Saturday, January 26, 2008

Internet Party: When Google's parents leave town...



Today's second laughing matter.

Letterman: Barack gives the top ten



Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky


Maybe the sun will shine today.. are the first words on the first lyrics on this finely-crafted work of music. It ruined me and saved me many times over since before it was released up until late summer of this year. It was recorded in 2007 in the same Chicago studio loft shown in their film "I am Trying to Break Your Heart" which was released in 2002. The record is reminiscent of Wilco's earlier work that is loyal to the band's country music influences.

"Impossible Germany" is probably the track that I found most influential at a personal level. My reaction to the song is triggered from excitement and fear of where you're next footstep will land among other things... Musically, I should first mention that the guitar solo towards the end of the song is relentless. If you've never heard this song and you're not much of a Wilco fan, I recommend you give this long song a chance and experience the winding solo. The earlier guitars in the song are fleeting, soothing, and best described as what a perfectly tied pair of shoe laces feels like. You may not understand. Thats ok.

The first three tracks are really where it's at. Also, "Hate it Here" is actually funny, if you have the right sense of humor. "Walken, There's a Light, and On and on and on" are also strong.

Once again, this is a post inspired by request.


Download via Megaupload or Rapidshare

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (megaupload)
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (rapidshare)

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters


I've seen this band and read their name on many sites. Not till recently a friend of mine shared a listen via his iPod and I fancied the record. Deemed part of the black metal genre, although they prefer not to be categorized, their Wiki states that they've referred to themselves as belonging to what should be thought of as "purifying black metal."

Their sound in my opinion shares many elements found in black metal, however I argue that there are post-metal elements clearly heard during some atmospheric soundscapes. In particular on track 3, Cleansing. Up until the 4:07 time stamp, slow ceremonial-like drums and symphonic vocals generate what later transitions to a triumphant accelerating descent of double bass drums and rasp.

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Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters

6 weeks of Not Smoking


blah. i'm the only one counting at this point. i still get congrats. i was even asked if I thought i'd relapse and consider to stop drinking as well. not to sure how realistic that would be. i may be coming down with a cold or something. weather is 63 degrees and cloudy with scattered showers. i have no milk or OJ in the fridge. i need to remedy this.

body feels good anyhow, thanks for asking. however this isn't victory. maybe at 12 weeks I'll celebrate. i wonder when I'll stop counting, posting, or letting the world know how long its been. we shall see.

Dolphins Making and Playing with Bubble Rings


Dolphin Play Bubble Rings


I don't even know what to say here. I can't comprehend this. However, I believe it to be real. Just thought I'd share with you all.

Radiohead - In Rainbows


I created this share for a friend. Might as well post it here. What do I think about the record? I would like more rock out of this band. However, that does not mean I do not enjoy and appreciate this record. It still contains a fair amount of substance. At times it seems a lot like the other "newish" albums in that they were more focused on creating soundscapes instead of rocking out. Regardless, there's still a subtle sprinkle of progress and forward moving evolution in their craft.

For the sake of documenting
The artwork was not available until recently when the actual CD went on sale in the retail space. Until then one could only pre-order the record or pay for a download (I paid $5). One could set their own price for the downloadable version. During the interim people were labeling their mp3s with whatever they felt was most appropriate. The image above represents the artwork in the retail space.


Download via Megaupload
Radiohead - In Rainbows

Sunday, January 13, 2008

5 weeks of Not Smoking

Thats right. Five weeks, smoke free. Feels good. I'm not complacent with five weeks anyhow. During moments of anxiety I feel a minor craving. They happen rarely and the craving power is low. Exercise is helping. Good diet is helping.

The Weiner Circle - Chicago hot dogs



A clip from This American Life showcasing The Weiner Circle.

I've eaten here. It's the bomb Chicago eats at 3am. Actually delicious. Serious fun. I was hungry that one night, told everyone I needed some foods and was asked to be very polite when we got to the hot dog stand. I was told I had to have a Chicago hot dog before leaving. It's like Philly's cheesesteak or New York's pizza, or Miami's I dunno...


Anyway, it's fucked up. People pushing the envelope. Really destroying the workers verbally. This is accepted. This is the way. It has increased the joint's sales. The workers are good sports anyway and the patrons tip well. I recommend the visit.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

LVTHN - Archeology



LVTHN obviously a band teetering with a drone style of music, like Earth and SUNN O))). This record, Archeology, sounds like the soundtrack of a movie where humans have migrated to another planet and then an epidemic happens and there are only like 5 people left but you can hear the epidemic travelling in the atmosphere through the wind. and the planet is larger than earth so people are super dispersed. i think its scary. the sounds are subtle. there's even a cover of Nirvana's "Something in the Way," this happens to be the first track.

According to an interview, the band was originally called Leviathan but they renamed it to the original Hebraic spelling of the word to better manage the band as an entity since there are so many other projects out there also titled Leviathan.

What is your next band on your playlist? Mine was Lynrd Skynard so the transition was rather abrupt, but I wasn't mad at it. After that the next group of music was an M. Gira solo recordings album. Today should be interesting.

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LVTHN - Archeology

Thursday, January 10, 2008

The New Alienware Area-51 m15x - 15.4 inch High Performance Gaming Notebook




Available for purchase. The world's first ever 15.4 inch notebook capable of housing an Intel Core 2 Extreme processor and an NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX graphics card. Other notable features include, a sweet design, up to 4GB of memory, HDMI output, Blu-ray, LCD options beyond 1080p (up to 1920 x 1200), solid state drive support, secondary hard drive or battery support, and "Quicktouch" capacitive buttons where the feel of your finger is sufficient to activate the respective functions. This is now the most powerful 15.4 inch notebook.

Check it out here.

Claiming the Blog

Apparently Technorati is an Internet Authority among the Blog webspace. I found it'd be interesting to "register and claim" my blog - whatever that means, as I don't have full understanding of it yet.

It doesn't sound bad though.

Technorati Profile