anyone happen to catch bill gates on the daily show last evening? i was quite suprised on how awkward the whole interview went down. one would think that if an individual was planning on going onto either the daily show or colbert, they would either a. have some kind of sense or humour or b. be quick witted. bill gates was neither of these, but i guess when you are bill gates you dont have to be. still, it was quite odd especially when he bolted off stage while they were still on camera. there are a few early reviews in on vista, some good, some bad, some indifferent. i played with it a bit at bestbuy the other day, and my initial reaction was “so what?” granted thats a pretty sophmoric reaction, but there was truly nothing outside of the animated wallpaper that would make me want to upgrade. although, if i had an intel mac i would maybe invest in it.? check out this post over at gizmodo.? it piqued my interest quite a bit.
it took about 6 months and a shit load of convincing from kyle over there at more cowbell to make me a believer in the arcade fire. i listened the hell outta funeral to little personal fanfare during that estimated time frame. i dont know when, specifically, i started diggin on funeral but i can almost say with 90% certaintity that my new found appreciation was fueled by either a. beer or b. vodka. the most excellent things in my life have been discovered under the influence of the above liquids, see my wife and child for evidence. while i would like to consider myself a mid-size arcade fire fan, i have yet to listen to any of the leaked tracks off of the yet to be released disc. i’ll get around to it one of these days, i am sure of it.
here they are playing at first avenue in minneapolis on 9.29.05 - great recording, btw.
its been quite a while since i have seen grant lee in concert. with such a passage of time, i had forgotten how amazing his voice is, particularly in a live setting. this is mainly due to the sad fact that there aren’t that many glb boots out there. in fact, i have only come across a few that are even worth listening to. the first time i saw grant lee buffalo was when they opened for paul westerberg at the metro many, many moons ago. the sound was sketchy for grant lee’s set, and well paul was paul - entertaining as hell though. the second time, well lets just not mention the second time. i had come pretty undone, but even in my drunken state i will always remember the beautiful version of “honey dont think” that was performed that fateful evening.
here they are performing in oslo, norway at the rockefeller music hall on 10.15.94
i am beginning to feel like shit. so, this is going to be short and sweet.
here is a wonderful grant lee buffalo radio performance from 1993 recorded live in germany. i definitely dont talk about grant lee and gang enough, but they definitely rank pretty high on my favorite artists list.
“i dont wanna sound like a dick, but your chart says youre fucked up. you talk like a fag and your shits all retarded.” its a damn shame that mike judge’s latest flick idiocracy didnt make it past week 2 at the theaters. i am guessing that its going to gain a office space like cult following after a year or so. it’s definitely funnier and smarter than the above mentioned judge flick. idiocracy works much in the same way as office space. its hilarious cause its not far off from our own personal realities or in idiocracy’s case, not far from a possible sad reality. the only thing that keeps idiocracy from being the hit that office space was, is that it will probably offend more than it humors.
somehow about three weeks ago, the coup’spick a bigger weapon ended up on my ipod. me thinks i drunkingly dowloaded it via emusic, i think this cause it was in my emusic folder. i, of course, had heard of the coup but had never listened to ‘em. my knowledge of their existence stemmed from the shit storm of controversy stemming from their 01 release, party music. it wasnt the music that caused the controversy, although it ended up being #8 on the pazz and jop poll, but the art work depicting the coup blowing up the world trade centre. a cover that had reportedly been in the can several months before 9/11. anyway, i still have not heard party music, but if its half as good as pick a bigger weapon it will be the second or even best hip hop record i have heard in a long while.? head couper and mastermind, boots riley, melds various styles that on paper sound like a nightmare, but the end product sounds like a political science major mc’ing an ass shakin block party.? that still doesnt really do the coup’s choice of style/lyrical offerings justice.? check ‘em out to make up your own lame comparisons.
i still contest that the best ten years in rock’s brief but torrid history are those crammed between 85 - 95, give or take a couple of years on either end depending on my ever non-commital mood. its hard to argue against the likes crooked rain, nation of millions, bee thousand, automatic for the people, double nickels (late 84 - close enough to 85), exile in guyville, loveless, appetite, etc. shit, even metallica put out a couple classic records during that time, see master of puppets and justice for all for evidence. i know those are fairly obvious examples, but you get the bigger picture. i just know you do.
i would be remiss if i didnt include the fathers of geometery rock , slint and their hypnotic yet challenging yet beautiful 91 release, spiderland to the above list. admittedly, i couldnt stand spiderland when i first listened to it. in fact, i dont think i made it past “don, amon.” to me, it was too precise, too calculated and cold, to truly grasp and get my head around. i think it was just my psychological state at the time that forbode me to giving into its every angular whim. it wasnt until a few years, and a copious amount beers later that i immersed myself into spiderland. it was right around the time i started losing faith in man kind that this shift in attitude towards spiderland happened. maybe it was not so much losing faith in man kind as it was i started realizing that most people are fucking morons. i say that with a grain of salt, sort of. this is not to say you have to embrace such a cynical outlook, as i do, to enjoy spiderland, but i think it helps. even if you have never listened to slint or spiderland you will know their work, cause its been copped, to some degree, by both the underground and the mainstream.
by the way, have you guys checked out the c.h.o.p.s. program yet?? donnie davies has got it all, and i mean all, figured out.? thats all i am going say.
wordpress 2.1 has been released, and its quite swell. unfortunately, with the new release/upgrade a few issues has reared their ugly heads. not major ones, but for some reason i cant upload and post photos, amongst other things. if anyone has upgraded to 2.1 and has some insight on how to remedy at least the photo issue, it would be greatly appreciated.
the sportsgasm i experienced yesterday has left me tired and really in need of sleep. couple that with 24 and prison break tonite, my ability to do anything constructive is nil.
here is a short rem set from 5.20.88 live at the 40 watt. they were opening for the fabulous vic chesnutt, a show i am sure was killer. speacking of vic, southern shelter, has a show of him backed by elf power at the 40 watt recorded on 12.16.06.
