Monday, December 31, 2007
is it a bigger waste of time or money?
Any of you folks have an X-Box 360? I believe I'm picking one up today. I don't know if I'll be able to hook it up to the internet any time soon, but once I do I hope to tussle with and humiliate some friends in the digital realm. I'm going to get the Orange Box ($40 at Best Buy, this week only!) and would totally be up for some multi-player Team Fortress 2, once I find out what the fuck that game actually is.
Any of you folks have an X-Box 360? I believe I'm picking one up today. I don't know if I'll be able to hook it up to the internet any time soon, but once I do I hope to tussle with and humiliate some friends in the digital realm. I'm going to get the Orange Box ($40 at Best Buy, this week only!) and would totally be up for some multi-player Team Fortress 2, once I find out what the fuck that game actually is.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
added a few mp3s to my best of list...
If you look at my list of favorite songs, you'll find a few song titles that are now links to mp3s. Go ahead and take a listen and let me know what you think.
If you look at my list of favorite songs, you'll find a few song titles that are now links to mp3s. Go ahead and take a listen and let me know what you think.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
my favorite music of 2007
I truly believe that 2007 was (and still is) one damn fantastic year. Obviously the highlight was the release of Je Suis France's third album, Afrikan Majik, a cultural event of such titanic proportions that the very fabric of existence itself was fundamentally altered. Some other okay records were released, too, though, and it would be unfair to them if we did not give them the recognition they are due. So ignoring the France for just the briefest of moments, here's a list of my favorite music of the year. I believe DJ will be posting his tomorrow.
My 20 Favorite Records of 2007:
(I might add some commentary later on)
1. Times New Viking: Present the Paisley Reich
2. Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam
3. Deerhunter: Cryptograms
4. Trans Am: Sex Change
5. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
6. Parts and Labor: Mapmaker
7. Life Without Buildings: Live at the Annandale Hotel
8. Psychedelic Horseshit: Magic Flowers Droned
9. Still Flyin': Za Cloud
10. The Bad Trips: s/t
11. Blues Control: s/t
12. Ex-Cocaine: Esta Guerra
13. Reports: Mosquito Nets
14. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
15. Folklore: The Ghost of HW Beaverman
16. Raccoo-oo-oon: Behold Secret Kingdom
17. Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
18. Oakley Hall: I'll Follow You
19. Boris and Michio Kurihara: Rainbow
20. Wooden Shjips: Wooden Shjips
My 20 Favorite Songs of the Year:
Two songs stood out far above the rest, regularly getting stuck in my head and
tenaciously refusing to leave. These first two songs pretty much defined the year for me, musically.
1. All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem
I've thought about this song a lot over the last eight months, and I feel utterly confident calling it the best song of the decade thus far. It's not just the music, which is awesome, and sounds like New Order covering something off of John Cale and Terry Riley's Church of Anthrax. The lyrics repeatedly kill me, the way they blatantly stroke nostalgia, but less to glorify or eulogize the past and more to contrast and make sense of the present and the future. Maybe it's turning 30, maybe it's living so far away from my friends that I see them maybe once a year, but this song came around and helped pave over a hole in my life that I was barely even aware of. The fact that it seems to have done the same for thousands of other people speaks either to my own lack of imagination or else to James Murphy's arrival as a genuinely excellent song-writer.
2. Teenage Lust! - Times New Viking
The rock anthem of the year, and the best GBV song Robert Pollard never wrote.
3. I'm A Flirt (Remix) - R. Kelly feat. TI and T-Pain
4. Peacebone - Animal Collective
5. Bros - Panda Bear
Tough call between these last two, but "Peacebone" gets the nod simply because I listened to it more often than "Bros".
6. Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem
7. Fractured Skies - Parts and Labor
8. Friends - Ween
9. Still Alive (Portal song) - Jonathan Coulton and Ellen McLain
I've never even played Portal, but this song is extremely catchy, and even though I probably don't get all the references, still pretty damn funny. Reminds me of They Might Be Giants, back when they were good.
10. Paper Planes - MIA
11. Portals - Pyschedelic Horseshit
12. You Got Yr Cherry Bomb - Spoon
13. North American Scum - LCD Soundsystem
Seriously, dude's great. I'm a total believer, now.
14. The Ghost of You Lingers - Spoon
Infinitely delayed resolution: you keep waiting for that release, and they keep on denying it.
15. International Players Anthem - UGK feat. Outkast
16. White Like Heaven - Gowns
17. Freak-Out - Liars
Sloppy but great rock song in the vein of Jesus and Mary Chain, from a lazy and otherwise disappointing album.
18. Good Life - Kanye West feat. T-Pain
Again, great song from a disappointing album. Graduation was probably my biggest bummer of '07. It has a couple of good songs, but otherwise it's really boring and chockful of Kanye's worst lyrics and rapping yet. "Good Life" is the clear exception, if you can get past the "ever gotten brain on a plane" line.
19. Girls In Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen
Bruce channelling the Magnetic Fields.
20. Us Placers - CRS (Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Pharrell)
The Five Best Shows I Saw This Year
1. Times New Viking / Reports / Psychedelic Horseshit / Black Clouds: PA's Lounge, Somerville, MA, 4-21-07
2. Still Flyin' / the Lucksmiths / Ladybug Transistor: TT the Bear's; Cambridge, MA; 9-27-07
3. Yo La Tengo: MFA; Boston, MA; 11-16-07
4. Oneida / Kinski / Cul de Sac / Neptune: Middle East Downstairs; Cambridge, MA; 12-1-07
5. Acid Mothers Temple / Mammatus: Middle East Downstairs; Cambridge, MA; 4-28-07
I truly believe that 2007 was (and still is) one damn fantastic year. Obviously the highlight was the release of Je Suis France's third album, Afrikan Majik, a cultural event of such titanic proportions that the very fabric of existence itself was fundamentally altered. Some other okay records were released, too, though, and it would be unfair to them if we did not give them the recognition they are due. So ignoring the France for just the briefest of moments, here's a list of my favorite music of the year. I believe DJ will be posting his tomorrow.
My 20 Favorite Records of 2007:
(I might add some commentary later on)
1. Times New Viking: Present the Paisley Reich
2. Animal Collective: Strawberry Jam
3. Deerhunter: Cryptograms
4. Trans Am: Sex Change
5. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
6. Parts and Labor: Mapmaker
7. Life Without Buildings: Live at the Annandale Hotel
8. Psychedelic Horseshit: Magic Flowers Droned
9. Still Flyin': Za Cloud
10. The Bad Trips: s/t
11. Blues Control: s/t
12. Ex-Cocaine: Esta Guerra
13. Reports: Mosquito Nets
14. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
15. Folklore: The Ghost of HW Beaverman
16. Raccoo-oo-oon: Behold Secret Kingdom
17. Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
18. Oakley Hall: I'll Follow You
19. Boris and Michio Kurihara: Rainbow
20. Wooden Shjips: Wooden Shjips
My 20 Favorite Songs of the Year:
Two songs stood out far above the rest, regularly getting stuck in my head and
tenaciously refusing to leave. These first two songs pretty much defined the year for me, musically.
1. All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem
I've thought about this song a lot over the last eight months, and I feel utterly confident calling it the best song of the decade thus far. It's not just the music, which is awesome, and sounds like New Order covering something off of John Cale and Terry Riley's Church of Anthrax. The lyrics repeatedly kill me, the way they blatantly stroke nostalgia, but less to glorify or eulogize the past and more to contrast and make sense of the present and the future. Maybe it's turning 30, maybe it's living so far away from my friends that I see them maybe once a year, but this song came around and helped pave over a hole in my life that I was barely even aware of. The fact that it seems to have done the same for thousands of other people speaks either to my own lack of imagination or else to James Murphy's arrival as a genuinely excellent song-writer.
2. Teenage Lust! - Times New Viking
The rock anthem of the year, and the best GBV song Robert Pollard never wrote.
3. I'm A Flirt (Remix) - R. Kelly feat. TI and T-Pain
4. Peacebone - Animal Collective
5. Bros - Panda Bear
Tough call between these last two, but "Peacebone" gets the nod simply because I listened to it more often than "Bros".
6. Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem
7. Fractured Skies - Parts and Labor
8. Friends - Ween
9. Still Alive (Portal song) - Jonathan Coulton and Ellen McLain
I've never even played Portal, but this song is extremely catchy, and even though I probably don't get all the references, still pretty damn funny. Reminds me of They Might Be Giants, back when they were good.
10. Paper Planes - MIA
11. Portals - Pyschedelic Horseshit
12. You Got Yr Cherry Bomb - Spoon
13. North American Scum - LCD Soundsystem
Seriously, dude's great. I'm a total believer, now.
14. The Ghost of You Lingers - Spoon
Infinitely delayed resolution: you keep waiting for that release, and they keep on denying it.
15. International Players Anthem - UGK feat. Outkast
16. White Like Heaven - Gowns
17. Freak-Out - Liars
Sloppy but great rock song in the vein of Jesus and Mary Chain, from a lazy and otherwise disappointing album.
18. Good Life - Kanye West feat. T-Pain
Again, great song from a disappointing album. Graduation was probably my biggest bummer of '07. It has a couple of good songs, but otherwise it's really boring and chockful of Kanye's worst lyrics and rapping yet. "Good Life" is the clear exception, if you can get past the "ever gotten brain on a plane" line.
19. Girls In Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen
Bruce channelling the Magnetic Fields.
20. Us Placers - CRS (Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Pharrell)
The Five Best Shows I Saw This Year
1. Times New Viking / Reports / Psychedelic Horseshit / Black Clouds: PA's Lounge, Somerville, MA, 4-21-07
2. Still Flyin' / the Lucksmiths / Ladybug Transistor: TT the Bear's; Cambridge, MA; 9-27-07
3. Yo La Tengo: MFA; Boston, MA; 11-16-07
4. Oneida / Kinski / Cul de Sac / Neptune: Middle East Downstairs; Cambridge, MA; 12-1-07
5. Acid Mothers Temple / Mammatus: Middle East Downstairs; Cambridge, MA; 4-28-07
Psychedelic Horseshit radio session over at WFMU's blog
Okay, you're thinking "enough with the Psychedelic Horseshit", especially since their live shows have supposedly been hit-or-miss of late (I heard their Cake Shop show in NYC earlier this month was a disaster, after less-than-stellar reviews of their show in Athens). Still, they were awesome the one time I saw them back in April, and their record is one of the best of the year. I haven't listened to this radio performance yet, but I figure it's worth checking out if you are even remotely interested in this band. You can download it over at WFMU's blog.
Okay, you're thinking "enough with the Psychedelic Horseshit", especially since their live shows have supposedly been hit-or-miss of late (I heard their Cake Shop show in NYC earlier this month was a disaster, after less-than-stellar reviews of their show in Athens). Still, they were awesome the one time I saw them back in April, and their record is one of the best of the year. I haven't listened to this radio performance yet, but I figure it's worth checking out if you are even remotely interested in this band. You can download it over at WFMU's blog.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
oh, nertz.
Work's finally blocked the message board I've been spending far too much time on the last year or so. Maybe now without Lemmingtrail* to keep me from ending myself during the workday I'll return to writing posts that consist of more than just awkward photos or a few hastily assembled sentences. Hell, maybe later today I'll put my top [insert random number] songs of the year?
*: shitty name, no idea why the guy who created it named it that.
Work's finally blocked the message board I've been spending far too much time on the last year or so. Maybe now without Lemmingtrail* to keep me from ending myself during the workday I'll return to writing posts that consist of more than just awkward photos or a few hastily assembled sentences. Hell, maybe later today I'll put my top [insert random number] songs of the year?
*: shitty name, no idea why the guy who created it named it that.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Mitchell Report released at 2 pm...
UPDATE: Okay, the report is out, and most of the guys on that earlier list are not mentioned in there. Here are the guys what are:
Lenny Dykstra, David Segui, Larry Bigbie, Brian Roberts, Jack Cust, Tim Laker, Josias Manzanillo, Todd Hundley, Mark Carreon, Hal Morris, Matt Franco, Rondell White, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Grimsley, Gregg Zaun, David Justice, F.P. Santangelo, Glenallen Hill, Mo Vaughn, Denny Neagle, Ron Villone, Ryan Franklin, Chris Donnels, Todd Williams, Phil Hiatt, Todd Pratt, Kevin Young, Mike Lansing, Cody McKay, Kent Mercker, Adam Piatt, Miguel Tejada, Jason Christiansen, Mike Stanton, Stephen Randolph, Jerry Hairston, Paul Lo Duca, Adam Riggs, Bart Miadich, Fernando Vina, Kevin Brown, Eric Gagne, Mike Bell, Matt Herges, Gary Bennett, Jr., Jim Parque
Brendan Donnelly, Chad Allen, Jeff Williams, Howie Clark, Nook Logan, Rick Ankiel, Paul Byrd, Jay Gibbons, Troy Glaus, Jose Guillen, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Gary Matthews, Jr., and Scott Schoeneweis, and former players David Bell, Jose Canseco, Jason Grimsley, Darren Holmes, John Rocker, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams, and Steve Woodard
... but a list of names has supposedly leaked already. No telling how accurate this is, but most of the names are users we already know about. Thankfully few prominent Braves, only a few guys we already knew about, a few more who were with the team for maybe four months combined, and a guy who could probably only do further damage to his reputation by sexually assaulting Oprah. There are a few surprises, though, including a couple that'll break the heart of many a Red Sox fan.
Brady Anderson, Manny Alexander, Rick Ankiel, Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Aaron Boone, Rafaeil Bettancourt, Bret Boone, Milton B radley, David Bell, Dante Bichette, Albert Belle, Paul Byrd, Wil Cordero, Ken Caminiti, Mike Cameron, Ramon Castro, Jose and Ozz ie Canseco, Roger Clemens, Paxton Crawford, Wilson Delgado, Lenn y Dykstra, Johnny Damon, Carl Everett, Kyle Farnsoworth, Ryan Fr anklin, Rich Garces, Jason Grimsley, Troy Glaus, Juan Gonzalez, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Jose Guillen, Jay Gibbons, Juan Gon zalez, Clay Hensley, Jerry Hairston, Felix Heredia, Jr., Darren Holmes, Wally Joyner, Darryl Kile, Matt Lawton, Raul Mondesi, Ma rk McGwire, Guillermo Mota, Robert Machado, Damian Moss, Abraham Nunez, Trot Nixon, Jose Offerman, Andy Pettitte, Mark Prior, Neifi Perez, Rafael Palmiero, Albert Pujols, Brian Roberts, Juan Rincon, John Rocker, Pudge Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Scott S c hoenweiis, David Segui, Alex Sanchez, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Tejada, Julian Tavarez,Fernando Tatis, Maurice Vaughn, Jason Varitek, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams and Kerry Wood
UPDATE: Okay, the report is out, and most of the guys on that earlier list are not mentioned in there. Here are the guys what are:
Lenny Dykstra, David Segui, Larry Bigbie, Brian Roberts, Jack Cust, Tim Laker, Josias Manzanillo, Todd Hundley, Mark Carreon, Hal Morris, Matt Franco, Rondell White, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Grimsley, Gregg Zaun, David Justice, F.P. Santangelo, Glenallen Hill, Mo Vaughn, Denny Neagle, Ron Villone, Ryan Franklin, Chris Donnels, Todd Williams, Phil Hiatt, Todd Pratt, Kevin Young, Mike Lansing, Cody McKay, Kent Mercker, Adam Piatt, Miguel Tejada, Jason Christiansen, Mike Stanton, Stephen Randolph, Jerry Hairston, Paul Lo Duca, Adam Riggs, Bart Miadich, Fernando Vina, Kevin Brown, Eric Gagne, Mike Bell, Matt Herges, Gary Bennett, Jr., Jim Parque
Brendan Donnelly, Chad Allen, Jeff Williams, Howie Clark, Nook Logan, Rick Ankiel, Paul Byrd, Jay Gibbons, Troy Glaus, Jose Guillen, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Gary Matthews, Jr., and Scott Schoeneweis, and former players David Bell, Jose Canseco, Jason Grimsley, Darren Holmes, John Rocker, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams, and Steve Woodard
Brady Anderson, Manny Alexander, Rick Ankiel, Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Aaron Boone, Rafaeil Bettancourt, Bret Boone, Milton B radley, David Bell, Dante Bichette, Albert Belle, Paul Byrd, Wil Cordero, Ken Caminiti, Mike Cameron, Ramon Castro, Jose and Ozz ie Canseco, Roger Clemens, Paxton Crawford, Wilson Delgado, Lenn y Dykstra, Johnny Damon, Carl Everett, Kyle Farnsoworth, Ryan Fr anklin, Rich Garces, Jason Grimsley, Troy Glaus, Juan Gonzalez, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Jose Guillen, Jay Gibbons, Juan Gon zalez, Clay Hensley, Jerry Hairston, Felix Heredia, Jr., Darren Holmes, Wally Joyner, Darryl Kile, Matt Lawton, Raul Mondesi, Ma rk McGwire, Guillermo Mota, Robert Machado, Damian Moss, Abraham Nunez, Trot Nixon, Jose Offerman, Andy Pettitte, Mark Prior, Neifi Perez, Rafael Palmiero, Albert Pujols, Brian Roberts, Juan Rincon, John Rocker, Pudge Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Scott S c hoenweiis, David Segui, Alex Sanchez, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Tejada, Julian Tavarez,Fernando Tatis, Maurice Vaughn, Jason Varitek, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams and Kerry Wood
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Christmas came early (and the anniversary gift did too)
I picked this awesome Ace-tone Top 3 Phenix organ up on Sunday night, from Mike of Clawjob. It sounds awesome, like a gushing river of hot maple syrup, or something. It's all thick and warm and utterly planet-realligning. You shall all hear it soon when the France releases its next cd-r, Dekalog, an alternate bubblegum pop soundtrack to Kieslowski's film series of the same name. 'Cuz Zbigniew Preisner's original score can eat a dang.
I picked this awesome Ace-tone Top 3 Phenix organ up on Sunday night, from Mike of Clawjob. It sounds awesome, like a gushing river of hot maple syrup, or something. It's all thick and warm and utterly planet-realligning. You shall all hear it soon when the France releases its next cd-r, Dekalog, an alternate bubblegum pop soundtrack to Kieslowski's film series of the same name. 'Cuz Zbigniew Preisner's original score can eat a dang.
Friday, December 07, 2007
winter meetings
Last year I wrote about the MLB winter meetings every day. I should've done that this year. I enjoy talking about baseball, even though I know nothing about it.
The Braves don't seem to have been too active, but then you hardly ever hear about Braves talks until they're officially announced to the press. Who knows what Frank Wren discussed and who he discussed it with. We do know that the team dealt relief prospect Jose Ascanio to the Cubs for lefty reliever Will Ohman and utility infielder Omar Infante. Ascanio was fantastic in the minors last year, but mediocre during his few major league call-ups. He'll have the most long-term value of any of these players, but there's no telling how he'll pan out. Ohman had mediocre numbers overall, but his home-road and righty-lefty splits are crazy; he was absolutely brutal in Wrigley, racking up an ERA in the high sixes, whereas on the road he averaged less than two runs per nine innings. And lefties struggle mightily against the dude, so he'll fit the bill fine as Atlanta's LOOGY. Infante had a promising rookie campaign with the Tigers in '04, but has mostly floundered since; he can hit for a decent average, and can play anywhere in the infield, but his power, speed, and on-base percentage are all negligible. Those two will add a few million to the Braves' payroll, but with the additional flexibility provided by new owners Liberty Media that apparently is not much of an issue. Overall, this is a solid trade for Atlanta; yes, they traded away a promising prospect, but his departure fills two glaring holes, so I support this move.
Other than that, we have no idea what the Braves did in Nashville. They apparently talked to Pittsburgh about centerfielders Chris Duffy and Nate McLouth, but no deals are imminent. And Kansas City has labelled David DeJesus untouchable, for some reason, so that was a no-go. I hope they can acquire a proven player to man center until Jordan Schaefer or Gorkys Hernandez are ready in a year or two, but won't be too distraught if they have to make a go with Josh Anderson or Gregor Blanco at the start of the season. And one more reliable starter would be great, but I don't expect that to happen. I'm cautiously optimistic about the rotation, but between the ages of Smoltz and Glavine, Hampton's unceasing injuries, James' lack of endurance, the inexperience of Jurrjens/Reyes/Bennett, and my skepticism over Hudson's return to form, another proven starter would be nice.
It would be amazing if they could deal Hudson to LA for, say, Jonathan Meloan and either Matt Kemp or Andy LaRoche, then send Kemp or Laroche, James or Jurrjens, Devine or Meloan, and Schaefer or Hernandez to Minnesota for Johan Santana, but, um, there's no way in hell that would ever happen.
Last year I wrote about the MLB winter meetings every day. I should've done that this year. I enjoy talking about baseball, even though I know nothing about it.
The Braves don't seem to have been too active, but then you hardly ever hear about Braves talks until they're officially announced to the press. Who knows what Frank Wren discussed and who he discussed it with. We do know that the team dealt relief prospect Jose Ascanio to the Cubs for lefty reliever Will Ohman and utility infielder Omar Infante. Ascanio was fantastic in the minors last year, but mediocre during his few major league call-ups. He'll have the most long-term value of any of these players, but there's no telling how he'll pan out. Ohman had mediocre numbers overall, but his home-road and righty-lefty splits are crazy; he was absolutely brutal in Wrigley, racking up an ERA in the high sixes, whereas on the road he averaged less than two runs per nine innings. And lefties struggle mightily against the dude, so he'll fit the bill fine as Atlanta's LOOGY. Infante had a promising rookie campaign with the Tigers in '04, but has mostly floundered since; he can hit for a decent average, and can play anywhere in the infield, but his power, speed, and on-base percentage are all negligible. Those two will add a few million to the Braves' payroll, but with the additional flexibility provided by new owners Liberty Media that apparently is not much of an issue. Overall, this is a solid trade for Atlanta; yes, they traded away a promising prospect, but his departure fills two glaring holes, so I support this move.
Other than that, we have no idea what the Braves did in Nashville. They apparently talked to Pittsburgh about centerfielders Chris Duffy and Nate McLouth, but no deals are imminent. And Kansas City has labelled David DeJesus untouchable, for some reason, so that was a no-go. I hope they can acquire a proven player to man center until Jordan Schaefer or Gorkys Hernandez are ready in a year or two, but won't be too distraught if they have to make a go with Josh Anderson or Gregor Blanco at the start of the season. And one more reliable starter would be great, but I don't expect that to happen. I'm cautiously optimistic about the rotation, but between the ages of Smoltz and Glavine, Hampton's unceasing injuries, James' lack of endurance, the inexperience of Jurrjens/Reyes/Bennett, and my skepticism over Hudson's return to form, another proven starter would be nice.
It would be amazing if they could deal Hudson to LA for, say, Jonathan Meloan and either Matt Kemp or Andy LaRoche, then send Kemp or Laroche, James or Jurrjens, Devine or Meloan, and Schaefer or Hernandez to Minnesota for Johan Santana, but, um, there's no way in hell that would ever happen.
RIP Stockhausen
UPDATE: CNN's headline on Stockhausen's death: "Avant-garde composer on 'Pepper' cover dies". blech.
UPDATE: CNN's headline on Stockhausen's death: "Avant-garde composer on 'Pepper' cover dies". blech.
this is the most brilliant ad campaign ever
If my Papa were still alive today he would be proud of how ingeniously R.J. Reynolds has alienated the most odious people on Earth. As depressing as it is to see an institution as fine as R.J. Reynolds apparently kowtow to Arcade Fire fans, it all makes sense and is made alright once you understand the company's true intentions. Yes, for this is a brilliant bit of anti-advertising. RJR realize that your typical MP3-blogging, next-big-thing-hopping "indie rock" fan hates advertising that appropriates "indie" "culture" almost as much as music made by black people. By purposefully pissing that demographic off with an idiotic and transparently inflammatory ad, RJR no longer has to worry about being associated with these depressing people. Yes, the ad is completely ridiculous on the surface, but Reynolds is willing to take that hit today to insure a future free from the Brooklyn Vegans of the world, a future where the Camel brand makes one think of only the finest music the world has to offer, music like Halen and Heap and maybe a little bit of Def Lep (y'know, for the ladies).
If my Papa were still alive today he would be proud of how ingeniously R.J. Reynolds has alienated the most odious people on Earth. As depressing as it is to see an institution as fine as R.J. Reynolds apparently kowtow to Arcade Fire fans, it all makes sense and is made alright once you understand the company's true intentions. Yes, for this is a brilliant bit of anti-advertising. RJR realize that your typical MP3-blogging, next-big-thing-hopping "indie rock" fan hates advertising that appropriates "indie" "culture" almost as much as music made by black people. By purposefully pissing that demographic off with an idiotic and transparently inflammatory ad, RJR no longer has to worry about being associated with these depressing people. Yes, the ad is completely ridiculous on the surface, but Reynolds is willing to take that hit today to insure a future free from the Brooklyn Vegans of the world, a future where the Camel brand makes one think of only the finest music the world has to offer, music like Halen and Heap and maybe a little bit of Def Lep (y'know, for the ladies).
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Monday, December 03, 2007
Psychedelic Horseshit in Athens TONIGHT
Tonight's that big Dinosaur Jr / Awesome Color show at the 40 Watt, and most people should be fuckin' excited. Before heading to that, though, anybody still in or around Athens should go to the Caledonia for the Psychedelic Horseshit / Lickity Splits show. It starts around 8 pm, and will be at least as good as that other show. Psychedelic Horseshit are awesome, folks, and anybody into good noisy-yet-catchy proto-indie-rock like the Clean and Swell Maps and very early Fall should dig 'em. Here are a couple of mp3s:
Both Sides Now
Portals
Download 'em, listen to 'em, go to the show, buy the band's record Magic Flowers Droned (c'mon, it's on Siltbreeze, maybe you'll be able to sell it for like $200 on eBay in five years), etc.
Tonight's that big Dinosaur Jr / Awesome Color show at the 40 Watt, and most people should be fuckin' excited. Before heading to that, though, anybody still in or around Athens should go to the Caledonia for the Psychedelic Horseshit / Lickity Splits show. It starts around 8 pm, and will be at least as good as that other show. Psychedelic Horseshit are awesome, folks, and anybody into good noisy-yet-catchy proto-indie-rock like the Clean and Swell Maps and very early Fall should dig 'em. Here are a couple of mp3s:
Both Sides Now
Portals
Download 'em, listen to 'em, go to the show, buy the band's record Magic Flowers Droned (c'mon, it's on Siltbreeze, maybe you'll be able to sell it for like $200 on eBay in five years), etc.
