Thursday, June 30, 2005

Lobster Roll

Not the sushi kind.

Gothamist Review: Pearl Oyster Bar

That sounds really good.

Who's with me?


Credit Card Pranks

This is one of those things that I read a long time ago and thought "I need to start a blog to keep stuff like this around, for my own personal amusement."

The Credit Card Prank


The Credit Card Prank II (which I think is funnier. I laugh every time I get to the part with the electronic screens.)

I thought about this quite a few times on vacation, because all I was doing was signing credit card slips. I signed one "Don Ho" just before we left.

Tom Killing Oprah Killing Waxy

Big Daddy Rinke pointed me to this the other day, with a suggestion that it be posted here:

Tom Cruise Kills Oprah

...which, in the same vein as posts like this one, I found to be very funny.

What's interesting (but not surprising) is how quickly these things spread across the 'net.

Andy Baio, God of all things meme and otherwise, posted it in .mov form on his site last week. Check his post to see how many people downloaded it from him in just a few days. I can't imagine what his monthly bill looks like. That being said...download the .mov while you're there - its flow is a lot smoother than the version on YTMND. That cackle is quite well-timed.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

...and this one's for Z.

Thanks for nothing, dick.

Simply for Mike

Block Of Commercials Charts The Who's Career Arc

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Fair Use: or if you're going to film a movie, make it a silent picture

An interview with the producer/writer of Mad Hot Ballroom (which looks fantastic) explains how damn costly it is to license all the songs they used in the movie.

Sewell:...the industry should have a different set of standard for documentary films. We're not Applebee's...As a businesswoman, I don't blame them for making money. I just think the prices should be fair.

But this is my favorite part:

Stay Free!: How much did it cost for the average song?

Sewell: It depends on how many entities are attached to it. Our typical total cost for a classic was about $15,000-20,000, split between publisher and master rights. With the Rocky Theme, the publishers didn't want to overexpose the song.

Didn't want to OVEREXPOSE THE ROCKY THEME?!?

When it comes to high-budget, major motion pictures, the kind of money spent on clearing the music is merely a drop in the bucket. Sewell does acknowlege that there are discounts for indie filmmakers, but they hardly seem reasonable to me. I'm sure our resident lawyer might have some thoughts here.

And Jess, didn't you do an indie film that somehow got the rights to "That's Life" by Sinatra completely free?

Nic Harcourt Interview

NY Times Article: The Star Maker of the Semipopular

Los Angeles transplants, did you ever listen to KCRW and/or Morning Becomes Eclectic? I've only listened to it on a few occasions, as it really requires more active listening than I can give while at work. I've delved into the archives a few times to catch up on performances from The Postal Service, Josh Rouse, and a few others whose names are escaping me right now. It's an interesting interview, to me, anyway; nice to know that there are still a few DJs left on the planet who really believe "it's all about the music." The only thing we have left resembling it in NY is WFUV.

That being said, I have listened to the new JACK on 101.1 FM a few times, and...well, I haven't turned it off...

Monday, June 27, 2005

I'm Back...and POOHSPIRACY!

I've returned from my two-week hiatus from Plagiarist. Although I haven't had the time to read all these entries yet, I am so happy that they're there - and am eternally grateful (okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration - I'm just grateful) to Cynthetiq, Supple Cow, DWS and Z for making such wonderful contributions.

In fact, if it's okay with you four...I'd like to leave you on as guest bloggers. You don't have to, but if you continue to find things (i.e. pretty pictures) that seem to have a place on Plagiarist, please feel free to post them. I like knowing that other people are wasting time as well.

Couldn't help but notice these two headlines from today and yesterday:

Voice of Winnie The Pooh's Tigger Dies
Voice of Piglet Dies

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. You expect me to believe that two - not one, but two - voice actors from Winnie The Pooh died within a day of each other? Hmmph. Note that neither of the articles disclose the cause of death.

This is just one blogger's theory, but I don't trust that motherfucker Roo at all.


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Thursday, June 23, 2005

MTV Labs

One of the things about being with hipsters is figuring out just how they discover and find hipster activities. A long long time ago, MTV created a group that specifically collected the activities of employess and then passed them around to each other, thus MTV Labs was born.

MTV Labs does some interesting things here, they find strange and interesting people to come talk to the employees. So we've had Harry Shearer come speak, The Tratchenberg Family Slideshow Players, who buys vacation slideshows at estate sales and then create songs about the pictures, and various other acts all come and perform exclusively for the employees.

For many years, I got an email into my inbox tempting me with different and odd activities. Yet, for about 6 months, I've gotten nothing. Recently, MTV Labs had the 2nd Annual Talent show, the "safe place to suck" at BB Kings. Below is the latest offerings:

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Thursday 6/23
Roulette 2005 Festival of Mixology
8:30 PM
$12
David Lintonwill presents two new works: a real-time audio/visual piece called "Stroboscopy: GODBOX 101" -- with two sine tone generators and stroboscopic lights -- and a collaborative improvisational duet with video artist Chiaki Watanabe.
Location One
20 Greene Street between Canal and Grand Street
(212)219-8242
http://www.roulette.org/

Friday 6/24
Gary Lucas and Friends Birthday Celebration
8 PM
$15
Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas celebrates the day of his birth with special friends Ernie Brooks, Michael Schoen, Felice Rosser, Fay Victor and more.
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery
(212)614-0505
http://www.bowerypoetry.com/

Rev.99
7:30 PM; 9 PM
$8
Multimedia collective Rev.99, led by spoken-word artist/musician/filmmaker Hooker 99, remixes hours of interviews with avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brackhage and adds visuals that would make the master proud.
Anthology Film Archives
32 2nd Ave.
(212)505-5181
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/

Camera Lucida: Sonochemical Observatory
6 PM
Tonight is the opening reception of a sonic collaboration between artists Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand, where sound waves are converted into luminescent light patterns to allow viewers to actually see what they hear. The installation will be up through July 8th.
I - 20 Gallery
529 West 20th Street, 11th Floor
(212) 645-1100
http://www.i-20.com/

Saturday 6/25
A Hundred Wheels of Death: The Brooklyn Bike Brawl
Noon - 8 PM
Free
Weird mutated bicycles and their creators flock to this block party event that includes strange competitions like The Flaming Barenuckle Tallbike Jousting of Death, The Most Hellish All-mighty Footdown, and the Bike Toss. After checking out people trashing their bikes, hit the afterparty at The Hook.
Waterfront at Browne and Imlay Sts
Red Hook, Brooklyn
http://www.blacklabelnyc.com/BikeBrawl/index.htm
http://www.thehookmusic.com/main.html

The Mermaid Parade
2 PM
Free; $10- $50 for Mermaid Ball
Coney Island continues to host the bizarre, as Mermaids, Mermen, Neptune and some garishly dressed chickens of the sea go marching by. Followed by the 3rd annual Mermaid Ball at 6 PM.
1208 Surf Avenue at W 12th St.
Coney Island
(718) 372-5159
http://www.coneyislandusa.com/mermaid.shtml

The Kitchen House Blend Finale
8 PM
$10
The Kitchen's ten piece house band performs experimental works by Matthew Shipp, Kitty Brazelton and Lee Hyla to close out the season in spectacular, avant-garde fashion.
The Kitchen
512 W 19th St between Tenth and Eleventh Aves
(212)255-5793
http://www.thekitchen.org/

Sunday 6/26
The 36th Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender PRIDE March
Noon
Say it loud and proud at the 36th annual gay pride parade.
5th Ave and 52nd St to Christopher and Greenwich Sts.
http://www.nycpride.org/events/march.htm

Tuesday 6/28
Showcase Tuesdays
5 PM
Free until 7 PM
Hot off their third place win at the 2005 Labs Safe Place to Suck MTV Networks Talent Show, On The Grind Entertainment joins Bluchips International and Big Ray Production for a fashion and talent showcase every Tuesday. There is casting for industry magazines from 5 PM, a hot DJ party at 6 PM and a Fashion Show at 10 PM. Contact Commercial Operations' Steve Rivers (aka Young Skoob) at (917)803-3964 for more info and to get on the guest list.
Gallery
7 East 27th St. between 5th and Madison
(917)803-3964

Enjoy the ride.

Not Porn. Better.

Nerdy goodness instead!!!

Girl Folds Paper in Half 12 Times!
The task was commonalty known to be impossible. Over the years the problem has been discussed by many people, including mathematicians and has been demonstrated to be impossible on TV.

For extra credit in a math class Britney was given the challenge to fold anything in half 12 times. After extensive experimentation, she folded a sheet of gold foil 12 times, breaking the record. This was using alternate directions of folding. But, the challenge was then redefined to fold a piece of paper. She studied the problem and was the first person to realize the basic cause for the limits. She then derived the folding limit equation for any given dimension. Limiting equations were derived for the case of folding in alternate directions and for the case of folding in a single direction using a long strip of paper. The merits of both folding approaches are discussed, but for high numbers of folds, single direction folding requires less paper.

The exact limit for single direction folding case was derived. It is based on the accumulative limiting effects induced by each and every fold in the folding process. Considering the intricacy of the problem the equation has a relatively simple form.
Anybody who's interested in the actual math will have to follow the link above (but I didn't really have to say that since Z is the only one who cares and he's already there).

(Link courtesy of my Philolexian colleague, Mr. Grr.)

An Open Letter to the Music Industry

Thought this worth reading. "The War Against Silence" (and I thought my blog title was affected), has promulgated this open letter to record company executives the world over.

The author explains in the slightly pedantic and reasoned tone typical of high quality snark, that while he still pays for music, he also "steals" it (steal is a loaded and incorrect term for what goes on in p2p-land, as is "piracy", but I guess copyright infrigement doesn't trip off the tongue that well). He steals what is out of print, unavailable in the US and what he deems to be overpriced or otherwise improper.

Interesting to read one person's rationalization for this behavior. My take has always been that it should be the industry's job to adapt to technology (i.e. lower prices, easy to use online outlets like iTMS), not use the copyright laws to attempt to cling to its business model, but I am in the minority.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

AFI's Top 100 Movie Quotes

The American Film Institute's Top 100 Movie Quotes special, hosted by Pierce Brosnan, showcased the most memorable quotes which had a cultural impact and ensured a film’s legacy, with “frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” taking #1 and Titanic’s “I’m the King of the world!” (which they *actually* described as “a small goodybag the audience took home with them),” at #100. We were saddened that Dirty Dancing's “nobody puts baby in the corner” came in at a low #98 and somewhat surprised by the few one-word quotes: Citizen Kane's "rosebud" at #17 and The Graduate's "plastics" at #42. And was anyone else baffled by how Star Wars only had one quote, but both Jerry Maguire and James Bond had two? What about "my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father - prepare to die?"

Though last night's 3-hour special grew rather tiresome somewhere around Apollo 13, it did boast some interesting movie trivia, such as how “play it again, Sam” is etched into the American psyche even though the actual quote from Casablanca is “play it once, Sam. For old times' sake” and that Pres. Roosevelt found the last lines from Mrs. Miniver (a Gothamist favorite) so powerful, he had them printed on millions of leaflets and dropped over Nazi-occupied Europe. See below for the whole list:

#

Quote

Movie

Year

1

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

GONE WITH THE WIND

1939

2

I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.

THE GODFATHER

1972

3

You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.

ON THE WATERFRONT

1954

4

Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.

THE WIZARD OF OZ

1939

5

Here's looking at you, kid.

CASABLANCA

1942

6

Go ahead, make my day.

SUDDEN IMPACT

1983

7

All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.

SUNSET BLVD.

1950

8

May the Force be with you.

STAR WARS

1977

9

Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.

ALL ABOUT EVE

1950

10

You talking to me?

TAXI DRIVER

1976



The rest of the list...

plagarized from the gothamist

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

CityRag’s Lower East Side Food Tour

CityRag’s Lower East Side Food Tour

The Lower East Side of NY has some of the best eats in the world. delicious ethnic food, beautiful restaurants, amazing bargains, historic icons. when friends visit, we like to take them on a little 1-2 hour walk where we hit the very best spots (the criteria being the eats have to be world class GREAT, and the food has to travel.) you can start at the top or bottom (the 2nd Ave stop on the F train is a perfect place to kickoff.) links with info on each place are provided. additional info can be found in this old post of ours on Chowhound and there's an exclusive CityRag Tour Map at the end!

1 - Donut Plant (on Grand near Norfolk) – fantastic, giant donuts in all kinds of flavors
2 - Kossar’s Bialys (on Grand near Essex) – best bialys in the world! Shop has great old NY feel.
3 - Pickle Guys (on Essex below Grand) – amazing pickle selection, everything is excellent.
4 - Dumpling House (on Eldridge below Broome) – best and cheapest dumplings in the city, what a combo!
5 - Il Labortorio del Gelato (on Orchard above Broome) – delicious gelato made right there, wonderful flavors.
6 - Economy Candy (on Rivington near Ludlow) – all the candy of your childhood dreams and then some, packed in a small, old, family run shop.

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7 - Sugar Sweet Sunshine – (on Rivington east of Essex) best cupcakes in NY.
8 - Castillo De Jagua (on Rivington near Essex) – one of the most excellent Cuban sandwiches around, everything’s good.
9 - Katz’s Deli (on Houston near Ludlow) – best pastrami in the world! great hot dogs, corned beef, brisket. Real deal old NY deli feel.
10 - Russ and Daughters – so much wonderful stuff… bagels, lox, tofu cream cheese, dark chocolate dipped apricots, strudel

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11 - Yonah Schimmel’s – wonderful knishes.

BONUS - printable MAP! - click here to enlarge CityRag’s exclusive Lower East Side Food Tour map!

I've been to most of these places and they really rock. The are what keeps this area it's charm. Donut Plant is the best donuts! I thought Krispy Kremes were the best at one time, but these are just artisanal donuts made from organic ingredients. The dumpling house is a Jason favorite, how can you go wrong with 5 dumplings for $1. And Katz, before Meg Ryan faked an orgasm there, they were saying,"Send a salami to your boy in the Army." Jeez only in NY can you rhyme Salami and Army.

plagarized from cityrag blog

Sr. Chuck Schumer Visits LES

chuck

2. On one of the support columns of the Williamsburg Bridge as you travel down Delancy (right about Columbia Street) there is a hasty, sloppy testament to "Senator Chuck Schumer". No context, no image, no additional message. Just in case you forgot, I guess, who is the senior senator from New York.

I never thought of Chuck as being into art crimes. But as one person put it..."The Senator's got no skillz! His tag is whack!"

plagarized from Miss Representation and Curbed.com

Combing through Jason's links column

Someone has to do it. SC and Z are off gathering pr0n and Cynthetiq is probably looking for interesting original stuff to put up. So I'll be Jason today. Jowl pictures aplenty! Links to the petition to canonize Ed Robertson! Guys in Speedos!

I found the following tidbits from Stereogum amusing:

Jennifer Garner's awesome great workout mix!
- Amusing on three levels, Ms. Garner's musical selections themselves, her AWESOME!! liner notes, and the snarktastic reader comments. How snarky are these comments you ask?

Jennifer, the exclamation point police are on their way...
Posted by: Amanda at January 13, 2005 02:54 PM

i really love jennifer garner's playlist. it is so talented!! and incredible!! it really gets me going!! and it's so talented.
Posted by: normal at January 13, 2005 03:59 PM


Honestly now, isn't it bad enough that she is afflicted with Ben Affleck without the internet snark mafia ganging up on the poor thing?

stereogum: Worst/Most Embarrassing CD You Ever Bought? - Now we're talking. I demand everyone respond to this. I will even go above and beyond the call and give you the most embarrassing cassette and CD I ever bought. I hear you all asking yourself, wait a minute, this is the guy who unabashedly performs the cheesiest of 80's pop music and disco live onstage. What could he possibly be embarrassed by? Well kids, my love of hair metal is well documented, but there are limits...

Cassette (tie) and yes I had both of these:

Image hosted by musiq.pl

and, bafflingly

Image hosted by shima.iplus.to

CD:

Image hosted by h4.dion.ne.jp

(it was a gift OK?!?! A gift that I asked for...Shut up I hate you!)

Moving on to the Spinal Tap lyric inspired section of this post:

First, from Kottke:

The bigger the waistband, the deeper the quicksand - What more could you possibly want from an article? Leonard Nimoy, Leonard Nimoy's apparent love of photographing large women in the buff, the obligatory Kirstie Alley reference any time someone mentions large women, the obligatory Shatner reference anytime someone mentions Leonard Nimoy, the Fat Bottom Revue, the word "Marmoreal" in context. Don't worry Jay, no actual pictures of naked people, zaftig or otherwise.

Then Gothamist:

SINKHOLE!, You know where you stand in a SINKHOLE! - Folks lend a hand in a...OK I'll stop.

I will leave it to my fellow guest bloggers to find appropriate links for other Spinal Tap songs like Sex Farm, Stonehenge and Break Like the Wind.

Monday, June 20, 2005

How can I ever repay you? [batting eyelashes]

I think somebody has seen Barbarella a few too many times. Sometimes the old-fashioned way is best. (Thanks to Lawrence for this great find.)
Kinky shopper KOed by vibrating knickers
By Lester Haines
Published Wednesday 18th May 2005 12:04 GMT

The following cautionary tale must surely rate in the top five of "most embarrassing things that can happen to you in public - ever". According to UK tabloid the Sun, a 33-year-old Welsh housewife ended up in hospital after wearing Ann Summers vibrating Passion Pants to her local Asda supermarket in Swansea.

Unfortunately, she became "so aroused by the 2½-inch vibrating bullet inside that she fainted" then "fell against shelves and banged her head". This prompted the attendance of the paramedics who "found the black leatherette panties still buzzing". Having disabled the orgasmatronic underwear, they then whisked the senseless shopper to hospital where she made a complete recovery. Staff handed her back the Passion Pants upon discharge, discreetly concealed in a plastic bag.

To its credit, the Sun does not name the woman. We assume, however, that she will be shopping at her local Tesco for the next ten years or so, or until everyone in the Asda who witnessed her ordeal is dead or has succumbed to total amnesia - whichever comes soonest.

For the record, Ann Summers notes that Passion Pants are "Not for internal use". Now we know why. ®

The offending underpants:
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Sunday, June 19, 2005

Oh, How I Love My Bloggers

So exciting to jump on the "World Wide Web," as the hipsters are terming it, and observe how my wonderful friends (as a reminder, that's Supple Cow, Down With Snark, Cynthetiq and Z) are somehow making my blog simultaneously cooler and lamer than it has ever been before. A quick look at the recent stats for the site confirm my prediction: nobody is reading this but you guys and Big Daddy Rinke, and as we all know, you should never respect anybody who wears his name on his shirt to remind himself of who he is. Just kidding, Mike, thanks for viewing and it's scary that you're somebody's dad now. But either way, that's cool, 'cause clearly you're keeping yourselves entertained and I could have sworn I heard Jess chuckle at one of these entries...but then again, it could have just been gas.

As I only have 24 hours of internet access at my undisclosed location, I haven't really had time to view my guest bloggers' entries. But shall download Plagiarist for offline perusing - say, when I am on the plane and having trouble getting to sleep.

By the way, did you know that a single laptop battery, when spinning a DVD, lasts for exactly 24 minutes?

Anyway, my sincere gratitude to you all. Please keep writing.

I cannot disclose where I am currently vacationing, but can offer you a photo.

Friday, June 17, 2005

My So Called Job

Well since Z covered what he does I figured I'd try to do something similar to help explain what I do.

Basically my current job entails finding and maintaining production related systems. I've worked with VisualMax, an a production accounting system for motion picture and television, ScheduAll, a visually based scheduling system used to schedule everything from lights and camera equipment to staff and stages.

The most recent application we're rolling out is Pilotware, and application for logging and transcribing tape dubs. Most reality based shows use this tool to assist in tracking and logging many hours of footage and helping story editors compose stories.

While that sounds complicated, I'm lucky and I can plagarize and crib from other people.

from Fireballs & Tsunamis:

I am happy to report that the season premiere of MTV's "Made,"
the wholesome, feel-good reality show I've been working on since February, will air two weeks from now on Wednesday, June 29th at 10pm. As an added bonus, the episode that I helped to write -- focusing on Nile, a suburban Minnesota teen who wants to be a rapper, in part to impress his famous musical dad, who wrote the 80s disco hit "Funkytown" -- has been chosen as the premiere episode! I hope you tune in on the 29th because I painstakingly screened two hundred hours of raw footage of Nile in post-production and I think you will enjoy watching him onscreen as much as I did.


In other good TV news, the MTV pilot I worked on in January -- "Run's House," a reality show about Reverend Run, his brother Russell Simmons, and their families -- has apparently been greenlit and will air TBA.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

The Glory (????) of the Human Voice

What's old is new, what's new is really old. I remember as a young kid hearing Golden Throats I & II listening to Leonard Nimoy sing If I Had A Hammer, and William Shatner's rendition of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The album was a tremendous childhood discovery from listening to Sunday night radio show host Dr. Demento. Fast forward to 2004 when we hear William Hung sing She Bangs on American Idol. So bad that it's good.

After talking to someone about Wing and sampling her crooning, my friend told me the tale of
Florence Foster Jenkins a social lite who sang in Carnegie Hall. We've all heard the short, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall? Practice Practice Practice." Well here this lady did not have to practice. This woman is completely old school Opera.



From her recordings, it is apparent that Jenkins had little sense of pitch and rhythm and was barely capable of sustaining a note. Her accompanist can be heard making adjustments to compensate for her tempo variations and rhythmic mistakes. Nonetheless, she became tremendously popular in her unconventional way. Her audiences apparently loved her for the amusement she provided rather than her musical ability. Critics often described her work in a backhanded way that may have served to pique public curiosity.

Despite her patent lack of ability, Jenkins was firmly convinced of her greatness. She compared herself favourably to the renowned sopranos Frieda Hempel and Luisa Tetrazzini, and dismissed the laughter which often came from the audience during her performances as coming from her rivals consumed by "professional jealousy". She was aware of her critics, however, saying "People may say I can't sing, but no one can ever say I didn't sing."




I leave you with a sample...

Queen Of The Night Aria (clip #1) ra
Adele's Laughing Song (clip #2) ra

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Wing Sings

The other night I went and saw John Tartaglia of Avenue Q fame do his cabaret show Ad-Liberty. During the show he mentions Wing, who's singing will change the world, one heart at a time. His recommendation was listening to "A Few of My Favorite Things."

I'm suggesting "I Could Have Danced All Night"

Image hosted by Photobucket.com
Wing Sings Her voice sounds like the cry of a shy hamster in whose rectum a hot poker has just been inserted.

The New Zealand-based performer's squeaky, ear-shredding rendition of "Dancing Queen" (Link: MP3) was featured in a South Park episode last week. I really need to get out on the internet more often, I don't know how I missed this -- Jesus, I just figured they'd made the character up. Link to Wing Tunes, the official Wing website. Her new album of ABBA covers is magnificent: Link. Here's the South Park episode: Wing,
first aired 03-23-2005. (thanks, pelle)

plagarized from here.

Great moments in arrogance: Corgan cannot bear the weight of his "genius" (With a bonus stupid joke that only Jason and I will find funny!)

Oh poor, poor Billy Corgan, it appears from this interview in Pitchfork that he is dissatisfied with the amount of serious critical attention paid to his thought provoking and nuanced lyrics. Here's the relevant section, emphasis mine:

Pitchfork: Along those lines, on your website you wrote something about not wanting to obscure meaning or emotion in your music anymore. Does that relate?

BC: I think it relates in the sense where we've all been in the position where, let's say we really love somebody, and we wanna tell them but we just can't. We're not capable of fully going into the emotion because of fear of being rejected. So I think I kind of approached music with this sort of, like, weird thing where I kinda set myself up where I could kinda be myself but not really. I kinda had a backdoor out. So if you criticized me, I kinda had my defenses working. And the problem is that some people seize on that as inauthenticity, which is understandable. So that's painful because it's not that you're being inauthentic...there's a difference between being a poseur and being someone who's so emotionally challenged they're kind of just doing their best to show you what they've got.

Pitchfork: Oh, totally.

BC: And the only transformative difference between the first [Gish] and the second album [Siamese Dream] was that after the first album, I became completely suicidal. It was an eight-month depression, give or take a month, and I was pretty suicidal for about two or three months. And I made this sort of weird fundamental choice, which was "Well, I'm kind of at the bottom and there's nothing else to live for, so I might as well make the music I really wanna make." It was the beginning of the change in my life, that's when I started writing stuff like "Disarm" and "Today", which for me were like, literally ripping my guts out. And to actually have them be successful, and to play the songs live and have four or five thousand people sing these words back...it was like, wow, it just did my head in.

Pitchfork: How did that affect you?

BC: It created a dual bind. It now sealed me to the concept that confessing and being open was where the energy was, but at the same time, it was like holding my head underwater because now I couldn't retreat. So what I did was I sort of amped up other parts of my personality as a diversionary tactic.

This interviewer said the other day, "God, you have a horrible reputation...you get on the internet and you read about you, but then I pick up your albums and read these lyrics and it's this beautiful stuff, very feminine, you know? How do I correlate these two visions?"

And I said, "Well, it's pretty simple. When you're so wide open that you can't deal with the vulnerability but you know that's where you have to be, you create a lot of smoke and shit over here." Because then they're fighting about what you said about rock and roll. And they're really not on the point. For someone who's had the level of success I've had, there's been very little critical review of my work, which is pretty fascinating.

Think about it. I mean, there are books on Radiohead, theories. As far as a theoretical point of view for my generation, I'm probably the most successful theoretician. I mean, double albums and concepts and dresses and major disasters and wonderful successes and yet you don't see the critical review of my work. Why? Because it's all focused on the persona. Billy Corgan. But I get to sort of jump in and be Billy Corgan. But then I get to sort of jump back out and be like, sensitive man in the corner.

Pitchfork: Well, that's true. There aren't really any smart books about Smashing Pumpkins as a concept.

BC: But see what I'm saying? I created a paradigm by which I could succeed, and up until recently it was the only way I could do it. I could not take the brunt of standing in the light of my own work. There was a Faustian bargain I could not make. I could have you mock me for wearing funny clothes that I could deal with. But I couldn't deal with actually standing in the light of my own musical power. That's the difference now. It's like, okay, no more of that, you're done.
...could not stand in the light...of his own musical power.

Ugh.

and now, the aforementioned stupid joke:

(tell me why)

I don't like eBay

(tell me why)

I don't like eeeeeBay

*rimshot*
(yes, I realize the title has set Jason up for the obligatory "I don't think it's funny" comment, but he does. He knows it, I know it and the American people know it.)

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Party Crasher Alert | The Who playing Gotham Hall Tonight

I don't think that Jay knew of this event and even if he did, I don't think that the honeymoon plans would have changed nor would he pop for the benefit ticket prices.

This wouldn't be the plagarist if there wasn't any plagarizing of any sites.

Party Crasher Alert The Who playing Gotham Hall Tonight
"Samsung's Four Seasons of Hope, an innovative national goodwill program, is making June 13th a true Day of Hope in New York City as it holds its fourth annual celebrity gala to benefit children and families."

"The program will also recognize the ongoing charitable efforts of sports legends Magic Johnson, Joe Torre, Boomer Esiason, and Arnold Palmer, and music superstar Jon Bon Jovi. Legendary rock band The Who, featuring Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, will make their only U.S. appearance for 2005 to raise money for the roster of charities benefited by Samsung's Four Seasons of Hope.

The sold-out event will take place at Gotham Hall in New York City. TV stars Regis and Joy Philbin will once again host the annual gala fundraiser, which will feature a star-studded roster of celebrities from the worlds of sports, entertainment and politics."

It's Standing Room Only for the Induction of Rudy Giuliani and Wayne Gretzky at Samsung's Four Seasons of Hope Annual Charity Gala
Also found this..."This live concert is limited to 450 guests and will also be web simulcast at www.Samsung.com for fans and friends of Four Seasons Of Hope to enjoy around the globe. To view the video from last years dinner please visit our web site at www.FourSeasonsOfHope.com.

In March, The Flaming Lips played Gotham Hall for Mazda.

Ben Gives Kevin a Fruit Basket

Since we're not allowed to show porn, yet we are talking about cockfighting...it brings up the venerable Ben Affleck and one of jayladdin's favorite's Kevin Smith.

from page six:

June 10, 2005 -- BEN Affleck can get a little nutty around his buddy Kevin Smith. The "Jersey Girl" director tells Maxim U.K. that during filming of the 2004 flop, Affleck used to pull a prank called a "Fruit Basket." Smith explains:


"I'd be sitting in the director's chair and I'd be watching a playback, and he'd stand behind me. Every once in a while I'd feel something on my neck. I'd be like, 'What the [bleep] was that?' And I'd turn around and he'd have his [scrotum] out and resting on my neck. I was like, 'What the [bleep] is wrong with you, dude?' What if it got out in the press that that's the kind of thing you do?' He's like, 'No one would ever [bleeping] believe you, sir.' "Besides exposing Af fleck's scrotal shenanigans, Smith tells the mag about his hate for Reese Witherspoon, who was once rude to Smith's ex-girl friend, Joey Lauren Adams. "I was at some party with Joey . . . and Reese had just got a part Joey was hoping to get," Smith recalled. "Joey said, 'Hey, Reese — I just wanted to say congratulations. I think you'll do really great with the part,' and Reese just gave her this dead-eyed look and was like, 'Whatever.' What a [bleeping] [bleep]-bag!"


Now this isn't the first incident that has been addressed by the press. No Ben does seem to like to expose himself to those around him. Chritina Applegate shares her story:

HL: That makes sense ... what is it like working with Ben Affleck on Surviving Christmas?

Applegate: He's very silly on set. I just wanted him to be quiet so I could work. There's something specific he did that made me laugh but it would ruin his reputation.

HL: If I gave you a flat-screen tv would you tell me?

Applegate: (Laughs) OK, they were doing an insert shot of a briefcase or something, and Ben just decided to put his "stuff" on the briefcase. He would always do things like that: mooning, sticking his tongue in the director's ear. He's very goofy. I just admire him.

Monday, June 13, 2005

Privatization is the New Black

As somewhat of a stamp enthusiast, I am intrigued at the idea of stamps entering this new phase of production. I look forward to seeing the fruits of competition, and I wonder what images the buyers will value.

After 111 Years, Postage Stamps Go Private

The federal government printed its last postage stamps Friday.

The end to 111 years of stamp production by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) came without any public ceremony in the same 14th Street building where many of the nation's most famous stamps have been printed.

Workers pulled a final roll of 37-cent flag stamps from an aging, four-color Andreotti press on the fourth floor. That simple act terminated a once-thriving business that the Treasury Department agency had monopolized for decades.

Now, private printers will produce all the nation's stamps, a decision that U.S. Postal Service officials say will save tens of millions of dollars a year. The bureau will concentrate on printing currency, its other major product.

For Washington's 60 remaining stamp printers and many stamp collectors, Friday marked a sad transition. Lawrence T. Graves, one of BEP's senior stamp officials, called it "bittersweet . . . a sad day."

"It's the end of an era that reflected some of finest workmanship in government stamp design and security printing worldwide," said Rob Haeseler, an official of the American Philatelic Society, the nation's largest organization for stamp collectors.

[...] Postal officials say the switch has already saved them a lot of money. The Postal Service has three firms printing stamps and said that competition cut its printing costs to $88.5 million in fiscal 2004 from a high of $135.5 million in fiscal 2001.

Overall stamp production climbed at the same time to 43.7 billion.

Ironically, many of the stamps the bureau printed last week may never be sold.

If the Postal Service wins its recent request for a two-cent hike to a 39-cent stamp, to be effective early next year, Hudson said, there will no need for the bureau's last stamp run.

Here's my favorite stamp of all time, just for fun. (Pretty pictures... whee!)

Pitch Camp - Urban camping in Times Square

I work in Times Square. I'm here every day, I walk in around 9:30 and I leave around 6:30. It's usually packed here during the day. My office looks over the square and I can see the setbacks that ABC and MTV use for stages for bands.

I have watched Times Square evolve from a disgusting arm pit and asshole section of Manhattan back to it's former glory days from the origins of the Great White Way.

I've seen lots of promotions here, from the girls in the GAP outfits handing pink roses to Red Bull MINIs. There's NASCAR, The Wedding crashers with the huge wedding cake. ABCs studio grew out of nothing as did our own MTV Studios.
----------------

Pitch Camp - Urban camping in Times Square


LINK
A couple months ago, Zach and I were talking and thought that it'd be cool to gather a whole bunch of people to go camping together one night right here in Manhattan. We agreed do a test run in Times Square. On Saturday, June 11th at midnight, Zach, Paul, and I arrived to pitch camp.

Folks from all over the world stopped and talked to us to find out what we were doing. Some bought us supplies (we'd made a pact not to leave our traffic island until morning) and two even brought pizza. Many hung out for a while and left us their names and addresses. A few are pictured below.

We spun stories about being there to be first in line for Jessica Simpson tickets (one group almost joined us) or claimed to be photographers for North Face taking product photos in the urban landscape (the cops seemed to buy that one.) But people just seemed to love the idea that someone was actually camping out in the middle of times square for the heck of it.

Over the course of the night 10 cops visited and talked to us, but most left us alone. One said that he wished that he could join us. The campsite was finally broken up by a pair of cops just at sunrise.

The Sport of Kings

Continuing my quest to get in Jason's head and make him think that I feel his blog is only worthy of pretty pictures, I give you CELEBRITY PING PONG THROWDOWN '05!

With:

Rita Hayworth:

Image hosted by larytt.com

Herr Governor:

Mein Paddle ist beeg, ja
Image hosted by larytt.com

Regis and Kathy Lee:

Image hosted by larytt.com

Henry Kissinger:

Image hosted by larytt.com

Donnie Osmond:

ooh yeah baby, you make my mormon blood boil!
Image hosted by larytt.com

Those who click on the link will be rewarded with snaps of the Beatles, Fay Wray, Bill and Hillary, Chiang Kai Shek, Sean Connery in his underwear and noted 20th century dissonant composer Arnold Schoenberg, all throwing down ping-pong style. Awwww yeah.

Saturday, June 11, 2005

"I can't talk to you right now. I'm climbing."

Spidey strikes again... but since when does he go shirtless and wear red pants?
HONG KONG, China (AP) -- A French urban climber who calls himself "spiderman" has scaled a 62-story Hong Kong skyscraper barehanded.

Wearing only a pair of red pants, Alain Robert, 42, scrambled up the Cheung Kong Center on Saturday -- the flagship building of Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing -- in about an hour. He said the building was 283 meters (928 feet) tall.

During his climb, Robert rested several times and even answered a reporter's phone calls.

"I can't talk to you right now. I'm climbing," said Robert, renowned for scaling buildings without ropes or other equipment.

After reaching the top of the building, he waved to a small crowd of spectators on the ground below. He said he was greeted by police, firefighters and security guards at the top of the building.

Police officers checked his passport but did not arrest him, even though he had not sought permission to climb the building.

"Everyone was very nice," Robert said, adding that the climb was not too difficult.

"On a scale of one to 10 in terms of difficulty, this would be a five," he said.

This guy is absolutely nuts, but kudos to him for doing his thing. From his official website:
Climbing is my passion, my philosophy of life. Although I suffer from vertigo, although my accidents left me disabled up to 60%, I have become the best solo climber.
Now, as a solo climber and as a skilled speaker, here’s the message I wish to send to people. We set ourselves limits , but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such strength within ourselves. Know how to develop it.

Even better:
Ask somebody : Are you mad ? Obviously the answer will be negative !
I don’t think I am this mad, but who am I to judge myself ? Actually it would be real madness not to make your dreams come true !

Who am I to judge myself indeed. But wait, there's more! Check out his two accidents graves - this guy has vertigo and he scales skyscrapers sans equipment.


(wait for it... wait for it...)



...but I always thought "urban climber" referred to somebody who was especially good at networking.

*sigh*

I'm spent. Plagiarizing is hard work.

Friday, June 10, 2005

Nerds make better lovers

I thought it would be fitting for my first post in sitting in the Thunder Mug spot... so here's Cynthetiq's contribution.

Personally I see it no different than any guy that's just tired of the Bettys that just are more interested in the "look" and "material things" than the actual relationship.

Some people call this settling... I call it getting to understand that you don't like dealing with bullshit anymore.



New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com/
Nerds make better lovers
By TRACEY LOMRANTZ Thursday, June 9th, 2005

Christina Aguilera recently traded in piercings for petticoats, apparently making the usual Marilyn Monroe morph. But there's more than meets the eye: Sure, she's blond, buxom and sweet-voiced now, but she's also emulating the classic bombshell in matters of the heart.

You see, Aguilera's fiance, like Monroe's husband, playwright Arthur Miller, is kind of a geek.

When Aguilera announced her engagement to smarty-pants music executive Jordan Bratman in February, the 24-year-old pop star demonstrated a tried-and-true dating trick. Geeks have got the goods.

Bratman, with his scrawny frame and oversize ears, has mastered the music industry at just 26 and is Romeo enough to have stolen Aguilera's heart (as well as inspired her new demure-coquette look).

"A nerd is an excellent provider and a guy who puts you first," says E. Jean Carroll, Elle magazine's love and sex advice columnist. "He'll turn out to be a great father and a great husband."

And, she insists that a woman who is willing to stick it out with a nerd and get past his quirks will be handsomely rewarded. "Don't give up on him too fast," she said. "If you stick with him, he's going to turn out to be really great."

If Hollywood is any indication, then yes, he will. This month, reality TV celebrates geek love with two shows: Ashton Kutcher's "Beauty and the Geek," which pairs braniacs with bimbos for a "social experiment," and the latest installment of "Average Joe," in which a pretty girl woos not-so-studly dudes (airing on June 22).

On Fox's "The O.C.," the nerdy Seth Cohen (played by Adam Brody) didn't just land the adorable Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson) on TV - he managed to get the girl in real life, too. Bilson (and her character) managed to look past the slicked-down hair to find the witty guy beneath. Cohen's obsession with comic books? Her character deems it sweet. Brody's nasal drawl? Bilson doesn't seem to mind.

How can a savvy girl land a geek of her own? Spencer Koppel, a self-proclaimed geek who attends crossword-puzzle tournaments on weekends, has made it easy for girls with their eye on the prize with his "Geek to Geek" dating service, http://www.gk2gk.com/.
Members can meet and select a perfect mate (guys with screen names like "thinkspecs" and "ivygrad") based on favorite board game and gadget instead of eye color, height and other categories the nerds might be lacking.

And according to Koppel, the pool is stocked with supreme sci-fi fans and accomplished intellects.
"I think geeks are more successful. They're happier in the work they do," Koppel said. "And they're pretty faithful people, because they're certainly grateful for anything they have."
When it comes to the between-the-sheets aspect of the relationship, Carroll agreed that a girl couldn't do much better than a less-than-perfect male specimen. "We've all been to bed with the guy who is worried about what he looks like, checking the mirror before he gets in bed," she said. "The nerd, gloriously, stunningly, perfectly, is into the woman. That right there is very stirring, sexually."

Tiger's purr-fect
It seems to be enough for the likes of goddess models and Hollywood A-listers. Tiger Woods has a geek-like drive for a stodgy sport, a fat bank account and Swedish model Elin Nordegren on his arm. David Arquette may not have the body of a Greek god, but he managed to land sexy former Friend Courteney Cox with his goofy humor and mismatched wardrobe.

For Scott Dennis, a 34-year-old teacher from Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, "geek" and "good guy" are synonymous - and he is both. Although some aspects of his personality make him what he called a "quintessential babe magnet" (former jock, drummer in a rock band), the real qualities that helped him land his girlfriend are the geeky ones.

"Do I know the difference between a knight and a pawn? Certainly," he says. "Am I familiar with the Four Move Checkmate? Well, maybe I am. ... But the truth is I'm a decent guy with diverse interests who actually offers authenticity in his relationships."

But to get to that authentic nerd, chic women have to be willing to embrace their own inner geek and accept the guy for who he is, chess trophies and all. The caveat to mating with a geek, as some dating experts see it, is coming to terms with his less-than-studly looks and less-than-suave demeanor. All thoughts of embarrassment have to go out the window.

Andrea Lavinthal, who co-authored (with Jessica Rozler) "The Hookup Handbook," a young woman's guide to navigating the waters of singlehood, says that being sure of your choice of guy is first and foremost.

"Girls tend to worry about what their friends are going to think," she said, "and you have to get over it. You can't always be making excuses and apologies. Give him the respect he deserves, and don't always be assuming you're better than him."

She also said that not all girls are ready for a full-on geek relationship right from the start. Her book has a chapter devoted to "The Snufalufagus Hookup," the one that every girl wishes her friends didn't know about, and that she at first tries to deny happened. "In many ways, it's the first foray into the nerdy guy thing," Lavinthal said. "You're attracted to him because he doesn't screw around. Sure, it's fun to make out with the hot bartender, but you're not going to marry him."

Not falling for the fakes
Koppel, however, warns that unserious girls who prowl his site looking for a breadwinner should use caution - his members may be geeky, but they sure aren't stupid. "I think geeks are intelligent enough to be wary of the idea that an attractive woman is interested in them," he said. "They aren't as drawn to beauty as they are to intelligence, and wouldn't just accept a ditz."
It takes the right kind of girl to love a nerd. Kate Hammer, an NYU student, said she's just that kind of girl. "I have been snagged by nerd charms," she said.

"My ex and I bonded over 'Star Trek,' and on our first date at an amusement park, my current boyfriend impressed me with his intricate understanding of the physics of roller coasters. He's a mechanical engineer."

For a modern girl who is far from ditzy, the geek could be the mate who brings security and a load of eclectic interests to the relationship. Even the once-naughty Aguilera managed to find a guy who defines devotion and doesn't compete to be the sexiest one in the relationship. Clearly, it's what a girl wants.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Redux

Michael, (not DWS, but he of the retarded running picture) just sent me this link:

Injuries of Darth Vader

I am totally downloading this entire page and reading it on the plane tomorrow. Maybe I'll get rid of the annoying background too, which is killing my eyes.

Mike said that someone sent the link out to his entire medical school. Mike, let me know if there's any backlash. I mean, I can't imagine there would be, with such detailed analysis...

DWS presents - Fun with Perspective

As noted below, Jason has asked some of his friends to mind the plagiarism store whilst he is off in paradise for the next few weeks.

So, even though he's not actually gone yet, I'll jump right in with something that I don't think belongs on DWS, but is right up Jay's alley.

Behold the "anamorphic illusions" of pavement artist Julian Beaver:

image hosted at skynet.be

image hosted at skynet.be

image hosted at skynet.be

image hosted at skynet.be

image hosted at skynet.be

and for those who doubt the powers of perspective, here's that last one from the other side:

image hosted at skynet.be

Guest Bloggers!

I'm getting the hell out of here for the next two weeks. Off to Hawaii for my honeymoon, don'tchaknow.

I have invited Supple Cow, Down With Snark, Cynthetiq and Z to be Guest Bloggers for the next two weeks, posting whatever they think is interesting or funny.

Z: This means you can post links to Sports Guy.
DWS: This means you can post links to our favorite website.
Cynthetiq: No porn.
SC: See Cynthetiq.

Treat them well, for they are kings among men. (All of them.)

It's $#&*( Mr. Softee

WFMU's blog posts MP3s of Ice Cream Music.

I don't think Mr. Softee was allowed in our part of town, because I my first experience with that god-forsaken song was when I heard it in Buffalo while at college (other than Eddie Murphy singing it during his comedy act).

Our local ice cream truck guy (Joe) was an older man who just rang a bell. I remember this clearly because, like Eddie recounted, we would all run like hell, down the stairs and out the door, when we heard that bell. But every once in a while, we'd hear a bell that sounded similar. Not the same, but similar. We'd run down the stairs and out the door anyway, only to find out that...

...it was the knife-sharpening guy.

That's right. The KNIFE-SHARPENING GUY! Seriously. There was a guy in a green van who drove around our neighborhood, ringing a bell similar to Joe's, offering to sharpen your knives right then and there. I don't know if this is a typical thing for suburban neighborhoods, but to me, it was completely foreign. And do you know what it's like to run down the stairs expecting ice cream, only to find a dude with knives? It's messed up, is all I'm saying.

Anyway, so I remember being in my kitchen with my roommates, and hearing the Mr. Softee song for the first time. I started to hum along, and at the end of the first "phrase," if you will, I just instinctually sang, "it's fuckin' Mr. Softee." I don't know where it came from, but now, whenever I hear the song...well, let's just say I have to look and make sure there are no children present.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

WCBS-FM Goes Jack

Wow. I don't know how I missed this story.

On Friday, June 3 at 5 PM, WCBS-FM, long known as NY's longest-running (and, until Friday, only) oldies radio station played "Summer Wind," by Frank Sinatra, and then abruptly switched to the Jack Format.

First song played: "Fight For Your Right" by the Beastie Boys.

This is just unbelievable. I've posted my thoughts on Jack before, and Mike did the same here. While I'm interested in hearing the Jack format, and I don't think it's a horrible thing at all, the fact that they would replace WCBS-FM's treasured format is just un-fucking-believable.

Why would Infinity do this?

Even more despicable: the WCBS-FM staff found about the format change at 4 PM. Exactly one hour before the change happened.

Thoughts on Cousin Brucie's last day from the NY Times. Score another win for Sirius: they picked up Cousin Brucie almost immediately, and I'm sure they will woo over many longtime oldies fans. Once they put XM or Sirius in an iPod, that's the end of terrestrial radio for me.

So sad. I feel sick about this.

Imperial DJ

Nothing exciting, just a DJ scratching out The Imperial March.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

BNL, Steven Page, Shakespeare and the Egg-Static Harp Mic

Another one of those posts destined to only appeal to me, as it's all BNL related. It's also partially to help me remember to fully check all these things out at some point, as I'm leaving for vacation in just a few days.

- Steven Page has written a nice little article for The Believer, about buying a microphone called the Egg-Static Harp Mic and downplaying it to his bandmates. Article is here, along with a link at the bottom to download a sweet song he wrote and recorded with said microphone.

- Speaking of Steve (who, btw, let me know that he's fully in favor of Mike and I performing his version of Material Girl), he has a solo disc coming out entitled The Vanity Project. Pre-ordering at Amazon gives access to a stream of the album...but I don't have time to listen to it.

- BNL have composed the soundtrack to The Stratford Festival's production of As You Like It . The disc is only available here. BNL and Shakespeare gets me (and only me) extremely excited.

Back to work. Really.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

This site is hysterical. SC and Z, I know you know what I'm talking about. I don't quite understand how it came to be, and a lot of it is sloppy, but....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Some examples:

Vader on Wheel of Fortune
Vader Vs. Luke NOOOOFest
Final Answer: NOOOOOOOO
Bohemian Vader NOOOOOOO
Darth Ice Cream NOOOOOOO


If you find any good ones, post 'em in comments.

Media Trippings June 2005



Here's what's been grabbing me over the past week or two.

1) Don Latarski: Fab 4 on 6

(You'll have to search iTunes for "Fab 4 on 6" as the ID3 tags are listed as "Beatles" in their music store.)

Unfortunately, you can't buy the entire album for $9.99 on iTunes - you have to buy each track individually - but it's well worth it. His arrangements are for a baritone guitar, tuned much lower than a normal guitar, and unlike many Beatles covers, he gets creative and employs some thematic variations every so often. I dig. Especially "Mother Nature's Son." I gotta learn that one.

Stream clips from the album here.

2) Marjorie Fair: "Waves"

This is a good one for summer...I feel a breeze just listening to it. You can sample some tracks from their album, Self Help Serenade, here. And what the heck, while we're talking about summer, download "Indian Summer" by Maplewood here. I love this one too. (More Maplewood information here.)

3) Okay, I posted about this once already (thanks to Stereogum), but I gotta post again, now that the Times has picked up on it:

Paul Anka Is Back, 63 And Swinging


So I did hear the whole album (and pity, there was a stream on VH1.com but apparently it's been taken down), and although it only takes a few songs to get an idea of how the rest of the album is going to sound, the arrangements are quite inventive and catchy. At least check out the article. I had no idea that Paul Anka wrote the theme for Carson's Tonight Show.

4) Amos Lee: "Arms of a Woman"

I love WFUV on the weekends. There's nothing better than driving on an early Saturday or Sunday morning, feeling in a peaceful mood and finding the perfect song to accompany that mood. I was driving through Queens on an early Saturday morning recently and found this one. I pulled over to write down some of the lyrics so I could find it online later. I found it on iTunes but you can hear a streaming version here. Video for the same song available here.

5) Josh Rouse: Nashville

I've had this album for a few months. It's one of the most perfect releases I've heard in a while. Here are RealAudio streams of two awesome songs: "Winter In The Hamptons" and "It's The Nighttime."

(And, because Mike loves it so much, here's "Comeback" from his previous disc, 1972. Gotta love the bassline and the synthesizer string section!)

The best song on the disc is called "Streetlights." I feel sorry for my officemates who have to listen to me sing it day in and day out (especially the falsetto part on the bridge). I searched high and low for a simple stream of this song. The only way to hear it in full is to sit through this E-Card - after it's done, you can listen to it, as well as all the songs I've mentioned above, plus a few others. It's well worth it, to the five of you who read this blog regularly. :)

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

I'm guilty of at least three...gosh!

Link: Movies I Wish People Would Stop Quoting

So, so snarky...

I do quote Office Space from time to time (did it yesterday over e-mail), but the only other one I do is Napoleon Dynamite - and I only do that one because 1) I only saw it recently, 2) it's just so damn fun to go "gosh!" and 2.5) it drives my wife up a wall. (This isn't a real reason, though - hence the .5.)

Besides, how can you get tired of Napoleon Dynamite when a kid at the National Spelling Bee actually did a Napleon impression right before spelling his word? Now THAT'S awesome! (Don't forget to listen to the mp3.)

vote for pedro.

Friday, June 03, 2005

Damn Addictive

POOM!