ALL RIGHT SCIENCE, THIS IS THE LAST STRAW

I DON'T CARE IF I GET CANCER, CANDLES ARE NOT A SODDING HEALTH RISK.

Song of the Week

"Prefers Unhappy Endings" by Say Hi To Your Mom.

Say Hi always has some good drum beats and oftentimes it's the drums that make the song. This is one of those songs. It just wouldn't be as good without those toms. Plus, this one has some really good synth in it as well, so it's probably one of my favourite Say Hi tracks.

An Observation Both Valid and Applicable

“Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object that is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we prohibit and abolish women? The sun, moon, and stars have been worshipped. Shall we pluck them out of the sky?” - Martin Luther

Long Term View of Afghanistan

This guy has the right idea when it comes to seriously helping Afghanistan. If attitudes like this are the ones guiding the future of Afghanistan, things will turn out a lot better for everyone involved and there won't be a return to a Taliban-like form of government.

"Don't make me stick a cigar in your P'Zone."

www.superpoop.com

Song of the Week

"I Gotcha" by Joe Tex.

Also, it's on the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack, so... there you go. Oh, and it was in a Dr. Pepper commercial, which is where I first heard it. I've got a nifty new 2.1 speaker system, so I've been making full use of its music playing capabilities. Wooo!

And then there were eight...

Coming to a theatre near you, from J.K. Rowling and the producers of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"... Witness the untold story of one wizard boy's journey... TO THE MIDDLE EAST, as Harry Potter and his magical pals join the WAR ON TERROR. In a whimsical world where anything is possible, one muggle is playing a dangerous game. And his time is up. OSAMAAAAA! The Ministry of Magic has summoned the Boy Who Lived... find Bin Laden... or DIE TRYING. Join director David Yates as the saga continues in: HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZERBAIJAN!

"Dumbledore lives... and he's really, really pissed."

(This film has not yet been rated. In theatres 9/11/2009.)


[This post is intended for parody purposes only.]

Why I've Lost Interest in Arctic Monkeys

The Arctic Monkeys will never be the same. They suffer from something I call Multidimensional Music Syndrome, i.e., trying to actually put some depth into their work, and not just pleasing fans. I'll explain. Their first album, "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not," was great. It was, for all practical purposes, a concept album. The songs were about being a bored teenager in Sheffield, where the band is from. Alex Turner, the Monkeys' frontman, is a very clever lyricist. He brought wit and charm to otherwise mundane tales of underage drinking, party-going, and the general sort of shenanigans that go along with being a wild teenager. It was really good! They turned out a really solid first album and became an instant success. Now, with such success comes a problem. Will they stick to the formula, or branch out? Most bands opt for the latter, even unintentionally, since duplicating such work is quite difficult, unless your style is extremely formulaic to begin with. So, the sophomore album was quite different. As with all bands, evolution is inevitable, and the changes that came with the second album were... well, different. Not so much "Riot Van," more like "Leave Before The Lights Come On." And that's ok, I mean, you can't stay still with your music for too long. But, personally, I liked the Monkeys that we met in the first album better. The second just didn't do for me. Their third album looks like it will continue down this road. The Kings of Leon did this, too. They went from raunchy Southern riffs to expansive arena rock, and it doesn't look like they're turning back. But, I like their new style all right, and their old stuff is still great, so it's all good. However, the Arctic Monkeys are moving towards some sort of psychedelic stylings, according to the band, which is just not the band that I was so enthused with three years ago. Some bands can pull off this transition well, namely, the Strokes. These sorts of garage rock groups begin with simpler songs, lyrics that are a bit more raw, both in topic and in structure, and then move on into more complicated instrumentation, deeper producing, a cleaner, more polished sound, and become more experienced in the studio. The Hives, the White Stripes, the Black Keys, and many other bands have gone through this. Most of these bands have been able to hold my interest throughout, but that really just isn't the case with Arctic Monkeys. But, that's ok, that's just how the band is, and they still have plenty of fans, so, that's all right by me.

Holy Crap

"On foot, or by the help of transportation..."

So I finally figured out what Royksopp's song "Remind Me" is all about. But hold up. Y'know that Geico commercial? The one with the caveman in the airport, standing on the moving walkway, carrying a tennis bag? Well, there's a song playing in that commercial, and that song is "Remind Me" by Royksopp. The song is a happy sounding one, but it's really a sort of strange, slightly sad song, and I thought it was interesting, so I'm going to talk about it. So the song is about this dude who was in England for a long time. He comes back home, pokes around a bit, and can't really remember why he wanted to come back so much. So, he travels across the city to where his friends live, only to discover that they don't actually live there anymore, a fact which he had forgotten while he was away. It's an interesting sort of lyric, even if it ends up being a bit glum.

This brings me to another point. There's a website called SongMeanings.net, and on this website, song lyrics are published, and users post comments about what they think the song means. Almost all of these comments are complete bull honkery. They start out in this fashion: "This song obviously contains deep meaning about relationships... blahblahblah, reading in metaphors, blahblahblah." They tried to turn "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend into some sort of complicated love-saga! WTF, mate? Stop this nonsense! But, people on the internet will do what they will. Personally, I like to take songs at face value, as seen above.