etc. - Derrick Rossignol Blog

etc. is moving

2011-03-04T13:35:00.000-05:00

I decided to move the blog to a new site on tumblr. tumblr is easier to use and it allows for more exposure. So head over there and check it out.

Slow Motion

2011-03-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

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YouTube is full of clips of stuff filmed at an extremely high frame rate and slowed down, like this:

Poke around and you'll find all kinds of other ones, like a girl dropping a water balloon on her chest or a bullet shot out of a gun.
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What I'm Listening To: The Verve - Star Sail

The Five Best NBA All-Star Games by Rookies

2011-02-28T15:39:00.000-05:00

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I got an article published by Associated Content from Yahoo! today:

During TNT's NBA All-Star roster selection special, it was revealed that Blake Griffin would be the first rookie all-star since Yao Ming in 2003. Between his 23 points per game, his 13 nightly rebounds and a flurry of oh-my-goodness-I-didn't-think-gravity-allowed-that dunks, Blake getting snubbed would have been more upsetting than paying the Trailblazers' medical bills.

Click here to read the rest.

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What I'm Listening To: The Verve - Gravity Grave

The Genius of George Carlin

2011-02-23T17:46:00.004-05:00

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Brilliant comedian, listen to his thoughts on time (some language may not be fit for children).

Sulfur Hexafluoride

2011-02-22T12:23:00.001-05:00

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Sulfur Hexafluoride is a gas that is thicker than oxygen, so sound waves move more slowly through it. Inhaling it provides the opposite effect of helium. Have a look:

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What I'm Listening To: The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons (iTunes Link)

Dumb and Bieber

2011-02-19T12:40:00.000-05:00

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Bieber got shot (on CSI), and everybody's been doing crazy stuff with the video, so I took a "shot" at it:

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What I'm Listening To: Tame Impala - Solitude is Bliss

Every Blake Griffin Dunk So Far

2011-02-18T16:30:00.002-05:00

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NBA.com uploaded a video today that shows every dunk Blake Griffin has had this season. I grabbed it and reuploaded it to YouTube, have a look, and be sure to watch Blake in the NBA All-Star Weekend (go here for a full schedule of events):

If for some reason the video doesn't work, watch the original on NBA.com.
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What I'm Listening To: Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike

CD Review: Sufjan Stevens

2011-02-15T11:15:00.000-05:00

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Here's a CD review I wrote on StuffToListenTo back on October 18:
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This review was supposed to be run in either today's or Thursday's issue of the Maine Campus, but due to a communication error, another writer and myself ended up writing about the same album. He had called the album before I did, so he got the slot (feel free to read Jay Grant's review here).

I figured I should kill at least one bird with this stone, so here is the review that I wrote.
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CD Review: Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
"Indie songwriter's electro-art-rock experiment a success"

"The Age of Adz" - Sufjan Stevens, 2010.

NPR streamed the album in its entirety for almost a month before its October 12 release, so this CD may already be old news to faithful fans of the Detroit native, but to non-fans, "The Age of Adz" - pronounced "odds" - is a breath of fresh, innovative air that will more than likely remove the "non" from "non-fans."

The album opener "Futile Devices," a hypnotic folk number along the lines of Iron and Wine, features soft guitar pickings and Sufjan Stevens' soothing voice accented by a light piano, which is not at all indicative of the rest of the album. This lovely and accessible song may be intended to ease the listener into the record, as 84 minutes is a lot to commit to an album that carries doubt.

With the first synthesized-clogged-toilet sound - not bad like it sounds - of the second track "Too Much," the Flaming Lips-ish electronic psychedelia grabs the rest of the record by the horns and muscles it into submission with synthesized twinkles, orchestral arrangements and all sorts of studio trickery.

Following the exciting and big climax of the previous song, the title track opens with what seems to be the score from a dramatic scene of a classic Disney cartoon remixed by Daft Punk. Stevens continues the uncertain lyrical themes present throughout the album, either singing about a lost love, a self-realization or a newfound faith in God, with lines like, "Well I have known you for just a little while, but I feel I've known you, I feel I've seen you, when the Earth was split in fives."

Many twists and turns are taken from here, and more musical ideas are explored. "I Want To Be Well" sees Stevens doubting the beauty of the world as he says, "Everywhere you look, everywhere you turn, illness is watching, waiting its turn." The song's last three minutes are an urgent and beautiful crescendo into frustration, as Stevens calls out, "I'm not f*cking around, I'm not f*cking around," with quick drums and background harmonies only adding to the intense climax.

A near-third of "The Age of Adz" occurs in the album closer, the 25-minute "Impossible Soul." It is certainly a long haul, clocking in at slightly longer than most sitcoms, but like the TV shows, the song shifts moods and tempos, never turning stale. Like the long-winded Pink Floyd suites of yore, "Impossible Soul" makes use of as many instruments, tones and sounds as possible, while avoiding sounding like a car crash.

The first 10 minutes of this robo-space-rock symphony have Stevens on his knees, begging his object of affection for love, singing, "But all I want is the perfect love, though I know it's small, I want love for us all, and all I couldn't sing, I would say it all my life to you, if I could get you at all." Persistent drums and chanting conjure thoughts of the chorus of "Kids" by MGMT, as Stevens recites, "It's a long life, better pinch yourself, put your faith together, better get it right."

Surprisingly, after this extensive, interesting and fantastical ride, the last three minutes hearken back to the album opener, creating graceful, organic bookends to the wild, schizophrenic experiment sandwiched in the middle.

The indie pop of Stevens' hit 2005 song "Chicago" has no home on this disc, and that's fine - fans should be delighted to hear such a beautiful pushing of the boundaries. With all the sonic subtleties and nuances, this boundary-pushing is much more effectively experienced through a pair of quality headphones, so no detail goes unnoticed and the true, intended feel can be fully received.

Arguably the most interesting release of 2010 thus far, "The Age of Adz" is a record that warrants multiple listenings, and will be a mainstay in many indie music collections and a topper of numerous best-of-the-year lists.

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(rating out of 5)

Tracklist:

Futile Devices (2:13)
Too Much (6:45)
Age of Adz (8:01)
I Walked (5:02)
Now That I'm Older (4:57)
Get Real Get Right (5:12)
Bad Communication (2:26)
Vesuvius (5:28)
All for Myself (2:57)
I Want To Be Well (6:28)
Impossible Soul (25:34)

Album Sampler:
(Sufjan Stevens - I Want To Be Well)

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What I'm Listening To: Interpol - Evil

The Voices Behind Cartoons

2011-02-13T12:27:00.003-05:00

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EDIT: I'm on twitter now, check me out!

Continuing with the theme of my last post, I always find it interesting to see the voice of a cartoon character and to hear them use the voice they are known for. At first you forget that they are the actual owner of the voice, and you think for a tick that they're just doing their impression of it.

I've rounded up a few behind-the-scenes looks into as many cartoons as I could think of and find, have a look:

Also see:

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Voice Actors
Billy West - Futurama Voices
The Actors Behind SpongeBob
The Simpsons - Voices: Bart, Homer, Lisa, Moe, Mr. Burns
South Park - Behind the Scenes - Voice Recording
Comic-Con07 - American Dad live reading pt.1
Tara Strong sings in Timmy Turner's voice
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What I'm Listening To: Beck - Broken Drum

The Origin of Family Guy

2011-02-11T15:56:00.001-05:00

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Peter and Brian Griffin were originally named Larry and Steve and were the subjects of Seth MacFarlane's thesis film for design school, "The Life of Larry." You'll notice some similarities between the characters of old and the ones of today, particularly the voices. Have a look:

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What I'm Listening To: Radiohead - All I Need

CD Review: Eddie Hazel (guitarist from Funkadelic)

2011-02-10T11:23:00.001-05:00

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It seems unnecessary for me to have two blogs, so I'm shutting down StuffToListenTo. I will be migrating some of the best posts to this blog, so here's a CD review I wrote for "Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs" back on October 15.

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If you know of Eddie Hazel, he's the gift-from-Heaven guitarist for the 70's funk powerhouse Funkadelic, Rolling Stone's 43rd greatest guitarist to ever pick a string, and the man who thought up the beauty of "Maggot Brain."

"You're welcome, b*tches."

What you won't know is that Hazel released one solo album while he was alive, and while it's not widely known, it is widely good.

"Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs" - Eddie Hazel, 1977.

Most of the record is a framework that gives Hazel an excuse to pull out his phenomenal psychedelic-funk guitar chops, but if you have any interest in this album, that's probably what you're listening for anyways.

The album's two standout tracks are cover, but sound far from unoriginal. Hazel stretches the sub-3-minute The Mamas & The Papas classic "California Dreamin'" into something long enough to accommodate his top-rate solos, while still retaining the beauty of the original, if not adding to it.

Hazel takes a break from singing in the Lennon-McCartney composition "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," handing those duties over to some female soul vocalists. He takes the already-long song (the original Beatles recording clocks in at 7:47) and tacks on almost an extra two minutes, making room for solos that made Funkadelic songs like "Red Hot Mama" so thoroughly enjoyable.

If you decide to try to find this albums somewhere to add to your collection, look for the bonus track version, that adds on the rare Hazel "Jams From The Heart" EP to the end. The four extra songs are much more than add-ons: length-wise, they are only a few minutes shy of the whole "Game, Dames..." album.

This album is geared toward listeners who enjoy their 70's, are six-string enthusiasts, and have brains and souls. Don't skip over this one: it's a worthy part of any music collection, despite its lack of notoriety.
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(rating out of 5)

MP3 Sample:

(Eddie Hazel - California Dreamin' MP3)

(full album download in comments)
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What I'm Listening To: Eddie Hazel - California Dreamin'
(I added a window for my most recent scrobbles on last.fm on the right, an imported idea from StuffToListenTo)

Man Gets Shot, Finishes Sandwich Before Going To The Hospital

2011-02-08T11:29:00.004-05:00

In November last year, I read about the penultimate incident of hunger, determination and badassery on Neatorama.

Miguel Soto, a 25 year-old Connecticut man, was leaving a local deli, sandwich in hand, when he heard three gunshots. One bullet hit his left leg, another his groin, and the other missed him.

Instead of immediately going to the hospital like a wimp like you or me would, Soto went home, sat down, ate his sandwich, and then asked his father to take him to the hospital.

The man bought a sandwich, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let the mayo sour because of a few pesky bullet wounds.

EDIT: I reviewed Cut Copy's new CD "Zonoscope" for the Maine Campus, so you can go have a look at that.
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What I'm Listening To: My Morning Jacket - I Think I'm Going To Hell

Simply Orange

2011-02-06T23:24:00.001-05:00

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CollegeHumor didn't seem to care for this picture I made, so I'll show you people, people who (may or may not) care:

"Simply Orange... for real."

While I'm here, here's a heads up that my cousin Jordyn started a blog of her own, writing "[s]tuff that your boyfriend probably doesn't care too much about but you'll love." By "you," she probably means people like this:

Forgot her shorts for gym class again. Hate it when that happens.

So yeah, go check it out.

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What I'm Listening To: MGMT - Destrokk

Pen Beats

2011-02-05T12:59:00.001-05:00

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Top rate beatbox drumming using only pens; pretty impressive and fun to watch and listen to.

If you enjoyed that, check out their "Super Mario Pen Beat" video.

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What I'm Listening To: deadmau5 - Strobe

New Super Bowl Column; Manlier Blake Griffin

2011-02-03T11:09:00.001-05:00

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I have a new column in today's issue of the Maine Campus:

Men of all ages will talk about the pinpoint 21-yard pass Aaron Rodgers managed to complete despite the pressure from the Steelers’ defense.

Women and children will laugh at the funny beer and insurance commercials with talking animals in them.

Aside from the battle on the field at Super Bowl XLV, the question this year, as in years before, is whether anybody will be talking about the halftime show for more than five minutes after it ends.

Click here to read the rest.

I was thinking yesterday about how Blake Griffin is the ultimate physical specimen - Danillo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov will attest to that. There is, however, one way that he could be manlier...

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What I'm Listening To: Daft Punk - Rinzler

Brett Keisel's Beard

2011-02-02T19:03:00.003-05:00

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I know I just wrote about this a few days ago, but I found a few new things that I had to share.

Chris Chase of Yahoo! Sports wrote an article that chronicles the life of Keisel's beard, full of things you must know about this magnificent piece of facial landscaping.

Yes... yes.

Secondly, you can "beard" a photo of yourself at KeiselBeardMe.com. Here's what I came up with:

You have no idea how much I yearn for the day this becomes possible.

Here is a video of Keisel briefly reflecting on his beard and playing in the Super Bowl. The beard looks even better when he's talking, fantastic.

Again, you can become a fan of Keisel's beard on Facebook.
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What I'm Listening To: Black Mountain - Let Spirits Ride

Melvin (from Kenny vs Spenny)

2011-02-01T17:48:00.003-05:00

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Kenny Hotz often comes up with ridiculous characters for the show and as pointless as they may be, they are usually hilarious.

I took footage of his character from the "Who Can Be Obese The Longest" episode and cut it down to five minutes of awesome-sauce. You can watch all of that episode and every episode of Kenny vs Spenny online at watchKTN.com.

Due to some copyright bullsquash, I can't embed the video here, so go watch it on YouTube.

EDIT (11:30): The video is "blocked on copyright grounds" for some people, so to see what I'm talking about, watch the whole episode here (I find it's better that way, anyways).

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What I'm Listening To: Fat Mattress - Magic Forest

Fleet Foxes album announcement

2011-01-31T12:09:00.004-05:00

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First Explosions In The Sky, now Fleet Foxes. It's turning out to be a fantastic January as far as new record information for me. To directly copy-paste Fleet Foxes' Facebook status from nine minutes ago:

NEW RECORD! "Helplessness Blues" is out May 3rd. PHEW. The title track is now up for download online too and we've announced a bunch of tour dates. Thanks for waiting people!http://www.fleetfoxes.com/

The title track seems promising, like this album will be a bit more edgy than the first and just as pretty. Go have a listen to the song they posted and have a look at the CD art:

EDIT: I just uploaded a new video to YouTube about my friend Nate. It's part of a series in which I basically make fun of him using footage we had shot but never used. Go check it out.
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What I'm Listening To: Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Beardtastic

2011-01-28T14:44:00.002-05:00

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Take a gander at ESPN's latest Facebook photo:

There are no words I could write to improve this photograph.

That is Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel, that is a man, that is a beard.
(EDIT 2:53): Become a fan of this beard on Facebook.
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What I'm Listening To: Jeff Buckley - So Real

First Lamar Odom, Now Kris Humphries (Kardashians date the NBA)

2011-01-27T11:45:00.000-05:00

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Kim Kardashian is clearly not knowledgable in the sports department, since I just found out that she's been dating Nets forward Kris Humphries since December. He joins Lamar Odom, who dates Kim's sister Khloé, as a Kardashian NBA boy toy.

The skill-to-hotness-of-significant-other ratios are WAY off

He's been on four teams in seven years (because he sucks), he has career averages of 5.2 points and 4.2 points per game (because he sucks) and Dallas traded him so they could have Eduardo Nájera back again, who averages 3.3 points per game in 14.6 minutes this season (because he sucks). I suppose having, uhm, "big shoes" and looking like Taylor Lautner is good enough for her.

It's a good thing Kourtney Kardashian already has a man, or Zaza Pachulia could have been next.

Naaaahhh, I think he's safe.

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What I'm Listening To: Drummer - Feel Good Together

New Explosions In The Sky album SOON

2011-01-25T13:42:00.004-05:00

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On Facebook and their official website, Explosions, one of my favorite bands, have announced details about their upcoming album less than an hour before this post (an album I previewed essentially before any information was available in my latest column for The Maine Campus).

The details that I have gathered from this Facebook post, this other Facebook post, the latest post on their official website and the album's page from their official website is as follows:

The album is called "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care."
It will be released in the UK on April 18, in the rest of Europe on April 25 and in the US and Canada on the 26th.
The tracklist:

Last Known Surroundings
Human Qualities
Trembling Hands
Be Comfortable, Creature
Postcard from 1952
Let Me Back In

For one reason or another, Blogger is being difficult and not letting me put the album art in this post, so have a look at it here. (I'll edit this post when I'm able to.)

EDIT (3:31): Got it working, here's the album cover:

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What I'm Listening To Now: Oberhofer - o0O0o0O0o
(Also, I made a new header for the blog, looks much better to me, what do you think?)

Larry Bird Trash Talk (excerpt from The Book of Basketball)

2011-01-24T17:38:00.003-05:00

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Bill Simmons, my biggest inspiration as a writer, wrote an amazing book that attempts to chronicle the life of professional basketball, specifically the NBA. I haven't read all of it yet (it's 700 flippin' pages long), but I've read enough to know I really want to keep on keepin' on.

Simmons released an updated paperback edition of the book in early December, with "FRESH TAKES ON LEBRON, KOBE, THE CELTICS & MORE," according to the cover, along with more hilarious footnotes. Naturally it was on the top of my Christmas list; it was under fifteen bucks on Amazon, so it was an easy gift.

I always knew that Larry Bird was one of the league's best trash talkers from watching videos like this. In all the footage I've watched, there was a story I didn't hear about, which Bill covered in a footnote on page 17:

26. My personal favorite: Bird once told Indiana's Chuck Person before a game that he had a Christmas present for him. During the game, he made a three in front of the Pacers' bench, turned to Person and said, "Merry f*cking Christmas."

The Book of Basketball is available for only $12.24 right now on Amazon.com.
Read Bill's column on ESPN.com.

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What I'm Listening To Right Now: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Chile
(something new I'm doing: if I'm listening to a song when I'm writing a post, I'll tell you what it is.)

Jimi Hendrix covers Johnny B. Goode

2011-01-23T14:13:00.001-05:00

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This may be one of the most underrated cover versions of any song ever. Jimi adds so much energy to this song and turns it into his own. Give it a listen, and if you decide you need it on your iPod (which you probably will), it was released on the posthumous live album "Hendrix in the West" in 1972. The only place I saw this was on Amazon for 38 bucks, so I took the liberty of rounding up some MP3 download links.

January 22; My Birthday

2011-01-22T20:10:00.003-05:00

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Yeap, today is the anniversary of my introduction to the world, nineteen years ago. I'm finally old enough to take advantage of the Canadian legal drinking age, which is something I will do a lot because I love drinking alcohol (except that's not true at all).

I'm a card-carrying member since early this morning.

Other than my birth, the 22nd is not the most historically significant day on the calendar, but it has its fair share of curiosities. For example, on January 22nd:

The Act Zluky (English = "Unification Act") was signed in 1919, unifying the Ukraine People's Republic and the West Ukraine People's Republic into one Ukranian state.

"Yessssssss..."

The debut of the iconic Apple "1984" advertisement.
The birth of R&B singer Sam Cooke (1931), INXS singer Michael Hutchence (1960), hip-hop producer and "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" co-star DJ Jazzy Jeff (1965), Mariners second baseman Chone Figgins (1978) and Portland Trailblazers ~~player~~ bench presence Greg Oden (~~1888~~ 1988).
Thomas Edison submitted a patent for a device that allows somebody to more effectively watch their friend sleep in 1879.
Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2002.
The Battle of Isandlwana, the first major encounter of the Anglo-Zulu War (the coolest-sounding war ever) took place in 1879
Australian star of "The Dark Night" Heath Ledger was found dead in 2008.

In case you didn't figure it out, one of those things is not true. In case you just don't get it and thought I made up the Anglo-Zulu War, look at this clip from Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!:

Awkward Touching

2011-01-20T13:11:00.003-05:00

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Sorry the posts on the blog have been lacking, I'll try to do better from now on.

I'll start with this awkward picture from one of my college books:

"Now listen, all I'm saying is that I have a pool in my backyard, and that you and maybe that Asian friend of yours are free to use it whenever you want... OK, hun?"

Antoine Dodson Inception Trailer

2010-12-09T14:24:00.000-05:00

I was looking at awesome parodies of the Inception movie trailers on YouTube the other day, like my two favorites so far, Dumb and Dumber and Space Jam. I thought somebody would have made an Antoine Dodson trailer (the "hide yo kids hide yo wife" guy), but nobody did. So I grabbed the baton and had at it. Here's what I came up with:

Go comment on it, like it and let me know what you think.

Also, I'm working on another video, although it won't be out for a few months. It's a long-term project but it should be worth it when it's done.

I'll try to post more frequently than I have been. I've been busy with school and the newspaper (which just put out a top 25 albums of the year list, for which I wrote about 1/3 of the descriptions, if you want to see that), so I've neglected the blog. I'll shoot for at least a post a week from now on, if not more.

The Dandy Warhols best of somehow didn't make the list, go figure.

That's all for now, have a good'ne.

Get Paul Millsap into the NBA All-Star Game

2010-11-21T14:20:00.000-05:00

Alright guys, here's the deal: Paul Millsap, who has been a 20-point-9-rebound phenom this year, is not on the All-Star ballot this year when he should be in the game. I am starting a campaign on Facebook to promote awareness of this cause. Like the page, and vote for Paul Millsap as your write-in every day until voting closes, and let's try to get him in.

VOTE HERE

General Update/YouTube VOTW (November 12, 2010)

2010-11-12T16:11:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been busy with classes and the newspaper (I'll post those articles on StuffToListenTo) and loafing and music-listening and racketball-playing and blog-not-updating, so I'll try to make up for a bit of lost time here.

So what have I been up to? On the 28th of October, I saw Tosh.0 star Daniel Tosh perform stand-up at my school, and he was funny like you would expect. He told some mean jokes that made people feel guilty for laughing, and others that made people puss guilt aside and lose it... so standard Tosh.

There is this girl on campus who looks just like dirty Meredith from The Office, and I finally got a picture of her. I looked like a definite creep at the dining hall, but a photographer always gets his shot:

It's not a great picture, but you can still see the similarity.

I discovered tvshack.cc, a great website for watching essentially whatever TV show or movie you want. I've read that it's not advisable to visit the site on a Windows, as it seems to be crawling with viruses and spyware and other goodies, but being on a Mac, I have yet to experience any problems. I've watched an average of two episodes of Kenny vs. Spenny per day since I discovered tvshack, and I love it dearly.

It is a great idea to go on eBay, search for "shirt," then go to Men's Clothing/Shirts/T-Shirts and Tank Tops, then sort by Price Low To High (and optionally choose Buy It Now only), or just click here to do all that. I managed to score this top rate Frosty shirt yesterday:

Only three bucks? "Happy birthday!"

One more random thing before I get to the video(s) of the week, I was bored yesterday night and just decided to make the following psychedelic image. Keep in mind that I honestly have never used or seriously considered using drugs and never will: they are a detriment to humankind. That said, I do enjoy this picture:

The first two videos of the week (more than one to make up for lost time) are a couple of emerging internet memes, which you may have seen, but I've only seen recently, so here they are: "Best Cry Ever" and 'YouForgotBlueberries.com"

The final video is more of a "personal childhood meme." I used to have this on VHS and I would watch it at least once a week. Presenting part 1 of "Larry Bird: A Basketball Legend"

Two New Maine Campus Articles

2010-10-18T14:59:00.001-04:00

Two articles published in today's issue of The Maine Campus:

It seems there are few funnymen challenging comedian Bob Marley for his title of “Maine’s King of Comedy,” and for good reason — Marley is one of the best from any state. He proved that on Saturday night in his side-splitting standup performance at the Collins Center for the Arts, as part of his “Laugh Wicked HAAHD” tour.

Click here to read about Bob Marley

The majority of Minsky Recital Hall’s 276 seats were occupied Oct. 7 for the Dance Department’s fundraising effort, “Emerging Dance – Minute To Win It.”

“We’ve done this event for years, before [dancer and co-emcee Molly Roberts] and I were even freshmen here,” said dancer and co-emcee Nicole Sanfacon.

Click here to read about the dance show

YouTube VOTW (October 15, 2010)

2010-10-15T11:15:00.001-04:00

You walk, right?

Oh, not you, sorry sir.

As a walker, you know that it's not a very demanding endeavor... unless you do it like the Japanese. This week's VOTW, featured on Neatorama about a month ago, is from a precision walking competition. If Japan supposedly has some of the world's most advanced technology, why are they wasting their time with this? I'll tell you: because it's balls-to-the-wall awesome.

(I also just posted a new CD review on StuffToListenTo, so go have a look.)

Bird Is The Word (New Slow Version) Ringtone

2010-10-12T14:31:00.001-04:00

Anybody catch the new Family Guy a few nights ago? Remember this hilarious moment?

Don't understand the reference?

Wouldn't this make an excellent ringtone? It sure does. Have at it.

YouTube VOTW (October 8, 2010)

2010-10-08T11:59:00.000-04:00

How many of you grew up watching the show with talking produce pushing positive values? If you have, you know that I'm talking about Veggie Tales. Featuring Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, this direct-to-VHS series, which eventually starting airing on television, takes up a good portion of my childhood nostalgia.

Thanks to LionsgateMovies, we are able to watch the entire "Jonas: A Veggie Tales Movie" on YouTube! Take 83 minutes out of your day and enjoy.

I am unable to embed the video here, so you'll have to go watch it on YouTube.

My First Newspaper Article

2010-10-04T11:07:00.002-04:00

My Neil Young CD review was published in today's issue of The Maine Campus, check it out here. From now on, I'll post CD reviews in the other blog, StuffToListenTo, so check in on that every now and then (or everyday if you want to, that won't bother me).

Neil Young's "Le Noise," released September 28

YouTube VOTW (October 1, 2010)

2010-10-01T11:04:00.004-04:00

Jason Williams, known to relatively new NBA fans as the backup point guard for the Miami Heat and most recently the Orlando Magic. Whenever I think of him, I see the explosive, flashy young combo of Pete Maravich and AND1 Mixtapes that he was with Sacramento and Memphis. As Jason matured, so did his game, which meant goodbye to a lot of the flair embedded into his play.

A video editor who goes by Yinka Dare made this highlight reel of him a long time ago: I remember downloading it from Limewire as a much younger kid and watching it over and over on my Windows 98 PC in the basement. Take a walk down my memory lane in this week's VOTW.

(Observe the sequence at around 1:22, when he embarrases some Heat player, then in another play toasts Gary "The Glove" Payton, one of the finest defenders the league has ever seen. Also, be careful kids, the song does contain a fair amount of expletives.)

Amazing YouTube Impression Artist Alex Jordan

2010-09-29T12:13:00.000-04:00

I found this talented young British gentleman... I forget how I found him, he's been in my browser's bookmarks for a while. He does dynamite impersonations of Stewie Griffin, Heath Ledger as the Joker, Jack Sparrow, and a host of others (including Orlando Bloom, as you probably see in the video's thumbnail image). Here is a big sampling of most of his impressions, but browse his channel for longer and better impressions of individual characters.

My Other Blog

2010-09-27T21:30:00.000-04:00

Yep, I have two of these bad boys.

Unlike this guy.

This side-venture will probably be a minor affair, just posting reviews when a new album excites me (of if one bothers me), or linking to my work with the school newspaper... oh by the way, I write for the University of Maine school newspaper now, the "Maine Campus." As far as I know right now, I will be doing CD reviews and write a music column, with the possibility for me to write about sports in the future, we'll see.

Obviously, this means that the frequency of posts on this blog will have to decrease, so expect updates less often, although I will still strive to update a few times a week. So, I have a small introduction post on the other blog, so you can check that out while waiting for the beginning of my tenure with the new blog and with the school newspaper...

Oh yes, the other blog: check out StuffToListenTo.blogspot.com. As you may have noticed, I'll have a little feed on the upper-right of this page that shows what's happening on that site (and the same thing on the other blog), so you'll know when I do something on either site. OK, enjoy yourselves, gang.

YouTube VOTW (September 24, 2010)

2010-09-24T11:18:00.002-04:00

The Razorwire Maze. The Reverse Beartrap. The Deathmask. The Magnum Eyehole. The Needle Pit. Great methods of torture and murder, all spawned from the series of "Saw" movies. There is one torture so mind-bending, so painful, so unbearable that even the "Saw" makers couldn't conceive it. It took the twisted mind of YouTube filmmaker Richard Gale and the rest of RichardGaleFilms to come up with it: repeatedly striking the victim with a spoon.

Introducing the video of the week, "The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon." (Yes, the video is a bit of a long haul, but watching the entire thing is worth it: I did it twice yesterday.)
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Katy Perry deemed too hot for Sesame Street

2010-09-23T16:23:00.008-04:00

"Sesame Street" has had some insanely notable guest stars, including the Backstreet Boys, Denzel Washington, David Beckham, Alex Trebek, Johnny Cash, Jack Black, Ray Charles, Bill Cosby, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler, and the list goes on. They've also had many bombshells, including Tyra Banks, Jessica Alba, Eva Longoria-Parker, Beyonce, Heidi Klum, and Barbara Bush, all of whom managed to dress decently.
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I know, a wasted opportunity to show a picture of Jessica Alba or Eva Longoria-Parker or Heidi Klum, I'm sorry...

There, now I can label this post "basketball." Two birds, one stone.

Then along came ~~Polly~~ Katy Perry and broke the combo. Have a look at this clip of Katy singing a slightly modified version of "Hot N Cold" to Elmo:
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After complaints from parents seeing the clip online, it was announced that the song would be cut from the show, but will remain available online.
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I don't see what's wrong with it: it'll be a nice flashback for the kids to their breastfeeding days. Who better to serenade my children than a Las Vegas prostitute bride? Then again, if I have kids, what they're watching on TV is among the least prominent of my problems.
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All joking aside, her outfit is a bit ridiculous, at least for a kids television show: she ought to have the sense to dress a bit more homely for this type of situation. She's worn less risqué outfits in her often very provocative shows, for goodness sakes:
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When I'm getting aroused watching Sesame Street, you know something is wrong. Good move by the Sesame Street people, this isn't kiddy material. It's fit for the streets, but not this one.
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One last thing: they couldn't make Elmo's running (during the chorus) look more convincing than that? It looks like he's kicking his feet while sitting in an invisible powerchair (at little or no cost to him).
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Zdeno Chara-zard

2010-09-21T14:49:00.002-04:00

I had been meaning to do this for a while:

Zdeno Chara-zard.

YouTube VOTW (September 17, 2010)

2010-09-17T14:39:00.002-04:00

Reggae is sweet. Rock is sweet. Rock covers of reggae songs are solid: take this video I recorded at the Eric Clapton concert I went to last year, of Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff", for example. What is also top rate, and maybe even better than rock doing reggae, is reggae doing rock... or in this case, folk. The video of the week is the best reggae cover I have heard yet: Toots and The Maytals with their take of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads."

Other reggae covers to consider:

The Dynamics - Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)

Shinehead - Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)

Easy Star All-Stars - Money (Pink Floyd)

Easy Star All-Stars - Paranoid Android (Radiohead)

The Abyssinians - Blowin' In The Wind (Bob Dylan)

Edi Fitzroy - Hotel California (The Eagles)

Design Your Own Shirts

2010-09-16T10:49:00.001-04:00

I have a hard time finding t-shirts that I like in a store. Most of them have a brand that I don't care for on them, or the design isn't good, or they're too expensive. I love getting random shirts from thrift shops, but when you want something specific, that just won't cut it. So, as others before me have, I wanted to create my own custom shirts.

Yes, "make my own" shirts... in "America"... and pay myself a "reasonable wage"...

With that idea as a launching pad, I found Instructables.com, a great user-powered website with guides to making and modifying all sorts of things: I learned how to make home-made Kit Kats, wooden rings, and 6 ways that baking soda can help me get a date.

That'll impress her.

Thankfully, I also found how to put my own designs on a shirt (or any fabric, for that matter). I started out by drawing using the bleach pen method:

The design on this one is crooked because the shirt is oddly sewn. Yes, I added in the TIME TO PRETEND because I wrote it on the shirt after this picture was taken.

If you want to find something to draw, search Google Images for "[whatever it is you want] coloring page" and you'll get some very drawable images, like this koala. You can do like I do and add your initials or signature near the bottom of the shirt, so people know that it is an original.

Depending on the shirt you use, the bleach may turn the shirt funny colors instead of making it lighter. Sometimes, even if you didn't intend it to be that way, it comes out nicely, like in this shirt, depicting Hokusai's "Great Wave Off Kanagawa."

After bleaching a few shirts, I wanted something different, so I gave painting with stencils a try. This method requires more resources and time, but if done correctly, produces an excellent result. Instructables user bballantine has an excellent guide for stenciling your own shirts. Following her lead, here are the two shirts I made:

If you know your way around a computer well enough, you can give making your own stencils a shot, or search Google for stencils and find some pretty good ones. This stencil was made by me, from a photo I found on flickr.

You can get creative and tie-dye a shirt, or modify it any other way you see fit before stenciling your design on it.

In one case, there was a shirt I really wanted to make, but drawing or stenciling it wouldn't do it justice: it needed to be a large full-resolution image. You can use printer transfer paper, but I don't like how it turns out. So, I made the shirt using zazzle.com, which allows you to make a custom shirt (or many other things) of whatever you want, as long as the image doesn't infringe copyright. The Wikipedia Picture of the Day archive and Wikimedia Commons are great sources for high-resolution pictures, most of which are copyright-free. I usually wait for sales to get a shirt, and ended up getting this one for only $12 or $13 (that's with shipping):

Does this interest you in making your own shirt? Have you already made your own? If you have, I'd love to see it, show me in the comments. A shirt is a form of self-expression, showing the world what you like and through that, what kind of person you are, so be creative, and wear what you really want to wear.

Leon - Original Video

2010-09-15T11:07:00.002-04:00

Before my buddy Nathan Lapointe and I left for the University of Southern Maine and the University of Maine, respectively, he wanted to film at least one last video. He had also been wanting me to write him a dramatic monologue, so to murder two birds with a rock, here is the result, a dramatic monologue entitled "Leon," written by me and primarily performed by Nate:

Other videos Nate and I have done together:

"Ball: The Daniel Armstrong Story"

"Nate's Gum Thesis Video"

"No Trespassing"

"Nate Lapointe - Cleaning Out My Closet"

"Van Buren Winter Carnival 2010 - Senior Talent Night (Parts 1 and 2)"

The Internet and Music

2010-09-14T10:54:00.002-04:00

For my CMJ106 class, "Introduction to Mass Communication," it is a requirement that we post in an online forum at least four times this semester, responding to whatever's up there or sparking a new discussion. Well, somebody started talking about how the Internet has impacted the music industry, and I thought it was a good pool for me to dive into. Here is what I posted, slightly modified for the blog:

The Internet is probably the greatest thing to happen to music. It allows artists to collaborate no matter where they are. It allows audiences to distribute their content to a much broader audience, including those who might be too busy to get their music at a record store. In fact, now-popular alternative rock band My Chemical Romance used MySpace to share their music and gain a wide following, wide enough to make their 2006 album "The Black Parade" sell over one million copies and go Platinum.

Don't worry, I was only pointing out supporting evidence, I don't care for MCR (just enough to know that "MCR" is an accepted abbreviation, that they don more makeup than Heath Ledger, and their singer looks like Jack White's corpse).

I suppose the Internet is bad for music if you are a nostalgist. From what I know, "back in the day," you used to watch television or subscribe to music magazines to hear about whatever albums were coming out, then wait until your local music shop stocked the record. Nowadays, you hear about every sneeze that comes out of Katy Perry's nose at the drop of a hat. Now you can browse iTunes' or Amazon's virtual record stores from the convenience of your armchair, and if something piques your interest, *click*, it's yours.

eBay, $7.48, free shipping, Buy It Now, *click*, mine. Buh-bye world, see you in two weeks (nah, I'm kidding... already have this game).

Most people say this instant access is a good thing (like myself), but the old-schoolers might argue that it takes away from the experience: the anticipation of a record and the journey of going out to a record shop and hoping what you're looking for is still in stock was a wonderful ordeal, days that music enthusiasts looked forward to with wet chops.

While I do agree that the Internet is great for music, it has ruined one part of it that I love: the album. When buying music, how often do you buy an entire album, as opposed to just the single or two that you heard on the radio? My guess is not very. What many casual music listeners fail to realize is that other songs on the record are not always just filler so the performer and record company can milk few extra dollars from your jeans. Singles (the songs that get rotation on VH1 and MTV) are what the record company and the artist think will appeal to the broadest group of people, not they are necessarily the best song. For example, on John Mayer's 2006 "Continuum" album, the songs "Waiting on the World to Change" and "Gravity" were released as singles, while to me, the non-singles "The Heart of Life" and "Vultures" are just as good as those songs, and "Stop This Train" is the best track on the album. Those are obviously opinions, but that's what taste in music is, and it illustrates my point.

Illustration of a point.

The record shops are expanding to accommodate this digital shift in the music industry by offering digital music products, like iPods and iTunes gift cards and such. I believe that these two communities can co-exist, and so do the people who organized Record Store Day, during which customers could access content exclusive to record stores, not available online, like special editions of albums and the soundtrack to the "Scott Pilgrim" movie. As long as each medium of music distribution maintains its own quirks and presents its unique advantages, both parts of the industry can thrive.

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Unreleased U2 song makes live debut

2010-09-13T16:52:00.005-04:00

The boys from the north side of Dublin have been getting adventurous as of late in their U2360 Tour, as this post's title could apply to any one of four songs: in the past month or so, U2 have introduced "Return of the Stingray Guitar," "North Star," "Flowering Rose of Glastonbury," and "Mercy," the prompt for this post.

"Mercy" is a song that first surfaced in late 2004, when it was apparently one of the last songs cut from the "How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" album. Although how the song was thrust into the public is debatable, the a popular story is that a fan was given a copy of HTDAAB by Bono, a copy containing the extra track. Anywho, the song was uploaded to the Internet and shared on the Interference forums, and from there saw a grand reception from the U2 fan community (download the original song here). Fans speculated as to whether it would appear on the next album (we now know it did not appear on 2009's "No Line on The Horizon"), and now they suspect it might appear on the upcoming record, reportedly titled "Songs of Ascent."

These suspicions were pushed along when the song was performed in a soundcheck before a Zurich show, and bolstered when the song was actually played in the show yesterday evening. Have a listen:

If you've listened to the original, you'll immediately notice that the lyrics, structure, and length have been slightly altered, but it is definitely still recognizable as "Mercy" as early on as the first few notes.

I have always been a fan of the original track, and I'm a fan of its new incarnation for sure. It sounds more refined and better-written: although the rough and raw feel of the original was part of its charm, the new version is still tops, and the original will always be a great demo.

I tried working this into a post, but I couldn't find a way, and it's been in my bookmarks for too long now... this is a strange picture.

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YouTube VOTW (September 10, 2010)

2010-09-10T16:00:00.002-04:00

Is anybody dirtier than Oscar?

Not the Oscar I meant, but yes, Meredith is dirtier.

I was talking about Oscar the Grouch, occupant of the only residential garbage can on all of Sesame Street. Oscar may have met his match in Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs," who made an appearance on Sesame Street on a date which eludes me.

Mike is searching Sesame Street for the "Dirtiest Jobs," and meets up with Oscar in this week's VOTW:

Snuggie's Snugarena: ...

2010-09-09T15:04:00.006-04:00

The giant backwards robe that is the Snuggie has been making me sick for the past year or so. If you're too lazy to stick your arms out of a blanket, then you really don't want that hot cocoa you're reaching for that badly, do you? If you really do want it, but your arm muscles can't be inconvenienced in the slightest, then grab your robe, put it on backwards, and walk around like a mental patient in his hospital paper apron, blissfully unaware that his buns are being buffeted by the breeze (that's consonance, people).

Search Google Images for "hospital robe" and this comes up.

The product itself isn't really that bad: I may be over-exaggerating the Snuggie's uselessness a little bit. What leaves a sour taste on my tongue is the horrendous ads. I believe they held a casting call, picked the worst actors, then asked a crowd to give them a location, improv show-style, then filmed it.

-"OK audience, need a place and defining characteristic!"

-"CULT MEMBERS AT A YOUTH SOCCER GAME!"

I am now near-thankful for the original ad ever since I saw the new one... just have a look.

Wow. Analysis:

1. 0:03 - "Let's legitimize our product as something other than a joke... and use the Macarena to do so." People are already making countless videos parodizing the Snuggie ads (check 'em out), can you imagine what the YouTube community will do now that they have the Macarena to feed on?

2. 0:04-0:27 - Fact: wearing a Snuggie amplifies the fun of every activity exponentially. This is true.

Trust me.

3. 0:10-0:11 - I have a sneaking suspicion she knows she's being filmed. She is part of the 4% of people aged 60+ who recognizes what a camera looks like and doesn't call every electronic device a Gameboy, iPod, or Walkman.

4. 0:11-0:13 - Typical depiction of typical girls at a typical sleepover, hula-hooping and singing into hairbrushes and such: happens all the time.

5. 0:13-0:15 - The only clever part of this commercial. Notice how the Snuggie cult members are warm and comfortable in their wizard cloaks, while the other fans are at the base camp nearest the summit of Mount Everest.

6. 0:18-0:19 - "Hey old leopard lady, look more awkward and uncomfortable." "I-I-I can't!" "Ah, OK... carry on then, shake those hips."

7. 0:20-0:22 - AAAHAHGGHGHHDSHGHFH IT'S A PUPPY!

8. 0:25-0:27 - Snuggie, perfect for looking at pornogr... oh, no, a centerfold of a woman who couldn't be more clothed if she was Middle Eastern, never mind.

9. 0:29-0:32 - ...and to wrap it up, they "raise the roof." They would have done the electric slide, the moonwalk, the YMCA, and Cotton Eyed Joe, but it's only a 30-second spot. They had a hard enough time with the roof raising anyway: the boy in blue up front is as rhythmic as Michael Jackson... right now (it's not too soon for "MJ's dead" jokes, I hope).

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Recent Music News Round-Up

2010-09-08T16:44:00.004-04:00

A lot of stuff had gone down in the music world the past week or so, let me recap:

Music industry anxiously waiting for next Tal Bachman hit

It's only been 11 years since "She's So High"; take your time, champ. (Seems like just yesterday that was a socially-acceptable haircut.)

Killers frontman Brandon Flowers' debut solo album preview

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't one of the main purposes of a solo album to branch out and try things that you wouldn't have with your regular band? Brandon Flowers of The Killers put out an album recently (coming the 14th here in the states) that frankly sounds much like the synthy-rock his boys were putting out. Why he didn't just record these songs with his crew is beyond me, but regardless, SPIN had a full album preview of "Flamingo" about a week ago, you can check that out if you so wish.

Fan-made, multi-angle Radiohead concert available for viewing/download

In a 2009 show in Prague, about 50 fans equipped with Flip cameras positioned themselves at different spots in the arena and filmed the show; the resulting footage was then edited into the complete concert by four fan editors. If I had to describe the feel you get when watching the footage, it's halfway between a concert DVD and actually being there. Concert DVDs at times seem a bit overproduced, but being at the show doesn't always provide a great view, unless you're in a perfect spot. This production gives you multiple angles and great audio (the band gave the filmmakers top notch quality audio of the show to help in their production), while still retaining the experience of being at a rock show.

You can download the show here in a variety of formats, or watch the whole thing on YouTube. I was never a big fan of Radiohead, but I've started coming around recently; here's my favorite song from the set:

U2 fans did something similar to this during the band's Vertigo tour in 2005, but I can't find a clip of it; I'll update this post if I do.

Kings of Leon put out new song/video

My previously-written-about boys have a new album coming up ("Come Around Sundown," October 19 US release), and I'm getting tired of waiting. Luckily, KOL released the video for the album's lead single "Radioactive" today. I'm not quite sure how much I like the song yet, but I'll say that it sounds like a hybrid of their first two albums and their most recent two albums, probably swaying slightly more towards the latter, or maybe it's something new and I'm just trying to relate it to something preexisting, because that's what people do. Anywho, I enjoy it, but time will tell whether or not it's a grower. Have a listen for yourself:

Brooks & Done

Country legends Brooks & Dunn have decided to wrap up their 20 year career, ending it with a concert last Thursday. One less country artists I have to worry about, good riddance

Google to start online music store, become iTunes competitor

Not long after iTunes introduced a new version of iTunes, Google announced that they want in on online music sales. Many people have been looking to somebody to compete with iTunes, and Google seems to have a resources to do it. Google's gonna have something different to offer, otherwise they'd have no reason to try it out. I'm thinking they're gonna have either lower prices or some sort of innovative feature we can't even imagine, the kind of stuff you'd see on a tour of the Wonka factory.

Download entire MGMT Glastonbury 2010 performance

After a bit o' browsing, I found the entire show MGMT performed at this year's Glastonbury festival, and it is kickin'. It features riveting performances of songs off their debut album ("Electric Feel," "Time to Pretend"), new tracks from this year's album ("It's Working," "Congratulations") and "Destrokk," a cut from their 2005 Time To Pretend EP. So yep, download it here, and check out the album art I made for it, so it looks all pretty in your iTunes:

(click here to download a larger version)

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Full-Length Standup Comedy? Yep, YouTube'll do.

2010-09-06T18:55:00.002-04:00

YouTube is clearly a product of the "no-attention-span generation": it's millions upon millions of clips about everything from nostalgic video game intro videos to original sketch artists to sports highlights. You can go on YouTube and watch clips of Dane Cook talking about a glass of punch ruining the structural integrity of your home or hear the haunting falsetto of Jim Gaffigan when he sings "hooot pockeeeeeeet," but most people don't realize that you can watch entire shows of these standup artists.

For those of you who are attentive and patient enough to enjoy the 2.5 hours of mastery that is "Into the Wild" and other long-tenured activities, here are a few complete, 60+ minute comedy sets to whet your whistle. (Yes, that "Into the Wild" reference was a reach, but you should know, it's one of the best movies I've seen.)

Dave Chappelle - Killin' Em Softly

Dave Chappelle - For What It's Worth

Dane Cook - Rough Around the Edges

Jerry Seinfeld - I'm Telling You For The Last Time

Mitch Hedberg - Live in Chicago

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"Society" by Eddie Vedder

2010-09-05T11:45:00.005-04:00

I don't typically post on the weekends, especially Sundays, but I have two points I'd like to address. First, thank you guys for viewing my blog over 1,000 times in the first month. It's more than I expected, and I appreciate your appreciation of my writing. As I've said before, this blog is just a way for me to practice and improve my writing skills and to rant about what's on my mind, and anybody reading it is icing on the cake.

Imagine if this was a voodoo cake.

Point two: Have y'all ever seen the movie "Into the Wild"? It came out in 2007, is based on the book by John Krakauer, and stars the immensely talented Emile Hirsch. It tells the true story of Christopher McCandless, who, not to spoil the movie if you haven't seen it and wish to (which you should, it's one of the best movies I've ever seen), abandoned society with the ultimate goal of surviving the Alaskan wilderness alone. It is an excellent movie, I'm sure the book's great too (I haven't read it yet, but plan to), and a really touching story. Avid fans of McCandless' tale have ventured to the "magic bus" featured in the book and movie (and filmed themselves doing so) in hopes of getting a small feel of McCandless' journey. This is certainly an endeavor to add to my list of life goals; the list so far consists of going to Ireland (done), seeing U2 in concert (done), write for a newspaper or website (in progress), climb a mountain (will get done next weekend), other things I can't think of, and visit the magic bus.

The soundtrack is also top notch, serving as Eddie Vedder's (of Pearl Jam) debut solo album. It's written entirely by Vedder, except for what I feel are the two best songs, "Hard Sun" and "Society." The latter is the reason for this post: I edited together a music video for Society, which vaguely summarizes the movie. If the previous paragraph put the desire in your head to see this movie, then you might not want to watch the video. If you've already seen it or don't care about the spoiler, then have a look, and tell me what you think:

(free MP3 download of "Society")

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YouTube VOTW (September 3, 2010)

2010-09-03T09:40:00.004-04:00

Some crazy stuff happens in college, right? You attend a social event, you get intoxicated, you have relations with many partners ("you" do all this stuff, not "me"). Sometimes, you even pull a few pranks: who can forget when Streeter of College Humor had Amir convinced he won a halfcourt shot halftime contest?

I was browsing the good ol' YTube and I came up with a few funny things that went down in college classes, take a gander:

Well, I'm going home for this long Labor Day weekend, enjoy yours.

iTunes and Celtics get updates

2010-09-02T12:14:00.008-04:00

If you haven't checked for an iTunes update in the past two days, then you're missing out on a few new features. Yesterday, Steve Jobs announced version 10 of iTunes. The software gets a bit of a facelift, including a new icon, chrome side buttons, repositioned "x - +" buttons, and a new way to sort your library.

icons: old vs. new

comparison of iTunes 9 (above) and 10 (yes... below)

new library display mode

The reason that iTunes 10 is a big deal, however, is a new feature Apple is implementing called Ping. In short, it's a music-concentrated Facebook, minus the annoying friends asking for bales of hay for their farms. There's much more to Ping than that, and GeekGloss has an excellent summary of the service if you wanna find out more... or you can always just update to iTunes 10 and have a peek around for yourself.

Before I move on to the next piece of news, I have an iTunes (for Mac) addon that you all should have: it's called DockArt. It'll transform your iTunes icon to look like this:

It takes the artwork of whatever song that's playing (in this case, "It's Working" by MGMT from their "Congratulations" album) and does pretty much what you see: tilts the artwork and makes it your icon with a little iTunes badge in the corner. It's a very customizable addon, and an easily-installed one if you follow the directions given at the download site. It works for songs, movies, TV shows, and podcasts, like Bill Simmons' The B.S. Report, which was a horrible attempt at a segue into sports.

Yesterday, the Boston Celtics signed free agent guard Delonte West. If you didn't just hop on the Beantown bandwagon in 2007 when the Celtics got Garnett and Ray Allen and were cool to like again, then you'll remember that Delonte started his career with Boston in 2004, but was traded in 2007 as part of the flurry of deals that landed the Celts another banner. He was a promising young guard, putting up 12.2 points and 4.4 assists a game during his Celtic peak season of 06-07. Delonte, aside from a case of the crazies, provides a decent shooting option off the bench, a nice backup point guard to Rajon Rondo, and will probably (and hopefully) move into a 6th or 7th man role.

"OK Rajon, you're gonna wanna go there, then do the fake-behind-the-back pass because they fall for it every time (I know I probably will), then kick it to Ray for the trey-bomb."

...and that's all I have to say about that. UMO (University of Maine, my school) plays Albany in football tonight, so I'm gonna get some grub and go see that, so enjoy your night.

Monthly Music Playlist: September 2010

2010-09-01T11:25:00.004-04:00

Near the beginning of every month, I'll post a playlist that I have either already made or a new one that pertains to a certain theme. Every playlist will consist of about 18-20 songs that can all fit on an 80-minute CD, and most songs should be available on iTunes or another online music retailer.

This month's playlist I made back in June, and it is a mix of what I was feeling then. It's also a great playlist to have going in the car, as it has a bit of rock stuff, pop stuff, hard stuff, and soft stuff; a diverse mix that'll satisfy whoever's in the car with you.

Playlist Page on YouTube (or watch/listen right below)

Tracklist (Artist - Song)

Back Door Slam - Come Home
Kobe Bryant featuring Tyra Banks - K.O.B.E. (not on iTunes, get the MP3 free here)
MGMT - Electric Feel
Eels - Fresh Blood
The Doors - Break On Through (To The Other Side)
The Stone Roses - Love Spreads
John Frusciante - Dissolve
Gorillaz - Stylo
Led Zeppelin - Communication Breakdown
Low vs Diamond - Don't Forget Sister
Blind Melon - No Rain
Jack Johnson - Better Together
Badly Drawn Boy - A Minor Incident
Jurassic 5 - What's Golden
Blue Cheer - Satisfaction (Rolling Stones cover)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - If 6 Was 9
Beck - Loser
The Verve - The Rolling People

Standout Music Video:

(I was unable to embed the official HD version, so go watch it here if you wish.)

NFL Pro Bowl-er Polamalu insures hair for $1M

2010-08-31T14:53:00.005-04:00

Yep, Pittsburg Steelers safety Troy Polamalu had his almost-3-foot hair insured by Head and Shoulders, whose shampoo he endorses, for the whopping sum of a million dollars. Other things that could have been his for one million American dollars include a Picasso painting, about 17% of Steve Austin, some green brooch, and the love of whomever the Barenaked Ladies are singing about.

...and 100,000,000 thoughts.

According to Polamalu, his locks were last trimmed in 2000, back when a college coach of his told him that he needed them cut. Part of the reason his hair has been growing for the past decade is as a tribute to his Samoan heritage. What other ways could Polamalu honor his people's past?

Get inked everywhere.
Grow his own Tora patch.
Be the biggest badass possible (if he isn't already) by literally playing with fire (siva afi):

I think Troy's posing: the Samoan ancestry is an excuse for him to continue his hippie lifestyle. For your benefit, I have rendered a simulation of Polamalu's appearance if he was actually paying tribute to those before him:

-"How come Troy never picks the tora, like, ever? He just stands there, waving his fire stick thing, trying to not light his hair." -"Who's Troy?"

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Write an Episode of Jake and Amir Contest

2010-08-30T11:12:00.001-04:00

Do any of you CollegeHumor followers remember this, from early May of this year? Jake and Amir announced that they would accept submissions of fan-written episode scripts for their web series. Anywho, two fellas, Mike and Stefan, submitted the winning script, and here is the resulting video:

The reason I mention this is I just remembered that I submitted a script for this contest, so here it is, freshly dug out of the archives of my Gmail outbox:

Jake and Amir: Lebron

-------

Amir: Hey Jake, did you hear the latest James Cameron news?

Jake: No, Amir, I did not.

Amir: Well, best friend, he might be changing teeth since his just lost in the playoffs.

Jake: What?

Amir: That doesn't really explain why he's wearing a headband though...

Jake: OK, Amir, I think by James Cameron, you meant Lebron James, and by teeth, you meant team.

Amir: They're both famous, it's the same thing.

Jake: Not really, they're in two entirely different... why does this matter to you? You don't even watch sports.

Amir: I do so watch sports, every time I organize my day to hang out with you but you have to help your mother clean her house or do something else inconveniently spur-of-the-moment.

Jake: Oh yeah? What position does Lebron James play?

Amir: He's the musher.

Jake: OK, what team does he play for?

Amir: Rocky Mountain Sabercats

Jake: What sport does he play?

Amir: Define "does."

Jake: Is he black or white?

Amir: HA! Trick question: he's Native American. His family calls him "Blazing Leatherfoot" and he does a ritual dance before his games to call upon the blessings of his ancestors to ensure success.

Jake: OK Amir, that's one of the most racist...

Amir: Shhh shhh shhh...

Jake: Amir, what are you...

Amir: SHHHHHH

Jake: Alright, why are you shh-ing...

Amir: (suddenly wearing basketball clothes and a Native American headdress) MAKE IT RAIN! (shoots a basketball at Jake's face)

Jake: AMIR, WHAT THE F...

END.

...and my friend Kyle Hews also submitted a solid script:

Jake and Amir: Alergies

____________________

Jake: (taking nasal spray) ah, that's better

Amir: Ah, so better

Jake: What?

Amir: What?

Jake: I assume that stupefied look on your face is because you've never seen me use nasal spray.

Amir: ... What?

Jake: Thanks for confirming that. Amir, pay attention. I have allergies and they are particularly bad this year, so I'm using nasal spray.

Amir: (Wink, finger gun) gotcha, you have Al's Herpies.

Jake: No, ALL-ER-GIES

Amir: OK, I get it. What is causing your Tapestries?

Jake: *sigh*, It's pollen.

Amir: uuuuuuuuuuuuh.

Jake: Pollen, like what comes from plants. Plants make it.

Amir: (looks over at the flowers on his desk, then glares) YOU! STOP KILLING JAKE!

Jake: Amir, stop strangling the flowers, they're not killing me. They just make working here suck, kinda like you d-

Amir: (interrupts, sobbing) I'm sorry I almost killed you Jake, or at least made your day suck.

Jake: It's fine, you do that every day.

Amir: Thanks for forgiving me.

Jake: I wasn't.

Amir: It's great that we have a bond like this. You know what? I'm gonna tell you my allergy.

Jake: A minute ago you didn't know what an allergy was.

Amir: I'm allergic to McDonald's barbecue sauce.

Jake: (suddenly interested, but trying not to show it) Really?

Amir: Yizz

Jake: But you eat it all the time.

Amir: I know, and my tongue bleeds and I fall asleep.

Jake: You mean you become unconcious in a barbecue sauce-induced coma.

Amir: Yizz

Jake: So maybe you should switch to sweet-and-sour sauce or something.

Amir: With your help, I can.

Jake: That's a little creepy...(looks at his computer, looks back, exclaims) You're eating some right now!

Amir: (unconcious, with blood coming out of his mouth) *gurgling sound*

END

YouTube VOTW (August 27, 2010)

2010-08-27T07:06:00.000-04:00

If you don't wanna hear some explicit content, then just skip this post. I normally don't care for swearing in my comedy, but it's almost necessary for this joke. In his 2000 TV standup special Killin' Them Softly (watch the whole thing on YouTube), Dave Chappelle talks about Sesame Street, specifically about Oscar the Grouch. I won't give it away (although the video title already does that, so forget it), so I'll just say that this clip dubs a segment of Dave's performance into various Sesame Street scenes (I enjoy the last one most).

My next post, assuming I don't write over the weekend (I still might though, I have a few ideas), will be my first as a college student. I move in tomorrow, and classes start on Monday. Good luck to all others bound for college, and have a good weekend.

BeardHead

2010-08-26T09:29:00.010-04:00

EDIT (11:15) - I just finished playing around with the layout of the site, and made a few additions and changes. From top to bottom (on the right of the screen): I added a Subscribe To This Blog box, which allows you to keep up with my blog with Google Reader (which I profiled as part of an article I wrote when I was a part of my high school newspaper) or any other RSS reader. I added RSS feeds from ESPN and Rolling Stone, so you can catch up on the latest news from the worlds of sports and music (sorry, but I couldn't figure out how to make those links automatically open in a new window, so you're gonna have to right-click to do that). I also moved the Page Views box up, just to make it easier for me to see. That's about it, enjoy.

Billy Mays, major league baseball players, pedophiles, Al Borland, foreigners, the creep who lives three houses over from you, Grizzly Adams, the NHL playoffs, homeless people, folk singers: all hairy things you'd think of before the idea of what I'm about to show you passes through your thinkabellum.

Let's not forget Beard Fish.

These are also things that give me extreme beard envy. Bare-faced people like me, worry not, our day will come. Until then, if the embarrassment of bald cheeks is too much to bear, I would be delighted to introduce you to BeardHead.

The near-penultimate form of badassery, trumped only by an actual beard of this magnitude.

Owning a BeardHead will allow you to be warm and look like a straight up baller while doing masculine activities like snowboarding, watching baseball, bonding with your ladyfriend, protesting, and running.

...and fighting over who has better tattoos.

You can grab a BeardHead of your very own for $24.99 right now (they're on sale, list price is $32.99) from their website. They are available in the testosterony colors of viking, lumberjack, grandpa, pirate, and for the women who missed out on the Y chromosome, bunny (yellow, brown, grey, black, and pink). If you grow tired of the default mustache option, you can buy an alternate for five bucks, in the styles of fu manchu, Mario and walrus.

Like it in Facebook, and prove your dormant facial follicles wrong and get your own beard today.

Top 9 NBA Ownings of Greg Ostertag

2010-08-25T13:59:00.010-04:00

(Before I start, I have a minor piece of blog news: I messed around with the blog a bit, so now when you click a link, it'll open in a new window instead of opening in the same window. It'll be a better way for you to check my in-text references: Just click, check it out for a second, then close it and keep reading.)

For a guy who is 7'2" and once averaged 2.7 blocks per game in a season (1.7 for his career), Greg Ostertag sure gets messed up in the post a lot. He seems like a nice guy (he saved his sister's life by giving her a kidney), but some NBA players just won't stop picking on him. Ostertag has been owned by many a NBA player: here are the top guys who Greg pretty much belongs to.

Honorable Mention. Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem "The Dream" did this to guys all the time, and really, there's just about nothing you're going to do to stop it, but what makes this special is that it was Olajuwon's 25,000th NBA point... right in Greg's grill.

9. Dwayne Wade

This would have been higher up if the shot wasn't a big pile of bullcrap. Still, Wade picked this battle: notice how he hesitates around the 3-point line, then realizes that it's Ostertag waiting for him, that it's safe for him to score.

8. Keith "The Boss" Closs

Poor Ostertag gets owned by a guy whose best quality is his nickname: He averaged 3.9 points per game in three NBA seasons, and that dunk constitutes 0.4% of his total career points. It also doesn't hurt that Closs is 7'3".

7. Eddie Jones

Greg shouldn't feel too bad about this one: the former Laker has done similar things to the likes of Shawn Kemp.

6. Amare Stoudamire

Again, another guy who has racked up some frequent flyer miles in his day. I'm sure Greg appreciates the three angles that ESPN provided.

5. Kobe Bryant

Now we get into the repeat offenders. Do you prefer in-your-face or finagle-around-you jams? Have it all.

4. Glenn Robinson

We now delve into Ostertag's unpaid collegiate inferiority, with Glenn Robinson destroying Ostertag's self-esteem twice in the same game. Some dunks, you go around the guy. Others, you go over. Robinson decides to ball it up and do both in the same possession. Then, Greg tries to stop him with mediocre physical contact in a last-ditch effort.

3. Luc Longley

Longley sees Ostertag coming from seven miles away and almost pushes the ball through the backboard. The best part of this play isn't even the block: after, an embarrassed Greg Ostertag fumbles and retrieves the ball, casually saunters to the three-point line with no contention because the other nine people on the court realize how ridiculous an Ostertag shot from that range would be, then Ostertag delivers, barely managing to scrape the bottom of the rim.

2. Shaquille O'Neal

I have no idea about the context of this image, but Shaq must have done something good.

I hear landing on your neck usually ends up well.

1. Michael Jeffrey Jordan

Unquestionably number one, both as best player on the list and biggest mastery over the big white stiff. I found a remarkable four different incidents in which Jordan made Ostertag wish he took over the family business instead of pursuing a professional athletic career.

Antoine Walker Trying To Break Back Into NBA

2010-08-24T11:52:00.007-04:00

'Toine's basketball career can be described the same way you'd describe a phone on vibrate, "Quarantine," and Michael J. Fox: shaky. He won a national championship at Kentucky, then he was part of one of the worst NBA teams, the 96-97 Celtics, who finished 15-67. He averaged 20.5 points per game during his time with Boston, and reached the Eastern Conference Finals, then got traded to Dallas and averaged 6 points less per game. Bringing it back to a positive note, he did find time to star in the hit ABC sitcom "My Wife and Kids," miscredited as George O. Gore II.

Above: photo of the cast.

Below: then and closer-to-now photo of Antoine.

After leaving Boston, Walker fizzled: he did average 20.4 and 16.3 points with Atlanta and Boston (again), then got old and bad, averaging 12.2 and 8.5 points with Miami, 8 points with Minnesota, and appeared in two preseason games with the Grizzlies, being waived shortly after, the entire time continuing to take shots like this. In 2010, he signed with Puerto Rican team Mets de Guaynabo, but even got released by them.

Exhilarating Puerto Rican basketball highlights.

Off the court... eghguhgh. He got robbed in 2000 and 2007. What criminal decides to rob a 6'8" African American man?

Probably these Einsteins.

More recently, in the past two years, Antoine was arrested for suspicion of drunk driving, was charged with writing bad checks to cover gambling debts, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Yes, a man who, according to basketball-reference.com, earned $108,142,015 during his NBA career, not to mention endorsement dough, ran out of money. I'm assuming that Antoine then spiraled into a deep depression and self-produced this video to make himself feel good:

Nowadays, Walker is actually planning a return to the NBA. He's been losing weight, getting back in shape, and has drawn interest from a few teams. Maybe Antoine can sign with Miami again and take 87-foot three pointers. Maybe Boston can sign him along with Eric Williams, Tony Battie, Walter McCarty, Vitaly Potapenko, and Bruno Sundov and get the old gang back together (Nope: NESN.com reports "The Celtics are not one of the teams in the running"). But does he really have anything left? He was waived by Guaynabo and the '08 Grizzles, almost as bad as being waived by Guaynabo. Then again, in that Puerto Rico basketball video above, 'Toine did score 17 points in that game, and some impressive layups were had by him competition, so I don't know, maybe he can help a contender compete this season. He certainly won't be the same Antoine Walker that I remember:

Also, I would like to apologize for linking to Perez Hilton in the "Further reading" of yesterday's article. It was an unfortunate accident, and I promise it will never happen again.

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Bandwagon Kings of Leon Fans Unfamiliar With Band's Back Catalog

2010-08-23T10:08:00.005-04:00

American rock music "kings" Kings of Leon have long been superstars across the pond: their first two albums hit #3 on the UK charts, and their most recent two reached the top spot. However, they haven't always received a lot of hometown love during their career. They instead saw a steady gain in popularity, charting at, chronologically, 113, 55, 25, and 4.

How could they have expected to compete with the beautifully poetic Amy Winehouse for chart spots? (Not goin' back to rehab, nonono...)

Apparently, sales doesn't mean familiarity: fairweather Kings Of Leon fans, drawn in by the success of "Only By The Night," were so ignorant of KOL's music that they thought their old songs were debuts of material from the upcoming "Come Around Sundown" album. Said drummer Nathan Followill to Absolute Radio, "The other night there was someone on the front row and we had played a new song, and then we played 'Trani' which is off our first album. I saw the girl look at another girl and say 'Is this another new song?'. So it's like a lot of them don't know the difference." No, it's not like they don't know the difference... they don't know the difference.

In case the label of "uninformed fan" applies to you, I'm gonna try to help you. I consider myself a knowledgable fan of the Tennessee Followills, so here are a few key cuts of theirs, released before their smash hit "Only By The Night":

1. Red Morning Light (from Youth And Young Manhood, 2003)

The debut single is certainly an impressive introduction to the band, although it is (perhaps unfortunately) no longer indicative of their style. This upbeat southern garage rocker puts the skills of guitarist and singer Matthew and Caleb Followill right at the forefront of your perception, featuring an energetic guitar solo and scratchy-yet-soulful vocals. The track was good enough to garner the attention of EA Sports, who used it as the introduction song for FIFA 2004. The only disappointments are when the song ends ate a mere 3:00 in, and that Caleb eventually axed the 'stache and chopped the mane.

2. On Call (from Because of the Times, 2007)

You'll immediately notice the difference between this track and the one prior, with the synthesized keyboard intro and all. Once it picks up, you'll make no mistake that it is the rocking KOL you fell in love with, albiet they've mainstreamed their style a tad. But like before, you'll hear an excellent vocal out of Caleb, and some scorching guitar out of Matthew. This album is definitely a preview of what was to come with Only By The Night, and sees the band shedding their southern rock roots. This change isn't necessarily bad, just different (one change that was definitely bad... and different).

3. Knocked Up (from Because of the Times, 2007)

The 7+ minute opener to the album showcases the improved songwriting ability of the band. From what I gather, it tells the tale of two teens determined to have their baby, despite their parents wishes. This now-typical storyline is contained within a dark and looming track, pierced by the high-pitched guitar wail, and told by an emotional and assured vocal. There are few better ways to kick off a record than with a song like this (well, here's one superior method).

These aren't necessarily the top three songs I had to pick from, although I could easily argue for any of them. They were just the three songs that I figured would be easiest to write a paragraph about. Other highlights include "Charmer," "California Waiting," "Milk," "Arizona," "Holy Roller Novocaine," and "The Bucket."

Do any of you true Kings Of Leon "Fans" (another great song I almost forgot) have any other gems I forgot that you feel compelled to share? Do you want to praise me for my musical taste and knowledge? Do you agree with my pride in Kings of Leon for saying no to Glee and American Idol, henceforth avoiding selling out (like this)? Do you appreciate the MP3 downloads of the three featured songs of this post that I'm giving to you? Do you want me to stop with the questions? Either way, let me know.

EDIT (10:53): I found an interesting fact I'd like to share. The titles of the four Kings of Leon albums (and the upcoming album) are all five syllables long: Youth-and-Young-Man-hood, A-ha-Shake-Heart-break, Be-cause-of-the-Times, On-ly-By-The-Night, Come-A-round-Sun-down.

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7 (Very Different) Versions of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

2010-08-21T10:39:00.002-04:00

1965 saw Lyndon Johnson sworn in as President, the funeral of great British wartime leader Winston Churchill, a new flag for Canada (the current design), and the premiere of The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Tom and Jerry, and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

1965... yaaayy...

None of these things, however, may be as important as the release of the Rolling Stones' opus, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"... well, maybe Charlie Brown, but that's a big maybe. Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger said of the song, "It was the song that really made The Rolling Stones, changed us from just another band into a huge, monster band." The song hit #1 in the US and UK, and ironically enough, Rolling Stone magazine named it the second best song of all time, trailing only, also ironic, Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." I was going to make a "rolling stone gathers no moss" joke, but I couldn't think of anything worthwhile, so let's drop it.

With success comes praise, and what flattery is better than knowing that other bands think highly enough of your song to want to play it themselves? Well, a number of cover versions have been performed, and from what I've heard, no two are the same. Here are the seven most interesting covers of "Satisfaction" that I have heard (and here is the original song as a reference point):

1. The Residents

One way to describe this version is "noise." Another is "crap." It sounds like a detuned orchestra of shabbily-produced kazoos, a thousand about-to-be murder victims simultaneously begging for mercy, and the grinding of bones for a giant's bread. On the plus side, this video is absolutely ridiculous: as one commenter asks, "why hasn't this gone viral yet?!!!" If you can't bear the entire video, either mute it or skip to 3:44. You're welcome.

2. Devo

(watch the music video on YouTube, I can't embed it here.)

Now, I would not go as far as to call this version "bad," because it really isn't: it's interesting. It's barely recognizable as "Satisfaction" until Mark Mothersbaugh monotonously chants "I can't get no" for the first time. It's the kind of weirdness you would expect if you're familiar with Devo's work, and if you like Devo, you'll probably enjoy this cover (released as a single in 1977).

3. Aretha Franklin

You can't go wrong with anything from one of the queens of soul, and Aretha's smooth voice works nicely with the song. An impressive cover, although Aretha grabs the song by the horns and muscles it into submission, almost convincing you that it was her song since the beginning.

4. Paul Revere & The Raiders

There's not much to say about this rendition: Sounds like a better-than-average company picnic cover band recreating the original with a fair amount of adeptness. I just figured I should include a cover that sounds at least a bit like the original.

5. Cat Power

I listened to this version for the first time at the writing of this post, and it's already one of the covers I enjoy the most. Cat Power simplifies the tune finely, stripping it down to just voice and guitar (which I would assume explains the clothes on the album cover). Cat Power does to this song what U2's The Edge did to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the Popmart tour.

6. ugh... Brittany Spears (yep, not gonna bold her name)

I tried to listen to it, I really did: too many lalalas in the first 12 seconds for me to bear. Brittany dismantles the song and turns it into a drunken lounge performance... until about 42 seconds in, when... oops, it picks up and she does it again.

7. Blue Cheer

...and I saved my favorite version of the song for last. Not my favorite cover, my favorite recording of the song, period. The original is excellent, but I prefer a psychedelic sound and energetic feel, and Blue Cheer translates the song into that mood excellently, using loud-quiet dynamics, fuzzy guitars, and according to a YouTube commenter, "somebody laughing and singing and double tracked guitar solos with feedback and fuzz with drums playing faster and faster."

Which cover do you think reigns supreme? Did I miss any good versions of the song? As always, let me know.

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YouTube VOTW (August 20, 2010)

2010-08-20T15:22:00.006-04:00

I would have said the real inspiration behind the video I made and posted here yesterday, but it would have given away this week's video. For fans of The Office, this video will do a number in convincing you that Michael Scott is right, and Toby really is the source of all bad on this planet we inhabit. YouTuber wrion cut this video together about two and a half years ago, a horror trailer about Toby actually being all that Michael thinks he is.

EDIT 9:28PM: I re-edited the Steve Brule video from yesterday, check it out.

Movies Re-Cut Into Horror Trailers

2010-08-19T13:23:00.005-04:00

YouTube is full of trends. There are vlogs, spoofs, shocking or funny clips of every day life, skits, and one that I enjoy, horror trailers. YouTube filmmakers will take clips from an innocent, happy movie, and make a movie trailer out of them that makes the movie seem like the next Friday The 13th. The earliest, and possibly best example of this that I've seen is Scary Mary.

Well, I was inspired, and I made my own horror trailer. This one takes clips from Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, and I think it came out well:

EDIT (08-20-2010): I re-edited this video, in widescreen and with a few minor changes. Here's the new version:

What do you think? Let me know how I did.

NBA Rookie Photoshoot: Luke Harangody

2010-08-18T11:31:00.008-04:00

Sometime within the past few days, the 2010 NBA rookie class got together with some dudes with cameras and took photos in a gym. Naturally, the Celtics' very own Luke Harangody was there. Harangody was a great pick for the Celtics, since Brian Scalabrine's departure left a big hole at both backup-backup-small-forward-but-starter-when-somebody-gets-hurt and big-awkward-white-guy.

The would-be best Live cover of all time.

While Harangody had an impressive summer league (27.8MPG, 16.6PPG, 6.8RPG over 5 games), his photo shoot was decidedly unimpressive.

Let's start with this gem. Here, we see Luke demonstrating a variety of in-game basketball poses, consisting of the textbook pale guy layup, the no-look sideways pass in the middle of the lane, and either a sideways one-handed rebound or the worst low-post entry pass possible.

Here's Luke replicating the legendary Scalabrine Break-Away Slam of '09, trying to fill in those rarely-used shoes bright and early. (In the shot closest to the hoop, it looks more like he's pulling up for a soccer throw-in.)

Trey Kerby, author of the article where I found these photos, made an interesting observation: Luke Harangody looks a lot like Paul Lieberstein, better known as Toby Flenderson from The Office. That is unbelievably accurate, but I'll take it one step further: he also looks a lot like Joe Bereta (from Barats and Bereta) and a bit like the guy from the Scooter Store commercial:

I'd label who is who, but I forgot. Luke's either upper-right or lower-left, I'm not sure.

Ugh... Luke, I really hope you're more skilled than you are photogenic... or at least better than Scal.

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YouTube Automatic Captions: Not Even Close

2010-08-17T09:44:00.011-04:00

Have you ever noticed that little "CC" icon that's part of the player on some YouTube videos? Well, YouTube users can create and upload caption files that can be displayed along with their videos, of if they want to put the fate of their deaf audience into clumsy hands, YouTube will automatically transcribe the audio of your video for you, and let me tell you, it is very clear that it is still in beta.

I was watching a video that my cousin Kjetil (juh-tee-uhl) made, and I noticed the closed captioning button. I had seen it before, but never really noticed it or tried it out extensively. So, I clicked it, and saw Transcribe Audio. Kjetil speaks pretty eloquently in the video, so I figured this would be a challenge for YouTube's experimental feature, and hoh-boy was I correct. Here's a breakdown of the highlights:

"Please note: Transcribe Audio is an experimental service that will make the deaf think you're a foreigner using a French to Chinese translator, then Chinese-German, then German-Spanish, then Spanish-English."

Speech: "I was in the midst of writing my next greatest poem entitled "Salute to the Summer Morning."

Caption: I was in Israel and its greatest and kind of speeches.

S: "How does one man think of such well-crafted strings of words, plucked like the chords of a varied 13th century troubadour's lute?"

C: comes one day and I think that's so well crafted street words on court their activities to the commitment

S: "Could it be? Could the great poet Kjetil Rossignol's poems all have been plagiarized?"

C: det could the greek politics he lost homes monthly jobs

S: "The last original poem was written in 1703, by English writer Francis Beaumont, read here."

C: the last original home was burned and seventy nineth street but analysts writer trustees

S: "How now, O lord, Thine grace be thine horse. My soul be thine goblet and mine essence thy wine. Whereforth I may travel, thy thenceforth henceforth Wadsworth be my worth."

C: terminal or die and grace be doing us my soul the senate bill Clinton since that where fourth time they travel night therefore its fourth also was be her

S: "super poet"

C: silver politics

S: "...that a young disabled boy named Dennis single-handedly revived poetry at an event called 'The Special Poetry Slam.' "

C: and it's even going dennis single-handedly five quarts that of the special voters.

I think the automatic captions are trying to subliminally sway us to support the Democratic party, with all the mentions of politics and voting and "bill Clinton." The only thing they sway me to do is use the captions strictly as a comedic outlet. They read like the transcript of a drunk man testifying in court.

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Top 10 High School Sports Clips and Moments

2010-08-16T10:10:00.007-04:00

On Wednesday, my little sister starts her first day of high school, but today, she has her first high school sporting event: her varsity soccer debut. She goes to a small school, so freshmen make varsity, but she's dang good and will do some work for sure. EDIT 08-17: She won her game 4-1. Yes, she scored four goals. I told you, she's top rate. So, to commemorate the occasion, here is a hastily-compiled top 10 list, of my favorite high school sports plays and stories that I could think of or find on YouTube.

10. High School Musical - Getcha Head In The Game

As a former high school basketball player, I can say that this is an accurate depiction of a typical practice: A theatrically-lit gymnasium, no coach to be found, and plenty of choreographed dribbling routines. If you like watching Disney Channel destroy sports, watch Zac Effron ruin golf in HSM2. He doesn't even have a caddy to help with the timing on his dramatic fist pumps... disgrace.

9. NBA players in their pre-millionaire, high school football days

Glen Davis: 6'9", 723 pounds. Good luck tackling that.

From what I gathered, a few basketball studs, like LeBron James, Allen Iverson, and Glen Davis, were about as good at football as they were at basketball, if not better. Click the names to see the goods (meaning highlights… come on you guys, grow up).

8. "Crazy Basketball Shot"

Most of you sports followers have probably already seen this and been held in captivity by it's awesomeness. If not, you can pretty much figure out what happens: out of desperation, a lucky kid makes a garbage shot that will never happen again. Lesson: videotape everything you ever do in case something superb goes down. I'm not sure if it's high school or not, so I'll assume that it is.

7. "Kid does rainbow during a high school soccer game"

Well, after the title, there's really nothing left for me to say… unless you don't know what a "rainbow" is (no, not the kind that strange older men cry over), then watch it.

6. "Sweet High School Hockey Goal"

Just trying to represent as many sports as I can. Nice shot, though, have a look-see.

5. NBAers who skipped college

Trailer to More Than A Game, a movie about LeBron's high school team. Note the irony when Lebron talks about team and loyalty being the most important thing.

Many players have decided to forgo college basketball in favor of a direct entry to the NBA (until that was illegalized in 2005), and some of those players have done very well for themselves, and have therefore had many a YouTube user assembling highlight reels of their school days, including Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudamire, Brandon Jennings (who played ball overseas for a year instead of going to school), and of course, LeBron James. A few players who should have gone the academic route: Korleone Young, Leon Smith, Ndudi Ebi, James Lang. Don't bother looking them up, you won't find anything worth reading.

4. "Amazing Bicycle Kick Goal Off Throw In"

An excellent shot that even professionals would find difficult. The thing that's hard about a bicycle kick is that you kick the ball with the same foot you jump off. Find yourself a ball, and have fun trying that.

3. "Sam McGuffie Hurdle"

This is one of those things that sounds sweet when reading the title, but is even sweeter when you actually see it, then bring it back and watch it again, then bring it back and watch it again, then bring it ba…

2. "Kelsey's Dunk! Ahahahaha"

If you've watched Jimmy Kimmel, MTV, Inside Edition, or other sources of "news" during the past month, there's a decent chance you've seen this a few times. The team has been labeled "the worst basketball team ever," and I label this the most "what-the-hell-did-you-think-was-going-to-happen? moment" ever.

1. The Story of Jason McElwain

The sports world was darn-near brought to tears in 2006 when the tale of "J-Mac" surfaced. In short, Jason is an autistic teenager with a great passion for basketball, so he was allowed to be his high school team's manager. The team got a big lead one game, Jason was put in, and the rest made for a great story. CBS, Sports Illustrated, NBC, and countless other news sources ran this miraculous story, but I think that ESPN did it best, so have a look above.

Did I miss a great story? I probably did, I put this list together in only about an hour, so let me know what I left out in the comments.

The Ultimate Desktop Wallpaper

2010-08-15T17:12:00.006-04:00

Yesterday and the day prior, I was browsing Wikipedia's Picture of the Day Archive, looking for a large image that I could put onto a shirt (via zazzle.com; check out my store). I found the most beautiful, powerful, and majestic photograph that I have ever seen. More beautiful than a Bob Ross painting, more powerful than Tim Taylor's lawnmower, and far more majestic than that Jim Carrey movie that few people liked or even heard of. Without further adieu, I give you...

EAGLE!

(download this 1280x800 wallpaper, or view the larger, original, un-cropped image on Wikipedia)

Honorable mention for best animal image I've seen in the past two days:

You like this, don't you? Buy the t-shirt. (original image)

(I'll show you guys the shirt I decided on getting when I get it.)

If you have ever seen anything mightier, please let me know in the comments.

YouTube VOTW (August 13, 2010)

2010-08-13T10:53:00.010-04:00

I cheated a bit this week, as this is a clip from a TV show, the Tim-and-Eric-conceived "Check it Out! with Dr. Steve Brule." Starring John C. Reilly of Step Brothers and Walk Hard fame, this 11-ish-minute show is, production-wise, about on par with your local public access programming... intentionally: I believe the episodes are upscaled from a VHS source, giving that good home-brewed feel. Humor-wise, it's on par with the funniest things you've ever seen ever. Dr. Steve Brule is a socially-awkward and lonely man whose show finds out about things he wants to find out about. In the "Family" episode, Brule interviews his brother in a segment called "Brother to Brother"... Let's check it out (Check it Out!):

(skip to 2:08 to see "Brother to Brother")

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Apps to Complete Your Mac

2010-08-11T12:06:00.003-04:00

I am a huge fan of Mac OSX. I got my 13-inch MacBook Pro about 2 months ago, and it's spoiled me. I have a hard time using my friend's Windows computer without stressing myself out, knowing that I could be on my quality piece of Apple machinery. My only gripe with Mac is that I would have a hard time using one straight out of the box without installing my collection of applications, but that's easily remedied. The first thing I did starting my computer for the premiere time was install Google Chrome, Audacity, and a host of others. Here are some of the other cheap as free programs that my computer is equipped with, hopefully at least a few of which you'll find useful. If you're on a Windows computer, then, um… just watch this and have a laugh, I guess.

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Alfred - Truth be told, Alfred may be the first program that I installed on my laptop, and justly so. If you're familiar with OSX's Spotlight, then you have a bit of an idea of the capabilities of this program. Alfred can not only search for and open files on your computer, but it can also search the Internet, play songs in iTunes, and much more. Alfred is conjured up with a customizable keyboard shortcut (I use control and `), and you can begin typing right away. Whether you're looking for that picture I - I mean "you"- took of the gingerest ginger in all of Philadelphia last year (also notice the Liam Neeson look-alike, yarmulkes, and me laughing at the red), searching for Van Morrison lyrics online to figure out just what the hell he's saying, or IMDB-ing "Angels In The Outfield" and realizing that it has a surprisingly-star-studded cast (Danny Glover, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adrien Brody, Matthew McConaughey... and whoever plays JP), you'll easily find whatever you need. All of this praise goes to a program that is still in beta; follow the Alfred Blog as development continues.

Even with Alfred, I still couldn't find it.

AppCleaner - Completely uninstalls applications, something OSX cannot do by default.

Burn - Allows you to copy CDs, burn audio CDs, MP3 CDs, DVDs, and data disks.

Caffeine - Prevents your screen from going to sleep; good for reading an article or using Hulu Desktop.

Displaperture - Rounds the corners of your screen (as illustrated in the Alfred screenshot above).

DockSpaces - If you have Spaces activated (if not, I recommend you use it, under System Preferences), this program allows you to have a different custom dock for each space. In my example below, I show the transition from my Default Dock used in spaces 1-5 to my Games dock in space 6:

Also shown: my skill with the paint program Seashore, used to make both this graphic and the Blind Melon wallpaper.

Google Notifier - Puts icons in your menu bar for your Google email and calendar accounts, showing you upcoming events, new emails, and even notifying you when you receive a new email. If you don't use Gmail, I think this program works with Hotmail and others, but don't quote me on it, I haven't tried it.

Facebook Desktop Notifications - Similar to Google Notifier, this official piece of Facebook software puts an icon in your menu bar that notifies you of activity on your Facebook (using Growl notifications), which is an excellent segue to...

Growl - Supported by numerous popular applications, Growl puts customizable notifications wherever you choose on your screen, making you aware of everything from a new instant message to a completed download.

MagiCal - Puts an icon in the menu bar that displays the date and day of the week next to your time. If you click it, it'll also give you a handy calendar.

MenuWeather - This menu bar icon (I love menu bar icons) displays the current temperature (of your automatically-detected location), and shows a 5-day forecast when clicked.

Secrets - Most Windows users complain that Mac isn't "customizable" enough… and that is where Secrets comes in to prove them wrong. Secrets, accessed via System Preferences after installation, allows you to change system settings, like being able to drag widgets out of Dashboard and onto your desktop, and application settings, like making the arrows in iTunes link to your library instead of the store (an immensely utilized and useful feature for me).

Finally hidden files are exposed, something many have wanted for a while.

RCDefaultApp - Also via System Preferences, you can change which programs are associated with which file types.

NameChanger - A batch file-renamer, good for retitling photos off a digital camera and many other things.

UnRarX - Opens .RAR archive files.

Perian - Makes Quicktime forty-seven times better by allowing it to play formats previously unplayable, like AVI, FLV, MKV, DivX, and many more.

You Control: Tunes - A very, very handy program that, again, puts an icon in your menu bar that allows you complete access to your iTunes library, no matter what application you're in. Click the down arrow to view the drop down menu, from which you can browse your songs, artists, albums, playlists, recently played songs, and more. You Control: Tunes also displays a nice and customizable Growl-like notification when a song starts playing.

Also a nice screenshot for (from left to right) QuietRead, DockSpaces, Google Notifier (Calendar and Gmail), MenuWeather, Caffeine, Facebook Desktop Notifications, spaces, airport, volume, battery, clock, MagiCal and spotlight)

Adium - An IM program that links all your accounts, including MSN, AIM, Yahoo and most other major instant messengers.

QuietRead - As the website puts it, "Sometimes, when I am browsing the web, I want to store a link for later. There are note taking applications and everything-buckets to do that, but I wanted something light and simple. Simple as dragging a link onto a menu bar item to store it."

McSolitaire - Pretty standard Solitaire application, but bells and whistles aren't at all necessary when playing a good ol' game of cards.

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This last one is not free, but I had to include it anyway (if you want it badly enough, and you can't spare the ten-or-however-many-it-is bucks, click here and see what happens... *wink*). You've probably seen the Windows 7 commercial with the guy using his PC in the bathroom and explaining the new "snap" feature, which allows you to drag windows to the side, causing them to fill half the screen, or drag them to the top and fill the entire screen. Well, that's Cinch in a nutshell, so if that feature seems appealing (which to me, it definitely is), grab Cinch (official website).

Did I miss your favorite app? Let me know in the comments.

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Shaq Needs a New Nickname

2010-08-10T10:01:00.004-04:00

Anybody who's watched ESPN in the past week (or read my first blog post) is very aware that former NBA MVP and now-arguably-washed-up Shaquille O'Neal signed a two-year deal with my team, the Boston Celtics. Clearly, the most important thing now is that he has an awesome nickname. He's previously been branded Shaq-Daddy (with the LA Lakers), The Shaqtus (Phoenix Suns) and The Big Witness Protection (Cleveland Cavs). Many solid Boston-themed nicknames have been thrown out there, including The Big Shamrock, The Big Leprechaun, and two of my favorites, Shrequille, and Shaqachusetts. Everybody seems to be leaning towards The Big Shamrock: he was labeled as such when Celtics.com announced the signing:

Personally, I don't care for it. So, I came up with a few nicknames of my own. Most of them are too outlandish and obscure to be used, but here they are anyway:

The Big Emerald
Muzzy
Musgrove (goalie from the movie "The Big Green")

Greenhouse Pass

John Coffey (prisoner from the book/movie "The Green Mile")

-(EDIT 08-11-2010 - Shaq is now considering "The Big Green Mile" as his nickname, as he announced in his welcome-to-Boston press conference.)
The Big Garden

Yep, that's Shaq.

If you have any originals that are better, let me know in the comments. (Also, I think the site looks better with this darker blue for the background, hope you like it).

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5 Refreshing Songs from the 2000's

2010-08-09T11:42:00.011-04:00

I can't be the only one who is either bothered, bored, or aggravated by the state of modern (popular) music. It's either all the same or just annoying. I could easily be convinced that Theory of a Deadman is a Chad Kroeger side-project. I've heard enough Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to last me a lifetime. I'd be the first contestant eliminated on a game show whose goal is to tell two Daughtry songs apart. I'll let YouTube celebrity and FX's "The League" (hilarious show, check it out on hulu) star Jon Lajoie summarize my feelings hilariously with this and this.

Every now and then, I do manage to hear a song that makes me stop for a second and appreciate modern music again. It's a shame that I have to hunt so hard to find music like this, but it's usually worth it when all's said and done. These songs are refreshing because they prove to me that good music is not dead, that there are still people out there making stuff on par with the gems from the 60's, 70's, 80's, or stuff that is surprisingly and pleasingly different. Anywho, here are my five refreshing songs of the 2000's (all of which you can get in MP3 form right here):

1. "Angryman" by The Bees

Why it's refreshing (in one sentence): It's jazzy, it's funky, it's soulful... it's different than anything I've heard in a while.

Elaboration: The Bees (or A Band of Bees in the US) is an English band who defy genre like Lebron defied the hopes of the city of Cleveland. Their 2002 debut album, "Sunshine Hit Me," is a family-reunion-style potluck of music. You get some funky soul in "Angryman," some soft jazzy-rock with "Punchbag," and a loungy piano instrumental in "Zia." Not only have The Bees blended genre like Tom Dickson blends golf balls (Will it blend? That is the question), but they've done it was a modest deal of success. They've been nominated for a Mercury Prize, been featured in British commercials, and opened for Oasis. They've also received praise from Fleet Foxes, having songs posted on their Facebook page (which is how I found out about this band).

Something else you might like: "Eels - Lucky Day in Hell," "Jamiroquai - Seven Days in Sunny June."

2. "1000 Years" by The Coral

Why it's refreshing (in one sentence): Folk rock is not dead!

Elaboration: Another band I recently discovered via the Fleet Foxes' Facebook page, The Coral is a British band who has released 6 studio albums since 2002. Starting with their self-titled debut, they've forged their way to their most recent studio album, "Butterfly House," which is the only one I've listened to thus far, and contains the standout track "1000 Years." I've never read a list of their influences, but based on what I hear, I gathered that they must enjoy The Beach Boys, Neil Young, Fleet Foxes and other stuff in the same vein. The album has received some nice praise from major music publications, including an 8/10-star review from NME.

Something else you might like: "Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal," "Ray Lamontagne - Trouble."

3. "Little Wing" (Live) by John Mayer (originally Jimi Hendrix)

Why it's refreshing (in one sentence): The blues are alive and thriving.

Elaboration: I know, it's not an original (a Hendrix song). Hell, it's not even an official release (It's a bootleg from 2004, but you can go ahead and download the whole show, Mayer's cool with bootlegs). It does, however, remind me that there are still talented musicians out there, and perhaps some of them might not always show it: this is the same guy who wrote "Your Body Is a Wonderland," which Blender magazine ranked as one of the "50 Worst Songs Ever" (then again, he also wrote this beauty a few years later. Just needed a little time to mature). Mayer takes Jimi's 2 minute, 24 second masterpiece and turns it into an 8+ minute homage to Hendrix and his blues guitar. It seems like Johnny-boy is exposing a new generation to the blues: his 2006 album "Continuum" (yes, I link to Wikipedia a lot, and yes, I called him "Johnny-boy"), which owes a lot to blues music, has sold over 3 million copies worldwide, hit #2 on the Billboard 200, and won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album.

Something else you might like: "Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam - Riverbed," "Black Keys - 10 Cent Pistol."

4. "I'm Amazed" by My Morning Jacket

my morning jacket - i'm amazed

Found at: - FilesTube

Why it's refreshing (in one sentence): It sounds so classic, yet new simultaneously.

Elaboration: Indie king My Morning Jacket have a quality rags-to-riches story: their first album, 1999's "The Tennessee Fire" was recorded on a low budget, in a barn, and it sounds as such, in ways both good and bad. You get the sound of people dropping thing and shuffling around away from the action, but you also get the echoey atmospherics of singer Jim James' soaring vocals bouncing off the high rafters. Fast-forward to 2008, which saw the release of their most recent album "Evil Urges," winner of the Best Alternative Rock Album Grammy award. Their songs now appear on popular television shows, such as One Tree Hill, and the band themselves have cameo'd in "American Dad."

Something else you might like: "Wolfmother - California Queen," "Kings of Leon - Crawl."

5. "Unreachable" by John Frusciante

Why it's refreshing (in one sentence): Long-form (and psychedelic) music is still being made, and being made well.

Elaboration: If you've heard the name "John Frusciante," you know him as the acclaimed guitarist (18th best of all time according to Rolling Stone) for the Red Hot Chili Peppers... well, former RHCP guitarist. What most people won't know is that Froosh has himself an expansive solo career, which includes 8 studio albums since 1994, four of those released in 2004, and one, "The Empyrean," which I believe to be his best, released in 2009. Frusciante clearly took both the psychedelic and long-form routes with this disc: the underwater-sounding guitars and the echoey and otherworldly vibe found in "Unreachable" are unmistakably psych-influenced, and the track clocks in at about 6:10. Not long enough for you? My two other favorite cuts from the record, the big and looming "Central," and "Before the Beginning," a tribute to Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain," run for 7:16 and 9:09, respectively.

Something else you might like: "Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart," "Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye," "Explosions in the Sky - First Breath After Coma."

(If I counted correctly, there are a whopping 23 YouTube links [counting the embedded videos] crammed into this post... sorry, I got excited. If I counted incorrectly... I'm a journalism major, and math is stupid.)

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Alright, THIS is the YouTubeVOTW

2010-08-06T19:40:00.007-04:00

Yes, I'm changing the video of the week. I just saw this, and it's too good to pass up. For those of us who grew up with (and/or still play) the SNES, this here is a faithful live-action re-creation of Street Fighter that is simply a beauty, especially for a fan video on YouTube: the quality rivals that of a major production company.

Here it is below, but I recommend going to the video page and watching it in HD.

YouTube Video of the Week (August 6, 2010)

2010-08-06T10:50:00.002-04:00

I thought it'd be a nice feature of the blog if every Friday, I pick an interesting, funny, or otherwise entertaining YouTube video to showcase, with a brief rundown, analysis and commentary of what's going down.

So here is my first selection. The title is pretty indicative of the content, so have a look:

Breakdown:

1. If anybody understood what he was yelling before he turned to run into the wall, please tell me, because I have no idea, and it could potentially be hilarious.

2. I like how his limbs are spread like a crime scene body outline, so no square inch of his body is deprived of colliding with the wall (well, except for his back side, but you know what I'm getting at).

3. This is clearly something he's done before, since he gets up relatively quickly after the impact (well, relative to how fast I would get up).

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I'll probably take this weekend, along with most others, off from updating the blog, unless something interesting begs for me to write about it. So thanks for reading, and enjoy your weekend.

Poutine

2010-08-05T10:04:00.010-04:00

Geeksaresexy.net wrote a post in 2007 about one of my favorite foods, poutine. It might seem strange that I'm talking about a blog post from 3 years ago, but Neatorama reposted it this morning, which is where I read it. The reason I mention it is I feel the need to correct a few points. Now, where do I get off thinking I am the czar of poutine, you may be asking? Well, I essentially live in Canada, and poutine is a popular dish around here in northern Maine. It is a French-Canadian food, and my family could not be any more French (it's practically the primary language) or Canadian (it's my mother's birthland).

This is the actual Czar of Poutine.

So, here's where Geeksaresexy got it wrong:

1. "The poutine (poo-teen) is a very versatile dish..." That's the pronunciation for those who aren't well-versed in the French accent. I can't blame them, the author is Canadian and more often than not, I've heard Canadians pronounce it poo-teen. If you want to sound legit when discussing one of the world's finest foods, however, pronounce it "puts-in."

2. They mention "poutine sauce." It's gravy. Just put gravy on it.

Ignore that ketchup, it's not part of the poutine experience.

3. According to them, the primary way to prepare poutine is with cheese curds, which is fair enough, I've seen it done that way many times. However, they go wrong when they write, "you can use grated cheddar or mozzarella, but it's not as good." That could not be further from the truth. I always prepare it with shredded mozzarella, because it's more commonly found in the fridge, it's the way my local restaurants do it, and the cheese is better spread throughout the french fries, providing a much more enjoyable and lactose-proportional dining experience.

4. "Here are a few extras you can add to your poutine." They suggest mutilating your poutine in a variety of ways that'll make your taste buds crawl, including adding onions, chopped hot dogs, peas, fresh dog feces, and switching the gravy with marinara sauce (I might have made one of those up). I've seen people add ground beef to a poutine and brand it "royal poutine," and for me, even that's pushing it. Don't ruin the integrity of the poutine, stick to fries, cheese, and gravy.

And my last point: "Sounds disgusting? Maybe, but it's absolutely delicious." I don't understand how it might sound disgusting: french fries, cheese, gravy, done. Then again, perhaps my lifelong expose to it has blinded me from the idea that it might sound like a Frankenstein monster of what was found in the fridge during a 2-in-the-morning case of the munchies. Leave a comment, and tell me what you think. You ever have poutine? If not, is it something you might want to try? (Trust me, it is). Or does it sound too "disgusting" for you?

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An Introduction

2010-08-04T21:14:00.009-04:00

I've been thinking about it for a while, and I thought it would be a good idea for me to get a blog. I could use it for practice (I'm going to the University of Maine at Orono at the end of the month to begin my tenure as a journalism major). I can also use it to entertain myself, writing about things that I like to write about, which I will tell you about, but I've gone on for 80 words already (I checked... by hand, couldn't find a stupid word count) without introducing myself.

I am Derrick Rossignol, from a small town in northern Maine, Van Buren, a town that is so close to Canada, I can practically reach out my bedroom window and grab an assortment of Canadian hair dyes. Let me explain myself: it is far from uncommon to see Canadian ladies, usually ones in their 30's or so, with blonde, red, purple and black hair... all on the same head. It looks ridiculous, and the sad thing is, they all think that they look outstandingly attractive.

Looks like this, except with about 6 of these combs staining their hair.

I was raised a sports fan, and to be more specific, I was raised a Celtics fan. Well, except for a good part of the 90's, when essentially everybody was a Bulls fan (and by "Bulls," I mean "Michael Jordan"... or "Dickey Simpkins" if you were an obscurist). I got back to my roots as a Celtics fan around the 2002-03 season, when I was old enough to have the capacity to follow a team for 82 games. I believe I was drawn in by either Tommy Heinsohn's swooning over Walter McCarty (the video description nails their relationship right on the head, defines it perfectly), or the acquisition of inside-presence Mark Bryant (6'9" center) and volume-scorer-and-aptly-named Bimbo Coles (3.7 points per game with Boston). Either way, I was drawn in. While we're talking about the Celtics, I could not be more excited about signing Shaq today. Regardless of what he'll do on the court, he is Dos Equis interesting and unquestionably the man (at the very least, he's better than Kendrick Perkins... hell, Bimbo Coles might have been better than Kendrick Perkins). Anybody who names their pool area "Shaqapulco" can be a Celtic with no argument from me.

Bimbo: personification of the Celtic mystique.

Music is another large part of my life (some songs I'm listening to right now). It first intrigued me some time around 2003, when my uncle showed me U2's Live from Slane Castle DVD (I still get goosebumps when I hear Bono wail like that in the intro). From there, I became obsessed with U2, and from U2, I became obsessed with music. For your reference, some bands I enjoy (shamelessly lifted from my Facebook page) are Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimi Hendrix, Blind Melon, John Mayer, The Doors, Bob Marley, Wolfmother, Neil Young, Fleet Foxes, John Frusciante, and many many more. One for you guys to check out is Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam. If you enjoy blues-rock like I do, have a listen to "Come Home" from their first album, live with a nice extended intro.

Aside from that, I'll also write about what's happening in the world, technology, and some original pieces of writing. Like I said, this blog is writing practice for me, so anybody reading this and enjoying it is a bonus for me. Look forward to me updating this every few days, ideally at least once a week, and have a nice day.

etc. - Derrick Rossignol Blog

etc. is moving

Slow Motion

The Five Best NBA All-Star Games by Rookies

The Genius of George Carlin

Sulfur Hexafluoride

Dumb and Bieber

Every Blake Griffin Dunk So Far

CD Review: Sufjan Stevens

The Voices Behind Cartoons

The Origin of Family Guy

CD Review: Eddie Hazel (guitarist from Funkadelic)

Man Gets Shot, Finishes Sandwich Before Going To The Hospital

Simply Orange

Pen Beats

New Super Bowl Column; Manlier Blake Griffin

Brett Keisel's Beard

Melvin (from Kenny vs Spenny)

Fleet Foxes album announcement

Beardtastic

First Lamar Odom, Now Kris Humphries (Kardashians date the NBA)

New Explosions In The Sky album SOON

Larry Bird Trash Talk (excerpt from The Book of Basketball)

Jimi Hendrix covers Johnny B. Goode

January 22; My Birthday

Awkward Touching

Antoine Dodson Inception Trailer

Get Paul Millsap into the NBA All-Star Game

General Update/YouTube VOTW (November 12, 2010)

Two New Maine Campus Articles

YouTube VOTW (October 15, 2010)

Bird Is The Word (New Slow Version) Ringtone

YouTube VOTW (October 8, 2010)

My First Newspaper Article

YouTube VOTW (October 1, 2010)

Amazing YouTube Impression Artist Alex Jordan

My Other Blog

YouTube VOTW (September 24, 2010)

Katy Perry deemed too hot for Sesame Street

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Zdeno Chara-zard

YouTube VOTW (September 17, 2010)

Design Your Own Shirts

Leon - Original Video

The Internet and Music

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Unreleased U2 song makes live debut

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YouTube VOTW (September 10, 2010)

Snuggie's Snugarena: ...

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Recent Music News Round-Up

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Full-Length Standup Comedy? Yep, YouTube'll do.

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"Society" by Eddie Vedder

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iTunes and Celtics get updates

Monthly Music Playlist: September 2010

NFL Pro Bowl-er Polamalu insures hair for $1M

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Write an Episode of Jake and Amir Contest

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BeardHead

Top 9 NBA Ownings of Greg Ostertag

Antoine Walker Trying To Break Back Into NBA

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Bandwagon Kings of Leon Fans Unfamiliar With Band's Back Catalog

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7 (Very Different) Versions of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

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Movies Re-Cut Into Horror Trailers

NBA Rookie Photoshoot: Luke Harangody

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