The B-Log

The 10 Best Albums of 2009

2009-12-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

Disregard my absence from this blog. You know I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a year-end list! Here it is, and once again, I didn't try to make picks that would be popular with an audience of hipsters or scene kids, I chose albums based on my own personal definition of what good music is and should be. Enjoy!

10. Lady GaGa - The Fame / The Fame Monster

Now, I'm well aware of how many scene points I lose for this pick, but you simply won't be able to look back on 2009 without having a Lady GaGa song playing along to your memory. It was a huge year for GaGa and Taylor Swift (unfortunately, I'm really happy for Taylor, but GaGa had one of the best videos of all time so I can't have Ms. Swift in my countdown too). Whereas Taylor mostly appeals to heartbroken teenage girls, GaGa appeals to a wider audience. You may think GaGa is weird, you may think she's a dude, but as much as you resist, her songs are way too catchy to not sing along to. "Bad Romance", "Paparazzi", "LoveGame", and "Poker Face" have all been mainstays on iTunes' list of top singles throughout 2009 so it's hard to deny that others would agree this is a great album from Lady GaGa.

9. Thrice - Beggars

I was very confused by Thrice's quadruple-disc The Alchemy Index in 2007 and 2008. I never fully understood what they were going for, and I figured it may be time to throw in the towel when it came to loving this band; however, Thrice returned with a vengeance with Beggars in 2009. With one of their most cohesive and focused efforts to date, Thrice managed to salvage their sinking ship of a career by going back to what they do best. Teppei Teranishi's guitar riffs are as atmospheric as ever and Dustin Kensrue has ditched his twangy country-style vocals for his traditional scratchy scream. Four albums later, this is an effort the band can be proud of.

8. Taking Back Sunday - New Again

Taking Back Sunday has never disappointed me... until now. Though they still managed to put out a good product, the loss of guitarist/back-up vocalist Fred Mascherino was a major blow to a band that has endured innumerable lineup changes over the years. While Mascherino was a good replacement for former guitarist John Nolan (the two had similar vocal stylings, in my opinion), new guitarist Matt Fazzi has taken the band in a totally different direction filling in Mascherino's spot. This is most evident on the song "Swing". It's not necessarily bad... it's just new and different. It also presents songs like "Cut Me Up Jenny" which is actually my favorite song on the album, it's just a big departure from classic TBS. For more classic TBS see (or hear, rather) "Carpathia" and "Everything Must Go" - an awesome ode to a failed engagement of singer Adam Lazzara's. This album can be hit or miss at times. For every "Sink Into Me" there is a "Summer, Man" that makes you question the band's direction. But taken at face value, it's still an enjoyable listen.

7. Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3

"The only rapper to rewrite history without a pen" is back with his third installment on the Blueprint series. The bad thing about coming out with another Blueprint is that critics and fans will always compare it to previous Blueprint albums, and everybody knows the original is always the best. The Blueprint is one of my favorite hip-hop albums of all time, so, naturally, The Blueprint 3 had a lot to live up to in my mind. The greatest accomplishment on this album is Jay's remarks about Auto-Tune on "D.O.A". Aside from that, Jay doesn't seem to make any profound statements. He seems to spend too much time trying to prove he is the game's greatest when I thought we had all agreed on that already. After the king makes his decrees on "D.O.A." he moves into radio-friendly territory with songs like "Empire State of Mind". There are some great collaborations here like "Hater" featuring Kanye West and "Already Home" featuring Kid Cudi, but even Jay's vocal stylings can become redundant when left alone on songs like "Venus Vs. Mars" and "Reminder". And for all you 80's music fans out there, "Young Forever", featuring a sampling of Alphaville's "Forever Young" and guest vocals by Kanye's protege, Mr. Hudson, is a must-listen.

6. Cobra Starship - Hot Mess

Cobra Starship is never going to be the kind of band that pulls a Green Day and starts trying to make these big, grandiose statements with their music. Like the song says, "I don't care if I'm a guilty pleasure for you." Cobra will never be anything more than a guilty pleasure, but that doesn't mean that they don't make good music. While the album cover and title may mislead some to believe this is just another neon-covered electro band with not much to offer, let me say, well, don't judge an album by its cover. From their good-guy bashing "Nice Guys Finish Last" to their Gossip Girl-aided hit single "Good Girls Go Bad", it's clear this band is trying for nothing more than to be the background music to your next party. If that's the case, then mission accomplished. This is one hell of a fun album.

5. Matt & Kim - Grand

Sometimes less is more. It seems that New York indie-rockers Matt and Kim have fine-tuned this saying with their second album, Grand. You may recognize their opening song "Daylight" from those super classy Bacardi commercials, but get ready to hear them more heavily featured in every indie movie and TV show to come (they've already made it onto Gossip Girl a few times). Anyone looking for a more poppy version of the White Stripes will enjoy songs like "Good Ol' Fashioned Nightmare" and "Lessons Learned". Still, songs like "I'll Take Us Home" show why all you really need for a great song is drums and a keyboard. Matt & Kim are the indie definition of simplicity.

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

For me, this album is the equivalent of 2008's Day and Age by The Killers. It presents a band that I "kinda like" and finally pushes them over the edge into a band that I love. In both cases, all it took was a little more electronica and 80's sound. To me the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have always been a good indie band, but they've never leapt through the speakers as they have on this most recent effort. Whether Karen O is sexually moaning on "Zero" or matching her vocal melody to the beat of the song on The Ting Tings-esque "Dull Life", her voice is simply irresistible. Just put on "Dragon Queen" and allow yourself to be seduced through your speakers.

3. Brand New - Daisy

Although it seems this album would make more logical sense being made between 2003's emo archetype Deja Entendu and 2006's The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, it's still a welcome addition to Brand New's amazing catalog of music. The opening song, "Vices", showcases the raw emotion of Jesse Lacey's voice that was void through most of The Devil and God... Lacey's usual dark lyrics are on display, as usual, on songs like "At The Bottom" and "Daisy" as he gives us yet another glimpse into his tortured soul. Longtime fans of the band will appreciate the more energetic songs like "Gasoline" and "Noro" that are reminiscent of Deja Entendu. With Daisy, Brand New continues to show why they are one of the most important bands of our time.

2. Phoenix - Wolfgang Armadeus Phoenix

The first time I heard anything off of this album was when Phoenix surprisingly performed on Saturday Night Live and played "Lisztomania" and "1901", two songs that I immediately fell in love with. As it turns out, those are the first two songs on their new album and it just might be the best one-two-punch on any album released this year. Other songs like "Lasso" and "Fences" also impress. While Cobra Starship is finally being appreciated in the pop scene, it seems that Phoenix is finally being appreciated in the indie scene, and it's about time. From start to finish, Wolfgang Armadeus Phoenix is an amazing album by an amazing band.

1. Paramore - Brand New Eyes

Once a year an album comes out that leaves you at a loss for words. In 2009, this was that album. This presents a challenge for me, since I have to explain why I think it's the best album of the year. Simply put, no other album released this year has offered a more wide range of lyrical content, vocals, and musical genres while still managing to sound cohesive. Paramore became pop-rock's new darlings with their release of Riot! in 2007, and there are still those token pop tunes like "Ignorance" and "Where the Lines Overlap" here, but there are also breath-taking acoustic ballads like "The Only Exception" and "Misguided Ghosts". There are hints of indie and emo on songs like "Playing God" and songs like "Turn It Off" that really show vocalist Hayley Williams' vocal maturation since Paramore's last album. Forget about Paramore being a band for teenage girls, if Williams' vocals on "All I Wanted" don't give you chills, then you are hardly human.

I Just Need Some Space (The Death of Myspace)

2009-08-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

Remember when Myspace was "the next big thing"; when all the old people on CNN were trying to understand the complexity of Myspace and its world takeover? We are now far removed from those days. Now those same people are trying to figure out Twitter and its place in society. Tom must be pissed.

Myspace really was the innovator here. Sure, it wasn't the first social networking website, but it was definitely the first to catch on and attract the masses. Facebook, in my opinion, has taken the torch right out of Myspace's hands, and Twitter is always nipping at their heels (Friendster, where you at?). Partly in an attempt to keep up with the changing times, I have recently been considering deleting my Myspace account. Why? Let me count the reasons...

I think most people would agree, Facebook is the real innovator now. Myspace is constantly trying to copy Facebook in a desperate attempt to stay relevant, which is transparent to everyone who uses both sites. The last "idea" Myspace had that really caught on was choosing your top friends. That came over to Facebook in the form of a downloadable application. Since then, Myspace has taken status updates from Facebook and has even tried (but failed) to make people's pages and homepages more aesthetically pleasing. Hell, even Twitter got its idea (its only idea) from Facebook. It basically took Facebook's status updates and cut everything else out of the equation.

What I'm getting at is that I hardly even check my Myspace anymore. I'll check my Facebook on average about four times per day. That's what I used to do with Myspace, but now I might not check it for a few days. Not only does Myspace feel kind of left in Facebook's dust, but it also just doesn't interest me much anymore. My friends don't seem to use it as much either. Nobody blogs, nobody writes me comments or messages like they used to. Most of my online communication between friends occurs through Facebook now.

When I first got Myspace, I had about 15 real friends on it. I got it because my ex-girlfriend insisted. I originally thought it was a dating website and was angry that she would use it while we were dating... little did I know. My first profile pic was the typical bathroom mirror self-portrait. My first blogs were immature and angst-ridden. Now Myspace is associated with all those thoughts and those feelings of being young. Facebook feels more mature (since I got it while in my junior year of college). After a couple years, I deleted my Myspace out of annoyance and then opened a new account weeks later. If I delete it this time, it will surely be permanent. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to make that leap yet. Maybe I'm just being reminiscent, but I feel like Myspace could still have a comeback up its sleeve. I think at this point I just need some space from "the 'space".

The thing about Warped Tour...

2009-08-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

The thing about Warped Tour is... it's fake. By that, I mean that it's like that guy/girl who pretends to be something they're not. You know, a poseur who says things and acts a certain way just to seem cool.

Before I go any further though, it is worth noting that I love the old Warped Tour. Even the ones I didn't go to because I was "too young" in my parents' opinion to go to concerts. I love what it was about: combining good music with extreme sports, and still asking a reasonable ticket price. Over the years I feel like Kevin Lyman and Co. have lost sight of their goals and of what they set out to achieve in the first place. After making Warped Tour a yearly rite of passage for me and my friends, I actually haven't gone in the past three years. The lineups just don't attract me anymore. Ticket prices are still reasonable, but I think to myself, "Do I really want to mosh in 100-degree heat all day with teenyboppers just to hear one or two bands that I like?" Now, part of what was cool about Warped was always discovering bands you had never heard and leaving the show with a new album to buy. Somehow though, even that has lost its appeal when you know all the bands that play this show pretty much sound shitty, or sound just like every other band out there.

Sure, there are some great memories of Warped Tours past, but memories are all they are. I remember going to my first Warped in 2000 with my best friends and making them listen to some of my favorite bands like Mest, Early November, and Senses Fail. We stayed till the very end to see Sum 41; singing "Fat Lip", feeling like I was either going to touch the stage or die from crushed lungs. We left with sunburn and dehydration. We were tired, hungry and miserable, but we knew we would be back next year. With Warped I got the opportunity to see Less Than Jake, New Found Glory, The Ataris, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, The Transplants, even Billy Idol. I watched Underoath and Hidden In Plain View play a side stage to a crowd of about 20 people. I met one of my favorite bands, Motion City Soundtrack, and didn't even have to wait in line to do so. True, over the years Warped Tour has provided me with numerous unforgettable opportunities, but I think 2006's Warped may be my last.

The list of bands becomes more and more ridiculous to me every year. Sometimes it seems like the bands are chosen based on if they're popular and mainstream and not if they are good or "punk". Then again, that is smart if you're trying to sell tickets isn't it? Yes, Warped Tour has always been touted as the punk-rock mecca of summer, but as many of my friends love to point out, there isn't very much "punk" about Warped anymore. The truth is, Warped has had artists playing every year who were by no means considered punk: Sugar Ray, Limp Bizkit, Eminem, Kid Rock, Incubus, Black Eyed Peas, Deftones, Staind, Alien Ant Farm... the list goes on. There have always been artists on the bill who seem to be there just to shake things up. The tour has become increasingly watered-down to the point where Katy Perry played the tour last year. I'm not saying that's good or bad, but I am saying it's not punk-rock. Warped Tour isn't always a punk-rock show with punk-rock bands, but it's usually an interesting show with a lot of popular bands. And if I'm in charge of booking and promoting Warped Tour, I would always go with the latter because that is what will sell. The former will give you more credibility, but nobody ever got rich off of credibility, right Kevin?

The thing about Warped Tour is... I can't blame it for what it has become.

Why "The Hangover" Wasn't Funny

2009-07-07T17:16:00.001-07:00

When I first saw this preview, weeks before it began running in theaters and on TV, I thought, "This has the potential to be the funniest movie ever." I immediately liked the idea behind the movie, I was interested to see how funny Bradley Cooper could be, and the fact that the producer of "Old School" was directing made this film sound too good to be true. Turns out, it was. I had to wait a long time after the film's release to see it. Even then, I ended up going to see it alone as I had just moved and couldn't find anyone who wanted to go see it for their 5th time. I saw the movie on a Tuesday afternoon. I was in good spirits and I had high hopes. Unfortunately, not the previews, the stellar reviews, nor the raves I heard from everyone around me who incessantly quoted the movie could accurately portray how the movie really was. Maybe it was damned from the beginning with my high expectations, but I just didn't think it was THAT funny. And no, it has nothing to do with the fact that I saw it alone. I watch movies alone all the time and still have ended up liking the good ones. It seems like some people like this movie just because. Because their friends like it or because it's about partying in Vegas. Well, I just thought it was... OK. Here's why:

1. Bad Casting
First off it's easy to tell these four (but mostly three) guys have no chemistry. They're not believable as friends. They seem like four people who don't even know each other, yet end up hanging out in Vegas. Their comedy stylings in general are vastly different from one another. Bradley Cooper is a great actor. I have liked him in all of his other movies, but the guy is just not funny. They didn't even try to make him funny in this movie. He was clearly chosen as the "star power" and as the "good-looking guy". Ed Helms is funny on "The Office" but that's because the show fits his comedy style. "The Office" is dry and subtly humorous. "The Hangover" is obviously supposed to be over-the-top-funny and based on physical comedy. Lastly, I have never found Zach Galifianakis to be funny in anything he has done. His sense of humor just comes off as "weird" to me. Conversely, I did think he was funny in "The Hangover". He definitely had his moments (including my favorite scene of the movie), but it wasn't enough to save the movie. Galifianakis was supposed to be the comedic relief, yes, but the other guys had to contribute some comedy too.

2. Bad Ending (Spoiler Alert!!)
Throughout the movie you are waiting and wondering where Doug could be... then you find out... and it's just not funny. The roof? Seriously? The ending would have been far more funny to me if they stuck with the idea of having Doug been kidnapped by the Chinese mafia. That gives that element of "crazy Vegas story" to the movie. Having him be on the roof for 24 hours does not.

3. Bad Idea
When it turns out that the real reason the guys can't remember anything is because Alan put roofies in their drinks, I pretty much lost hope for this movie. Why? Well, because although I have never got blackout drunk, I do love to hear stories from friends who had crazy nights of partying only to blackout and have the story retold to them the next day. And if there's one thing I love more than these stories, it's Vegas stories. Something crazy ALWAYS happens in Vegas. When you combine the two stories into one, I'm all ears. Now see, the preview makes it look like these guys just had such an awesome time, and they got so drunk, that they can't remember anything from the night before. This makes the story interesting because it is relatable. Everyone either has a blackout story or has heard a good blackout story. If you take that element away and say that the characters don't remember anything because they were roofied, it makes it less relatable. It also makes it a little scarier and a little more creepy (especially in terms of the Alan character). Had someone told me this story as if it happened to them, the part where they tell me they found out that one the guys, who they hardly knew in the first place, drugged them is the part where I stop smiling and sitting indian-style on the floor with two fists at my chin and immediately take a concerned stance.

4. No Surprises
The only real surprise in this movie comes when the mafia turns over "Doug" who turns out to be Mike Epps. The rest of the movie is pretty predictable, and that's the problem. A movie like this should have as many twists and turns as possible so the viewer is drawn in more and more and wants to get to the bottom of things just as much as the characters do. I don't have many suggestions as to how they could have done this (beside not putting Doug on the roof and not having a fake Doug played by Mike Epps), but how about a star cameo? This movie really lacks star power, but it shouldn't have. They underutilized Heather Graham (probably the biggest star in the movie) and they underutilized their "Old School" roots. The best they could do was get Matt Walsh to play a doctor and get Dan Finnerty back as the wedding singer? Seriously? I mean, I loved the return of the foul-mouth wedding singer, don't get me wrong, but out of all the stars who did "Old School": Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Ellen Pompeo, Jeremy Piven, Sean William Scott, Juliette Lewis... none of these people could make cameos? Not even Juliette Lewis!? I kept waiting for a cameo that never came. Movies like "Old School" and "Anchorman" have proven the power of the cameo and it almost seems to have become a comedic staple. I guess the people behind "The Hangover" thought they had enough in the mix to make box office gold, and well... they were right. But that doesn't mean I liked it as much as everyone else seems to hype it up to be. And I definitely won't be seeing the inevitable sequel.

Long Live The King

2009-06-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

I don't really know where to begin with this one, but I definitely felt that I couldn't get on with my day if I didn't at least say a little bit about The King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson was not just a man, he was an idea. His musical career made him larger than life, as did his life outside of music. From dancing on top of SUVs to holding babies out of windows, there is a reason that we couldn't stop watching this man. Michael Jackson had "it". Whatever "it" is. The "it" that people in Hollywood look for. Michael gave us a new dance move, dozens of innovative music videos, and even more hit songs.

I remember watching his music videos as a kid and thinking with each one that he would never be able to top it. Then, of course, he would go on and outdo himself. I remember "Thriller" was the first video that truly captivated me. I remember the day my parents bought his "History" album. They brought it home and then they never saw it again, because my brothers and I listened to it daily. We loved his old stuff and we loved his new stuff. At the time, Michael Jackson WAS music to me. There was literally nothing else. Michael Jackson's music was all I knew. Sure, as I grew up I fell in love with other artists and their music, but Michael Jackson was my gateway drug. The way you could listen to "Thriller" and feel cautious and afraid, the way you could listen to "Beat It" and get pumped up, the way you could listen to "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" and feel like dancing; Michael Jackson made me realize that music, when done correctly, could make people feel certain emotions more deeply than any other art-form could.

Today the world has suffered a great loss. Michael, from the time he was a part of the Jackson 5 'till the time he made his last solo album, changed the face of music forever and influenced thousands of musicians and music-lovers in the process. The man may be gone, but his legacy will live on forever.

Rest in Peace, Mike.

Batman Casting Game

2009-06-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched "The Dark Knight" on HBO and it got me all hyped up for the Batman movie franchise again. I started researching who was rumored to be in the third installment and who was rumored to be playing the characters. I remember doing the same research before "The Dark Knight" came out and hearing dozens of names tossed around that never came to fruition. A popular rumor was that Adrien Brody was going to play The Joker and I thought this made sense because he has a long nose and is creepy looking. This time around, the popular rumors are that Phillip Seymour Hoffman will play Penguin and Johnny Depp will play The Riddler. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if both roles were filled by other actors come filming time. Anyway, that got me thinkin'... Who would I cast to play some of the popular Batman characters? So now I give you said list... in alphabetical order!:

Catwoman: played by Mischa Barton

I know this is a pick that a lot of hardcore comic book lovers will hate, but I really feel like it's a good pick. Mischa is good at playing a girl who is simultaneously sexy, vulnerable, and mean. I would say those three adjectives sum up Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman) pretty well. Not only that, but Mischa has a similar figure to Michelle Pfeiffer, who I think did a decent job playing the part in "Batman Returns". The only question in my mind is how Mischa's chemistry with Christian Bale would be. That would probably be the deciding factor.

Clayface: played by Mickey Rourke

I do feel kinda bad for typecasting Mickey Rourke for this role, as it seems these are the only kinds of roles he gets nowadays ("The Wrestler", "Sin City"). Then again, the dude basically has a clay face already anyway, and he knows how to play those loose-cannon, badass types perfectly.

Harley Quinn: played by Amy Poehler

Granted, Amy Poehler has never acted in a movie that was as serious or as dark as Batman, but I think she has the ability to do so. She definitely has the humorous, perky side of the character down, and I think she could even pull off that annoying accent Harley used in the animated series (New York accent?). Now, I don't think this character is necessary if there is no Joker, and , NO, I don't think they should find someone else to take over Heath Ledger's role. They can do without it. But, if they ever did decide to find a new Joker, I think I found the perfect accomplice for them.

The Mad Hatter: played by Johnny Depp

I like Depp as The Riddler, but I think he would do a better job as the mind-controlling Mad Hatter. I think with this role, Depp could be a little darker and a little bit more delirious than he could with The Riddler. As it turns out, I was searching for a picture of Johnny Depp and I found the pic above. I guess he's playing The Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" so this surely won't happen for Batman, but I stand by my selection. Obviously, Tim Burton agrees.

Mr. Freeze: played by Hugh Laurie

Hell, Hugh Laurie basically already plays this character on "House". This would probably be the easiest acting transition for any of the actors and actresses I have chosen. Hugh could play that vengeful, cold and calculating personality that sums up Victor Fries. My only concern is that he might have to bulk up and get into better shape to make this work.

The Penguin: played by Jon Lovitz

I honestly don't feel like anyone could play this part better than Danny DeVito did, but that would be a cop-out to stick with him. So in the interest of fairness I have chosen Jon Lovitz. Now here I too am concerned whether Lovitz can take this role seriously, since he is used to only doing comedy. My basic thought process was that he already looks like The Penguin so I'm sure he could pull it off somehow.

Poision Ivy: played by Jayma Mays

I thought Uma Thurman did a lame job playing this role in "Batman Forever". Jayma Mays (AKA my new crush) would do a better job and she would probably look better while doing it too. Mays is capable of playing that shy biologist and that seductive vixen at the same time. And with everyone obsessing over this whole "Go Green!" campaign, this seems like a character that should definitely be in the works.

Robin: played by Ben McKenzie

Yes, I'm digging into more former cast-members of "The O.C." for this one. Shia LaBeouf has been rumored to be getting this role, but I feel like that would be too easy. Shia is Hollywood's golden boy lately and he has been getting all the good roles. I don't even think Shia is in good enough shape to play Robin, and I don't know if he can play a "darker" role. Ben McKenzie is 100% capable of playing a "dark" role, and he's perfect at playing that young, broken, brooding-type. Plus, McKenzie is in good shape (he now stars as a rookie cop on NBC's "Southland"). This is a guy who was born to play the strong, silent-types, and he would do justice to the difficult role of Batman's sidekick.

The Riddler: played by Denis Leary

Everyone from Eddie Murphy to Anthony Michael Hall has been rumored to be playing this part, but I think we can do one better than Hall with Denis Leary. Now I don't like Denis Leary, but I think he has a crazy cynical kind of personality that deserves to be in one of these movies. I originally pictured him making a good Joker, but I think he would fit well as The Riddler too. Also, to me, he just kinda looks like a guy who could be crazy obsessed with puzzles and riddles.

Sometimes Ideas Take Time

2009-05-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, Fox aired a preview of its new show "Glee" which I watched on Hulu. My initial reaction to this show was: "What took so long?" "Glee" is a sort of musical comedy. Its basic premise is that a teacher tries to reclaim his glory days of being a singer in the glee club by starting a glee club and recruiting all the best singers around campus. Complications arise with his family, and he must decide to choose between teaching and coaching the glee club or doing more to help his family.

Well, over the past few years we have seen "Mama Mia!", "High School Musical" and "Across the Universe" have box-office success, we have seen regular music numbers on popular show like Scrubs and Family Guy, and we two of the most watched shows on TV are "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars". Why not make a show based around singing and dancing?

I personally enjoyed the show and think it will do well. It might have faired a little better had it come out a year or two ago, but hopefully Fox will air the show during a time-slot that will aid its success. In the pilot episode, the characters are immediately intriguing. Thankfully, the main character, Mr. Schuester, is played by a good actor. He is good at giving off that "teacher" vibe and he, like the show itself, has an interesting and dry sense of humor. Jane Lynch (the mom in "Talladega Nights" and the Steve Carell's boss in "40-Year-Old Virgin") brings sure-fire laughs to the show as the school's cheerleading coach. Also, about 10 minutes into the show, I already had a crush on the neurotic red-headed teacher who has a secret crush on Mr. Schuester. Just my luck, right?

The musical numbers were awesome. The final scene included a singing and dancing version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'". The background music is even a cappella versions of instrumental songs... It's better to listen to it than to have me explain it. I could say the same about the show. If you like any of the aforementioned musical movies and TV shows, or anything on Broadway, I'm sure you would enjoy "Glee" as well.

Creativity

2009-05-19T23:13:00.000-07:00

My mind is like a sweatshop. It's always working overtime, but making far less money than it's worth.

Part of the reason I say this is because I consider myself to be an incredibly creative person, but few people seem to realize this. I could be the head of a marketing firm or a writer for a TV sitcom but, alas, I remain underutilized.

I have random ideas all the time. Most of the time, I'll write them down and keep them somewhere to be looked at later. Usually these ideas never become anything more than words on a napkin/ scratch paper/ index card; however, recently I came up with a couple ideas I really want to invest some time in. The first is an idea I had for a movie (a drama) as I was lying in bed one night trying to fall asleep. I jumped up out of bed and jotted down all the ideas as they came to me and ended with a brief outline of the film. Then, today I came up with an idea for a novel or series of novels (also a drama) as I was watching a movie. I jotted down those ideas and threw the piece of paper into my desk, to be looked at and added to later.

Notice how I'm not elaborating on these ideas. I wish I could, but I wouldn't want anyone stealing my ideas and claiming them as their own as they make millions of dollars off of me. I'd rather these ideas never come to fruition than have them be stolen, but hopefully one day I will be able to make these small ideas into something great.

Since most of my ideas pertain to the entertainment industry (music, movies, TV, etc.), I also try to keep my eyes open for ideas that impress me. I feel like there is a real lack of fresh creativity in today's industry so I'm rarely impressed, but two recent works of creative genius do come to mind:

First, there is the secret "Octodrives" made by Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz. Several weeks ago, the two began talking back and forward via Twitter and posting secretive comments and pictures. I followed all of this, trying to solve their riddles. As it turns out, the "octopus" is like a new logo for Mark Hoppus (which is featured on his new signature bass guitar). The pictures showed a flash-drive that had a picture of the "octopus" on one side and said "Fall Out Boy" on the other side. These drives reportedly contain unreleased tracks, remixes, pictures, and videos by the artists. Also, via Mark and Pete's blogs and Twitters, they posted clues of when and where the drives could be found. For example, a clue randomly appeared on Mark's blog of an office in San Francisco where a drive could be found. The winner followed the directions and found himself at the Twitter office, where he got to hang out with the CEO of Twitter, got a free Twitter T-shirt and an octodrive. Now that's cool!

Another idea that I'm pretty jealous of is how Josh Schwartz, the creator of Gossip Girl, raised awareness for his upcoming spin-off of the popular show. I had heard about the spin-off and how it was centered around Serena Van Der Woodsen's mom as a teenager living in California, but I didn't think it sounded interesting. Furthermore, when I saw that an upcoming episode of Gossip Girl was going to have Serena's mom having flashbacks to her teen days (and starring the cast of the spin-off), I thought it would be a train wreck. Honestly though, they pulled it off well. They had just the right amount of flashbacks and current drama, the characters were intriguing and the whole 80's style of the show appealed to people in my age group. I honestly could not think of a better way to plug a spin-off. It's a way better idea than just throwing a spin-off out there and hoping it can stand on its own two feet.

And that's really the great thing about creativity: One person's creativity inspires someone else's creativity. And round and round we go...

Moving

2009-05-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

I feel like I haven't been able to keep up with this blog as much as I'd like to lately. Part of the reason for this is that I've been going through a whirlwind of different ideas about projects and things I wanted to do (now one year removed from college graduation) and that has taken a lot of my time and attention. Finally though, I have come to a decision. I will be moving to Rancho Cucamonga, CA, at the end of this month. There are many reasons for this. First, one of my best friends is moving there and so it presents me with a great opportunity to follow suit. Second, So Cal is always where I eventually pictured myself living for some part of my life because I can achieve certain goals there that I cannot realistically achieve at home. Lastly, I need a change and, hello, I'm 23 years old. I don't want to live with my parents anymore (as much as I love them). I want to be independent and have my own place. This has been a crazy past week for me and my head is still spinning. I'm pretty much going through a roller coaster of emotions, but I wanted to get this message out to the masses and I know this is one way of doing so. Get in touch with me if you want to hang out before I jet. I'll always have Nor Cal in my heart.

Argument In Favor of Twitter

2009-04-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is the future of celebrity gossip. That is, if the celebs themselves decide to make it so.

I still don't have a Twitter myself, but I check certain Twitter pages regularly. Suddenly I realized, I can go on Twitter and see Mark Hoppus talking to Pete Wentz who's talking to Ashlee Simpson who's talking to Jessica Simpson who's talking to Perez Hilton who's talking to Taylor Swift who's talking to Miley Cyrus who's talking to Demi Lovato who's talking to William Beckett, etc...

Our celebrity obsessed culture finally has a way of dropping in on conversations among celebs that we didn't always have. Now they can hear what their favorite celebs are doing, straight from the horse's mouth rather than through an US Weekly or People Magazine. It's a glimpse into celebrity life that no gossip magazine or Access Hollywood can give us. I'll admit, even I could get hooked on something like this. I only wonder why this trend is starting about five years after MySpace blew up across the Internet. For celebs like Ashton Kutcher who are constantly trying to find ways to "punk" the paparazzi and put an end to the onslaught of cameras that chase them everywhere, this should be a big opportunity to change the way we get our celebrity news.

Granted, not every celebrity has Twitter, and not every celebrity is always going to tell the truth or divulge too much personal information, but it's still a step in the right direction. Not only that, but normal looky-loos can also interact with these celebs via Twitter, and maybe even some celebs will reciprocate. I think this wave of celebs using Twitter is a trend to watch as it continues to grow.

NFL Off-season: Few Surprises

2009-04-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

I realize that the majority of people who even read my blog are not interested in football but, next to music, it is my biggest interest. On that note, I have to talk about how the NFL off-season has gone so far. I've kept up on all the transactions closely, hoping that Philly will finally get a big-play receiver (as I do every year), and I can honestly say that I have not been surprised by most of the moves that have occurred so far.

Bad Characters

Right off the bat I will note the only surprise to me this off-season was the Cowboys' release of Terrell Owens. Yes, Dallas and T.O. have had a roller-coaster relationship, but so has every team he has played for (trust me, I know from experience). But the two did have that one year where everything seemed to go pretty well. T.O. caught a lot of passes, he sat with Tony Romo in an interview before the Pro Bowl in Hawaii and he even cried a little. But eventually T.O.'s antics run their course and even after Jerry Jones fell in love with the guy and gave him a huge contract extension, they still let him go. The most surprising part to me is that he signed with Buffalo because that just goes to show that nobody else wanted him. No Super Bowl contending team sent an offer to T.O. and his agent because, if they did, he would be there now. Finally teams are taking notice of players with bad character and dumping them.

That goes for Plaxico Burress too, just one year removed from a Super Bowl winning catch. Talk about a guy who was valuable to his team. Plax has been the dagger in the heart of the Eagles about every time they have matched up. Still, I had a hunch the Giants were going to release him. They are a no-nonsense kind of team and Plax has been complaining about contracts, not showing up to workouts, shooting himself in the leg and spending more time in court than on the field. Tom Coughlin is the kind of coach who likes to set examples.

Lastly, there is Jay Cutler. Once the drama went down with Cutler and his new coach, Josh McDaniels, over trade talks, I knew the problem could never be rectified. Why? Because Cutler has world-class talent without the classy behavior to match. This is a guy who in his third year in the NFL said he has a better arm than John Elway. The Broncos were dealing with a child here and they had to get rid of him, whether or not they had a good enough QB to replace him (which they don't). Dumb move on Cutler's part because now he is worse off than where he started.

Old People

Then there was the release of several old players who were losing their step (i.e. Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Jeff Garcia). I like all three of these guys. The real surprise here is that two of them haven't been signed yet. Garcia to Oakland works because he makes a great backup QB and the Raiders need one in the event that Jamarcus Russell gets hurt or proves to be a draft bust. The other two guys were longtime receivers for their teams and it seemed unlikely that they would be released but both players have not been as productive in the past few seasons as they used to be, and that's just what happens.

$$$

The Redskins breaking the bank to sign Albert Haynesworth for $100 million over seven years is ridiculous. If you ask me, I'm not paying any player that kind of money (especially $41 million guaranteed) unless it's my QB or something. A defensive tackle is not going to win you games. Then again the Redskins in general are not going to win any games.

Eagles Talk

The Eagles released a lot of valuable players this year. Most notably, FS Brian Dawkins who was the heart and soul of that Philly defense, the way that Ray Lewis is to the Ravens' defense. I'll admit that I was as hearbroken over Dawkins leaving the team as he was. So now the Eagles have all these holes to fill, yet they haven't done much more than sign a RG in the off-season. We have big needs at LT and WR and it wouldn't be a proper off-season blog by an Eagles fan if I didn't do this:

WR Predictions

There has been a lot of talk over who the Eagles might pursue to fill the big-play wide-receiver spot that Donovan McNabb is requesting. With two first round draft picks, the Eagles could try to trade up and draft Michael Crabtree, but I see this as a longshot. The Eagles will probably go LT, RB in the first round. If they trade either of those picks away, they could try to get the unhappy Anquan Boldin from Arizona. I would love that, as Boldin is one of my favorite receivers. But I would really love it if the Eagles managed to sign Cincinnati's Chad Johnson. Ocho Cinco has been my favorite receiver for years now. I love his energy, his love of the game, his athleticism and even his showmanship. I think he would make the best fit for the Eagles so I'm really pulling for this to happen. Realistically though, we all know that spot will remain unfilled going into the 2009 regular season and we will make with what we have again. If that is the case, I'm rooting for DeSean Jackson. He has made me a fan, for sure.

Cnnctd

2009-04-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Lately it has occurred to me that my friends don't listen to me when I talk. And it's not because they don't care what I'm saying, or because I talk too much and they're tired of it. It's actually because they all have iphones... or at least phones with internet capability. My phone does not. I like my phone. I haven't found myself in a situation yet where I thought, "Wow, I really need the Internet right now." In fact, I don't even have a laptop. Anytime I needed to use the internet, it was never a big deal for me to have to come home and use my desktop computer.

The thing is, I'm becoming more and more concerned for my friends and for our generation. In the rare case that I need to use the Internet (or even just want to use it) and it isn't working on my computer, I freak out. It might not be visible, but beneath the surface I guarantee I am freaking out. And I don't think I'm the only one like this. In fact, I know I'm not. They made a South Park episode with this very premise. The Internet is shutdown worldwide and everyone freaks out like there is a new black plague going around.

It has become such a part of our lives now that people feel they need to be constantly connected to the Internet. Hence, the Internet for your mobile phone. The BlackBerry earned its nickname "CrackBerry" for a reason. It's become an addiction for a lot of people. The need to constantly fiddle with their cellphones, checking e-mail, texts, surfing the web, etc. Now it's not just affecting businesspeople, it's affecting normal people like my friends. Not only is it annoying, but it's also very disconcerting.

So I wonder: Is this how things will be from now on? Will humankind's dependency on the Internet become greater than its dependency on oil, and will this cause problems for us in the not-so-distant future? Will my friends read this and try to be a little more courteous as to not surf the web while I am trying to talk to them? But most of all, am I keeping it real by not having Internet on my cellphone, or am I simply behind the times, and thus becoming as out of style as the mobile device I carry?

Five

2009-03-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

On a recent day off, I was up early in the morning and wondering what I should do. I was browsing Facebook and noticed a bunch of people posting their "Favorite Five" things on their profiles. The lists are about everything from video games to movies, but I was most interested in one that some people did called "Five Albums That Changed My Life". Now that is not the same as someone's five favorite albums. This particular category actually might be an even bigger deal. Music that changed your life might not also be your favorite music, but it definitely says more about who you are, in my opinion.

Anyway, this gave me the idea to put together my own list of five albums that changed my life. And suddenly I realized that I didn't even own all five of these albums (or at least I didn't think so). Without a shadow of a doubt, one of those five albums is Green Day's "Dookie". I thought another of those might be U2's "The Joshua Tree" since U2 definitely changed my life. So I decided to go out and buy those two albums. It wasn't until after I listened to both albums that I realized I would have to put U2's Greatest Hits album on my list instead of "The Joshua Tree". I do love that album, it's great. But it didn't change my life. Particularly it is a summation of their music that was life-changing for me, which is why I choose their greatest hits album (I'd actually owned that album for quite some time). Without further ado, here are the five albums that changed my life, with short explanations as to how they did so.

1. "The Best of 1980-1990" - U2

"All That You Can't Leave Behind" was another great U2 album, but I also couldn't say that album changed my life. On the other hand, I listen to every song on this greatest hits album and I remember riding in the car with my family as a kid and hearing all of these songs and loving them. As I got a little older and became more interested in music, I remember listening to songs like "Pride" and "With or Without You" and thinking, "This is what good music should sound like." Their music makes me feel so happy and peaceful. It's all so moving. Talk all the crap you want about Bono, but he and his band will always be an archetype of a great band that makes great music.

2. "Dookie" - Green Day

This album is just non-stop pop-punk fury. It has many of their greatest hits, but as a whole, it is amazing. When I was no older than 15, about to go into high school, I was in my best friend's garage and he was talking about how he wanted to start a band. He encouraged me to buy a bass guitar (an instrument I knew absolutely nothing about). After I said I would think about it, he said, "This is kinda what I want our band to sound like," and he played "Longview" and "Basket Case". I was in awe.

3. "Dude Ranch" - Blink-182

The other album that my friend played for me on that memorable afternoon was "Dude Ranch". Particularly, he played "Dammit". Interestingly enough, at the time, that was the only song I liked on this album. I hated the rest. But obviously it grew on me because it is now one of my favorite albums and Blink is my all-time-favorite band. I liked what I was hearing in my friend's garage that day, but I wasn't quite sold on forking over hundreds of dollars to buy a bass guitar and start a band...

4. "Enema of the State" - Blink-182

but this album sold me on it. "Enema of the State" means so much to me, in so many different ways. When I first heard "What's My Age Again," I got so excited. The day the album was released, I begged my dad to take me to Target so I could use my birthday money to buy it. I remember, clear as day, buying that album at Target that night.
This album gave the world two hilarious videos: "What's My Age Again" and "All The Small Things," it made me want to buy a bass and start a band, it influenced my style of playing, it made me want to learn how to sing (still can't), it made me idolize Mark Hoppus, it helped me to decide that I wanted to work in the music industry as a career, it influenced my sense of humor, and as I've often said, it's probably the reason that I am alive today. That's how much it means to me.
In a time when the radio-waves were filled with Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, and other tween pop, Blink solidified my roots in pop-punk.

5. "Say It Like You Mean It" - The Starting Line

OK, those first four were easy. They were all shoe-ins. I gotta admit, this one was a little harder because there are a few albums that could have taken this fifth spot. But if I'm being realistic and honest, none of the other albums I was thinking about had the same affect on me that this album did.
The first time I heard it was during Powderpuff cheerleading practice my junior year of high school. Of course I asked, "Who is this?" After that, this album became the soundtrack to that following summer. It reminds me of my first real girlfriend and my first love. But more importantly, it made me fall in love with music all over again. It made me start going to record stores regularly again to buy new music.
Listening to Kenny Vasoli made me push myself to be a better bassist, a better singer, and a better writer. Even though none of these things ever got me anywhere in life, the fact that I practice all of them is important to me. I have this band and this album to thank for a lot of influence.

Seth Cohen-core

2009-03-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

I never thought it would happen, but the satellite music station that plays at my work actually turned me on to a pretty cool band. They're called The Broken West. They're kinda like a mixture of pop, indie rock, and California sunshine. The first thing I thought of when I heard them was that it was the kind of music Seth Cohen would have liked. He would have had a small poster of them in his room, and he would probably try to get all of his friends together to see them play at The Bait Shop... only Ryan would get in a fight with someone, and Summer would show up with some other guy and Seth would be hella emo. But it would still make for a good episode. Uh... anyway...

Listen To: "Auctioneer" and "Perfect Games"

Dance Till You're Dead

2009-03-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Most real music fans like myself have an insatiable appetite for new music. I will basically buy a new album, listen to it constantly for that whole month, listen to it a little less the next month, and then move it into regular circulation with the rest of my music the following month. But after just that first month of falling in love with a truly awesome CD, I am already starting to think about new music. Sometimes I will download one or two songs from itunes and that will keep me satisfied for about a week. But lately I've been really jonesing for new music. Luckily, my desires were fulfilled today as I bought three new albums that all rule.

1. "Not Without A Fight" - New Found Glory

Buying this was a bit of a no-brainer. I've always liked (not loved) NFG. I particularly like their self-titled album and "Sticks and Stones". Since then, I felt like they got lost in the shuffle. They tried to go in new directions and it just didn't feel right. This album still sounds a little bit like "Coming Home", especially in a vocal sense. But it does sound a little more like their early work in a musical sense. Anyway, I bought this album in its physical state, meaning I went to Target and bought a CD (gasp!). The CD was actually cheaper than the $9.99 price on itunes AND I got it for free because I had a giftcard. Wooo! Totally worth $9.99 though. Oh, and did I mention it's produced by Mark Hoppus?

Listen To: "Listen To Your Friends" and "Don't Let Her Pull You Down"

2. "It's Blitz!" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I heard about this album a few months ago and all I knew is that it was going to have few guitars or none at all, and that it was going to be very synth-heavy. Naturally I was excited. The album turned out to be pretty much what I was expecting. It sounds totally 80's-style. It's musically stunning. I've listened to this entire album three times thus far, and it is definitely one of those albums that you can listen to and love every single song. I wouldn't say it is particularly groundbreaking, but it lives up to all the critical acclaim that it is already "one of the best albums of the year." I would expect this to make my list of top albums, oh, nine months from now.

Listen To: "Dull Life" and "Heads Will Roll"

3. "Love Vs Money" - The-Dream

In the waiting room at the doctor's office, I read an article in Blender magazine about The-Dream and became an instant fan. I had heard him do a few collaborations like Gym Class Heroes' "Cookie Jar" and thought he had a good voice, but I didn't know much else about him. From what I can tell, The-Dream is a very humble music artist, which is the main reason I like him. He's also very talented. He and his producer protege, "Tricky" Stewart, make some amazing beats. Honestly, I see them being the next in a line of great producers that includes Timbaland and The Neptunes. It is also worth mentioning that this is the first hip-hop album I have purchased since Kanye's sophomore release. That's because it's the first hip-hop album I have been interested in since Kanye. I don't like T.I. or Lil' Wayne's style, Jay-Z is the Brett Favre of hip-hop (always retiring and coming back), T-Pain is a one trick pony, and Kanye's ego turns me off. I think The-Dream is one of the best in the game right now, and this album truly delivers.

Listen To: "Walkin' On the Moon" and "Right Side of My Brain"

Argument in Opposition of Twitter

2009-02-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

Twitter is being hailed by many as "the next big thing." Well, I for one do not see what all the fuss is about. Here is my opinion on why Twitter is pointless.

1. It's just like Facebook... except not at all. The only constant is the "status" feature, which is all Twitter is. I'll occasionally update my status on Facebook, if it's something noteworthy, but who really wants to know about all the things in between those events that are not-so-noteworthy?

2. I don't care what you're doing. Unless you're someone like Mark Hoppus, Pete Wentz, or Miranda Kerr, i don't care what you're doing every minute of everyday. I care about my friends. I like to keep in touch with them and know what they're up to. But Facebook and MySpace can give me the brief summary answer. I don't need their instantaneous updates 'round the clock.

3. Nobody cares what I'm doing. Or, at least you shouldn't. Who am I? Nobody special. I work a part-time job in a small town. Now maybe if I was a record exec living in Los Angeles, then people might care what I'm up to. Tweet!- I'm at a show. We're thinking about signing such and such band. Tweet!- Just had coffee with Gwen Stefani. Looks like No Doubt has agreed to a tour with Paramore. Now I gotta call Haley to confirm. Tweet!- I'm on a flight to NY to sign this new band. Now that is interesting. But that's not my life. Maybe it will be one day, and maybe when that day comes I will consider getting a Twitter (ya dig that rhyme!?).

4. Twitter is for people who need to feel connected at all times, that's not me. "Twittering stems from a lack of identity. It's a constant update of who you are, what you are, where you are. Nobody would Twitter if they had a strong sense of identity." -- clinical psychologist Oliver James

Even for those celebs who have Twitter, I think it borders on attention-seeking, egotistical behavior to Tweet and think that people should care what you're doing. I waste enough time plugged into the internet using Facebook and MySpace. I don't need another outlet. This is one more piece of evidence that machines will one day rule humans.

5. Twitter is not my #1 trusted source for news. Sure CodyK, people have witnessed something and reported it via Twitter before any journalist had even sat down at his computer to start cranking out a story. That's interesting, sure. But I'm not going to Twitter in search of news. In one of my journalism classes, we debated whether blogs can be used for journalism. The point I made is that a blog is a piece of journalism when it is by a journalist, not when some random person with a livejournal writes a story about a plane crash. What are their credentials? They may have witnessed something, but did they interview 3-5 people in connection with the story? Are their facts straight? Are they trustworthy? Not very often. I'm much more likely to read a blog on The Washington Post's website than on some random guy's blog when I want facts. Getting news through Twitter is like passing someone on the streets who yells, "I just saw a plane crash into the Hudson!" Ok dude. Thanks for that bevy of knowledge. I'll look forward to Dave and Louis' Channel 3 news replacements telling me the whole story later.

Now, one argument in favor: It is a great marketing tool. Bands can announce shows, signings, meet and greets, tour updates, studio updates in a time-efficient and succinct manner. Companies can announce promos, deals, new items, etc. These are the kind of things I would follow. So Twitter is having trouble figuring out how to make money off of their genius idea? Well geniuses, I just solved that problem for you. Get these bands, companies, etc. to pay to sign up (since it's free advertising otherwise), work out special deals with some companies and maybe even special tours with bands. Congrats, you're the new Google. I look forward to my check in the mail.

Best Month Ever

2009-02-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

The view from our seats. This is a picture I took of the Cardinals about to take the field.

I don't usually post about personal experiences on this blog; however, this story is related to this blog's theme of pop culture. I'm also not usually a month late on posting things, but I've been a bit preoccupied as of late. Anyway. I'm trying to roll with the punches here.

So last month I kicked off 2009 in style. First I had the opportunity to go to my first NFL football game, my first NFL playoff game, and my first Eagles game (yes, Philly is my team) all in one. My friend and I were able to get our hands on some tickets to see the Philadelphia Eagles battle the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona for the NFC Championship. Of course, by now we all know who won that game (and who still lost the Superbowl, haha), but it was a great experience, nonetheless.

We got to the University of Phoenix Stadium early to partake in the tailgate festivities. Lucky for us, the family who graciously sold us the tickets also let us join them on their plot of grass in the Cardinals tailgate area. Needless to say, I was one of the few people in that area decked out in Eagles gear, but there were still WAY more Eagles fans out and about than I expected. I talked to a lot of them, chanted with a lot of them and just generally made fun of Cardinals fans with a lot of them. They're good people.

Going into the stadium around game-time was intense. Cardinals and Eagles fans chanted against each other. Emotions ran high, so I was just glad to get to my seat without being involved in any altercations. The seats themselves were amazing. Even though we were in the upper level, it didn't feel like it at all. We could see everything perfectly, despite being more on one end of the field. That particular endzone that we were near got lit up by Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald as he caught two of his three touchdowns there in the first half. Both times I swear he looked right at me and pointed at me.

Anyway, before the game was hardly underway, the guy sitting next to me couldn't handle his liqour and tailgate food combination so he puked all over the place. Luckily, nothing got on me. Thankfully, that guy was thrown out of the game. Meanwhile, the rest of the Eagles fans in the area and I tried to make the most of the game, despite being sick to our stomachs from the stench of vomit and the fact that we were down 21-6 at the half. That's when I said to myself, as long as the Eagles make this game interesting in the second half then I won't consider this a total loss, even if we do, in fact, lose.

And that they did. The Eagles scored 19 pts. in the second half and got all of us Eagles fans on our feet, jumping around hugging each other and delivering high-fives all around. The best part of the whole game for me was DeSean Jackson's juggling catch in the endzone to give the Eagles a 3rd quarter lead. We went nuts. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to give us the win, and I had to deal with stupid Cardinal fan pandemonium outside of the stadium... and in the streets... and on the freeway... dancing, crying, screaming, hanging out of cars, excessively celebrating. Ugh. But it was still a worthwhile experience. No doubt about that.

Just about a week later I went to The Park Ultra Lounge in Sacramento to see a live performance by Travis Barker and DJ AM (pre-Blink reunion, and post-plane crash). It was a great show, and I had an awesome time dancing the night away. It was inspiring to see these two artists continuing to do what they love just months after a near-death experience. They played a ton of great mixes on everything from Flo Rida's "Low" to Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and Oasis' "Wonderwall".

Needless to say, January was a pretty awesome month. Maybe the best month ever. February hasn't been too shabby either. And I still have my birthday coming up next week! Then, in April, I can look forward to a Fall Out Boy concert and Ken Griffey Jr.'s return to the Seattle Mariners when they play the Oakland A's. Super stoked to see how the rest of 2009 unfolds.

I leave you with a taste of what we saw from Travis Barker and DJ AM at The Park. This is a video I found on Youtube from the event.

Hallelujah

2009-02-08T19:46:00.000-08:00

Blink-182 is reuniting with a new album due out this summer! All is right with the world again! <3

It's the Most Miserable TIme of the Year

2009-02-07T10:57:00.001-08:00

This time of year sucks. Why? Because there are no sports on TV. The Super Bowl just concluded and baseball is still two months away. That means all that's left to watch is basketball (A sport that always comes down to the last minute. Why don't I just tune in at the last minute and see if my team wins? Plus, there are way too many penalties in basketball to hold my interest in a game), tennis (which is just Pong with people running around, and chicks with bigger arms than me), or hockey (which may be the best option of the three. At least it provides some excitement. But still, scoring is always low. It's a little bit like soccer on ice, and you know how we Americans hate soccer. Right, David Beckham?). So, no thanks. I'd rather watch the NFL scouting combine and daydream about the draft.

Even when baseball does roll around, I don't get excited like I used to. Face it, baseball is in trouble. Bud Selig needs to do something ASAP. The season hasn't even started yet and we're already finding out that Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, two of the biggest names in the game, tested positive for steroids. All these scandals turn people like me off when it comes to baseball. I want to watch a game and know that it's fair and every player is on the same playing field. Note to baseball: you guys are making Pete Rose look like a deserving Hall of Fame inductee now. I wouldn't even care if players were betting on the games. At least that doesn't ruin it for me. It just ruins it for them and their wallets. Baseball has become as untrustworthy as the government. So where is baseball's Barack Obama, savior figure?

Ugh! Wake me up when September begins...

Reason To Watch The Grammy's

2009-02-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

As much as I am a fan of music, I'm not a fan of the Grammy's. Artists I like never win, the performances are usually lame and it's just... long and boring. I'd honestly rather watch the VMA's, even if it's being hosted by someone like Russell Brand. But finally, a reason to watch this year's Grammy's (coming up this Sunday) - Blink-182 is reuniting to present an award!!!

They're not performing, but this public appearance is a big deal. I'm just being optimistic, but I think the reunion at the Grammy's can only be for them to announce a new tour, album, something! Even if that isn't the case. This is a big step in a favorable direction, and you know yours truly is excited.

The King and His Kingdome

2009-01-29T13:47:00.000-08:00

A Seattle Mariners fan's opinion

As I watched the Arizona Cardinals put the nail in the coffin of my Philadelphia Eagles' season with a fourth quarter touchdown in the NFC Championship, I couldn't help but find some comfort and hope in the fact that even a team with as horrid a history as the Cardinals can still one day achieve greatness.

Now this has nothing to do with being an Eagles fan, and everything to do with me being a Seattle Mariners fan. As the story goes, my first professional baseball game was an A's vs. Mariners game in Oakland. Watching the Mariners of old got me excited for baseball at a young age; however, one player in particular made me a fan of the team, and that player was Ken Griffey Jr. His athleticism, his leaping catches at the centerfield wall, his perfect swing... they all made me an instant fan of the team and the player.

Sadly, when I finally got to go to a Mariner's game at SafeCo Field in Seattle, Griffey had already been traded to the Cincinnati Reds. The king was gone, his kingdom (the Kingdome, their old stadium) had been demolished, and the team was riding their playoff hopes on a young Alex Rodriguez. We all know what happened next: A-Rod moved east, Edgar Martinez retired, Randy Johnson jumped from team to team. Since the glory days of the 90's, the M's have not been a team worth mentioning.

But all that could change. Rumors have been circulating for some time now about Griffey returning to Seattle to finish out his career where he started. After playing for the Reds and the White Sox, Griffey is now a free agent and is reportedly willing to take a pay-cut. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com recently wrote an article in which he says that he doesn't think the Mariners will bring Griffey back, nor should they, in his opinion. True, Griffey has been injury-plagued and has seen his production drop since leaving Seattle, but the question should not be "Why bring Griffey back to Seattle?" The question should be "Why not bring him back?"

The Mariners simply do not pursue big-name free agents. The last player I got excited about was Richie Sexson (that should sum it up it one sentence). Even though players like Jim Edmonds and Bobby Abreu are free agents, the Mariners have no chance of signing these guys even if they wanted to because they're not a big-market team. But Seattle fans love Griffey. When he returned to Seattle as a member of the Reds, the fans at SafeCo gave him a standing ovation. If nothing else, Griffey's return would give fans a reason to cheer for their team again.

One may ask what difference one player can make to a team. I would say one player can make all the difference in the world. One player (Randy Moss) helped the Patriots break records and go nearly undefeated. One player (Kevin Garnett) turned around a struggling Celtics franchise and helped them win a championship. One player (Manny Ramirez) almost single-handedly led the Dodgers to the World Series last year.

Furthermore, one of the Mariners' biggest problems is their lack of leadership in the locker room. They've cycled through coaches, and they've reportedly had trouble controlling Ichiro Suzuki's ego behind the scenes. Supposedly, the entire team hates Ichiro, the team's best and most consistent player, and frequently gets into arguments with him. Griffey is respected throughout the league for having big numbers and obviously not taking steroids along the way. Not to mention he is one of the older players in the league. He's been around for a while and he knows how to be a leader.

So why not bring Griffey back to Seattle? The way I see it, he can only help this floundering team. This is supposed to be a year of hope and optimism, so why not give Mariners fans something to be hopeful about?

The 10 Best Albums of 2008

2009-01-01T18:13:00.000-08:00

Everybody's a critic, and every critic has a different opinion. Since I love year-end lists, I decided to make my own list of top 10 albums from the past year, but the only difference between my list and most "real" critics' lists is that I'm not going to make the picks that people expect critics to make. Every year I'm baffled by the lists of albums from bands I've never even heard of. The way I see it, if it's not at least somewhat popular, then is it really that good? Granted, most of my picks would be popular among crowds of kids who read AltPress and go to Cobra Starship concerts, but hey, I'm just keeping it real. Without further ado, here are the 10 albums I couldn't stop listening to this year.

10. Does It Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into

When I first heard the song "We Are Rockstars," I wasn't amused. Now I think it might be the adrenaline anthem of the year. True, they might seem like just another Daft Punk knockoff, but these guys have serious chops beyond electro, dance punk. Their debut album is a bit scatter-brained and bi-polar, with about half of the album being electronica and the other half being more alternative, but it still makes for an interesting listen. When vocalist James Rushent ditches the electro-vox on the more memorable tracks like "Dawn of the Dead" and "Being Bad Feels Pretty Good," it becomes clear that he actually can sing and perhaps the band should make their next album a little more... focused. For every problem I have with this album, I find something else that I like. Specifically, the production on this record is amazing. I can't recall another album with such a unique sound that it made me actually feel as if I were seeing them live every time I listen to it. The echo of the guitars and vocals trick you into believing this might have been a live album. That "live" sound definitely helps this band's debut album stand out from others released in '08.

9. The Maine - Can't Stop, Won't Stop

After how much I built up this band's debut release to all my friends, I must say that I was a bit disappointed with The Maine's final product. Sure the usual hooks and melodic pop-rock sounds are there as expected, but it doesn't break any boundaries. If anything, The Maine played it TOO safe with their debut album. Their The Way We Talk EP gave me the impression that they would really stand out from the rest of the scene, but Can't Stop, Won't Stop shows that they aren't exactly ready to stand out from the pack just yet. Some songs even sound like country ("We'll All Be") at times. I know it's confusing for me to be so negative about an album that I think is worthy of being one of the ten best albums of the year... But for all the unmet expectations, The Maine still manages to impress with classic pop tunes like "We All Roll Along", "Girls Do What They Want", and "Count 'Em One, Two, Three". Keep an eye on this band because, eventually, I think they are going to wow a lot of people.

8. A Cursive Memory - Changes

I was initially drawn to this band via their popular self-made video for "Everything", in which the band (calling themselves the bandarazzi) follows the paparazzi around Hollywood in order to get A-list celebs to be in their music video. Admittedly, I wasn't expecting much when I subsequently downloaded their album, but I was pleasantly surprised. These guys are young and they have a lot of potential. Their style of piano-driven, melodic emo, pop-punk is something that a lot of new bands in the So-Cal scene will be trying to imitate. Though they have that same "Hollywood feel" to them like Metro Station, this band has a lot of depth and a lot of talent. From Something Corporate-like rocker "South" to the uber-chill "Perfect Company", these guys have the same kind of fresh originality to them that I remember Taking Back Sunday having when they first hit the scene.

7. The Kooks - Konk

By no means would I consider this record to be "emo", but it definitely is emotional. From the first track on the record, the one thing that stands out is how much singer Luke Pritchard can sing with such sheer emotion. This helped the Kooks' album top the charts back home (the UK), but it should have had similar success in the US. "Always Where I Need To Be" is as catchy as indie-rock hits come. "Love It All" is one of those songs you blare out of your car with the windows down on a sunny summer afternoon. And "One Last Time" and "Sway" will strike a power chord with anyone and everyone who has endured heartbreak. To me, this album has it all.

6. Cute Is What We Aim For - Rotation

This band may be utterly awful live, but they are still one of the best pop-punk bands filling the Blink-182 void. On their sophomore effort, the maturation of the band is evident. Singer Shaant Hacikyan's vocals seem to have improved and his lyrics are much more focused than on 2006's The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch. No more songs about lying friends, slutty girls and hookups. No, these latest songs are more about not fitting in ("Loser"), the loss of innocence ("Hollywood"), and true love. The only thing bringing this album down is producer John Feldmann, the longtime producer of The Used's albums. Unfortunately, he managed to make a band like CIWWAF sound as hard as The Used with layered screamo vocals behind some singing parts. Though this is distracting, it's not enough to ruin all the high-points Rotation has to offer.

5. The Academy Is... - Fast Times At Barrington High

After bursting onto the scene with 2005's Almost Here, it seemed as if TAI might disappear as fast as they had appeared when they released Santi in 2007. Many fans, like myself, wondered why they chose to make such a departure from the pop-rock sound that garnered them so much attention in '05. Whatever the reason, it appears that the band came to their senses this year, making a more logical follow-up to Almost Here. Songs like "His Girl Friday" and "About A Girl" are typical TAI songs, while "Rumored Nights" and "Automatic Eyes" show a little more maturation and promise. This band is going to have a long and successful career, so long as William Beckett keeps his vocals sharp and the rest of the band avoids any further experimentation with muffled-sounding indie-rock.

4. Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux

For the first time since Pete Wentz took over writing lyrics for Fall Out Boy, I have to say he falters a little bit here. Most of his lines just aren't as clever as he thinks (ex. "Dear gravity, you held me down..."). But I'll give him a mulligan for the simple fact that he has been busy adapting to being a husband and father. Still, the rest of the band shines bright. Musically, this album is as impressive as ever. Patrick Stump's voice is tuned down a little bit from their previous album which allows the listener to focus more on the music. Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman give some of their best efforts to date, and even Wentz seems to put a little something extra into his bass lines this time around. It seems as though Fall Out Boy has made a pop-punk album, an emo album, a rock album, and now, perhaps, a hip-hop album. Songs like "She's My Winona", "Tiffany Blews", and "w.a.m.s" have clear hip-hop influences. Still, I think the most notable change on this album is the fact that FOB has finally mastered the art of the ballad. "What A Catch, Donnie" is one of my favorite tracks on the album and is, by far, my favorite FOB ballad. It features a star-studded (or should I say Decaydance-studded) list of collaborators and perhaps a bit too much ego-stroking toward the end, but it's songs like this that show the amazing range of music FOB is capable of making.

3. Weezer - Weezer (The Red Album)

For the band's sixth studio album, they promised a return to their The Blue Album and Pinkerton-era sound. I was skeptical until I heard the single "Pork and Beans" and realized this just may be the best Weezer album since The Blue Album. From the name-dropping "Heart Songs" to the seemingly self-inspired "Troublemaker" (compare it to "The Good Life" and you'll see what I mean), this album flat out kicks ass. Even when the rest of the band members take turns singing lead vocals on the last few tracks, I think it works. If Weezer's status as immortal was ever in jeopardy, I think this album just saved them.

2. Black Kids - Partie Traumatic

From the moment you press "play" on this album, you will be entranced. The synth-pop, indie rock band out of Jacksonville, FL, could easily be confused for the kind of band that could only have come from the UK. Boasting an amazing singer (Reggie Youngblood) and female backup singer (Dawn Watley), and one of the grooviest bassists I've heard in a long time (Owen Holmes), this band won't only catch your attention with their name, but also with their music. From their ode to lonely Friday nights on "Hurricane Jane" to their Cure-esque single "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You", every song is jam-packed with original ideas and novelty. I can't think of another band who could write a song about a cheating girlfriend creeping around with a best friend ("Love Me Already") and have it be so upbeat. This is a must-own for anyone who loves 80's music... or anyone who loves good music.

1. The Killers - Day & Age

Speaking of 80's music, this is probably the best representation of 80's music in the new millennium that we have seen or will see. I've always wanted to be a fan of The Killers, but I never could get into them. I always liked their singles, but I thought their albums always seemed to lack cohesion. This album breaks the cycle of unfocused ideas. Singer Brandon Flowers's voice seems better than ever, the lyrics are thought-provoking and the music is hypnotic. Many criticized the lyrics of The Killers first single "Human" as being "dumb", but I think the critics might be missing Flower's message. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I think Flowers is making a statement about the music scene lately and how every band is trying to make "dance" songs. So he asks, "Are we human or are we dancer?" Are bands making music for mindless robots to dance to, or are they making music that human beings can relate to and be inspired by? I think Flowers' answer is to offer music that is the best of both worlds. It's danceable, yes, but it is also music that you can relate to... even if he's singing about alien abductions ("Spaceman"). Regardless of what the band is trying to achieve on Day & Age, they have made a great record here, perhaps even their best record. Just make sure to download the two bonus tracks with the album, "Tidal Wave" and "Forget About What I Said", as they are two of the better songs the band has to offer.

2008, The Year of: MTV's Demise

2008-12-21T21:09:00.000-08:00

Part of a series in which I look at what 2008 might be remembered for.

At the 2007 Video Music Awards on MTV, Pete Wentz proclaimed that MTV doesn't play music videos anymore and he challenged them to change this. In 2008, MTV responded by giving Wentz his own show; a Friday night show called "FNMTV". The worst part about this show isn't that Wentz (aka the P. Diddy of rock music) uses all of his music biz buddies like Panic! at the Disco, Boys Like Girls, and Lil' Wayne as his guests, it's that the show seems completely unrehearsed and unplanned. From start to finish, FNMTV feels like a show that only scene chicks could enjoy. Wentz fumbles through his lines and offers up live performances and video premieres that aren't worth sitting through an hour of muddled TV for. Wentz should stick to what he does best - writing.

Now, it's not that I disagree with Wentz here. MTV has been in trouble for years. Being a longtime fan of the network though, I always defended its relevance and importance to music. Still, even I can't continue to pretend that MTV has done enough lately to deserve its "M". There's really nothing musical about it. "True Life", "A Shot at Love", "Made"... "Sex With Mom and Dad". I feel like I don't even know what kind of shows MTV airs anymore, but I do know they rarely focus on music. Even its spring break specials (which were my favorite as a kid) are now more focused on slutty college girls looking for dates than on live music performances.

The last thing that MTV possessed that made it relevant to music was "TRL". The show that lasted for 10 years, launched myriad music careers and pushed artists to actually have a reason to make good music videos went off the air this year without much more than a whisper. Even for someone like me who grew up loving the show, Carson Daly, and every artist that he presented to me, I found it hard to care that "TRL" was finally coming to an end.

Back then 'N Sync, the Backstreet Boys, and Britney Spears could shut down Times Square just by appearing on the show, only a few select fans were permitted to come into the "TRL" studio and every episode was a battle for the top spot among tweeny-bopper heavyweights. Lately, there were, maybe, eight people in Times Square holding up signs for "TRL's" guest and the rest of the crowd were in the actual studio. Not to mention the only recurring battle for the top spot was between Kelly Clarkson and Fall Out Boy. Somehow MTV managed to take the one show that was "all about the fans" and make it irrelevant to fans. It became so irrelevant and laughable that not even Britney Spears showed up to the show's finale in November, despite the honor of having her video "Baby One More TIme" be the video to ever play on "TRL".

When "TRL" cut the clips of the videos on the countdown to about 30 seconds, I knew it was all downhill from there. Suddenly, Carson Daly left MTV to host a late night show that's not worth staying up for, Jesse Camp left to start a forgettable music career, Dave Holmes left to host some show where they play DVDs on TV (I still don't get that concept), and Hilarie Burton left to star on "One Tree Hill". Somehow, at least to them, all of these things are better than being on MTV. What does that tell you?

When all the tweeny-bopper icons fell out of the limelight, "TRL" imploded. When "TRL" imploded, MTV threw a Hail Mary to Pete Wentz, but not even Wentz's iconic status can save this sinking ship.

Breakin' Hearts & Toppin' Charts

2008-12-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

Ever since my "band" broke up a few years ago, I have been itching to find a new musical endeavor. First, I might note that I say "band" because: we didn't have a singer or lyrics, we didn't have actual names for our songs, our band itself didn't have a name, and we only played one show which was in my friend's backyard to an audience of about 12 people. Still, this was a pretty big achievement for me, and it left me wanting more.

Finally, I had an opportunity to do something similar when my friend Ryan Rucker and I decided to make a song together. Ryan produces all of his own music on Apple's Garageband. He's also a hip-hop/ r&b singer, but on this particular track that we made, Ryan raps and I take over singing duty on the choruses. We tossed around a few ideas and quickly came up with a great song called "Heartbreaker (We're Through!)".

I had fun making the song, but it was also nice to finally do something musically creative again. Still, whether I'm being modest or honest, I think Ryan's raps on the verses are the standout parts of the songs, especially since he doesn't usually rap. It's nice to see all the different sides of his talent.

Not to get too "bromantic" here, but I've really enjoyed watching my friend Ryan mature as an artist over the years. In high school we were just kids messing around with Garageband in student government class, but he has gone from making a few decent songs to making songs that I think are radio and club-worthy. That's the best part, the music he has been making lately is some of the best stuff I have ever heard from him. It's inspiring in a way. Even though he has had a lot of ups and downs in his musical journey, he has stayed realistic and optimistic about his goals, and he has never given upon doing what he loves to do. That's pretty cool to me.

So please, do me a favor and check out Ryan's music at: www.myspace.com/ryanrucker

2008, The Year of: The Stalkerazzi

2008-12-09T21:40:00.000-08:00

Part of a series in which I look at what 2008 might be remembered for.

Apparently we didn't learn our lesson as a star-crazed society when Princess Diana's life came to tragic end in 1997 at the hands of the paparazzi (and an intoxicated chauffeur). Since then, chasing celebs for their picture or for a quick comment has only gotten worse. It seems as if nothing is off limits to the paparazzi. And whereas we saw the physical trauma that the paparazzi and the tabloids can cause to celebrities (as in the Princess Diana case), lately we have begun to see how they can cause psychological trauma as well.

Now, this isn't based necessarily on facts... It's more of my opinion and somewhat of a public consensus, but it seems as though the harassment by the paparazzi and the tabloids have, to varying degrees, pushed young Hollywood actresses like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, and Miley Cyrus into downward spirals. Britney stands as the archetype for this fall from fame into infamy. Everyone constantly bombarded her with the same old questions about her displays of sexuality in her songs and videos, her being a role model to young women and her excessive partying. A few years later, Britney has had a few kids, a few shotgun weddings and failed marriages. Sadly, Britney was only adding fuel to the fire, but she understandably became more and more frustrated with the paparazzi. She yelled at them... she attacked them with umbrellas...

We may look and laugh, but from her point of view this is a very serious matter.

Becoming a celebrity virtually forfeits your right to privacy, but there needs to be limitations. Now we see younger starlets like Lindsay Lohan drinking and doing drugs at clubs. We see Miley Cyrus' private pics of her in her underwear being leaked onto the internet. I'm no psychologist, but it seems to me that this girls are shouting for attention... and not the kind of attention that the tabloids are giving them... like actual help. All of these celebs seem to be spiraling down similar paths, and I think it all leads back to the paparazzi and the tabloids.

Imagine if high school never ended. Some people think that it never does. Well imagine high school x 1,000. That's life as a celebrity. Now, I know what you're thinking. And maybe you're right; they ask for that kind of attention and gossip when they become celebrities, but there still needs to be limitations. You would think with a former actor sitting in the California State Capitol that we might pass some legislation in the home state of Hollywood that would place restrictions on these paparazzi.

Despite Ashton Kutcher's short-lived paparazzi punking show, "Pop Fiction," it seems as though we still haven't learned anything about the negative effects of the paparazzi. The paparazzi had a hell of a year in '08, and it won't really be a good thing if they continue to in '09.

2008, The Year of: Hip-Hop & Rock Convergence

2008-12-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

Part of a series in which I look at what 2008 might be remembered for.

Rihanna performing "Shut Up and Drive" with Fall Out Boy at the 2007 MTV VMAs.

More than ever before it seemed that the lines between Hip-Hop and Rock were blurred in 2008. Rock music has Hip-Hop and electronic beats. Hip-Hop music has artists that usually rap, singing instead. Altogether, it is becoming harder and harder to differentiate between the two genres, and more and more fans are being opened to new artists as a result of their crossover appeal.

In a podcast that some friends and I recorded at the beginning of the year for the CSUS State Hornet we predicted which artists would be big in 2008. I chose Metro Station, Cobra Starship, and The Maine as my top picks. Meanwhile, my friend Cody stated that he thought the electro-rock genre in general would be big this year. I think we were both right. The bands I brought up may not be huge, but they definitely garnered a substantial following this year. I chose these three bands because they all (to varying degrees) use electronic beats or synths that make their music very upbeat and danceable.

Several bands followed suit. Some bands, like Gym Class Heroes (or The Roots before them), walk an even finer line between the two genres and are commonly referred to as "rap bands". While some bands regularly sound Hip-Hop acts, others tried their hand at Hip-Hop covers when Fearless Records released "Punk Goes Crunk" this year - an album full of "crunk" covers by "punk" bands.

Much of today's Hip-Hop music, on the other hand, has added more drums and guitars to their beats. For example, Kevin Rudolf's music definitely feels like a Hip-Hop album, but he's also a great singer and an accomplished guitar player.

Thanks to the immense use of Auto-Tune this year, every rapper sounds like a great singer. Everyone from Kanye West to Lil Wayne has jumped on the Auto-Tune train and rode it to great success. This has allowed rappers to reach new audiences and gain new respect among fans and fellow music artists, just as Hip-Hop covers have done for Rock artists. I touched on this whole idea of rappers being emo in an earlier blog called "Hip-Hop is Emo".

What does this all mean? Well for one, nearly 22 years after Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith figuratively and literally broke down the wall between Rock and Hip-Hop, it seems as if artists are finally starting to fully explore the benefits of incorporating different sounds into their music that may not necessarily fit the mold of their genre. So at least if artists run out of chord progressions and beats, they can still find ways to make new music.

Also, I think that the popularity of this Hip-Hop/Rock sound is a direct result of the times we live in. These are depressing times for many people. The economy is failing, we're in a recession, unemployment is rising, we're still fighting a war in Iraq... People don't want to be depressed and they don't want to listen to depressing music. People want to be happy. They want to have fun and listen to music that makes them want to dance. Thanks to the convergence of this two rival genres, they have plenty of tunes to groove to.

Friday Night Music Finds

2008-11-21T23:31:00.000-08:00

I recently downloaded three new EPs that I'm really diggin'. The first is called "...In Color" by The Summer Set. Apparently Phoenix is the electronic pop-rock equivalent to Chicago's pop-punk scene. Hot off the success of Arizona's current poster-band, The Maine, The Summer Set is poised to have similar good fortune. They are every bit as catchy and dance-worthy as The Maine and they just so happen to have my dream-girl behind the drum kit. Well, really any girl who plays an instrument has an instant access keycard to my heart.

Listen to: "She's Got the Rhythm" and their cover of "Love In This Club"

The other two EPs are by a one-man band called Mansions. Christopher Browder is a renaissance man of instruments and homemade recording studios as he has put together a short but sweet catalog of indie songs that often sound remarkably alike Brand New. Still, Mansions has its own unique sound that is much heavier and, at times, more experimental than Brand New. What really stands out about the songs is their blunt lyrics. For example, "The Worst Part" starts off with "Fuck you and your goddamn scene/ It never meant that much to me." Whereas Brand New's Jesse Lacey is much more introspective, melancholy and self-deprecating, Browder is a bit more uplifting and focused on the ugly around him rather than the ugly within him. There's a lot of promise here.

Listen to: "Tangerine" and "OMG"

In the Blink of an Eye

2008-11-19T17:16:00.000-08:00

In news that only seems important to me and no one else... Mark Hoppus posted on his blog that he and Travis Barker recently spoke to and hung out with Tom Delonge for the first time since my favorite band of all time, Blink-182, broke up nearly four years ago. This communication obviously came as a direct result of Travis' near death experience in which his plane crashed and exploded on the runway killing four of his friends and leaving him and DJ AM with severe burns.

It wasn't until recently that Travis was released from the hospital and posted on his blog about his condition. He's also gotten back into the studio to record the next +44 album, which brings about the good news that he can still continue to be the awesome drummer that he is.

I'm glad that Travis is OK, and I'm excited for him to get back behind the drum kit and start recording the new album, but I'm even more excited that these three former best friends have put aside their differences in a time of tragedy and at least somewhat reconciled. Mark posted on his blog:

obviously the first question for a lot of people will be “does this mean a blink-182 reunion?” the answer is none of us know. we haven’t talked about it at all. right now it’s just good for the three of us to see one another, reconnect, and let the past be the past. the events of the past two months supersede everything that happened before. life is too short.

That was definitely my first question. People always told me that the band would get back together eventually, and even if I believed it, even a little bit, I always thought that day wouldn't come until I was 35 or some ridiculous age where I would feel too old to be seen at a concert. To know now that there is a good chance of seeing a Blink reunion in the next few years makes me so happy. I only got to see them three times in concert before they split, and there were still so many songs I had yet to hear them play live. I love +44 but I would love it even more to have a new Blink-182 album (especially if they went old school!).

Of course they haven't talked about that yet. It's not important to them right now. What is important is the fact that Travis is OK. Still, now that the lines of communication have been reopened, I am more optimistic than ever that they will talk about it eventually and that this dream can become a reality.

TVD

2008-11-18T22:41:00.000-08:00

Over the past 10 years or so, there have been significant strides made in television technology. People wanted to watch the shows they knew they were going to miss, and they wanted to fast-forward through commercials - hence, TiVo. Soon, DVRs became a mainstay in almost 15% of American households.

Now, what about those TV shows that don't air on TV anymore, even in syndication? When it comes to shows like "Heroes" and "Lost" - shows that I've always wanted to start watching but always worried that I would have too many questions about what happened in previous seasons - a first-time viewer can just go out and buy previous seasons on DVD. I used to think this was weird. After all, why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free, right? Well, after my family bought "Friends" on DVD, I've become a big fan of TV series on DVD (though I still revert to DVR for NEW shows that still air regularly). Since then I have bought a number of TV shows on DVD. Most recently I bought "Arrested Development" - a show that I had heard several times was "hilarious" and "awesome", though I knew nothing about it before buying it (except that Michael Cera was in it, and that's really all I needed to know to buy it).

And then there was Hulu. Hulu.com is a site that hosts thousands of TV shows and movies for anyone to view for FREE. Not only did I find "Arrested Development" on Hulu, but I also found two other shows on there that I was considering buying on DVD this week since they are on sale. How is this site even allowed to operate as they do? I don't know. What I do know is that it's making me feel dumb for previously buying TV shows on DVD and for still wanting to buy those other two.

So I ask: Is there even a reason to own TV shows on DVD? I like being able to watch them whenever I want, and commercial-free, but I don't know if that's worth $20-40. Really I'm just looking for justification here... Anyone?

It's Square To Be Hip (Upon Further Review)

2008-11-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

Upon further review, I have decided that Gossip Girl rules and 90210 sucks. I only bring this up because it seemed that the blog I wrote about these two TV shows was fairly popular in comments and reads in relation to some other entries. Trust me, I don't like to bring it up. I now watch Gossip Girl regularly and it sheds a little bit more of my manhood every time. It's by far my guiltiest pleasure. Now that that's settled, let's move on.

Now just like The O.C. made me want to wear polo shirts and jeans everyday and move to So-Cal, Gossip Girl has made me want to dress like the son of a millionaire and live in NYC. Actually, it's made me want to be a hipster. Let me rephrase that... I feel like I'm becoming a hipster... and I'm OK with that. The fact of the matter is that "hipster" is the new "emo kid". I'll also chalk this one up to the fact that I'm finally starting to feel my age. I'm bringing all of this up because today I went to Arden Mall in Sacramento and I didn't stop in any of the usual suspect stores: Zumiez, Pac Sun, Quiksilver, Vans. No, this time it was Urban Outfitters, Banana Republic, J.Crew, Express, etc. Now I've shopped in these stores before, but this time I actually bought stuff. It made me feel... grown up... If by "grown up" you mean someone who wears clothes with no brand names visibly displayed across them.

My musical tastes have also changed slightly. I'm becoming less interested in "harder" music and more interested in soft indie rock. Yes, indie rock. Six months ago I would have punched myself in the face if I knew my future self would speak such blasphemy. So much for saying "I just don't get indie rock" on my podcast. Well, actually, I still don't get it. I just bear it.

To round out my journey toward hipster-dom, I feel determined to get a job that pays enough for me to move to Sacramento. I love all the different places you can go in Sac. All the clubs, bars and lounges full of trendy 20-somethings... It's oh, so enticing to me.

In summation, I'm either saying I'm determined to live in a TV show... or I'm finally starting to embrace this post-college lifestyle. I'm not sure which, but I'm... deck with that.

The Soundtrack To Your Break-Up

2008-10-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

Of all the human emotions, I would have to say that the loss of a loved one brings out the strongest emotions. Whether this person is lost through death or by simpler means (i.e. breaking-up with someone); not even love is as strong of an emotion as the pain one feels after losing someone they love.

In this instance I am talking about break-ups. I've had some rough ones. And as a result of these lost loves, I have a plethora of music, songs, artists that I simply cannot enjoy anymore. You see, with every girl I've really cared about, I have tried to share with them my love for music. I would share my favorite artists and songs, usually by making a mix-tape... or mix-CD, if you will. Now I can't listen to the songs I put on those mixes without associating them with the heartbreak that followed my break-up with that particular girl.

That's not all. I've burned CDs for girls, and they have burned some for me. I can't listen to any of those albums the same way now. They have strong memories tied to them. Even the girls that I never dated... just the ones that "got away," they too have ruined certain music for me.

Several U2, The Cure, and The Early November songs have been ruined for me via mixes.
Everytime I listen to my Jamison Parker album, I fight back tears.
I once had a girlfriend who was obsessed with Dashboard Confessional and Death Cab For Cutie (two bands I would like if it weren't for the memories tied to them and their songs).
I once had an entire break-up in my car while The Starting Line's "Say It Like You Mean It" album played two full times. This prompted me to pause a CD that I really liked while it played during a later "break-up" while I said, "Sorry, I don't want this to be the soundtrack to our break-up."
I can't listen to Kelly Clarkson and NOT think of one ex.
Every song titled "I Miss You," but especially those by Blink-182 and Incubus, bring about painful memories.
Yellowcard's "Ocean Avenue" album and The Used's self-titled album strongly remind me of a period of time before I started dating one girl.
Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" makes me think of a certain somebody every time I hear it.
Senses Fail's "Let It Enfold You" and The Academy Is...'s (not sure how to punctuate that correctly...) "Almost Here" both remind me of other relationships that just weren't meant to be.

Having songs that you once loved now remind you of the most pain you've ever felt in your life sucks. But, for anyone who loves music, it's something that is damn near unavoidable. It's funny, some of the world's greatest songs were inspired by heartbreak and loss and, unfortunately, some were written to remind you of it. Gosh, I could either write a book on this or make the saddest playlist you've ever heard.

Strip-core

2008-10-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was treated to a new experience. A few friends invited me to go out to what I can only assume is Vacaville's roughest and toughest bar (I assume this because it reminds me of "Roadhouse"... without Swayze). There were a few hardcore bands playing at this bar that I had heard of and that had members whom I am friends with, so I decided to check it out.

I hadn't gone to any local shows in a while, but it was pretty much the same scene: one or two kids who are super into moshing/hardcore dancing, lots of double bass pedals, lots of cigarette smoke, and lead singers who strip as they sing... wha? Yeah, so maybe it wasn't all that familiar. Hardcore (or hxc, as I often see it referred to round these parts) has never really been something I've been into. I like some elements of it and I don't hate it. That's pretty much all I can say about hardcore music. That being said, I had a good time at The Cabin in Vacaville.

Kingdom's Rise was playing shortly after we arrived. They were really high-energy. I dug that. In fact, they were so high-energy that their lead singer decided to slowly strip down as the set progressed until he was only wearing short shorts. Next up was Wake Of The Fall who I really enjoyed. They sounded a lot more progressive and non-generic than a lot of hardcore bands I'm used to hearing. Either way, this show gave me a new (positive) perspective on Vacaville music.

I remember when I was in high school, it seemed like the Vacaville music scene was filled to the brim with pop-punk and emo acts. Naively, I thought that was the way it stayed. Not so. Hoods has been popular in this area and it appears that their popularity has only grown over the years. Give 'Em Hell, perhaps Vacaville's most popular hardcore band, is currently on tour and I've heard they have big shows when they play at The Cabin.

I'm always shell-shocked when I find out about this really awesome music scene that I never knew existed. For example, Sacramento is overflowing with talented reggae and ska bands, but you don't know that unless you go check out local shows and immerse yourself in the local scene (or in my case, intern for a local radio station). Vacaville's music scene, which is not limited to hardcore music (but definitely has a lot of it), is something to pay attention to. It's something that has got me excited to see where it will go in the years to come. There is a lot of talent here, I just don't think anyone knows about it.

These pictures are not my own. They are courtesy of The Cabin's myspace.

The Death of the Album

2008-09-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

My worst days are behind me. At least... for the most part. I'll still occasionally get an album or a song from a friend who downloaded his or her music illegally on a file-sharing site. Usually it's because I'm interested to hear the album, but wouldn't normally buy it and don't necessarily have the extra funds to do so. There were worse days. When Napster was at its peak, that was how I got all my music. But it was like breaking one of the seven deadly sins. Probably gluttony or greed in this case. Any way you slice it, I was over-indulging. I was getting everything for free. Eventually such avenues run dry. Enter today's music shopping scene of iTunes and the new (pay for music) Napster.

Now I don't have a problem paying for music. In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way. As a supporter of music, artists and the music industry, I downright discourage not paying for the music that you own. It really irks me when people don't. What I think is equally bad though is downloading singles.

I did a speech in college about how iTunes and the downloading of singles is killing the music industry. I had a bunch of research to support this. Sadly, I no longer have this research, but I'm guessing you probably already agree with me on this issue to some extent. I'll take what I can get.

Remember when you were a kid and you could go buy a single at a record store? It was a CD with one (sometimes two or three) songs on it. It was individually packaged and had its own unique cover. To me, it seemed a waste to buy these, but I did anyway. Who would have thought that same product would cause such harm to the future of music. The problem is that when iTunes was created, all the labels got caught in a domino effect where one label agreed to sell each song individually. Now you can buy just one song from an album. And now the labels have changed their minds. They want to only sell music on iTunes by the album. As Punknews.org is reporting on a similar story, they quote Guy Garvey from Elbow as saying, "iTunes is responsible for the death of the album. The album is a piece of work that we laboured over and not a bunch of downloads flung together to satisfy a contractual demand."

As bad as I feel about downloading singles, sometimes I can't help it. I'm broke as a joke, like most college or post-college kids, and sometimes there is only one song I like from an album. Sometimes I only want that one song. But it feels the same to me as illegally downloading tunes. It's music without a soul. It's not complete. It's cheating the artist out of their hard work. That's what I believe. There should be commercials with Sally Strothers surrounded by a bunch of kids in the Bronx, NY, playing basketball. The mood is happy. The kids are smiling. Then the mood changes to more dramatic. The kids are all sad now. A basketball slowly rolls across an empty b-ball court and Sally walks in. "Every time you download a single, a child dies," she says.

"Is spending 99 cents on 'I Kissed a Girl' really worth this child's life?" Pan to sad child's face.

That sounds SUPER effective to me. I think this idea could save the industry. Well, maybe replace Struthers with Lars Ulrich. He knows a bit more about music and downloading. On third thought, let's go with Bono. That dude is gonna save the world one day.

Reflections on the Ock, Part IV

2008-09-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

After watching the entire series of The O.C. over the course of this summer, I can honestly admit that season four of this show utterly sucked! The first few episodes were the only ones with any value (the ones following Marissa's death). But after that, I was fed enough doses of deus ex machina to willingly re-submit my disbelief... especially in that hokey series finale. I am very disappointed considering that this is my favorite TV drama ever. Seasons one and two are really the only seasons worth watching or buying. Still, I didn't come away from this viewing experience learning nothing. Yes, even a shallow teen drama about people living in Orange County can teach people valuable life lessons. And here is what I learned:

People love and need drama in their lives

The most interesting episodes of The O.C. or any other show are the ones in which there is a ridiculous amount of drama. Maybe each character has their own problem to solve. These episodes are interesting because if everyone was getting along and there was nothing to worry about (like the middle of The O.C.'s season 3) then it would be boring. You would ask yourself, "Why am I watching this?" I believe this translates to real life. If someone is bored with their life, it's because there is no drama. Now you may ask, "Then why do people always claim they hate drama?" That's because they hate the stress that comes along with drama. But they love the entertainment it brings. You may feel stressed while watching a dramatic movie, TV show or play because you feel for the character and are afraid of the uncertainty that their actions will bring, but you are still entertained. A lot of people who seem to create drama in real life for no apparent reason are the people who are just really bored.

People love money and are often shallow

Maybe this point might be obvious, but there a lot of people who claim they don't need or care about money. Then why do shows like The O.C., Gossip Girl and 90210 appeal to people? Hell, why does celebrity news appeal to people? It's because we're watching rich, beautiful people deal with drama. If there was a teen drama based on Fresno, CA, and starring some average Joes and Janes, nobody would watch. Anyone can have that lifestyle, but not everyone can live in Orange County, New York or Beverly Hills and surround themselves with people who look like models. Again, I believe people are interested to see this on TV because it represents the life they wish they could be a part of.

Maybe that sounds cynical, and maybe it is cynical. But I think most TV shows are just a reflection of our society, so these lessons do make sense in my mind. Oh, and how weak was the ending to the Summer-Seth romance? I don't think it's ever been harder to root for a TV couple. Half the time they didn't even seem to be into each other. They were actually a pretty bad couple, especially after season two. They never got along, they hardly ever got emotional with each other and Seth screwed up every romantic moment while Summer took everything way too seriously. Maybe there is a lot more to be learned from this show than I realize.

How the West Was Won

2008-09-21T00:07:00.000-07:00

I skipped out on this year's MTV VMA's, but I'm kinda upset that I did, for one simple reason - I missed Kanye's performance of his new single "Love Lockdown" and I had to hear about how awesome it was from everyone else. I checked it out later and I was blown away. Loved the performance (though not as much as last year's performance of "The Good Life") and I LOVE the song. This is the best hip-hop song I have heard in a long time. The song is so emotional for a hip-hop artist/ rapper, especially Kanye West. I can literally feel his pain through the song. The fact that Kanye is singing on this song excites me (his voice isn't half bad!). I can only hope his album will be equally stunning.

I guess 50 Cent mocked Kanye at a recent show in NY. I don't know if he's joking or being serious (or trying to start another hip-hop battle similar to the one we saw last year when both artists dropped their new albums on 9/11), but I think it's ridiculous. In my mind, Kanye will always be the better artist. Granted, his last album was pretty weak and the one before that was just OK, but I think Kanye DOES have flashes of genius (as is most evident on his first album "College Dropout").

Nas said hip-hop was dead. At the time I agreed with him, but I think it's now in a period of rebirth. Now if only Outkast made a comeback...

Love at First Listen

2008-09-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

I'm jumping on the bandwagon a little late on this one, but I am totally in love with Katy Perry.

Yes, I think Katy is hot, but what really drew me in was her musical talent (Yes, I think she's talented). I thought "I Kissed A Girl" was alright; it's got a good beat. But I think "Hot N Cold" is awesome. I'm super into it right now. In fact, you could say it was love at first listen. The rest of the album sounds good too. I don't own it (yet). I've only listened to it on iTunes.

Now, while I think Katy is just moderately hot, she has that music factor, as mentioned. Like Hayley Williams, Gwen Stefani, or Rihanna, Katy is exponentially more attractive to me because she is a musician. I think that for any guy whose main interest in life is music, he secretly dreams of going to a show to see one of his favorite bands and meeting a girl like Katy... One who has a unique fashion sense, who can be girly but can also be "one of the boys," who plays guitar and sings, and who occasionally kisses girls and likes it. The same way that a guitar-wielding boy can woo just about any girl, a girl who knows how to jam on just about any rock instrument would woo me in a heartbeat (bonus points if she plays bass!).

The fact that she's dating Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes means I'm obviously not the only guy who feels this way. Below is Gym Class Heroes' video for "Cupid's Chokehold" which has Katy Perry in a starring role before she hit the big-time. The end of the video, when she's standing alone in a crowd at a concert, melts my heart. I hope I'll meet my "Katy" someday.

Falling Up

2008-09-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

Every year when this California weather reaches a cool 85 degrees, I get excited. It's debatable, but I think that fall is my absolute favorite season. I always think summer is my fav, but then I change my mind once fall rolls around once again. Fall is so distinguishable to me. I always say that, even if I had no clock or calendar, I would know when Fall was upon us. I just get this feeling.

I think I actually prefer wearing jeans and a hoodie to wearing shorts anyway. I may not be able to go swimming in fall, but I still think fall is pretty awesome. One weird thing about the season is that there are a few albums I listen to by default at this time of year. It's as if my brain says, "It's fall now. Time to listen to this," and chooses the CD for me. It might be because these albums came out around this time of year (I'm not sure of their release dates), but all of them remind me of this time of year and give me a really warm nostalgic feeling. Here are some of those albums, in no particular order:

The Academy Is... - Almost Here
Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
Cartel - Chroma
Jimmy Eat World - Futures
Underoath - They're Only Chasing Safety
The Used - Self-titled & In Love and Death
Yellowcard - Ocean Avenue
New Found Glory - Coming Home
Thrice - The Artist in the Ambulance & Vheissu
Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You & Still Searching
Spitalfield - Better Than Knowing Where You Are
Story of the Year - Page Avenue
Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want To Be
The Early November - The Room's Too Cold

There you have it. Some of my favorite fall tunes. A lot of screamo... kind of heavier music. That's odd. Anyway, summer is dead in my book. Bring on the rain... but not too much :-)

48 Hours of Emasculation

2008-09-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

Last night I found myself in a situation I would have never imagined before. I was at the mall with my two (guy) friends and my friend's 10 mo. old kid, when I made a startling discovery and I said, "Crap, I'm gonna miss 90210. I'm gonna call my mom and tell her to record it."

Now, in my defense, I'm in the process of writing a script for a TV pilot with a buddy of mine and I was kinda conducting research on pilots. Also, I'm almost through with watching the entire series of The O.C. and I am sorta looking for something to fill the void when it's over and done with. That's why I watched Gossip Girl's season premiere on Monday and 90210's premiere last night. Of course my buddys ragged on me... hard. I probably deserve it. Even I am bothered by such guilty pleasure TV. Anyway, here's what I thought of both shows, upon first viewing (on a 1-5 scale).

Gossip Girl

Story line: 3
Characters: 3
Acting: 3
Music: 3
Hotness Factor: 4
Overall:3

The whole idea of a girl blogging about regular (kinda regular... they are rich) people is weird to me. I'm not a fan of that concept. I am a fan of Blake Lively, but I thought her acting was a little weak. Wasn't she better in "Accepted"? I really liked the Chuck Bass character. He's kinda like an evil James Bond and he looks like he could be in Panic at the Disco. I liked a lot of the scenery and aesthetics. Good direction, I suppose. I was expecting more considering that the producer and the music director both worked on The O.C. So I guess I would say I was a little disappointed. I think a lot of the characters lack depth and they all seem really lifeless... There's just not much there.

90210

Story line: 4
Characters: 4
Acting: 4
Music: 3
Hotness Factor: 4
Overall:4

This show was much more interesting to me, which is surprising. The main character, Annie, is super likable and hot, although she looks 16. On the other hand, the Dixon character, the adopted dude, is weak. The show could totally do without him and his bad acting. That Ethan guy is an ass at the beginning but then we're supposed to like him at the end of the episode? I'm not buying into it. The music was all mainstream, but some were good choices. Sometimes it felt hard to keep track of everyone. There might be too many characters. I wasn't expecting much for this show, but it exceeded my expectations. The cameos were well done. Brenda looks tore back and Jennie Garth's voice is annoying, but whatever. Oh and how about Aunt Becky from Full House as the mom on this show!? She looks even hotter now than she did 15 years ago. Best way for them to upgrade this show now is to give me another character besides Annie to legitimately care about.

I'm more likely to watch 90210 more often than Gossip Girl, but I think I'll tune in for both next week. I gotta give both a fair chance. One thing's for sure though: One Tree Hill sucks! Er um... did I mention how excited I am for football this Sunday? Go Eagles!!!

Zodiac Schmodiac

2008-08-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I awoke to my brother excitedly announcing to me that two men had captured a dead sasquatch. After hours of research and fact-checking, I deduced that the moment had finally come... Bigfoot had been found. It appeared that there was finally substantial proof to make this myth a reality.

Later that day, I was surprised to see a number of news programs talking about this monumental discovery. This only helped me buy into the idea.

If you could buy Bigfoot stock, I would have bought a ton of shares that day. And a few weeks later I'd be broke and humiliated. Turns out the whole Bigfoot find was a hoax that "went too far."

This morning my brother announced even crazier news; The real Zodiac killer had been found. This time I didn't bite for a second. After the recent Bigfoot media extravaganza, there was no way I was buying into this news. That seems to be the problem with any journalism nowadays. Fewer and fewer people actually believe what they read and hear on the news. That's part of what I learned in college... Several of my teachers emphasized that we should be skeptical receivers of news. We should not believe something just because Tom Brokaw said it. We should question everything we hear and verify the validity of their claims. But then, what can we believe?

I honestly haven't even looked into this alleged nabbing of the Zodiac. The fact is, police and the media have claimed to have found the real killer several times before and, apparently, they have been wrong every time. That's why there was a movie made about this very story; No one knows who the real killer is.

The Zodiac and Bigfoot have one thing in common... they will probably never be found. And even if they are found someday, we probably won't believe what we're hearing, and for that I blame Jayson Blair.

Introduce Me

2008-08-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

It has recently occurred to me that the intro. of a song is the most important part of a song, both musically and lyrically. Especially in today's culture of A.D.D., instant gratification youth. When I preview an album, if I'm not interested in the song after the first 15-20 seconds, I'll skip to the next song. This is the very phenomenon that kept me from enjoying Motion City Soundtrack's "Indoor Living" until about one year after I bought "I Am the Movie." Now that song is the #1 most listened to song on my iTunes.

This phenomenon is prevalent in several bands. One that I can think of off the top of my head is Van Halen.

They had several songs that are awesome that, had I listened to them for the first time today, I might just skip on after hearing the intro. To name a few: "Runnin' With the Devil" (the train sound), "And the Cradle Will Rock..." (whatever sound that is, sounds like a car breaking down to me), "Why Can't This Be Love" (the cheesy electro bass sound), "Dreams" (this starts with keyboards and guitar picking but it makes the song sound way more wussy than it actually is), "Poundcake" (the sounds of a motorcycle revving its engine), "Right Now" (the stupid piano playing), etc. Too many Van Halen songs start off with totally unnecessary noises or otherwise boring sounds. Don't get me wrong though, I love Van Halen.

Now, conversely, the reason "Jump" owns every other VH song is 90% due to the keyboard sound at the intro. of the song that carries on throughout the verses, and 10% due to David Lee Roth. Five seconds into this song, any true music fan (or anyone who lived through/ was born in the 80's) can tell you that it's Van Halen's "Jump."

Now I provide a counter-argument to my own argument: Some songs (Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer," for example) have totally lame intros. but the rest of the song rules. See, if I didn't know that "Livin' On a Prayer" was such an awesome song, I probably wouldn't sit through that weird intro. every time. It's all relative.

Wait, wait, wait... did I just state the obvious? Yeah... I think I did. I think I just presented an argument that everyone already agreed with; That introductions are important in every sense of the word: music, TV shows, movies, interpersonal meetings, or otherwise. Well then I'll just assume conclusions are not important...

Olympic Fix

2008-08-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

I've never been super into the Olympics. I remember when I was a kid, TV Guide had a pull-out schedule of every event and what time it would be shown on TV. I decided to dedicate a good portion of my summer to watching the Olympics non-stop. But about one day in to this I decided the Olympics were... well... boring. I didn't know who any of the athletes are... I didn't understand most of the events or the scoring. So I stopped watching. I like them slightly more now, but I still think there is a lot of room for improvement. I can think of two ways to make them more awesome.

Real Sports

Why do the Olympics have to be all about track & field, gymnastics, and swimming. Those aren't things I want to watch. Heck, I didn't even want to watch track & field when I was on the team in high school. I just wanted to do my events and go home.

Why don't we get some "real" sports like football and baseball and make those Olympic sports? True, we have basketball and hockey already... and that's pretty cool, but why exclude (what I consider to be) cooler sports? They could even throw soccer in there. Screw the World Cup. Just make it part of the Olympics. I think boxing is an Olympic sport (don't quote me on that), but why don't we make UFC an Olympic sport. It's one of the biggest things out there right now. Capitalize on it! I trust our best football players and baseball players going up against the best of any other country (even though we would lose some to the fact that some of our athletes were born in other countries, i.e. Ichiro Suzuki).

War For Wussies

I often call the Olympics "war for wussies" because it always feels like we're going into a world war, but coming home with just medals and no casualties. That's definitely a good thing. But if we're going to decide to play sports instead of fight eachother, why don't we wager something on it? For example, if we win, Iran has to disarm their nuclear weapons and stop trying to create more. If they win, we'll disarm. I don't know... it sounds risky, but it's not as risky as actual war AND I actually trust the fate of our nation in the hands of Kobe, LeBron, and Tony Parker. You can't stop those guys.

All I'm saying is the Olympics used to be the biggest thing there was... back in Greece in 776 BC. Nowadays, I don't feel like it's AS big of a deal, even though it is still a momentous occasion. I think my ideas will take the Olympics to the next level and take it back to its glory days. Just a thought.

No Bail for Bonds

2008-08-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

On May 28th, 2006, I sat in my seat along the third-base line at AT&T Park and watched a baseball fly over the center field wall. More than 400 ft. away, Barry Bonds threw his arms up in the air and began a slow trot around the diamond. Confetti rain down across the stadium and the jumbo-tron delivered the news - "715." Barry Bonds had surpassed Babe Ruth's career home-run record.

I blindly cheered and clapped along with the rest of the Giants fans in attendance that day. Despite the rumors we had all heard (and somewhat believed), there was virtually no one booing in protest to the feat we had just witnessed. Perhaps we were only celebrating because we witnessed history (albeit an infamous moment in the history of America's national past-time). All I knew at the time was that I didn't go to the Giants' games to see Randy Winn hit. I didn't go to see Omar Vizquel play short-stop, and I didn't go to see Matt Cain pitch. I went to see Barry Bonds hit home-runs. And today he had made the game worth seeing for me.

In retrospect, I feel a little bitter about this moment and the day that he surpassed Hank Aaron to become "Home-Run King." I probably feel the way now that people who don't leave anywhere close to San Francisco have always felt about it.

Babe Ruth is a hero to any boy who grows up playing T-Ball. Due in part to "The Sandlot," the Red Sox curse that followed him being traded to the Yankees, and largely due to his career stats, Babe Ruth is glorified by all young athletes as some sort of mythological being. Simply stated, he is a hero to them. Babe Ruth was the Chuck Norris of his generation. He just may be single-handedly responsible for making baseball "our national past-time" thanks to his career in the 1920's.

Hank Aaron is entirely different kind of hero. Aaron overcame racial prejudice and adversity on his pursuit to break records. Along the same lines as Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson, Aaron was treated differently in the media and by some teammates and fans because of the color of his skin. Still, Aaron could not even be swayed by death threats and he went on to break Babe Ruth's home-run record.

Nearly 32 years later, Barry Bonds has done practically the opposite of his predecessors. He has scarred the game. Many people believe the steroids scandal surrounding Bonds and his records (*) have changed the game forever, if not completely ruined it. He has single-handedly undone years of work by Ruth and Aaron that have made baseball what it is.

I like to compare Barry's steroids scandal to the trial of O.J. Simpson. O.J. was found not guilty, but it seemed the majority of people believed he had committed the crime. The number of people who believe this has seemed to grow over the years. The sad thing is that, even though O.J. might have gotten away with murder, he still gets opportunities to make money. Someone encouraged him to write a book, and told him that they would publish it. Fox offered O.J. an opportunity for his own TV-special in which he would discuss "how he would have done it"... if he did it.

O.J. was public enemy #1, but people still gave him opportunities. It was all about money. These people knew a book and a TV-special would make lots of money and draw lots of attention. I am grateful that this hasn't happened with Bonds. He may never be found guilty in a court of law, and the jury may be out in the court of public opinion, but the court of Major League Baseball has found him guilty, and as such, no team has signed Barry Bonds to a deal. I'm glad that it seems the MLB community seems to understand what Bonds has done to the game and what he can do to their team, and (at least it seems like) no amount of money is worth that to them.

Nothing you believe is true

2008-07-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

Few things are quite as shocking as when you believe something to be a solid FACT, only to find out that you were wrong. It sounds like I'm about to talk about something really major, huh? Religion, maybe. Well you're wrong. I'm just talking about music, but it feels like a much bigger deal to me than it likely seems to you. I know this.

Sometimes you believe something just because you told yourself that it was true. For example, maybe you explain that scar on your forehead as a visual reminder of the time you and Johnny got in a fist fight when you were kids. In reality though, it's just a chicken pox scar (totally made up this anecdote). When your parents tell you it was just chicken pox, you feel like you don't know what to believe anymore. You're probably confused. I'll stop babbling now and get to my issue.

Today I found out that one of my new fav. bands, Black Kids (that's really their name), is from Jacksonville, Florida. This is shocking because from the first time I heard them I thought they were from the UK. They're touring the UK, their album was first released in the UK, their music doesn't sound like anything any American artists are making right now... it just made sense to me. So as I came to write a blog about how I'm super into UK rock bands right now, I decided to fact check the Black Kids' hometown. Jacksonville? Really? I'm shocked. I think I just wanted to believe they were from the UK because they sound so... different.

They actually remind me a little bit of The Cure. Speaking of The Cure (cool transition!) - just last week I found out they never did a cover of "Melt With You." I always knew that Modern English did the original version of that song, but since I was a kid I always believed The Cure covered that song. It was a big part of the reason I fell in love with The Cure at a young age. After a Google search, I frantically searched my iTunes for "Melt With You" by The Cure. I pressed play, and 10 seconds into it I realized - this is Modern English... I can't believe I never noticed it before... I misidentified this song. Previously, I had always listened to this song and heard Robert Smith... but it was never Robert Smith. I was a little ashamed and very shocked. Would I even like The Cure as much as I do now if I knew this information when I was a kid?

Ugh... This is just the kind of stuff that is important to me and probably nobody else but me.

Go figure

2008-07-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

In light of Shia Labeouf's recent car accident and subsequent allegations of driving while intoxicated, I have asked myself the following question: Why can't celebrities find a safe ride home?

Keifer Sutherland, Whitney Houston, Paris Hilton and countless other celebs have all been caught driving drunk. I don't get it. I thought every celebrity or millionaire had a chauffeur. Even if they don't, can't they find someone to give them a ride?

I don't have any celeb status, yet anytime that I go out to a bar and have a few drinks I can always find someone to give me a ride home. And I'm not even famous, hardly even popular. I don't have a career in the public eye to worry about... I just have my life to worry about. Shia could have asked anyone. If he randomly asked me to give him a ride home... why would I say no? Granted, some people can't be trusted, especially if you're a celeb. You can't just trust anyone to take you home and not try to rob you.

Celebs simply live in a different world than we do. One in which you are never too drunk to drive, it's impossible to OD on heroin and coke, being married has no bearing on who you sleep with, babies enjoy being held over balconies and it's permissible to flash your va-jay when getting out of your car. Go figure...

n00bs

2008-07-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

It has been quite some time since I posted on this (does anyone read it anyway?). So here's a little bit about what's new with me.

I'm looking for a job (read: career) having graduated from Sac State in May. That is pretty exciting. Other than that, I've been trying to enjoy my summer, still working part-time, etc. I've actually been hanging out with my friends a lot, which I will blame for my lack of blog postings lately, despite the numerous ideas I have had (those will come in the future).

One thing I'm proud of is how much i have been reading this summer. So far I've finished three books. They were all loosely or not so loosely related to communications. I'm still trying to learn more about it, even after graduating. Go figure! I am just genuinely interested in the way humans communicate, and reading for fun (rather than for school) is so much more enjoyable. One book was on non-verbal communication (i.e. body language). That one was eye-opening, to say the least.

Yesterday I went out and bought Chuck Klosterman's latest book. I'm excited to dive into it, as Klosterman is my favorite author. Although I love his writing style and think he is way better than a lot of authors out there today, I actually believe I can be as good (if not better) than him someday. I think we have a lot in common. I also have a lot in common with Seth Cohen (Adam Brody's character on The O.C.). I've been watching that show everyday and, oddly enough, he is a Klosterman fan too. One day I hope to be in a position that I can have lunch in Orange County with Chuck Klosterman and Adam Brody. That would be awesome. Even more awesome if Rachel Bilson were there too.

I've been trying to buy a lot of music this summer, but I have to say there isn't much out there at the moment. So I've been listening to a lot of Journey, The Beatles, and Weezer. They probably have nothing in common whatsoever.

...Of Course

2008-05-05T12:49:00.001-07:00

I don't have much time to go in depth on this topic but I just wanted to say that I'm glad that cruelty towards horses in horse racing is finally getting attention.

Horse racing isn't a sport. The animals do all the work. All the humans do is beat them with whips, inject them with steroids and other crap, and abuse them. Euthanizing Eight Belles (the horse) on the track was probably the right decision in this case, but it just goes to show that many horse (especially the young ones) aren't made for racing.

This isn't auto racing. Horses aren't cars; they are animals who feel. The only reason people pay any attention to horse racing is to bet on it, which only furthers my point that most of the people involved in horse racing care much more about the money than the horses. PETA needs to do something... that doesn't mean suspending the jockey; that's not the answer that will solve this problem. The need to attack the larger issue at hand.

Get rid of it. That's my vote.

Rock of Lust?

2008-04-20T18:46:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan of "Rock of Love." Brett Michaels makes for some damn good television.

After watching both seasons, I have to say that I think he finally made the right decision. In the first season he chose Jess. She was too young for him. Brett may have a young spirit, but he's also mature... too mature for Jess. She was TOO young spirited to be in a relationship with him. It also seemed like their connection might be a bit more physical than emotional.

In the second season it came down to two girls who represent two seemingly opposite phases of Brett's life... it was perfect reality TV. One girl obviously had more of a physical connection with Brett, and she fit the role of typical rockstar girlfriend. The other had more of an emotional connection with Brett, but enough of a physical connection to make it last. She seemed to fit the role of rockstar wife, or soccer mom.

I was afraid Brett would make the same error he made last season in choosing a girl who was young and hot. A trophy wife of sorts. Don't get me wrong, Ambre is hot too, but just in an... older, more mature way. Brett made the right choice in going with Ambre. She seems like someone he might actually marry and have a future with.

I guess that just goes to show that you can find your true love on a reality show. Now when am I going to get my own show!?

Poppa Don't Preach

2008-04-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

I read that Ashley Simpson's dad/manager (or dadager) is trying to sell pics of Ashley all preggers.

This really bums me out. Joe Simpson is one odd dude. He sells pics of his daughters, he directs their music videos, he tells them how to raise their sex appeal, but not too much, and he publicly judges the men they date. It's not just him. No parent should be their child's manager, publicist, PR person, etc. It's a definite conflict of interest. Parents are meant to be mentors, or guides. There is a limit though.

I obviously don't have a heap to say about this, it just really peeved me off.

But by the way - I'm wondering what's going to become of Ashley's music career now, and Fall Out Boy's for that matter. Ashley is about to release her new album and I believe FOB is working on their next, but this is probably going to stall both of their careers. They're pretty young in the "Hollywood World" to be having kids (maybe not by today's standards. see: Spears family), and I just don't know if they can go on to do much from this point. I think it could cause some drama with the guys in FOB. Who knows.

Hey, I wonder if Pete Went'z dad sold his nudie pics. haha. Just kidding.

Damn MTV

2008-04-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Actually just damn TV in general. Damn it to hell. Every show I have ever loved has been canceled. Most of them were canceled way before their time.

"Clone High" was an awesome show on MTV around 2000. It was actually a cartoon, but I thought it was hilarious. Which reminds me of another hilarious canceled cartoon... "Harvey Birdman" from Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. "Family Guy" was canceled and then came back. "Gummi Bears"... all the best cartoons get canceled.

"Friends," "Boy Meets World," "Andy Richter Controls the Universe"... all some of my favorite shows that I hoped would never end. Well, today a little piece of me died. "Rob & Big" aired their series finale today after just three seasons (the third of which seemed much longer than the other two).

I am only writing about this because I am SERIOUSLY bummed right now. It's like when two of your best high school friends move away to college. I remember the first time I saw a commercial for "Rob & Big" I knew it would be awesome. They were jumping around on mattresses at a mattress store and I was laughing... at the commercial! Every episode was better than the next and I looked forward to that show every single week.

I guess I'm also upset because the finale only reminded me of my own mortality. Well, I can only hope my life lives on in syndication too.

Hip-Hop is Emo

2008-04-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well, thus far I've only managed to compare grunge to emo, so I thought I'd branch out.

The idea for this comparison originally came to me several months ago. While I found the the idea funny, I also found that I was forcing the issue when it really didn't make sense. True, rappers hardly ever smile and they always look mad or sad, but there's more to this comparison than I originally thought.

Take the songs themselves... For example, any song by Ne-Yo could probably be turned into an emo tune. Why does he always seem like he's whining? Also, If you took the Rihanna out of "Umbrella" and replace it with Chris Carraba... you've got an emo smash hit, no doubt.

Now even hip-hop videos are starting to look like emo videos. Some good examples would be Kanye's "Flashing Lights"

and Ashanti's "The Way That I Love You"

There are several more comparisons to be drawn, but chances are you have already made up your mind as to whether or not I am way of base or definitely on to something. In that case, I'll just leave the rest of the connecting to you.

When journalism meets music

2008-04-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

Yep! Two blogs in one day!

The only thing I've been told I was good at throughout my life is writing. I guess the reason I always took such compliments with a grain of salt is because my writing was never AS good as I wanted it to be. It never changed anyone's life (most likely). The most I might have achieved was getting someone to change the opinion of something.

From time to time I'll read something and say, "Now that's the kind of thing I wish I had written!"

This happened about a month ago when I read a satirical piece called "Violence of the Lambs" in a GQ Magazine. It was about animal uprisings and the increasing amount of animal attacks on humans. This is based on fact, but the article was mostly a fictional means of poking fun at a number of issues, one of which includes global warming.

Then I read this article from the Washington Post that I believe won the Pulitzer Prize. The article is accompanied by short videos and is a sort of psychology experiment to see what people do when one of the greatest musicians of our time plays a violin in one of the busiest places in Washington DC during the morning rush hour. I was in awe of this article from start to finish. The combination of the writing, the videos, the idea... It all added to how stunning this piece truly is. It is definitely something I wish I had written and gives me something to strive for. I suggest you check out the article (when you have time to read it. It is pretty lengthy) here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

Tape-deck Confessional

2008-04-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok... the Panic album is growing on me... a little. I HAVE to try to like it because I'm going to see them and Motion City Soundtrack on Thursday. So after several listens, I like the album a little more. I still think the album isn't great, and it will never be as good as "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" but some of the songs aren't as bad as I thought. "That Green Gentleman" is still my fav besides "Nine in the Afternoon," but "Northern Downpour" is a really pretty song and "When the Day Met the Night" is the only song that I don't mind the fact that they sound a lot like The Beatles because that song is hella catchy and it makes me happy. "Pas de Cheval" is also a kind of fun song to sing to. I'm sort of a typical music critic. I DID write for Features on The Hornet. haha... if that makes me credible at all.

One of my new favorite bands: The Fashion. Check them out!

I'm super stuck on coming up for the future clothing line I want to start. All the names I come up with sound cheesy and I think I decided I want the name to be one word and one word only. It's easier to print and easier for consumers to remember that way. I have only two design ideas at the moment... but it's pointless to have too many ideas without the necessary resources.

Also, I decided I want to open a club in Sacramento someday. I decided this when I decided my Sim character on The Sims 2 should buy a club downtown. I live vicariously through him.

I know what I'm going to name it too! But out of fear of having my ideas stolen I'm going to keep that idea to myself for now. haha.

Next time I promise not to write about Panic at the Disco again.

Panic Attack

2008-03-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

After much mounting anticipation, I finally managed to get my hands on the new album by the artists formerly known as Panic! at the Disco. Panic (now without the uber-authentic exclamation point) took their sweet time coming out with their sophomore album, and I spent that time fearing that it might prove to be a slump. "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" was so successful that it even won MTV's Video of the Year Award at the VMAs. So I was pretty confused when an MTV contributor wrote and article for MTV.com last year about "Albums that will SUCK in 2008." On that list were several of my favorite bands, including PATD. I formulated an argument, tried to sound as scholarly as possible, and wrote a retort to that author who quickly apologized and said he was "only doing his job."

After defending Panic as I did, I feel a little bit ripped off by the album they have produced. I sure hope they didn't think this record would have the kind of success that their last album had. The first song "We're So Starving" sounds like a joke with lyrics like "We're so sorry we've been gone. We were busy writing songs for you. You don't have to worry, because we're still the same band."

"Nine in the Afternoon" was the bait. They released that song as the single because it's one of the more bearable songs on the album. I actually DO like that song. But other songs like "Folkin' Around" and "I Have Friends in Holy Spaces" left me feeling tricked. Like Panic is waiting for all the 15-year-old scenesters to go buy their album and concert tickets, while they rake in the cash and practice their laughs.

In music, I think change is bad. Maturation is good. But this is not maturation. I can't think of any such change that has been so drastic from one album to the next. It's obvious they're trying to sound like The Beatles. But nobody wants the Beatles, they want the same kind of stuff Panic did on their last album, only slightly better. This is a regression in my eyes. When Panic fans buy the new album and they get confused as to why it sounds like The Dixie Chicks mixed with Disneyland, I think there will be hell to pay.

I think someone watched "Across the Universe" one too many times (cough, cough, Ryan Ross).

The Music or the Misery

2008-03-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

I was leaving school the other day, and as I got into my car and shuffled through my CDs, I had an unusually hard time deciding what to listen to. I was in a good mood, but all of the CDs I looked at didn't match my mood. Inevitably, one of the songs on any of these CDs was going to be a downer; it was going to take me out of my mood.

So I was reminded of a particular Fall Out Boy song title... and this John Cusack quote from Hi Fidelity:

"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

Did I listen to emo music because I was depressed? Or was I depressed because I listen to emo music? Maybe it's both. Maybe it's a vicious cycle. Some people, like my old roommate, can listen to an acoustic song by Jimmy Eat World or some U2 song (no, I'm NOT classifying U2 as emo, by the way) and be seemingly unaffected by the emotion of the song. I can't do that. I could have just won an Olympic medal, but if I drive home listening to "Wonderwall" or "Just Like Heaven" (Oasis and The Cure, respectively), then I'm going to be upset. Maybe music just moves me in that way... I don't really know.

But I'm trying to be happy with my life. All the pieces aren't in place the way I quite imagined them to be, but I have nothing to complain about. I spent the first three years of my college life being perpetually depressed. I was the definition of "emo kid" I guess. The thing is, I started to realize that I wasn't exactly a delight to be around and I started finding comfort in myself- the things and the people I have in my life. I tried hard to move on from all the BS in my past, and just be optimistic and happy. I guess I'm starting to feel like my music doesn't reflect my attitude.

I used to think emo would never die. That what's popular now will always be popular. I guess that's partly because all music is emotional in nature... but also, I just thought it was the best music available and I couldn't see a reason why people would stop listening to it. Now, I guess I do.

After much debate, I popped Justin Timberlake's latest into my CD player. That was upbeat enough to support my good mood. Maybe hip-hop isn't dead after all.

For Pete's sake

2008-03-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

Today I read the feature story on Pete Doherty from a recent issue of "Spin" magazine. I originally bought the article because I was walking around thinking "Why is Pete Doherty relevant?" I walked into the store on campus and saw the "Spin" issue with Doherty's picture and the headline "Why is Pete Doherty relevant?" I figured it was fate, so I bought the mag.

Now I feel fascinated by Doherty and his life. I wanted to find out more, but the article had come to an end. He's just the kind of rockstar I'm interested in. The rockstar who is much deeper than he appears to be, who's too smart and witty for his own good, and who is, of course, self-destructive. This would explain my fascination with Kurt Cobain. Doherty appears to be destined to be the UK's Cobain... but I hope not. I haven't listened to enough of the Libertines or the Babyshambles to judge his music... but then again, I don't really get UK indie rock anyway.

Who would you see?

2008-02-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

I think one of my favorite questions to ask people is: If you could see any musical act from any time period, who would it be?

My answer would surprise most people who know me well. Although I DO want to see them, my answer is not The Cure, or U2, or Zeppelin, or any of those greats. I would want to see The Who, without a doubt.

To me, a performance is more about the actual performing and a little less about the music. I can listen to the music at home on my ipod. I want to see and hear the performance. If a band only provides me with something to hear, then I've wasted my money. There are a lot of bands whose music I like better than The Who's music, but The Who is the one that looks like they probably put on one of the best shows ever, from everything I've seen and read.

They were all great musicians, but specifically, Keith Moon was insane. I would go just to watch him play the drums. These guys were definitely rockstars in every sense of the word. The were just badasses. They rebelled, they smashed their equipment, they ("they," meaning Moon) drank and took drugs excessively to the point where they (again, just Moon) passed out on stage, and they came out every night to deliver a SHOW. They appealed to the ears and the eyes.

I'm sure all those other bands I named would be great to see live too, but I'm sure I'd never get the chance to see The Edge pass out on stage while Bono smashes an amp and causes an explosion.

For last minute persuasion that my answer to this question is the best answer ever, I have included this legendary clip below. Enjoy.

Sell out before you're bought out

2008-02-07T21:34:00.000-08:00

Today I feel as if I have solved a big issue plaguing the music industry: Selling out.

Artists and labels alike are often accused of selling out. Usually this has an adverse affect on sales and popularity (and overall reception). I think the reason that people decide someone sold out is because that particular artist or label began to be accepted by the kind of people they hate (or dislike, if you're nice).

Almost anyone will tell you selling out means making music solely for the money. Signing to a big label or endorsing products (in commercials or at concerts) can also make you a sell out in their eyes. This seems like a bit of a cop out to me. I believe this has almost nothing to do with the band, and everything to do with the fans.

The best example I have is with Fall Out Boy (although I wish I had another example so I didn't make it seem like that's the only band I know). Fall Out Boy is now accepted by people's parents and little sisters. This makes liking them "unhip." As a result, some fans view FOB as sell outs because they are reaching a fanbase that their longtime fans do not agree with.

It makes sense in my head, but maybe I am way off base here. If I am right, then the solution would be for bands to make music that appeals to everyone BUT parents and 13 yr old girls... But how is this done? Well, I guess I don't have all the answers.

There Goes My Hero

2008-02-05T23:03:00.000-08:00

Every once and a while you'll hear a story on the news where some kid drove his dying mother to the hospital, and when asked where he learned to drive the kid says, "Well, I played a lot of video games."

I can buy that. I sorta think that playing video games from an early age made me a better, more aware driver. In video games, I was prepared for ramps over rivers, elephants running across the street, and other cars shooting turtle shells at me... all the while, keeping a watchful eye on the five oh. But other than that valuable lesson, I don't really feel like any other game has ever made me good at something.

I didn't learn to throw at 60 yard bomb by playing "Madden," and I didn't learn how to throw a punch (or a super uppercut) by playing "Street Fighter." So imagine some kid becoming the next Eddie Van Halen because he or she played Guitar Hero since day one.

It's implausible but not impossible. It really kinda scares me and would definitely baffle me if that ever happened. Imagine the biggest band in the world 20 years from now... the guitarist is being interviewed in "Rolling Stone" and they ask, "Where did you learn to shred!?" And he or she replies, "Oh, from playing a lot of 'Guitar Hero' as a kid."

I'm somewhat less ashamed to admit it now, but I once entered a "Guitar Hero" tournament and got my ass handed to me by a 6 year old. No joke. I've been playing bass for 7 years, acoustic guitar for almost a year, and I think this kid could be better than me in about half the time. THAT is why the music industry is failing. Actually, I don't know what that has to do with the music industry. But THAT IS why I can't sleep at night.

grunge/emo

2008-01-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

I've had this long standing belief that emo music is pretty much the remnants of grunge. I mean, it is. Emo is grunge without distortion. The answer is: Heavy, pessimistic, rebellious, depressed music. On Jeopardy, you probably wouldn't know whether the question was: What is emo? of What is grunge? That's because they're so similar. Nirvana had a song titled "I Hate Myself and I Want To Die" (among several other depressing titles). Tell me that doesn't sound like an emo song.

Making the following statement would probably cause me a lot of flack from scenesters but I think Fall Out Boy is the emo equivalent of Nirvana. There are so many similarities in my mind. Both reached huge mainstream status. Both polarized music fans. Both practically became MTV poster children. Both have frontmen (Cobain and Wentz) who were/are simultaneously adored and hated. Both of these frontmen were pretty depressed and dealt with addiction. Both had famous girlfriends who polarized (even further) the fans of those particular bands. Both are voices of a generation and of a musical genre. Both played a big part in inspiring a new fashion: cardigans and flannel shirts with messy hair (Nirvana and grunge), eye-liner, tight pants, hoodies, and girly hairstyles for guys (Fall Out Boy and emo).

The main difference is probably the kind of fans they had and the kinds of crowds they drew. I imagine a Nirvana concert would have had WAY less 12 year old girls than a Fall Out Boy concert. Also, I would add that FOB has several songs that are not necessarily sad and depressing; they're not particularly uplifting either, but they are somewhere in the middle. Nirvana probably never wrote anything as remotely upbeat as "Grand Theft Autumn" or "The Take Over, The Break's Over."

Still, the similarities between these two bands and these two genres are pretty undeniable. This isn't my attempt to bash either band. I'm a fan of both (though, admittedly, I own way less Nirvana records than FOB). I'm just saying that music really hasn't changed THAT much over the past two decades or so. The cause of that is something I'm a little more uncertain about. I never said I had answers, I just have statements.

Infamy

2008-01-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

So Heath Ledger died today... And I was pretty shocked when I heard the news. I was very saddened... so much so, that it almost felt like I knew him... just a little bit.

I had to think about it for a moment... It's weird. We get all upset and mourn the deaths of famous people, but we don't even know them. In that same respect, we are interested in their lives. We buy magazines and watch TV shows dedicated to the mundane, everyday things these people do. Some people are paid to take pictures of them. And we're a culture that is obsessed with the lives of these people we don't even know.

It's crazy. I mean, I reacted to Ledger's death the same way I would have reacted to the death of someone I knew in high school (but wasn't necessarily friends with). I reacted the same way when Sean Taylor died a few months ago... and when Chris Farley died... and Princess Diana. I think we learn to care about these people and feel a closeness with them because of how much we are exposed to them. They're everywhere. And maybe we find something about them that we feel we have in common. Diana's grace, Taylor's dedication and drive, Farley's over the top physical humor. We find something about them that we like... characteristics that we also see in our friends and/or family. So we feel like we relate to them.

This is heightened with actors and actresses. They play characters that were specifically written as someone who we are supposed to be able to identify with. This, in turn, makes us identify with the person playing the character, and again we feel like we can relate.

When I think of Heath Ledger, I think of the Heath Ledger from "10 Things I Hate About You" and "A Knight's Tale." Not the Heath Ledger from "Brokeback Mountain" (because I never saw it), and definitely not the Heath Ledger from the upcoming Batman movie. I think of the Heath Ledger that was simultaneously a bad ass and a sweetheart. Mostly because I like to think of myself as a simultaneous bad ass and sweetheart, so I can relate. But in reality, Ledger probably was more like The Joker. Obviously he had issues (that is if the alleged drug overdose story is true). Maybe he really was nothing like I thought he was, based on my favorite movies of his. I don't know. I really didn't know the guy.

Know Your Role

2008-01-17T23:52:00.000-08:00

I was reading a chapter in Chuck Klosterman's "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" in which he briefly discussed sports journalists. In this chapter he mentions that after becoming a sports journalist you begin to hate sports, and although it's all everyone wants to talk to you about, it's the last thing you want to talk about. As if you can't have a normal life anymore because everywhere you go, you will be noticed and people will ask you about sports. This annoyed me.

This is the same problem celebrities have. I'll admit that the paparazzi do get out of hand sometimes, but I hate to hear celebs complain that they're being filmed walking down the street. It's almost like signing an invisible contract. By accepting my job as celebrity (singer, actor, dancer, model, etc.) I hereby submit to constant treatment as a celebrity in and outside of "work." They love the perks of the job, but they hate everything else about it.

That's not how it should be. People should enjoy what they do enough that they are willing to talk about it and play the same role outside of the "office" (whatever that may be). A stripper is likely to be degraded and regarded by men as an object of sexual gratification, but strippers should already know that when they accept the job. When a cop is out for a meal with his or her family and someone robs an old lady, I doubt that cop is just going to sit there and say "Whoa, not now, I'm off duty."

When you choose a career, you're always on duty! I like to believe that I will always want to talk about music and sports, and I will be openly willing to debate random people on the two topics at length, regardless of which field I end up working in. I can't see myself ever saying, "Dude... I don't want to talk about that now! Can't you just let me a normal human being?" It sounds ridiculous to me. Few people can get away with such a response and even fewer should be able to.

Super Bawl

2008-01-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

I'll admit, I thought the Colts were going to dominate the Chargers (what an upset!). I may have been wrong about that one, but I also thought the Giants would pull the upset on the Cowgirls. As an Eagles fan, the Giants-Cowboys game was difficult to watch. It's like when your little league team loses in the playoffs. You don't want to go watch the other teams play, you just want to read about it in the paper. But I guess I just love football and free food (courtesy of my friend who hosted the game at his house) too much to pass up the opportunity.

The game itself was... OK. A bit boring but pretty emotional, as most playoff games tend to be. Even more emotional was T.O. after the game. When asked about the loss and about Tony Romo's struggles, Owens actually cried! As an Eagles fan, and someone who has hated T.O. for about two years now, this should have been sweet, sweet justice. Should have been...

Instead, seeing T.O. cry actually made me upset. The guy seems like he's come around. He seems like a team player now. Instead of blaming people and lashing out against his QBs poor play, he took responsibility, blamed the team as a whole, and defended Romo.

More importantly, and the reason I think I found this more upsetting than humorous, is the fact that T.O. showed that he is human. He wasn't cold and stoic like most robotic players and coaches in the NFL. He trained hard in the preseason, he played hard all year (hell, if it wasn't for Randy Moss and Tom Brady, we'd be talking about Owens and Romo), he stayed quiet and didn't start any trouble, then his team loses in the playoffs... because of a Romo error... at the end of the game... again, for the second year in a row!

Somewhere Tony Romo is crying, but then Yoko Romo (aka Jessica Simpson) makes him feel all better... so I can't say I feel bad for the guy. But I do feel bad for T.O. He just wants to win a championship sooo bad. And he can't seem to do that anywhere, with any QB. In a few months T.O. will probably say something to make me regret feeling bad for him; then again, maybe he really has changed for the better. But for now, the media, the bloggers, and the YouTubers are ripping him a new one for showing a little emotion after a big game, regardless of the fact that he's finally acting a little more mature. And you know what... that's not fair. It's just not fair.

New Beginnings

2008-01-11T01:29:00.000-08:00

Well this should be interesting...

Previously, I was only writing on this because I had to; because I had a class where my professor graded us on our blogs. But now that class is over and I couldn't quite figure out how to delete this... so...

As of this blog, I am starting anew. From this blog forward, everything I write will be about pop culture (with a frequent focus on music). It may be relevant to recent events or it may be totally unrelated (just something I thought of randomly). Either way, it will be a Pop Culture Digest of sorts.

The interesting part is... who will read this? I don't plan on telling anyone about this blog, therefore, people will have to discover it on their own. Perhaps they will stumble across it and find it interesting. That's what I'm hoping for anyway. If you're reading this, I hope you enjoy what's to come.

2008. The year of the blog.

It's MySpace Not YourSpace!

2007-09-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

If you're in college then I'm guessing you have a MySpace or a Facebook profile... maybe both. If you have neither then I'm guessing you live under a rock.

The article I decided to write (as of two days ago) is about employers who use these social networking websites as a means of filtering potential employees. I was quite unaware of this trend until I stumbled upon it while reading a pamphlet at the career center. I couldn't believe how serious it was, so I decided to investigate.

So far I have found a plethora of articles online regarding the issue. Most of the stories are cracking me up at just how dumb some "smart" college kids can be. One guy from the University of Illinois wrote some crazy stuff under "Interests." According to The NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/us/11recruit.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5090&en=ddfbe1e3b386090b&ex=1307678400), he wrote that his interests included: "smokin' blunts, shooting people, and obsessive sex." Clearly he was just joking, giving his friends something to laugh about. Unfortunately, all of the companies he has tried to get jobs with weren't laughing. Most of them never called him back or just refused to give him an interview. Another guy wrote on his profile that he likes to "blow things up." He also didn't get the job.

Most of us are smart enough and have a better sense of humor to know not to write such slop on our profiles. But employers are also looking at pictures. Apparently, looking drunk or high, being half naked, or breaking some kind of law in your default picture can also get you in trouble. This happened to a bunch of floozies on Facebook (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/20/eveningnews/main1734920.shtml). Stacy Snyder of Pennsylvania was denied her teaching credentials when her university caught a glimpse of a picture of her on MySpace with the caption: "Drunken Pirate" (http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/index.php?id=2029).

As you can see, this is a pretty big trend. Some of the top companies like Microsoft, Dell, and Morgan Stanley filter their potential employees this way. Some students might argue that it's an invasion of privacy. Technically it's not because it is in a public domain (the internet). Still, there are some legal issues. For example, it violates terms of service agreements on both sites that say their sites are to be used for "non-commercial use only." This site (http://www.collegerecruiter.com/weblog/archives/2006/09/employers_using.php) also argues that it is against discrimination laws and could possibly be in violation of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

The bulk of my internet researching is complete. Now I plan on doing some interviews with employers, such as my own, and the helpful staff at the career center. Maybe I'll even shoot a message to Tom from MySpace! Anyway, if you read this, let this be a lesson that we live in a new age; an age in which employers judge you by how you act when you're not at work. So maybe it's time to consider replacing that risque picture of you in your underwear with a picture of you helping Granny cross the street.

The Boiling Point of Mercury

2007-09-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hello. I'm Brandon. Music is my life. At the moment, football is also my life. Can't wait for Monday Night Football!

Now that I've introduced myself, I'll move into the assignment at hand. I suppose I am looking forward to... well, learning to write for a magazine... in this class. That's kind of a "duh!" statement. Let's see. More specifically, I'd like to learn how to get an actual job as a magazine writer (since that is a job I have often considered taking). I would also like to learn how to meet deadlines. Like any other college kid I have been plagued with procrastination... and, it would seem, bad luck or bad hearing. I still swear Fitzy (can I call him that?) said to email him with ideas by 11PM, not AM.

As you can see, I am kind of scatter-brained. So then, I suppose I would also like to learn how to write more focused articles. Ones that readers can actually follow. But back to deadlines... When I was on my high school's newspaper staff, that was my biggest problem. I was habitually late at turning in my articles. That worries me because this year I'm a member of our school's newspaper, The State Hornet. On top of that I also have three PR classes that are heavy on writing. Eek.

I have to interrupt here. Last semester was my hardest yet. Following that semester I took summer school which was super-stressful and super-difficult. Whenever I felt stressed out of my mind, like I was going to die from the pressure, I listened to the song, "Under Pressure." It became a sort of anthem for me. Somehow, the sweet sounds of Freddy Mercury and David Bowie helped me calm down and put things into perspective. Well, I just had to mention that in the past 30 minutes it has taken me to set up this account and write this blog, my itunes random play has played "Livin' On a Prayer" by Bon Jovi twice! Perhaps itunes is trying to tell me that this is my new anthem for this semester. A sign of things to come. How exciting. So, allow me to reiterate, I would like to learn to make deadlines and not have to stress about it all. Hopefully I won't be livin' on a prayer this whole semester :-/