Saw an old friend of mine the other day and we were commiserating over the fact that we are both totally out of the loop on music these days. However, I've thought of some stuff that maybe she hasn't heard of (or heard enough of) and thought I'd post it here so it is all in one place. Everyone else is welcome to look too! Plus, it's a good excuse for me to rock out for a bit!
(ps-C-Note, if you hate all of it, no worries, just thought I'd give it a shot!)
Matt & Kim
I'd say start with the album "Grand", graduate to "Sidewalks" if you like it (and go from there..."Lightning" is good but too new for me to have a real big opinion on). They're even from NYC too so you can go say hi!
Kids of 88
Another indie/pop/electronic band, this time from New Zealand. A little more emphasis on the electronic this time. They JUST released their second album "Modern Love", which I'm digging so far, but you can't go wrong with their first one "Sugarpills".
Fight Like Apes
I'm sure you've heard me mention these guys, but they are still amazing. Yes, they are completely filthy, but that's part of the charm! Hahaha Seriously though, I just picked 3 songs at random, I could fill this whole page with FLA songs!
Vacationer
While I really enjoy their album (and I do!), these guys are great live (and they are from back east and seem to play NYC a lot)! They only have the one album, so that makes life easier. Very chill, almost island/beach vibe type music.
The Naked & Famous
I'm sure you have heard these guys even if you don't realize it. Another NZ band (but I didn't find them on my trip unlike Kids of 88). These two songs have been EVERYWHERE.
The Black Seeds
Don't know if this is really up your alley, C-Note, but if you want a good reggae band, check these guys out. Another band from NZ; I'd heard of them before I went over there since Bret from Flight of the Conchords was in this band at one time, but I didn't really get into them until after my trip.
That's probably enough for now. Maybe I'll make a second post with some random songs or stuff later... Enjoy!
After a few years with very little (in my eyes) in the way of great, or even good, music, I was pleasantly surprised with all the great stuff that came out in 2011. There was great stuff from The Naked & Famous (yay for Kiwis!), The Aquabats! (they require exclamation points!), Childish Gambino, The Roots, The Bosstones, Screeching Weasel (yes, BW is a douche, he still makes great music though), Tune-Yards, and many more. However, there are 2 that come to the top of my mind as my favorites from the year. I present them in no particular order:
Kanye West & Jay-Z - Watch The Throne Kanye and Jay's wonderful tribute to narcissism. I have never heard anything so self-absorbed in my life and it is tremendous. I think a lot of my enjoyment of this stems from the pure (unintentional?) comedy of the whole affair. If you can listen to "H.A.M." and not laugh you are an odd individual, that's all I can say. But beyond that, Ye's production here is nearly impeccable. He truly is at the top of his game with samples and beats and all. In most people's hands "Otis" would be a complete mess, but here it is one of the best tracks on the album. Plus, you need to watch the video just for Aziz Ansari's dance moves (at about 2:30). This needs to turn into the next "Macarena" or something. I still think Jay-Z is overrated as a rapper (sacrelige to rap fans, I know, but it's true), but his shortcomings seem to be minimized here. As most people know, I'm not a big rap guy to begin with, but this album is fantastic.
The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules After a few years off (hiatus/breakup), the Get Up Kids are back and as good as ever! If you are looking for "On A Wire"-style campfire singalongs, look elsewhere. This is TGUK at their most vibrant, energetic, and experimental. If Matt Pryor's voice weren't so distinctive, you'd almost swear that this couldn't be the Get Up Kids. The biggest difference between this and the last few TGUK albums, though, is that it sounds like they are excited to be a band again. Towards the end of their first go-round, it almost seemed like they were going through the motions. Case in point, in the "On A Wire" days I saw them live and they were ok, but nothing special. Caught them again a year or two ago (after the reformation) and it was like a whole other band. Energetic, excited, and engaging - and this album is an extension of that. This is a truly great album, right up there with "Something To Write Home About". Check it, yo. Now if we can only talk James into a new Reggie or Fluxuation album...
I almost forgot! I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention the plethora of great comedy albums that came out in 2011. My runners up for Comedy Album of the Year are "Hendersons and Daughters" by the Sklar Bros. and "Potty Mouth" by Doug Benson. Both hilarious and highly recommended. They also both do great podcasts (Sklarbro Country and Doug Loves Movies respectively). But comedy in 2011 really belonged to Louis C.K. (and if you haven't gone to his website and bought his new special for $5 you are missing out). "Hilarious" is just that. Certainly not for kids, but Louis is certainly on the top of his game. If you need a laugh, this should be your first stop.
Been doing some thinking recently, about my life and my career (well, job), and such, and came to the conclusion that, unless it is in a specialized field, Bachelor's degrees are worthless. I am a prime example, I went to school, got my 4 year degree, even graduated Summa Cum Laude (putting me in the top 5%, I believe it was, of all graduates from the school that year). Sounds impressive, right? Yet here I am working part-time for approximately $9.50 an hour. Meanwhile, I'm pushing 30. I've seen similar stories with friends of mine and hear on the news about recent graduates not being able to find work at all. That's because Bachelor's degrees are generally useless. I say generally because if your degree is in a specialized field like, say, microbiology or even mathematics, it is probably still helpful in a job search. On the same token, people with those kinds of degrees are probably less common and are going for specific jobs from the start. But for those of us with 4 year degrees in Communication, English, History, Philosophy, any of the arts, and so on, your degree (unless you got a teaching certificate with it) is worth slightly less than the paper it is printed on. I say slightly less because, while you still have a nice piece of paper, one side of it is now unusable for future printing. For most people, the job market is all about WHO you know and not WHAT you know. And since I'm not a big networker, here I am, low pay, low (and crappy) hours, no benefits, no paid time off, and no raises in...ever. So those friends of mine who never bothered going to college, don't worry, in the long run, you didn't miss a whole lot, plus you got 4 years of job experience on the rest of us! And for anyone with a good job, I have 2 questions: Are you hiring? and Can you put in a good word for me?
Just got off of work and decided to pick up some Subway from the drive-thru on the way home. They have a very tasty chicken sandwich for $5 that I always get and was ordering when I had this exchange with Captain Dumbass, henceforth known as "Subway Joe":
Subway Joe-"Would you like mustard on that?"
Me-"No mustard. Can I just get mayo and sweet onion?"
Simple enough. He moved on, I moved on. I paid and got my sandwich and drove home. I then open up the sandwich and what do I see? Mustard slathered over everything! And no mayo or sweet onion sauce! He also forgot the spinach that I had ordered, even though he had written it down on his little order sheet. Yes, the one that was inexplicably stuffed inside the sandwich and also slathered in mustard. Speaking of mustard, to quote Todd Barry, "Have you ever eaten this shit? It tastes like garbage." Seriously, how do people eat mustard? Nasty. Anyway, congrats to Subway Joe for being able to breathe, as he is obviously not capable of much else...
I have recently trying to re-backup some stuff from my old college computer (basically condensing the tons of backup CDs I burned onto DVDs) and I came across an old video that I hadn't seen in ages, but is, as the Aquabats would say, "serious awesomeness!"
Good old Bad Religion. On a side note, in looking for a copy of this video online, I found out that they are recording a live "album" of sorts that they will be sending out for free if you join their mailing list at badreligion.com.
Anywho, that got me thinking of old videos that I hadn't seen in a while, and then up comes "Peppyrock" by BTK on itunes. This video has some many great old-school Sesame Street references, my favorite being the B-Boy "one of these things is not like the other". This video also makes me miss Muchmusic to an insane degree. For the uninformed, Muchmusic is basically Canadian MTV, except they play music (so maybe Canadian MTV circa-1990). Good stuff. Anyway, here's the video for that:
On a related note, here's an old Sesame Street moment. They don't quite make them like this anymore; can you imagine a pseudo-drug dealer on a kid's show today???
Which brings me to my favorite music video of all-time. So incredibly, amazingly, and wonderfully stupid! If you don't already know what one it is, I won't spoil it, but I will give you a hint: it involves fruit and ninjas. It's also not available for embedding so follow this here link!
In addition to all the video goodness, I realized that I promised (months ago) to get a top albums of 2009 list together. I also realized that it hadn't happened yet. So with a little thought and plenty of half-assedness, here's my picks:
Honorable mention: Lady Sovereign - Jigsaw Weird, wacky beats and presentation are the hook here. Lady Sov is as odd as ever, but I think the music has improved. She's also added some songs that are oddly confessional, for her and for rap in general. And a sample of the Cure's "Close To Me"? Good stuff. Matt and Kim - Grand Wikipedia lists them as "dance punk". I'd call them more "electro indie" (yes, I did just make that up). Either way, this is a fun album that I have enjoyed a LOT more than I expected. If you watch "Community", and you should, it has gotten excellent, you may remember this one. While you're at it, check out a cover someone made with Mario Paint, holy crap!
Runner-Up: Flight of the Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky Great album. This was close to getting up to number one, but a couple "meh" moments drag it down (notably "Demon Woman" and especially "Fashion is Danger"). Oddly, I liked the first season of the show more, but enjoyed the album of the second season more. And when the songs here are good, they are REALLY good. "Hurt Feelings" (home of the classic line, 'I feel like a prize asshole/no one even mentions my casserole') and "Sugalumps" are both amazing. And then, of course, there is the all time classic "Too Many Dicks (on the Dance Floor)". AMAZING. And where else would you hear 'Too many dicks/too many dongs/too many schlongs/now sing this song'? FOTC singlehandedly make New Zealand awesome.
Best Album of 2009: Fight Like Apes - You Filled His Head With Fluffy Clouds and Jolly Ranchers. What Did You Think Was Going to Happen?/...And The Mystery of the Golden Medallion First of all, before I get into anything, these guys are incredible. Go here right now and download their free concert mp3s and then mosey over to amazon where you can get their full album for $7 in mp3. Now with that out of the way, a little explanation as to how two titles take the top spot. "You Filled His Head..." is actually a sampler EP for the US market (FLA is Irish) that, despite what amazon says, was released here prior to the full album. It is mainly cuts from ATMotGM with an extra song or two. ATMotGM was actually released overseas in 2008, but seeing as how I'm not overseas, I am going by the American release, which was well into '09. With explanations out of the way, let's discuss the music. It's wild and (at times) sloppy and random and punky and dancey and filthy and funny and catchy, as well as sugar and spice and everything nice (or is that girls?). They categorize themselves as "karate rock", which is about as good a description as any. I could try and single out some songs, but they are all great. Some of my current favs include "Something Global" ('hooks are for wimps/and choruses for gays' is right up there with the FOTC line), "Do You Karate?" (unfortunately the lyrics are edited in this video, but what can you do?), and the wonderful "I'm Beginning To Think You Prefer Beverly Hills 90210 To Me" ('you're fired/SUPLEX! SUPLEX! SUPLEX, BACKBREAKER!', genius.). Although Bret and Jemaine put forth a valiant effort, MayKay and the boys from Fight Like Apes just plain put out a classic album. Honestly, they are by far the best band I have discovered in YEARS, and oddly enough, I discovered them when they were mentioned in a small blurb on the wikipedia homepage. Who knew that that was the place to find new music? Congrats, Fight Like Apes!
Finally, in closing, I'd like to present you with something completely unrelated that will become your new favorite thing to say post-defecation: "Boy, that's a load off my anus!"
Here's some random things that I have found entertaining on recent journeys across the arid landscape known as internet:
Todd at work sent this one my way; it's a 50s "educational" film about the dangers of homosexuals...
Note the fantastic "Leave It To Beaver" music, also found in the companion video "Girls Beware" in which young women find out that all men are serial rapists/murderers. Thanks, 1950s!
These led me to the next educational film (in 2 parts), all about girls and "the curse". I sure learned a lot this day!
Do you have a spare $1 million laying around? Neither do I! But if I did, I might look into this, which is one of those things that is so utterly pointless, but so unbelievably awesome...
As I listened to yet another politician argue for federal dollars to bail out American citizens, I grew angry. I refer to Gov. Gary Herbert's call for the U.S. Forest Service to cover firefighting costs associated with the Mill Flats fire ("Guv criticizes fire policies," Tribune, Aug. 31). The Forest Service's policy of letting the fires burn on federal lands is sound fiscal policy, for fighting fires merely consumes limited tax dollars that could be returned to us taxpayers.
Why should my taxes go to cover private residences built near wildlands where lightning fires are likely to occur? After all, these people are free to find market-based insurance to cover their needs.
Where in the Constitution does it say that fighting wildland fires is my responsibility? It's not my house or structures that are in danger, but those of people who clearly chose to live a lifestyle close to wildlands. I know that having a residence near wildlands makes the insurance more expensive for the owners, but that merely reflects free-market costs. It is reprehensible and un-American that they should ask that I cover their needs -- another indication of our increasing creep toward socialism.
Posts
