating right now. Some critics think it failed on the story side despite it excelling in action and effects. Others feel it succeeds on all levels. Brock and I will give our take on it after we see it Thursday afternoon. Stay tuned.

Walking on Moonbeams

Yeah, I'm glad I came around to it too. I think it helped to understand some of the film's key elements. Still, I always loved speculating upon the film, and I still do. Fibonacci was talked about in Dark City? Did that have something to do with the creepy aliens drawing spirals everywhere they went?

I tell you, that Killing a Camera DVD is going to be awesome. It'll be like visiting an old stomping ground, not just for the band, but for many of its fans too. I'm really looking forward to the band's commentary and the disc's full copy of the Metro show. If you're a big Braid fan then I suggest you check it out; it'll be something to see.

Speaking of revisiting old stomping grounds, I borrowed Hum's Electra 2000 from Gabe. That's the one Hum CD that I don't own; I have both You'd Prefer an Astronaut and Downward is Heavenward, but I'd forgotten how great Electra is. Pewter, Winder and Diffuse have to be three of my favorite songs...period.

So, I finished that mix CD, sort of. I need to listen to it a few times, but here's the final tracklisting for Alex's superfantabular Mix-Album:

• 2+2=5 ~ Radiohead


• Sinatra ~ The Fire Theft


• If That's How It's Gotta Be ~ J. Mascis and the Fog


• The Dream ~ Audio Learning Center


• Apocolypce WOW! ~ Reggie and the Full Effect


• Karate Chops for Everyone But Us... ~ Piebald


• Politik ~ Coldplay


• Of A Broken Heart ~ Zwan


• Cold Heart of Stone ~ Frank Black and the Catholics


• Little One ~ Beck


• I Am the Walrus ~ The Beatles


• Wrong Side of the Tracks ~ Strung Out


• Under Pressure ` The Casket Lottery and Small Brown Bike


• Chinatown ~ Jets to Brazil


• Fog ~ Radiohead

TTFN!
(Ta Ta For Now)

-Brock

Mmm, Pi

Brock, glad you came around to Pi. I liked it from the beginning. By the way, the Fibonacci Spiral was mentioned in discussions of Dark City. I haven't seen Pi in a long time. I'm not sure if I had a theory on the goo.

Bifocal Media posted some news recently on Braid's Killing a Camera DVD. They have the masters and should complete it in a month or two. Hot digitty dog!! Man, I can't wait for that release. Apparently it will have some band commentary. How fitting, since two of the members are big fans of DVD and commentary.

Small Brown Bike in two days!

3.14...

The last film we watched in cinema class turned out to be Darren Aronofsky's neurotic thriller, Pi. I think I should be honest for a moment here; I never really liked Pi. I know that people proclaimed it as genius, a masterwork and a triumph of the Indie-film genre. I suppose the meaning of the film never really reached me; Pi is a very deep, intellectual film. As far as I can remember, I saw Pi before I even seriously considered becoming a filmmaker.

Now however, I really appreciate the depth of Pi, as well as its neurotic visions. Part of my sudden interest may be because the teacher explained many of the confusing points about the film, such as: The goo stuck on Max's computer, the brain and the spirals. So...I'm glad that Pi turned out to be the last film for the semester. It was fitting. Even more fitting is the fact that I only have one paper left to write, and then I'm home free! (For a little while at least...)

Did I mention that I checked out that new Apple online music store? I'm actually impressed; it's a very nice concept and it's well executed. Even more enticing is the large selection of 80's music from groups like Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears and A-HA! With each song being priced at 99 cents, I can finally pick up some of those giddy pleasures. Take On Me, Mad World, Mr. Roboto...it's like stumbling upon some weird, synthetic wonderland. Speaking of the 80's, I'm on the lookout for a Michael Jackson hat for Gabe. Ahh-heeee-heee-heee! Thrillah!

Biking

I too am very excited for the Small Brown Bike show. It should rock the house! Dredg should be very cool. Don't forget about Mike Watt! I'm forcing everyone I know to see the myth and legend of punk bass play.

I'm very sore and tired today. I played some major ball (basket) last night. Ouch!

Pricey

Can you believe it? Small Brown Bike is next Wednesday...I'm already getting excited. It should be a good show, especially considering that the venue has changed to Modified. And of course, we've got some other good bands coming up: Dredge (I'm sure I spelt that wrong), Reggie and the Full Effect, and Pedro the Lion. I do know that we'll probably skip out on the Year of the Rabbit show. "Why Brock, why?!!?!?!" Well, for a number of reasons, one being the fact that the Rabbit will only be the opening act, and the other being that the actual show costs around 30 bucks. Pricey! I'll get my Ken Andrews fix though, just you wait...

How about the clips of that new Radiohead music video, There, There? I think it looks pretty neat. I love the grainy, stilted filming. It feels like a cheesy B-grade horror film, or even an outake reel from Army of Darkness. Thom York's facial expression when he peaks around the trees is priceless.

Today...

Today I'll blog...just lemme wake up here, eh?

DVD Day

Well, I bought two DVDs today. Can I consider that DVD day? Maybe, since I rarely buy more than one DVD in one day. If I had the dough, I'd buy more. Anyway, I picked up Catch Me If You Can and Say Anything. Say Anything is a special edition! It's one of the 80s classics. It has commentary with Cameron Crowe, John Cusak and Ione Sky. Pretty sweet, huh? Oh yeah! Can't wait to watch them.

Xpressive

I think it’s safe to say that the new X-Men movie was pretty enjoyable. I definitely liked it more then I thought I would, which, is always a good thing. Heck, I even saw it twice…my friend Marco and I saw it on Saturday night. Stacked up against the other Marvel Comics movies I can honestly say that I like this one enough to place it second only to Spider-Man. The characters were interesting, well developed and accurately played. Still, the best part of the whole movie is in my opinion Magneto. Talk about priceless villainy. With both Gandalf and Magneto under his hat Ian McKellen has easily grown to be one of my favorite "geek-actors". Of course, I do have a few grips to mention, one being Rogue’s accent. The second time I saw the film I was trying to guess where Anna Paquin was trying to pull off the Southern accent and in which scenes she simply neglected to even bother. Fine, accent or no accent, just stop switching between.

Black X-pectations

So I'm sitting here listening to Frank Black's album, Black Letter Days and I'm not sure if I dig it yet. It's definately unique, but a bit more polished then his other stuff. Why am I listening to this album you ask? Well, a week ago or something I was riding along with Gabe and he was playing a mix CD from Bob Nanna, and the CD had a song from Frank Black on it. I thought it was a wicked song and I liked it almost as much as the Pixies. With that in mind, I walked into Best Buy today looking for something new, and low and behold, I just snagged Mr. Black. I didn't know what album to pick up, so I just went for the newest looking one.

X-Men 2 eh? Yes, I'm excited, but really only because of one character that's appearing in the movie. Still, maybe it'll be cool.

X Marks the Spot?

I don't know what it is, but I haven't been able to get excited about this new X-Men movie. Maybe it's because most of the comic book movies lately have been pretty "flashy", Spider-Man included. I wasn't really excited for the first one, though. Don't get me wrong, I still want to see it. One review thought it was better than the first. We'll see if it is.

Gabe Ellis?

Don't let Brock fool you. He's a master writer and will probably never get anything below a 'B' or even 'A' on his papers in college. He's a smarty pants!

What's with Gabe Ellis? Well, I had a dream that I went to the Small Brown Bike show that's yet to be. There the lead singer asked if anyone knew Nathan Ellis' (of The Casket Lottery) parts to the songs they did together on their EP. Of course, I did, so I shouted out that fact. So, he asked me to come up on stage and they would do a couple of those songs if I sang Nathan's parts. Sweet, huh? Unfortunately this was all a daydream. Yes, pretty pathetic.

Big Ideas

(I won't get any...)

First of all, I should mention that I didn't do as badly on my test and paper as I initially thought. In fact, I did rather well.
Now that we've gotten that little nugget out of the way I can begin to worry about my next English paper. Oh yes, I'm sure I crapped out on that one.

The new X-Men movie is coming out this Friday, so come one, come all. I'm sure I'll see a few pictures of costumed fans on opening night. Already people have been trying to relate to me how I can comb my hair in order to get Wolverine's hair-do. Personally, I'm not interested in combing my hair like Wolverine's, but thanks for the knowledge.

Now that school is all done with for the day (and it was a long day at that) I'm spending a little time cleaning out my iPod. New iPod software is available (hurrah), but I'm updating mostly because I want to clean out all of the old songs from my library. For the longest time all I ever listened to was bootlegged Radiohead concerts. In fact, I must have nearly 20 Radiohead shows on my computer. After a while I got anal and began downloading different concerts because one show had a better sounding "Morning Bell" then the previous show, or this version of "Creep" has different lyrics than the album version. Of course there would be those rare instances in which I would download an entire show because it had a very rare performance song like "Big Ideas" or "Follow Me Around".
Well, I'm cleanin' it all out!

...

I'll probably burn the songs to some disks though...just because.

Atmospheric

There's always somebody in the audience who's bouncing incessantly. I honestly don't know why they bounce to the music, and I don't think they know that they look like a blind-idiot reject for a cereal commercial, all I know is that the bouncer at this show just felt the need to stand next to me. Bob your head, tap your foot, do whatever you like bud, but stop bouncing...you're stepping on my toes.
Aside from our hyper-friend it was pretty cool; Appleseed is awesome live. I have a hard time trying to describe what they sounded like right then and there, so the only thing I can suggest is that they were "atmospheric".

Today I find out how I did on my big test (and my big paper) in cinema. I'm sure I crashed and burrrrned. Well, I dunno...we'll see. Also, I just finished a big paper for my writing class. I'm sure I screwed up royally on that one as well. See you.

-Brock

Johnny Appleseed Cast

Well, Brock, Alex and my wife, Rebekah, all made it out last night to see The Appleseed Cast. They put on a great live show. I only have one of their albums and they only played a couple songs off of it, but every song was completely enjoyable. Unfortunately we didn't stay for Cursive. They sound like a very interesting group. Their fan base was surprisingly young, though. It scared me like the Saves the Day fan boys and girls. However, they were much better and actually were able to enjoy the opening bands without complaining and being utterly annoying. There were a couple of annoying people, but isn't there always?

Appleseed Fast

Well, the Appleseed/Cursive show wasn't tonight; it got bumped to tomorrow night. I guess they decided to add a date in Tucson. So, looks like I'll have to fast until tomorrow night, and then we shall have our show. In the meantime I'm listening to Moby's song We Are All Made of Stars. You can catch this great song on shampoo commercials, Federal Express ads, fast food promotions, and telecommunications software.

Until tomorrow...tomorrow we shall start fresh, I promise.

Kansas' other prodigy

I'm very excited to see Cursive and The Appleseed Cast tomorrow night. The Appleseed Cast, like The Casket Lottery, is another one of those rock groups that emerged from the state of Kansas, which further contributes to a standing theory between Gabe and I that people in Kansas know how to make music.

Today I'm just sort of hanging around and doing homework. I decided it was time to change the pace a bit and maybe blog a little, so here I am. Oh yes, I'm also trying to put together a mix CD for my friend Alex, who recently has gotten into mix CD's like gangbusters. So far I've decided upon the first two tracks:

• 2+2=5 ~ Radiohead


• Chain ~ The Fire Theft

Of course, I'm going to have to put something from The Casket Lottery and Small Brown Bike on the mix CD...it's a giddy anticipation of mine. I'll probably also put something from Beck on it.

Enjoy your Saturday ladies and gents!

-Brock

Dark City

Watched Dark City last night for the fourth(?) time. Today I watched it with Roger Ebert's commentary. It was very insightful. An incredible movie. One of my favorites.

Today I was off from work. Yeah!!! Hopefully I'll get that Modest Mouse song done.

Sunday night: Cursive, with The Appleseed Cast!

Transplanted

Long time, no see...

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I had a very busy weekend. That very busy weekend seems to have transcended Saturday and Sunday and now continues to haunt me throughout the week itself. I suppose I don't really mind being busy, but the major downside to that chaos is that I don't blog as much as I could...or would.
Well anyway, here I am, better late then never.

Over the weekend I did manage to obtain Gabe's copy of the Transplants CD so I could listen to it at my own comfort. Thanks to Alex for his contributions to my leisure.
First of all, I must say that I both love and hate the Transplant CD. Yes, love and hate, and for one very specific good reason and for one very specific bad reason. The good reason is of course none other then Tim Armstrong and his work on the album. Let's face it; punk rock isn't a very experimental genre. While it's easily one of the more established underground genres it leaves little room for innovation and improvement upon its musical structure. Well, that is purely in my opinion. But, operating on my own opinion, I always felt that punk could take a step forward and continue to expand its horizons to provide for a vastly more unique musical structure. Transplants sort of accounts for my wish, and Tim Armstrong's work on the album serves to lay down the blueprints for the next step in punk rock, and I personally liked the idea. Mixing hip-hop and punk is cool, and although it's been done before, Tim introduces a unique approach to the formula. It's a rejuvenation of the genre, and it has potential to grow beyond the Transplants.

And then on the other hand we have the bad. Tim Armstrong's vocals alone are more then satisfactory. In fact, they're legendary. So why am I spending my time (and Gabe's CD) to hear a product of Tim Armstrong that's fronted by a man who clearly serves as a conditioned result of the Mountain Dew/ X-Games generation? I want Tim's slurred vocals to go along with the music. Yes, his vocals are on the album, but nowhere near as much as our MTV byproduct's vocals. For some songs he's downsized to "backup" duties...backup duties!!! Ok, I'm done...sorry for the rant. I just had to get that out of my system.

Anyone see the new Incredible Hulk trailer? It looks (for lack of a better word) incredible. I like Hulk's bounding across the desert, he looks like a gigantic frog on steroids. And how about that Jennifer Connelly...she's all three Marvel comics expressions in one (Amazing, Uncanny, Incredible).

All righty, I'm done for the day. I'll see you folks later,

-Brock

Ever Busy

Well, there's always so much going that I don't know why I try and start new projects. Believe me, I'm still going to complete the Modest Mouse song. I want to put more emphasis on my musical projects. That being said, I may end the The Study of Leonard Hughes blog. I don't have the time to work on it. It's very sad. Perhaps I'll come back to it in the future.

Korgan

Yes indeedy, it was a good show. Personally, I liked it very much, especially since I never got to see the Pumpkins live. It was a new experience, and the guitar playing was pretty great. Like Gabe mentioned though, a whole lot of distortion. You could heard the vocals pretty well and the drums went off without too much of a hitch, (which, made it better to hear Jimmy's fantastic bashin'). Yet, the sound wasn't the best. I hope they improve the Marquee. But it was a good show, and the Marquee is enclosed, so it was an intimate set too.

Yes indeedy, I have seen the new Radiohead cover. I liked it, but it'll take time to earn the same standard of honor beheld by the Kid A and Amnesiac covers. It's cool though, basically it's just a cut-off from a map of the world. The artist, Stanley Donwood, laid those words and statements over the land and geography and then added a bunch of black ink that leads off into the ocean. I guess it's sort of supposed to be a statement on how people's ideals leak into the world like oil from an oil-rig. *shrug*

It's colorful, I'll give it that much.

Zwanified

Nothing rocks the house like Billy Corgan and friends. It had been quite a while since I last saw him with the Pumpkins. It sure was sweet to see him go off on those Corgan-ish solos. The venue, Marquee Theater, is a newly renovated joint that used to cater to mostly country music. I think it's still in the process. It'd better be! There were no acoustic treatment on the walls, which were brick! That made the acoustics very horrible. Whenever they got loud, everything got pretty distorted. Despite that, though, you could still hear the three different guitars intertwining and it still rocked.

Brock, have you seen Radiohead's album cover? The There, There single artwork pretty much came from it. Not bad. I thought it could be better, but, it's probably Yorke's way of making a statement (all the words and such).

Mary Star and the Infinite Sadness

So I heard the finished version of the single "There, There" a little while ago. I lost the link however, but they are playing the track frequently on most British rock stations. If you live in England, chances are you've heard it too. Perhaps I will upload it and put the link up later on, like say...tomorrow? That way you can all hear how fantastic it is. I really hope they go to either Phoenix or California, because like Gabe said, we haven't seen them yet. Personally, that's my life goal. No worries on marriage or kids or owning my own business...my life goal reads: See Radiohead live.

Anyway, let's talk about Zwan for a sec. I've been listening to their CD quite extensively in order to get revved up for the show tonight. The venue holds around 900 people, so it should be fairly intimate. I suppose I should say it would be as intimate as you can get when regarding Billy Corgan, a dude who's usually hanging around large arenas and concerts. Now, like I said, I've been listening to the new CD, Mary, Star of the Sea quite frequently, and I'm trying like no tomorrow to get into it. It's not a bad CD per say...it's just not a particularly interesting one. It has an even flow and a smooth pace, and all of the songs, even the sad ones, are innately happy. No more anger, no more sorrow, no more bitterness, these days, Billy Corgan is a happy fellow. Which, unfortunately, leads me to believe that perhaps something is wrong with me and not the album. Am I so darkened to only find enjoyment in the dark and foreboding tunes of Corgan's older days? Do I really have a hard time relating to such happy music? Nah, it's the record. Still, it should be a good show. Zwan may not be one of my favorite groups, but I'm sure they'll be worth it.

2+2='What You Want'

I was just listening to Radiohead when I read Brock's post on the artwork for the There, There single. In fact, I was almost to that song. Freaky. Yes, I'm listening to the "album-to-be". I like it. Can't wait. I read today at radiohead.org about possible plans for them to tour more extensively in large arenas. Will we actually get to see them finally? Brock and I have yet to see them live. An experience that has been denied to us for far too long.

Zwan tomorrow night. Should be pretty good. How can you go wrong with David Pajo, Matt Sweeney, and Billy Corgan all playing guitar? And then Jimmy on drums? Get out of town!

Off-Kilter

So today a bunch of no-show bums were supposed to give speeches in Communications class, but no one showed. As a result of this here I am blogging with nothing else to do. By nothing I mean nada, I already had lunch, I have zero homework to work on, and I've got nothing to do. Of course, I should mention that the campus is a literal zoo today complete with baloons and people dressed up in foamy carrot outfits. I guess they're having the Wellness Fest or somesuch. Nothing it's right today for some reason, it all seems off-kilter. These carrot mascots are out there are dancing to off beat John Lennon music while students are on the insides of the campus, blowing off class.
I suppose if I want something fun to do I could always go outside and stroll amongst the booths they have set-up around the campus. But then again, I don't really consider signing up for various petitions and "student rights" forms to be excitement.

Oh well, no big deal. I've gotta buy the tickets to Zwan today, but I'll probably end up doing it tonight. So Radiohead showed the cover art to their new single "There, There" last night. Or rather, some fan-sites showed it for them... If you haven't seen it then I direct you to gaze below.

Just cause you feel it, doesn't mean it's there...

Tall Cans in the Air

The Foo Fighters were good. They put on a great show that was intense but, yet, fun-spirited. The Transplants were decent, but a little rough (in performance). It was very cool to see Tim Armstrong, though. I'm a big fan of Tim "Lint" Armstrong. Rancid is working on another album that should hopefully be out soon.

In sad news, the drummer of Modest Mouse, Jeremiah Green, has quit. According to an interview with Isaac Brock at Pitchfork, though, he and Eric Judy plan to continue. Hopefully they'll have an album before the end of the year!

Strong Arm contest

Without a doubt, the Foo Fighters was the best 30-someodd dollars I’ve ever owed Gabe. From start to finish, it was a great show, and Dave Ghrol was honestly a very funny guy. Of course, they played most of their big hits, Everlong and My Hero, but thankfully, they didn’t play each song note by note. Numerous times they played around with the melody of their hit singles, turning 3-minute songs into lengthy jams. However, the Foo Fighters was just part of the reason why it was a great show. I was also looking forward to the Transplants and I enjoyed them quite a bit as well. Beforehand I had never seen Tim Armstrong live, but now I have… in somewhat of a compressed state. As you probably know, the Transplants are more of a side-project to the more infamous band, Rancid. Because of this, Tim played more of a subdued role then he might normally have. Still, the crowd went crazy every time he got close enough to the end of the stage. Both the Transplants and the Foo Fighters put on an energetic show, and both Tim and Dave took time to step off the stage and join the audience…

One big surprise that I didn’t count on was the opening act before the Transplants, the Special Goodness. They weren’t even listed on the ticket, but low and behold, there they were. For those of you who may not know this, the Special Goodness boasts Matt Sharpe, the former bass player for Weezer. I was a bit taken back when I saw them playing, as far as I knew only the Transplants were playing as the opener. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see all of the Special Goodness’ set, but they sounded good. All in all, it was a fun night.

I tell you, this is going to be one packed week, and it seems like the weeks are getting longer and crazier as time goes on. Zwan will be playing later on this week, (Thursday even) and I think I’ll probably go. I’m getting excited for Small Brown Bike to hit Zona though, that will be a good night indeed.

So I’ll probably be in cinema class today, and then I have to work on a paper, so time will be rather thin. However, I’ll check in later if I get a moment to spare. See you!

-Brock

Virus!

I've been slammed at work, trying to eradicate the LovGate virus. Man, oh man it sucks. I'm over my cold but still congested so I haven't been able to redo the vocals on Bankrupt. Soon enough, soon enough. Tonight - Foo Fighters!

Balcony

Naturally, the last time we were at the Dodge Theater, and when I bought the tickets, we got some real lousy seats. It was for a Coldplay concert, and we were way up near the back. In fact, the technical term is balcony. The thing is, we could see just fine, until people started standing on the entrance ramp up unto the balcony, thus blocking our view of the show and it's many colored lights. However, I am quite glad that the wheel of fate decided to award us good seats for an especially notable performance. In other words, you can't beat being able to see a band perform as opposed to squinting your eyes to make out which fuzzy dot is Dave Ghrol.

I wish I had more to say, but I really don't. So, you might as well go off now.

-Brock

Foo Fighting

I procrastinated on buying tickets to the Foo Fighters show until last night. They play Monday night. I guess it worked out to my advantage, though. I ended up with tickets on the main concourse, row 15! That's the best seats I've gotten at a major venue since Lollapalooza '94! Of course, I haven't been to many large venues since then, but it's still exciting to get decent seats.

The Transplants will be opening up. I'm excited for that one. I'm a big fan of Tim Armstrong. Love that voice of his. However, I'm very confused and distraught since I've heard their single Diamonds and Guns during a shampoo commercial! What happened there?? Tim, don't let me down!!!

Pumpkin-Head

Believe me, I was also asking that question. Dinosaur Jr., aside from being influential upon numerous rock legends (Kurt Cobain for one) also boasts J. Mascis, who is perhaps the best guitarist/songwriter of the entire 80's and 90's. Yet, no mention of them whatsoever. But then again, you have to keep in mind that this is an MTV poll, and as such, respected groups like U2 and Depeche Mode are placed next to NSync, etc...
I have to also go with Radiohead, although I just about nearly picked The Smashing Pumpkins. For one, Billy Corgan was far more reaching in the mid-90's then any of these teen groups today. However, Radiohead won out because (a) Like Gabe said, they're current, and they'll be around for a while. (2) Billy Corgan has admitted to Radiohead being one of his personal favorites in past interviews. So naturally I figured that there'd be no hard feelings...heh heh.

What Else Is New?

That would be the Dinosaur Jr. song.

It will be interesting to see the results of that poll. After much internal deliberation, I chose Radiohead. I wanted to pick a band that's been around and has had much influence, but Radiohead's ability to be diverse and very talented outweighed that. Besides, they're already influential and they'll be around for quite a while. The Smashing Pumpkins were right up there with Radiohead. U2 was a contender, especially since I think they've had some influence on Radiohead. The Police, The Smiths and The Replacements also were contenders. The other long running, influential bands I'm just not a fan of. Where was Dinosaur Jr.?

Carson weeping

The DInosaur Jr. song I suggested was the one where J. Mascis sings, "I'd like to see You-ooo-OOO. I'm sure all of the Mascis fans reading this will know which one I am taking about (despite the fact that I don't).

So, I want to rally the troops for a moment here. You see, I ended up picking America Graffiti as my film to review. Someone else took A Clockwork Orange, which, is fine. I have no problems, because Graffiti is a great film. So nix on the whole, "you tell Brock what to pick" idea. However, I did stumble upon this poll at MTV. (This is where you, the troops, the eyes clouded with static, come into play) You see, this poll is set up to help you pick the best band of the last 20 years. They've got a list of 22 bands up that you can choose from. Normally, I'd tell you to spoil the votes and pick Radiohead as the best band of the last 20 years, but they've got some other noteworthy choices on there too. The Clash, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, STP...and so forth. So, check it out, and pick a good band. Keep in mind, good does not denote picking NSync or the Backstreet Boys. I dunno, but it would be cool to see some "non-boy band" accept the vote. Carson will be weeping...

Bankrupt On Playing?

No, not at all! I finished a rough take of Modest Mouse's Bankrupt On Selling. I have never completed a song all the way through! I'm very psyched! I hope to touch it up more, though, before I post it. Brock mentioned doing a Dinosaur Jr. song next. Great idea! Hopefully I'll do an original too.

Graffiti, guitars and games

It's stuff like this that makes me wish I had plenty of "free cash".

Mini Bosses was really cool, I liked it endlessly. The whole concept is fantastic, and as I stood there listening to them play, years upon years of childhood memories spent in front of the old' NES came flooding back.
The art walk was great too; we always see some interesting work.

So the movie I review and study will probably be either American Graffiti or A Clockwork Orange, that may depend upon what you think I should write about. I picked those two primarily because I've read plenty of material and thoughts on both of those films, and I think I grasp the various symbolisms behind the two well enough. Still, I'm stuck on which one to pick. Both films would give me a great paper, so I guess it really comes down to those two. Click on my e-mail if you'd like and tell me which film I should pick.

Aside from the usual, I'm quite sick. I'm amazed I was able to do much of anything today. I think I'll spend the rest of the day just lounging around...

Mini Bosses

Sure, Brock, if you feel like posting the list, do it! Perhaps Marco (probably our only reader) will email you his recommendation.

I became very busy this weekend, thus, I didn't have much time for recording my cover of Bankrupt On Selling. I did start it, though! It may be done by the end of the week.

Brock and I went to the Phoenix Art Walk again this month and it was quite enjoyable. There were some bands playing at one location and our friend, Josh, knew one of the bands - The Minibosses. We caught them on the way back and they rocked! They cover video game songs. How brilliant is that? Because of copyright issues, they do not have any releases. However, you can download their covers at their website. I love the Mega Man 2 cover.