Thursday, December 18, 2008

Picture me Rollin'

I don't have time to do it today, but soon I will make up a blog roll for all of you who somehow found your way to my blog but then the stench of terrible writing caused you to go into a cultural coma and now you can't find your way out. Kind of like going to a Fall Out Boy concert. This blog roll will assist you to greener pastures. Maybe someday, if I pay these bloggers thousands of dollars (or threaten them with being forced to smell my shoes) I will appear on one of their blogrolls. Don't tell them I led you there though, or else they will kick you out. It'd be like Lee jeans at the cool kids party in high school.

Title comes from the greatest movie of all time (or when I am in a immature enough of a mood to call it that) watch to the first 1:00 with the senior quote for seth green aka Special K. So many quotes, my head explodes. You can bail after that.

I have a chance to finish 3rd in two of my three fantasy football leagues and in 1st or 2nd in the other one. This is the first time I have had a chance at 3 medals. But that's just nerd talk....the best part of Fantasy Football Leagues is the team name. They are as follows "Whoa Whoa WEE WHOA!" "PoVegas Punishers" (lame, but its an old league and there is a legacy rule) and "Thundercats, HOOO!!" Pretty sweet names right? .......Pretty lame topic right? Moving on....

ALBUM REVIEWS
So I inadvertently heard on the radio that Rolling Stone gave TV on the Radio's "Dear Science" the "album of the year". I knew that they would get a high placing, but it really frustrates me that I can't get into them and I am rededicating to the cause. Probably shouldn't have mentioned that, and if you choose to ignore the rest of the list as pure poppycock, then I won't blame you.

14- The Airborne Toxic Event (self titled)- Of course I heard the single "Sometime Around Midnight" first. And I smugly thought to myself if I haven't heard of this yet, its because its a one hit wonder. Then I went back to smoking clove cigarettes, drinking imported beer, and cursing the overuse of auto tone/tune in hip hop these days. I forgot when I first got clued in, but around a month later I was listening to this album over and over. They remind me a little of another band I love; Pulp. The vocals are really gritty packed with loose cannon emotion just like rock legend and weirdo Jarvis Cocker used to do. They aren't quite as experimental and artsy as Pulp is, but even I think Pulp would go too far sometimes and I am a big fan.
"Sometime around Midnight" is a sucker song for me. I am better emotionally equipped to handle it these days, but back in the day this song would have slayed me (back in that day it was Motorcycle Drive By-3eB). Its got angry/depressed mix tape written all over it, I almost wish I had some girl to spring it on. (wait, you mean I would have to talk to her more than once? okay forget it then) This whole album is very good, but this song is by far the shining star and keeps it from being a mid 20 album to its current position. The other songs do a fine job of being original and the album features a good variety of hard rockers to poppy songs to power ballads. If you are a casual music fan, pick up this album. It is very fan friendly and easy to enjoy music. You'll like it a lot the first time through and I just hope these guys got enough juice for another album.

13-Girl Talk "Feed the Animals": This is the most unique album on the list and should be all the rage with the kiddies. You won't hear it on the radio though because it's somewhat controversial in that it is a pure "mashup" album. Basically, Greg Gillis (girl talk) takes a ton of samples and then mashes them all up in different ways to create new songs. They are super fun and super cool. From Lil John, The Band, Ace of Base, Jay Z, Kanye, and Rod Stewart. Its all in there! However, as you can see, no link to amazon because they don't carry it now for some reason. They did when I bought it, but perhaps there is some trouble with the licensing and copyrighting of this album.
The only problem with it is that it should be used sparingly. For me anyway, I get a little brain dead from listening to it too much as the undeniable nature of DJ'd material is a very rhythmic and unchanging beat and for some people that can get old quick! It obviously excels in a party atmospheres and driving in groups of immature people, but alone time or work time and it can be distracting. You should definitely check this out (if you can find it) to see if you can "smell what the Girl Talk is cookin'."

12-Foals "Antidotes": Dubbed as Math Rock, whatever that means, this album has a fun european sound. Maybe its because it makes you feel really smart and sophisticated. They have a real upbeat sound with quick strumming guitars and high pitched plucking. There is a quick stomping beat throughout and is a real toe tapper. The vocals are often repetitive with the beat and sung in a exasperated fashion with lots of the lyrics ending in mini gasps. A unique sort of style that I have heard before but can't put my finger on. Foals reminds me of a less electronic and more conventional version of LCD Soundsystem and they also remind a little of Spoon. I could be way off on that, but it's what I think. Plus, they look like cool dudes who know how to have fun being rock n' roll stars. Really like "The French Open", "Olympic Airways" "Two steps, twice"and "Big Big Love". Sweet album artwork too!

11-Blitzen Trapper "Furr": This is a late pickup (3 weeks old), and I might be a little too over-juiced about it to be fair. But whatever, I am not a pro and I don't get paid to critique albums, nor do I get them free ahead of time. So I like what I like when I like it. This album has an old time 70's folk-rock feel, but is surprisingly well modified to modern tastes. They remind me of country rocked Death Cab for Cutie. Awesome wood panelled cover art! Lots of cool harmonica and good percussion. Good harmonizing too! I think these guys should tour with Black Mountain. They would be an awesome show. Their lyrics are impressively vague, fun, and well written. Songs about being a farm animal (Furr) a confused serial killer (black river killer) and a resentful lover (not your lover anymore). The tracks have a good amount of variety and the lead singer has a great way of modifying his style to match the tempo and mood of each one. If you like bands such as The Band, The Allman Brothers, Crosby Stills and Nash, and Okkervil River; you will probably really like these guys.

Albums number 10-5 tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

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