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.

Welly, welly, welly

I got this project coming up, and I need to pick a film from the 60's or the 70's to review. It's a rather large list, and it includes stuff by Lucas and Kubrick and all sorts of directors who were influential during that period. I'm just trying to pick the film I'm going to review and study, and I thought about putting the list up and then seeing if people wanted to e-mail me with suggestions as to what film I should see (or not see).

So far I'm sort of undecided...the list includes stuff like A Clockwork Orange, American Grafitti...blah blah blah. Typical films from that era.

That be the idear...nothing to big. I do think I may need to get a Death Cab for Cutie CD soon. Gabe let me borrow the Michigan Fest DVD, and it's fantastic. I can't get the DCFC song out of my head though, it has a really good beat. Naturally, I also have to get a Small Brown Bike CD.

Idea?

Thanks, Brock, for making the peep for me last night. I just ran out of time. So, what is this idea?? Reveal it to us now!

People, I still plan on working on The Study of Leonard Hughes real soon. I really do. It's harder than I thought. This weekend, if I have enough time, I plan on recording my cover of Bankrupt On Selling. Peace.

Peep

I erm...don't have much to say either. I uh...do have an idea per say. However, I don't think I should reveal that until...*cough* later.

Killing Me Softly

Ha, ha! Brock, you are killing me! Doing a cover is a good start, but a "million+ record industry giant!" Woo. I only wish. It's really too bad that the College Network station is as diverse as they claim to be. Unfortunately, I don't have much to say now. Perhaps I'll make a peep later tonight.

9 times out of 10

Well, I just got back from a long day at school, and I now feel a little better about the time I spend in between classes. You see they have these televisions scattered throughout the school and especially concentrated within the student lounges. Of course, when you get into a highly populated student area the televisions tend to have this program on that's called "The College Network", or some such. The College Network as you might guess, deals with music and entertainment that might appeal to the "college" crowd. And of course, it explicitly informs you of its diversity, especially when it comes to music videos. The thing is...the College Network that so frequently populates the school tubes, isn't diverse. In fact, all they play is hip-hop music videos 24/7. Now, I'm not complaining or trying to undermine hip-hop. I can enjoy hip-hop. Such is not the case with the College Network that insists upon playing the same hip-hop music videos over and over and over again. And 9 times out of ten they're playing an Eminem music video, which leaves out other "aspiring hip hop" artists. Like I said however, something changed. For the first time since I began idly viewing the College Network in between classes, they played a brand spankin' new music video that is normally absent from their heavy Eminem rotation. They played Moby. (Somewhere during that video Eminem was weeping.) And it was actually a pretty good music video, despite being from his new CD Play 2. No wait...I mean, 18. Yes, that's right... It dealt with little aliens trying to get the attention of human beings several times larger then they are. Of course, Moby was the only guy in the music video who actually knew that the aliens were present. He knows everything!

I really hope Gabe decides to record Bankrupt on Selling, as he admirably assured me last night that it would be a fairly easy track to record. More to the point, he learned all of the guitar tabs that he didn't know, which makes him even more responsible to record that song as a cover. Of course, some of the best bands and musicians in the world started out playing the music of some other group that inspired them. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana's first single was none other then Love Buzz, a song created by a band whose name slips my mind at the moment. Still, it wasn't written by Nirvana. So what am I getting at here? Well, it's quite obvious that Gabe will from this point on go forth to become a million+ record industry giant, overshadowing both Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. Then, maybe then, it won't be repeated Eminem videos and the occasional Moby-vid dominating the College Network. Rather, The College Network will show Gabe playing "Bankrupt" on his Seagull guitar...9 times out of ten.

Here, Here!

Word on those Radiohead tracks. There are some cool ones, indeed. Can't wait for the album!

I got the Friction discography in the mail yesterday. It features Bob Nanna (Braid, Hey Mercedes) on drums in his early days (91-94). It leans more toward the punk side but different enough from all the other punk of that time. It's really good so far. I haven't made it to the second disc yet!

Hail to the Thieves

Hail to the thieves indeed, especially for leaking some of the new Radiohead material on the net. I'm sure some of you have heard about this by now, especially the Radiohead fans out there. Some dude apparently leaked the new Radiohead tracks on the internet over the weekend, and now they're circulating like crazy. Of course, the band has noted that these leaked songs are rough-cuts and that the complete, polished up versions of the new songs lie in wait...

Still, all I have to say is that There, There and Sail to the Moon are going to be instant classics.

Bankrupt on Selling

Well, I received my Seagull guitar Friday evening. I love it! It has great feel and sound. Maybe in a few weeks you can expect an mp3 of me covering Modest Mouse's Bankrupt on Selling from The Lonesome, Crowded West. We'll see.

Last week's albums:
Small Brown Bike - Dead Reckoning
Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West