Johnny Cash - The Legend Of

Johnny Cash - The Legend Of
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I admit, I hadn't seriously turned to this legend till after the movie. Those who want to hate - hate on or exit the blog....

Before the feature film, I had heard I've Been Everywhere and Hurt, which aren't bad songs but really aren't the meat and potatoes of this record or of any of his work. Now this record covers several eras of Johnny Cash's music, and I prefer the earlier works. The inarguable rawness, darkness, sense of humor and honesty are what make this music great.

Want your own physical copy, buy it here for less than $9.

Personal favorites from this record are Folsom Prison Blues, Sunday Morning Coming Down and Jackson.

Slowdive - Souvlaki

Slowdive - Souvlaki
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For some this is an early 90's thing. For me it's an early 00's thing which means mid twenties and all that that entails. Particularly, during intimate times. Anyhow, they're a British band part of the dubbed 'ambient shoegaze' music categorium. Slow paced, introspective, romantic - somewhat more dramatic than most are willing to handle.

Order it from Amazon, here for less than $9 if you dig it.

Track 6, Souvlaki Space Station is the best song on the record.

Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (1973 - 1985)

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Or

Order it here: Billy Joel Greatest Hits: Vol. 1-2 (2CD)

For the longest time, from before I was born, to the Atari 2600's last year in the limelight. Billy Joel had some good years. This post commemorates the best of that time period.

Sing us a song. We're in the mood for a melody. New Yorker. American. Inspired by the Beatles. Feel-good. Big shot. Blues. Pick me-up. Honesty. Women. Mythical uptown-women. The good songs I'd hear while in the car with my dad on the road before a day's hard work. Billy Joel inspires, soothes, and makes for good karaoka,ka,ka,ka,ka.... you ought ta know by now.

Keep Saying No to Smoking Cigarettes

Still going. Proud. No need for a new year's resolution. It's still tempting. I've gone
1 year and 2 weeks since I've quit smoking.

• At 1 pack / 3 days, that's 127 packs of cigarettes that I didn't smoke.
• At $4 / pack, that's $508 bucks I didn't spend.
• At losing 1 minute of my life / 1 cigarettes, that's 2,540 minutes of quality life saved. (hearsay statistic)
  

Christmas Eve Eve Morning Top 10 List

1. The Nipple Hair Moustache!
2. Words that sound offensive but aren't.
3. New Packaging Porn for Monopoly.
4. I recommend this list from Rubin Recommends.
5. Single-Malt Whiskey lovers, peep this.
6. Mac vs PC [cheese]
7. Round trip with the NASA Endeavor.
8. Streaking footage at UC-Berkeley.
9. Some environmental changes we may witness in our lifetime.
10. Cool stuff with trees.
    

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

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MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Order it here for $9.99: MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Digitally released on October '07, released in retail January '08, it's safe to say I'm a little late to the party. Seeing as I just discovered it - to it's fullness - last week.

I had heard "Time to Pretend," the first track, when going out but had no idea it was MGMT. Anyway after listening to the whole record there more to say about it than they're just another trendy indie band.

Some of the tracks like "Weekend Wars," "The Youth," and "Pieces of What" remind of me Wes Anderson films. Maybe some scene where the meaning is significantly higher than the action on the screen - if you know what I mean. Dramatic, introspective, but still respectable sounds, including acoustic guitars, vocal cacophonies, and a soundscape soothing keyboard.

The singles are "Time to Pretend" and "Electric Feel." I had discarded both before my download last week. It was actually triggered by a discussion I was having with a coworker. He's 23 and I'm 29, and he had this - man you're too old and don't know whats good anymore attitude. So I decided to check it out and validate he or I, and I admit, he was right, this is pretty good stuff. The songs are a feel-good fun-time and are much less shallow than originally perceived to be.

Somehow this record also fits into this holiday time period. I recommend MGMT - Oracular Spectacular.

Tim McMahon's Rockin' Christmas V

A good friend of mine, Tim McMahon, whom I met when I lived in Gainesville, FL, at UF, makes a Christmas music record every year. It's a compilation with music from different influences. Without fail he has come through with new tunes not used in previous records (to my knowledge). These are easy to listen with friends & family, or at a Christmas party and easlily allows you to engage in the mayhem that the holidays bring on. Here is the record. This is his fifth installment, that's five years of unique holiday records.

The Main Record
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The Playlist
The Sonics - Santa Claus
Deerhoof - Holy Night
John Maus - This IS the Beat
Troy Hess - Christmas on the Moon
Daniel Johnston - Rock Around the Christmas Tree
Asobi Seksu - Merry Christmas
Angry Johnny & The Killbillies - 6 Bullets for Christmas
Beat Happening - Christmas
Wild billy Childish & the Musicians of the British Empire - Christmas Hell
The Legendary Tigerman - Fuck Christmas, I Got the Blues
Beulah - Santa Kissed Me
The Legendary Pink Dots - Frosty
The Free Design - Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)
Pizzicato 5 - From Party to Party
Sy Mann - Tijuana Christmas
Hasil Adkins - Santa Claus Boogie
Native Tongue - Do You Hear What I Hear?
The White Stripes - Candy Cane Children
Big Star - Jesus Christ
Jimi Hendrix - Auld Lang Syne

This year he also added a surprise disc which I haven't even checked out yet. This is the second time he implements this supplement. It's full of some really old songs best enjoyed on a dark and silent night.

The Surprise Supplement
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Enjoy!
(FYI people - for some reason Tim made the record in .m4a files)

The Muslims (self titled record)

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The Muslims - The Muslims

Wow. It's been a while. I mean, it's been a while since I've posted in the mood that I'm feeling right now: tired from the workday, getting sick, opting to blog for the goodness of blogging and actually having something to share with the reader, music searcher, blogger, Internet Cobra, etc.

I'm not sure how I fell onto this record - there goes that storyline. I can tell you that it's good if you want to hear a raw, garage, modern rock band that can propagate good vibes towards acting like a ninny, playing air drums and guitars, or simply rocking out while in the car. (Most of my music appreciation happens in the car.) Anyhow, I know the band's from San Diego and, no, I'm not sure or care if any of them are Muslims.

There are garage, early punk and pop-punk influences. There are the revolutionary Bob Dylan influences. This shouldn't enable any conclusions since many records have these things in common. It was just my first honest association.

The sexiest video I've seen in a long time...

Beyoncé is pure sexiness.

Better quality here.

Deerhunter - Microcastle

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Deerhunter - Microcastle

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Deerhunter - Microcastle

I enjoy this record. It's a new sound to me. I enjoy it and like a friend of mine on facebook simply stated, we should all find happiness through music. Or at a minimum, attempt to jam to it. This record is a part of that experience. I encourage anyone to download it.

Just a short history, the band started in 2001. They may be named after an old drama called "The Deer Hunter" with Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep or that may just be a coincidence. At this point I don't care enough to find validate this.

Tonight it's 62 degrees out. The Miami Heat lost to the Toronto Raptors. 2008 is close to it's death and so be it.

The title track surprised me around time stamp 2:25. The slowly vanishing heartbeat suddenly gets a kicky snare and suddenly your head ticks and tocks, left and right. Insert dance here.

Microcastle is either terribly boring or wicked awesome at a live show, the venue and the crowd would easily be variables in the enjoyment of the live experience. Sometimes when I listen to it I think I'm hearing noises from a vast hall. That's the experience for half the record. Not to be frowned upon anyway. There's some value in remembering childhood memories where something holds a holy or omnipotent awe. Like Notre Damn in Montreal for instance.

The other half has some trendy/catchy dance beats. Like Never Stops and Nothing Ever Happened - these are definitely upbeat bootyswaying tracks. I'm not mad at these tracks. They keep the gas in the car chugging. They keep the heartbeat alive and protect the sanctity of youth. The dance beats/lyrics reminded of something that Blur is likely to produce. Listening to Deerhunter made me write this post. The vocals can sound like Sonic Youth, Blur or Belle & Sebastian during some moments. I know they're all very different bands but those are the closest bands I could come up with.

My Ol' Dual-Suspension Mongoose SX 6.7 is for Sale

Checkout the reviews from mtbr.com here.

Product Summary:

Dual-suspension bikes allow anyone to ride longer and stronger on the mountain, but they're more of a luxury than a necessity for the first-time rider. However, this year(1999) finds many dualies, like the SX, slumming at unimaginably low prices, which make them extremely attractive first-time buys.

Strengths: An RST 281 fork with two inches of travel in front, three inches of travel in back, a journeyman 24-speed Alivio drivetrain with fingertip shifters, toe clips and a stunning brushed-metal aluminum frame.

Weaknesses: As you improve, you'll wish you had an extra inch of travel up front to match the suspension in back.

Bottom line: The SX is a great buy for the serious first-timer. As a bonus, it's the world's most beautiful budget bouncer. Take it anywhere to bring out its ugly side ($679).

My Take:

I bought it for $449 in 2000 brand new. Since then I’ve barely used it. It’s seen the most use in the last two years where I’ve begun taking it to Oleta State River Park and Amelia Earhart Park for their single track trails. I also used it at the Bike Miami ride and used it to vote for change in the 2008 election.

It’s available for sale now for $250 or best offer.

I will probably be upgrading to a Trek Mountain Hardtail 6000, (hi-res pic here). What I would like to buy is a full-suspension Trek FUEL EX 8, (hi-res pic here in rootbeer/white). I decided on Trek because of their brand name, their designs, and quality components. If anyone has any suggestions otherwise, please send them my way. See you in the trails.

Alienware M17 Notebook - ATI CrossFireX and Intel Quad Core in a 17-inch Notebook

So friggin' cool. Alienware's first notebook with ATI CrossFireX™ graphics and Intel® quad core technology... the Alienware M17 Notebook. Way to kick off the post Halloween season. What can HP, Voodoo, or Apple do to compete? Maybe those brands are raising a white flag and admitting defeat in the mobile high-performance gaming segment. Which notebook would you get this holiday season?

This is also the first Alienware notebook with:

• a 1066MHz FSB (front side bus) - Intel Montevinia platform for notebooks
  
• ESATA port - up to 300Mbps storage transfers
  
• fingerprint reader - Biometric Security
  
• 64-bit Windows Vista™ - up to 4GB of DDR3 1,066MHz RAM!
  

It also has the ultra-sweet soft black-touch cabinet previously exclusive to the Area-51® m9750. It has the 1920x1200p display option, HDMI 1.3b output for high definition gaming/media output, and RAID hard drives option.

It even starts at $1,399. Very tempting.

Jesu - Why We Are Not Perfect

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Jesu - Why We Are Not Perfect

Jesu has been around for about 5 years and each album actually holds some uniqueness to it.  Some records are quite heavy and toy with the metal and drone genres.  Why We Are Not Perfect is their latest release and is a 5 track EP.  This one however seems like what-you-would-get if you mixed Isis with Boards of Canada, baked the  mix at 375º F and glazed with ambient marmalade on top.  Tasty?  Not for most, but you'll have to try.  When I added it to my mp3 library I notieced the Genre label of 'doom avantgarde' and was somewhat discouraged because I think thats cheesy.  After listening anyway it redeemed itself as appropriate. 

The title track and farewell are the coolest ones in my opinion.

Mostly instrumental with some soft lyrics here and there - this is best enoyed during long walks on the beach or just hanging out in bed, your living room, or car.  

Saturday Morning Top 10!

It's been a while. I haven't done this in months. My inspiration comes from being wide awake. Somehow I am. Last night I went to a friend of mine's birthday dinner. We dined at a hidden gem I had never known till 12 hours ago. Actually I can't believe it - I just found that they, in fact, have a web page, Jesus, how have I never known of this place?.

My first time having Korean food. My metaphor to describe it comes out to - teppanyaki BBQ with kimchee - which translates to delicious in my books. Anyhow we had plenty of Mutsu-OH (my favorite cold junmai sake)and Sapporo. After dinner there was a 3 hour Karaoke session that drove all the restaurant's customers out. Perfect.

This morning Miami is like an excited, wet, and young vagina - angry, hot, wet, and keeps you in.

Now it's 8am or so, I'm up. Now the list:

• Bill O'Reilly lays the smack down once again!
• Palin's daughter has the right idea.
• Giant penis crop circles exist.
• Best ground based image of Jupiter ever.
• Cheeseburgers with grilled cheese sandwiches as the bun - here.
• I need to go here someday.
• Iron Man Ultimate Two-Disc Edition Blu-ray disc, to buy or not to buy - that is the question.
• I bought this shirt and this shirt - I need new t-shirts.
• Imagine Havana Before Castro...checkout some photos(these are not related to the previous link).
• A translation that is not so good.
• Florida is weird - then again denial of sex can be tough.
• Hotties from the Olympics - pics here.
• This site is dope - www.behance.net

Ok so there's more than ten...

Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

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Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

I'm posting this primarily by request.  When I first heard this album it seemed like a good idea.  Then I could see how it would annoy the shit out of someone.  Now I understand it as a record that given the right circumstances (driving like a zombie or behaving beligerently) depending on the circumstances it could be a good time.

This record is made by ONE GUY with a bunch of records.  He's a weird ass white dude majoring in biomedical engineering.  The style of this music is called "mashup" samples from all kinds of artists and creates a somewhat cohesive track - I've heard its a ton of fun when live.  A friend of mine told me he sets up in the middle of a dance floor and everyoen dances around him.  His mixing table is level with the floor so people are literally standing right next to him. It's quite popular right now among many circles.