Resolutions...scratch that

Back just in time for a New Years Eve post. This holiday season flew by, but it was most enjoyable. This song is off of the Ocean's 12 soundtrack. Its right at the point where the one guy jumps through the lazer fields. I don't think that gives away too much of the plot point. Anyway, it's a dance song for New Years Eve so everyone can start kicking it out like mad hatters on pixie sticks, because that's how it should be. I mean, if this song doesn't get you acting like an idiot, then I guess I fail. But if it does, then I succeed where no one else could, in creating a living, dancing monster. Maracas and a spanish beat always does that to me anyway.

Here it goes.

Nikk Furie - The A La Menthe

No more Finals

Let us all rejoice, for holiday season is upon us and the beast that is school will be kept at bay for another four weeks. Four Weeks! This whole college thing seems, so far, to be a lot better than high school. 16 hours of school versus 35 hours of school. Longer breaks, less busy work, more free time. What more could you want? And then when you do get to come home on break, you don't have to worry about long term break projects that some teachers may have given in high school. Hell, if you're still in High School, I recommend, with out any hesitation, that you forget about the whole thing and just go to college.

So I have a fairly exclusive song this time (it's been a while since I've posted anything, but finals bogged me down). This song is off of the new Wicker Park movie, which looks to be a sappy love story a la current pop TV shows such as the O.C. That shouldn't take away from the soundtrack, though, which is filled with a few indie standouts. Most notably is a new song by the Postal Service, covering Phil Collins' Against All Odds. The song is typical Postal Service fare, which isn't to say it's bad at all. I find the Postal Service begins to grow after repeated listens, and this song has too. While not as great as many of the songs off Give Up, it still contains a beat that asks for a few repeated listens. The songs weakness lies in the fact that the lyrics were composed by Collins. A great songwriter in his own right (all though, Peter Gabriel has him beat times 10), the lyrics aren't the usual introspective, metaphorically filled poems that we usually expect from the Postal Service.

I'll let you decide, though.

Here'sThe Postal Service - Against All Odds.

You can also see the music video here.

No more Finals

Keep X in Xmas

Ahh, Christmas Time is coming, and just is quickly finals week is coming. I'm about ready to be done with school for a little while. Thanksgiving was a nice break from the rigors of the whole academia thing, but I'm yearning for the full month of Winter Break.

I like college, the people are great and my classes aren't so bad. I'm just ready to sit by the fire, drink a little hot chocolate, and listen to Christmas music, ya know? I really like this season, and I'm starting to get the Christmas bug again. It's not so much that I like the masses of corporate sludge that's come to be associated with Christmas, but rather that feeling that you get when you walk outside on a cold december night. The breath comes frosty from your mouth, and the moon shines frigid in the sky. But, the light and the mirth coming from the inside makes the coldness that much better. God, I sound sappy. Maybe I just like getting presents (I still wake up at 6 in the morning to run down and stare at the presents... maybe it's not so much the presents but the tree and the morning and everything else... or maybe I'm just a little kid.)

Anyway, here's Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan dueting on God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. It's a great song to get you in the mood, and the bass will make you start tapping the foot with that Christmas spirit.

Here's the Song : God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Nothing For Me

So, tonight was the Big D and Voodoo Glow Skulls show. I'd tell you all about it, but I didn't end up going. I couldn't find any companions to accompany me, so I missed out on it. I suppose I could have gone it alone, but concerts are always better when they're somebody there with you. More importantly, I didn't really feel like driving to Cleveland and back by myself.

I had back up plans though. Our school was showing a sneak peak of National Treasure, and while it's not a high energy ska show, it's gotta be better than sitting in the dorm. Well, that plan went kaput when the movie reel went kaput. I must just have bad luck.

So what did I do instead? Watched the OC for the first time ever. How was it you ask? Mildly interesting, certainly nothing new. The acting was typical teen acting. On a side note how is it that college graduates continue to play high school students. On a side side note, why do only beautiful people live in California. Anyway, the one good thing about the show was the showcasing of the band the Walkmen. Sounds like the O.C. is upping it's musical appeal by showcasing the likes of the Walkmen along with the Killers and Modest Mouse. Imagine that, good bands being put on a prime time tv show mostly frequented by high school age girls. Will the bands see a boost in publicity? Modest Mouse and the Killers are already making their way up the proverbial popularity chart, but the Walkmen are a little bit less known. A little less dance, and a little bit more garage/experimental than both the Killers and Modest Mouse, the Walkmen are an odd pick for the O.C. (although their tour with Modest Mouse could have caused the producers to pick them, who knows)

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble. Here's a cut off of Bows and Arrows, entitled Thinking of a Dream I Had. It's a bit more upbeat then most of the other songs on the CD, but instead of a slow thumping bass/dance beat, we get a rhythym that is counterpart to the frenetic guitar playing. Tell me what you think about it.

The Walkmen - Thinking of a Dream I Had

Big D and the Kid's Table are crazy. I think that's the best way to describe this band. They play a mix of ska and punk that doesn't have any glimmer or glean of pop music. What you hear is what you get. I think that the best part about this band is their honesty and integrity that clearly shines through in their music. They're guys playing ska when the third wave of ska has come and gone. There can only be one reason why they're still making music together, and the obvious answer is because they love it.

I just received Big D's new CD in the mail, entitled How It Goes. I'll share two of the tracks off the album, but I encourage you to go out and buy the CD, or go see them with the Voodoo Glow Skulls on the 18th at the Agora.

The first song (after the intro) of the CD is one of the hardest hitting, inflammatory songs on the whole CD. It's called LAX and the stream of explictives you will hear should not scare you away from the message of the song. Sometimes, it seems as though bands use the word 'fuck' to make themselves sound cool. I don't think that's what's going on here. Sometimes the only word that comes to mind is fuck, (think the past election), and your emotions require you to use it. Just don't desensitize yourself to the word, because then it loses it's power. Every fuck in this song is sung with indignation and contempt, the way it's supposed to sound. Listen and decide for yourself.
Download LAX

The next song comes near the end of the album. It starts off with a nice slow ska beat, harkoning back to first and second wave ska. David McWane's vocals are a little bit of a departure from his normal sung/shout lyrics, but I think the band does well with somewhat of a slower tempo song. A contrast to LAX, but good none the less.
Download (We all have to) Burn Something

buy How It Goes

Back for the Attack

The election's been over for 4 days, with the news of President-reelect, Bush coming 3 days ago. I think the initial shock and anger has passed, leading to just a general sense of dismay. Reality has hit, and the only thing we can do now is accept it and work on changing our country for the better. (that's actually what everybody wants to do, ya know?) Anyway, the next four years are set to be filled with debates, protests, and politics in general, so for the next few days my mind is taking a break from politics. I wasn't consumed with the election, although I did put a great mental stake in the outcome. Losing kinda hurt.

The Talking Heads are one of my favorite bands. David Byrne's spastic lyrics meld perfectly with the rythym of the rest of the band. Almost Dance Punk before there was such a thing. This song maintains an aire of happiness, almost a joy in the fact that the narrator and his friends are going nowhere. Maybe there's something better, maybe's there's not. They don't know where they've been, only where they're going. Sarcastic and ignorant. Fits the political climate, no?

Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere

Fuuuuck

Thats it America. You and me are done. Over with. I gave you the last four years of my life. I trusted in you to do the right thing. And all you've done is made a complete ass of yourself in front of my friends and my family. They all hate me for loving you. And ya know what? They were right. You had your chance. This was gonna be it, the great awakening. Your last chance for retribution. And you fucking blew it. Fuck you.

This is what our country has become : Ben Folds - All You Can Eat

Elect Me!

I'm tired of politics. Thank god today is election day. That mean's tomorrow is the beginning of either a long and drawn out legal battle or a long and drawn out Civil War. If it's a Civil War, then I'm fully prepared. I've been stocking up on ninja swords and moltov cocktails in order to fight for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Could it really go that far? I seriously think not. In every human there is a shred of sense that causes them to stop and look around when things are going to far. If we were to go to war over something as simple as differing ideologies, then we would certainly deserve our own fate. But, what is war, other than differing beliefs, ideologies and a need to expand one's power base? This has been used as the basis to start wars for all of history. I think, recently, our own country has done something of the sort in one of those little countries over in the middle east. Ahh, yes, Iraq. I don't believe war can ever be justified on the ground of preemptive preservation of our national being. I don't know if the war in Iraq is illegal, morally wrong, or anything of the sort. I know that I don't like it. That's all there is to it.

(I've been rambling lately. One of these days a post will actually make sense and flow. ya know? (see, that had flow, but not the kind I want) I'm done.).

Listen to this : Propaghandi - Hate, Myth, Muscle, Etiquette

and now, go take part in democracy and vote.

Is this thing on?

Back for another dose of goodness, are we? Today, on the table, I lay down one of my favorite bands. Their blend of ska caught me immediately, and then their later CD's let go of the ska in favor of an indie emo blend hooked me in. I speak of none other than The Impossibles. I don't believe this band got anywhere near the attention they deserved when they were still together. The members have since gone down other musical avenues (most notably Rory and Gabe (lead guitarist and lead vocalists of The Impossibles) in Slowreader.) Anyway, here's a song off of Anthology, in which you can feel the ska backbone, but you can also sense the emo leanings that will be more evident in the next few cds.

Check out there old stuff if you're a fan of third wave ska, it won't dissapoint.

The Impossibles - Priorities Intact
(buy it at Fueled By Ramen Records)

---

The election is one week away. Is anyone else completely sick of the political ads, soundbytes played over and over again, etc. that we've been priviliged to for the past five months? Frankly, I just want the whole thing to be over with (as I'm sure most everyone does). I don't want to speak of apocalypse theories, but can this country survive intact another four years of Bush? The only shred of hope I had left after the decision to go to war was that fact that it would assure a trip out of the White House for Bush if it turned out badly for the USA. The war turned out pretty damn bad for everyone involved.... and the our countrie is still split 50/50 on who should lead for another four years. I need a pair of those rose colored glasses that everyone else in our country is wearing.

Whatever happens, it's sure to be interesting and entertaining. And hey, what else could you possibly want?

F OR U spells FUN

Time to travel back through space and time to the beginnings of my musical history. What do we have next? More Ska! Don't tell me you don't like ska. Let the music take you over, shake you up and down, make you move.

Ska appeals to the inner child in all of us. The one that danced around the living room in pajamas and socks on a Tuesday morning with the radio blaring. Who cares what it was playing, as long as it was fast and you could dance. That's the essence of ska. Turn it up loud, let your own hidden inner happiness meet with the happiness of the song and you'll be all set. Who needs emo when you can hava ska?
Enjoy : Mustard Plug - Lolita

Ahh, a nice rolling bass lines, blaring horns, and that wonderful upstroke guitar. What else do you need to dance?

Hello Tomorrow, Goodbye to Yesterday

  Ahh, it feels good to actually get this thing off the ground. My last post was 2 months ago, and since then I've been struggling to get the right layout and feel that I wanted for the site. It's still not perfect, but it'll have to do for now.
  Anyway, enough of the critique on layout and on to the music. We'll go in a total opposite direction from REM to something that should at least start your foot atapping. My musical evolution was an interesting one. REM led me into more alternative acts, and eventually to punk right around when the punk blood starts flowing is supposed to start flowing in a suburban's kids veins. I think it was 8th or 9th grade. The ska revolution was almost over, but its ripples had enough of an effect to cause me to purchase 'Losing Streak' by Less Than Jake. I still believe its one of the best ska-punk records that came out from that era and the rest of their collection isn't so bad either.
  We complete this path down memory lane with a track off of 'Losing Streak', entitled : Sugar in Your Gas Tank.

The First, prolly not the best

So here's my first post ever on my first ever mp3 blog. First things first, the title comes from my friend Kyle who thought it'd be a cool name for a record label. Until that becomes reality, I'm stealing it for the title of this blog. Updates are on the way, with some snazzy graphics and things like that. I leave you with my first mp3, which is from a band that was and is one of my favorites. They're probably the first band that I really started to listen to when I was a wee little child, so I think it's only fitting that I start of one of my favorite songs off of Automatic For The People.

REM - Nightswimming