It that time once again, time to break out the Hot List. Below is a list of things I’m Hot and Not Hot on. Enjoy.
Things I’m hot on:
Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter:
With a title like this how could you go wrong? I mean seriously, this is one of the best and funniest album titles I’ve ever heard of. And the album almost lives up to its satirically ambitious billing. I’ve always loved Mr. Ritter’s work, but this is far and away his best album. From the album’s Dylan-esque opener “To the Dogs or Whoever” it almost never misses a beat. Whether he’s writing a love song to Joan of Arc or about biblical metaphors or love blossoming in a pre-apocalyptic bomb shelter, Ritter is at his musical and lyrical best here*. I could write a whole lot more about this album but then I’d probably end up over-hyping it for everyone who’s going to listen to it, so I’ll just close by saying that you should probably go buy or download this record and listen to it immediately.
Superbad:
First off, this movie isn’t for everyone. And by not for everyone I mean that if your high school days didn’t revolve around trying to get beer and delusions of sexual grandeur then this film probably isn’t for you. Well, my high school days didn’t really revolve around that, but the weekends did at times. So… Well, this is just a funny movie that I feel like just about every guy in America can relate to. Girls though I’m not sure about. Having never been one and shown time and again that I have no earthly idea how they think. So yeah.
RJD2- Work It Out (Video):
So I really don’t know what to say here other then check this video out. It’s one of the most original music videos I’ve ever seen as well as one of the coolest. I’m not going say anything else, just go watch this video. Here’s the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rxjrBd4WE2U
Josh Rouse’s Podcast:
So one of my favorite musicians, Josh Rouse, recently started a podcast. As if that wasn’t reason enough for me to listen to it, he named it “Bedroom Classics Radio Hour”. Now maybe it’s just me, but ‘Bedroom Classics’ sounds more like the title of a late-night Cinemax show then a indie internet radio program. But whatever. The show is actually really, really ridiculously good. Rouse’s musical tastes may actually be better then the music he makes, which is saying something. So if you like good music and/or downloading podcasts, I’d recommend trying this one out.
Things I’m not hot on ( a.k.a. The Not Hot List):
Being Broke:
Right now instead of having actual money and/or income, I have negative money. Now I realize that’s called being in debt, but I feel like negative money has a stronger impact then just saying you’re in debt. So I currently have negative money. Now the obvious solution to all of this is to get a job, but I’ve never been one to follow the crowd. My newest plan to make money is to ask for your support. I’m not asking for much, just 50 cents a day. That’s less then the cost of a double stack at Wendy’s. It’ll be just like supporting those starving, homeless children around the world. And while I’m neither homeless or starving, I am incredibly lazy. So think about supporting me. I’ll send you a picture of me to put on your fridge and write you a monthly letter updating you on my life. The letters will be hand written, but not by me. That’s far to time consuming. So think about.
p.s. I’m joking about all this, honest to God. Well I actually am broke, but the whole 50 cents a day thing is just my perverse idea of a joke.
The Hills:
Ok, so this one is really just a teaser. I plan on writing a substantial amount (read: 1 to 1 ½ pages) on why I loathe this show, so be ready for that in the near future.
Things I’m hot on, but really wish I wasn’t (a.k.a Guilty Pleasures):
Rooney – When Did Your Heart Go Missing:
First off, this is an incredibly catchy song. Secondly, this song has some of the worst lyrics I’ve ever heard. How bad you ask, well I could sing along via guessing the lyrics the first time I ever heard it. At one point in the second verse the lead singer rhymes said, bed and head to come up with this Shakespearian-esque bit of magic:
I meant every word I said
I never was lyin' when we talked in bed
I'm retracin' every step in my head
So yeah, the lyrics are beyond terrible. But the song is still insanely catchy. Combine those two dichotomous elements and this song is safely nestled into the ‘guilty pleasures’ category. Also, if you have a good amount of time on your hands its worth going to Youtube and finding the video of this song. Watching these gotards drive around some costal area, I presume its California, is worth a couple of laughs. While watching their video I came to two conclusions, 1.) These guys were never, at any time in their lives, cool and 2.) They might actually mean the incredibly sh*tty lyrics they sing.
Sean Kingston – Beautiful Girls:
So I really like this song, but a couple things about it give me pause. A of all Mr. Kingston looks like a reject from Soul Plane and B of all his voice sounds like a retarded Louis Armstrong. But aside from that the song is great…
Until We Meet Again
* Ok I realize that I’m just an insignificant blogger, but I feel like this sentence should be a blurb on his album cover. Or at the very least his website.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
People, get excited. I’ve returned from my hiatus to recharge your life with overwritten and under-edited puff pieces about my personal opinions. Woot. Today’s post will be a brief summary of highlights from my summer. But don’t fret dear readers; this isn’t going to be a series of inside jokes from my experience as a camp counselor. I’m well aware of the fact the all camp stories are incredibly contextualized. By the time you finish explaining the circumstances the joke is either no longer funny or wasn’t funny in the first place, it’s just that you were at summer camp so you were physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted so your sense of humor was completely shot.
Anyhow, here’s a few tidbits from my summer that I thought you might be interested in. Or more appropriately, here’s a few anecdotes from my summer that I felt like writing about.
Red Rocks:
So about 12 days before I returned to Tucson, I attended a music festival at Red Rock in Morrison, Colorado. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this particular venue know that you’re missing out. It’s far and away the coolest venue I’ve ever been to. Red Rocks is pretty much an outdoor concert hall that’s surrounded by 60 foot rocks on every side. Any description I could come up with couldn’t possibly do it justice, so just check out the website at: http://www.redrocksonline.com/
Anyways, highlights from this festival include, but are not limited to:
Lucinda Williams
- Even though she’s in her mid 50’s, I’m not ashamed to say that I’m heavily crushing on Ms. Williams. Even if she is a stoned-out-of-her-mind-hippie and her set lasted at least 6 songs too long, she’s still one hell of a performer. Her newest CD “West” is proof of that. She even covered the Flaming Lips, which is pretty damned awesome in my book. So yeah, she’s good.
Devotchka
- Also know as the band that did the majority of the music for the “Little Miss Sunshine” soundtrack, Devotchka put on one of the most interesting and entertaining live shows I’ve ever seen. Even while half their songs were song in another language (or the lead singer was mumbling so incoherently that it sounded like a foreign language), I still felt like dancing and singing along to almost every song. Also, the band’s lone female kept playing instruments that were bigger then her and she wasn’t exactly a petit gal. Needless to say, this made me very happy. I’m a sucker for this sort of visual comedy.
Ryan Adams
- Ok, I have a confession to make. My main reason for writing this blog was so I could gush about seeing Ryan Adams live. I know I’m a tool and an overly-obsessed fan boy, but bare with me, I promise there’s some good stories among my not so subtle man-crush driven ramblings. Ok, this one’s going need a couple of bullet points.
- First off, I was a little nervous about seeing Mr. Adams live. For starters, he’s notorious for being a dick at his live shows. He once famously threw out a fan for requesting Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69”. That and I’m not the most optimistic of human beings, some might say I’m extremely cynical. I prefer pragmatic. Anyhow, I love Ryan Adams music, so I was worried that he’d put on a sh*tty live show and thus damper my appreciation for his music. Luckily though, Ryan* came through for me. He played for over two hours and put on an incredible show. I’d go see him again in a heartbeat, he’s that good. He had some extremely humorous banter with the crowd and was just amazing musically. He and spanned the majority of his catalogue during his set, which is always a plus in my book. Towards the end of the show Ryan started barking into the microphone as oppose to talking to the audience in between songs. Now on paper this sounds like either a a-hole move or a drunken a-hole move, however it was actually quite funny and just added to my enjoyment of the show.
- As if the show wasn’t already amazing, one of the funniest/coolest things I’ve ever witnessed at a show occurred a mere 2 feet away from me. So in between songs my good friend Sam yells out** “Come Pick Me Up”, to which Ryan Adams replies:
“No I will not play that song. Because if I play that song you’ll all go home. And you won’t take me with you. And if you did take me with you you wouldn’t like me. I just can’t have that happening, not tonight. So I won’t be playing that song.”
So not only did Ryan Adams humorously respond to by friend’s request, I also learned that my close friend is a massive tool.
The Ultimate Frisbee Corollary:
So I was working at a summer camp in Colorado. For some reason almost everyone at this camp was in love with the ‘game’ of Ultimate Frisbee. If you’re unfamiliar with this game, I’d recommend taking a few moments to thank God that you’ve gone through your life while avoiding people who preach the virtues of this incredibly lame excuse for a sport as if it were the gospel. Seriously though, wikipedia Ultimate Frisbee if you don’t know what it is. That way you can fully understand this corollary. Anyhow, I’m now going to explain this corollary. So the following paragraph assumes you know what Ultimate Frisbee is. Read at your own risk.
So I decided this summer that Ultimate Frisbee is just like football, only if you removed all the enjoyable parts from football. Seriously though, if you took all the hitting, dodging and 90% of the running out of football and replaced the ball with some fruity disk you’d have Ultimate Frisbee. In short, Ultimate Frisbee is football if you removed all the good parts from football. And thus the Ultimate Frisbee Corollary is this:
If A and B are similar, but A has all the good qualities, then B is the Ultimate Frisbee version of A.
Some examples of this would be:
Panic! At the Disco is the Ultimate Frisbee version of Queen
WNBA is the Ultimate Frisbee version of the NBA
The Star Wars prequels are the Ultimate Frisbee version of the original Star Wars Trilogy
Michael Vick*** is the… Ok I can’t even think of a joke or comparison here. Hopefully you all get the idea, let’s just move on.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
Now I’m not going to go and ruin the ending for all of you, although I doubt there’s anyone left in America who doesn’t know how this book ends. But that’s neither here nor there. I will say though, that this is far and away the best book in the series. J.K Rowling truly saved her best for last, even if she should have ended two chapters sooner**** and ditched the unbelievably smarmy epilogue. I really don’t have anything else to add here, I just wanted to end by writing about Harry Potter to remind all of you how very, very uncool I am. Check back sometime next week when I may have written something of semi-substance. God Speed.
Until We Meet Again
*Like the rest of the nation is with Dave, Jack and John, Ryan and I are on a first name basis.
** Yeah, he’s that guy who yells out the song he wants to hear at shows. And no, I don’t like that guy either. But in Sam’s case I’ll make an exception, although it still was a douche move.
*** Speaking of Mr. Vick, does it hurt or hinder your credibility when Stephon Marbury comes to your defense?
**** For those of you who actually read the book, I think she should have ended it at “King’s Cross”. If you want to know my reasoning behind this feel free to ask me. I’ll happily talk far too long about with you. Honest, I will.
Anyhow, here’s a few tidbits from my summer that I thought you might be interested in. Or more appropriately, here’s a few anecdotes from my summer that I felt like writing about.
Red Rocks:
So about 12 days before I returned to Tucson, I attended a music festival at Red Rock in Morrison, Colorado. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this particular venue know that you’re missing out. It’s far and away the coolest venue I’ve ever been to. Red Rocks is pretty much an outdoor concert hall that’s surrounded by 60 foot rocks on every side. Any description I could come up with couldn’t possibly do it justice, so just check out the website at: http://www.redrocksonline.com/
Anyways, highlights from this festival include, but are not limited to:
Lucinda Williams
- Even though she’s in her mid 50’s, I’m not ashamed to say that I’m heavily crushing on Ms. Williams. Even if she is a stoned-out-of-her-mind-hippie and her set lasted at least 6 songs too long, she’s still one hell of a performer. Her newest CD “West” is proof of that. She even covered the Flaming Lips, which is pretty damned awesome in my book. So yeah, she’s good.
Devotchka
- Also know as the band that did the majority of the music for the “Little Miss Sunshine” soundtrack, Devotchka put on one of the most interesting and entertaining live shows I’ve ever seen. Even while half their songs were song in another language (or the lead singer was mumbling so incoherently that it sounded like a foreign language), I still felt like dancing and singing along to almost every song. Also, the band’s lone female kept playing instruments that were bigger then her and she wasn’t exactly a petit gal. Needless to say, this made me very happy. I’m a sucker for this sort of visual comedy.
Ryan Adams
- Ok, I have a confession to make. My main reason for writing this blog was so I could gush about seeing Ryan Adams live. I know I’m a tool and an overly-obsessed fan boy, but bare with me, I promise there’s some good stories among my not so subtle man-crush driven ramblings. Ok, this one’s going need a couple of bullet points.
- First off, I was a little nervous about seeing Mr. Adams live. For starters, he’s notorious for being a dick at his live shows. He once famously threw out a fan for requesting Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69”. That and I’m not the most optimistic of human beings, some might say I’m extremely cynical. I prefer pragmatic. Anyhow, I love Ryan Adams music, so I was worried that he’d put on a sh*tty live show and thus damper my appreciation for his music. Luckily though, Ryan* came through for me. He played for over two hours and put on an incredible show. I’d go see him again in a heartbeat, he’s that good. He had some extremely humorous banter with the crowd and was just amazing musically. He and spanned the majority of his catalogue during his set, which is always a plus in my book. Towards the end of the show Ryan started barking into the microphone as oppose to talking to the audience in between songs. Now on paper this sounds like either a a-hole move or a drunken a-hole move, however it was actually quite funny and just added to my enjoyment of the show.
- As if the show wasn’t already amazing, one of the funniest/coolest things I’ve ever witnessed at a show occurred a mere 2 feet away from me. So in between songs my good friend Sam yells out** “Come Pick Me Up”, to which Ryan Adams replies:
“No I will not play that song. Because if I play that song you’ll all go home. And you won’t take me with you. And if you did take me with you you wouldn’t like me. I just can’t have that happening, not tonight. So I won’t be playing that song.”
So not only did Ryan Adams humorously respond to by friend’s request, I also learned that my close friend is a massive tool.
The Ultimate Frisbee Corollary:
So I was working at a summer camp in Colorado. For some reason almost everyone at this camp was in love with the ‘game’ of Ultimate Frisbee. If you’re unfamiliar with this game, I’d recommend taking a few moments to thank God that you’ve gone through your life while avoiding people who preach the virtues of this incredibly lame excuse for a sport as if it were the gospel. Seriously though, wikipedia Ultimate Frisbee if you don’t know what it is. That way you can fully understand this corollary. Anyhow, I’m now going to explain this corollary. So the following paragraph assumes you know what Ultimate Frisbee is. Read at your own risk.
So I decided this summer that Ultimate Frisbee is just like football, only if you removed all the enjoyable parts from football. Seriously though, if you took all the hitting, dodging and 90% of the running out of football and replaced the ball with some fruity disk you’d have Ultimate Frisbee. In short, Ultimate Frisbee is football if you removed all the good parts from football. And thus the Ultimate Frisbee Corollary is this:
If A and B are similar, but A has all the good qualities, then B is the Ultimate Frisbee version of A.
Some examples of this would be:
Panic! At the Disco is the Ultimate Frisbee version of Queen
WNBA is the Ultimate Frisbee version of the NBA
The Star Wars prequels are the Ultimate Frisbee version of the original Star Wars Trilogy
Michael Vick*** is the… Ok I can’t even think of a joke or comparison here. Hopefully you all get the idea, let’s just move on.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
Now I’m not going to go and ruin the ending for all of you, although I doubt there’s anyone left in America who doesn’t know how this book ends. But that’s neither here nor there. I will say though, that this is far and away the best book in the series. J.K Rowling truly saved her best for last, even if she should have ended two chapters sooner**** and ditched the unbelievably smarmy epilogue. I really don’t have anything else to add here, I just wanted to end by writing about Harry Potter to remind all of you how very, very uncool I am. Check back sometime next week when I may have written something of semi-substance. God Speed.
Until We Meet Again
*Like the rest of the nation is with Dave, Jack and John, Ryan and I are on a first name basis.
** Yeah, he’s that guy who yells out the song he wants to hear at shows. And no, I don’t like that guy either. But in Sam’s case I’ll make an exception, although it still was a douche move.
*** Speaking of Mr. Vick, does it hurt or hinder your credibility when Stephon Marbury comes to your defense?
**** For those of you who actually read the book, I think she should have ended it at “King’s Cross”. If you want to know my reasoning behind this feel free to ask me. I’ll happily talk far too long about with you. Honest, I will.
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