URGENT URGENT, UPDATE UPDATE
This blog has malfunctioned significantly, so much so that I had to create a new blog.
NEW URL: http://knowthecitizeninsane.blogspot.com
Go there, re-bookmark me, and re-subscribe!
Sorry for the inconvenience, but it was Blogger's fault, not mine.
See you at the new space,
TJ
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
It's Name Is Trouble
So, I'm having massive technical difficulties with Blogger.
It look as though this blog may be moving location.
Stay tuned.
(Sorry to those relying on my site feed. I don't know how many of you are out there, but currently the feed isn't working whatsoever; part of the reason why I might be heading for greener pastures.)
It look as though this blog may be moving location.
Stay tuned.
(Sorry to those relying on my site feed. I don't know how many of you are out there, but currently the feed isn't working whatsoever; part of the reason why I might be heading for greener pastures.)
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The Sunday Loom
So, here are a few subjects worth noting...First, the new (fifth) season of Entourage starts up on September 7th, and the recent teaser trailer has severely heightened my anticipation. Check it out for yourselves below...
Appartently, the synopsis of the first episode of the new seasons is as follows...
55 "Fantasy Island" Doug Ellin/Mark Mylod September 7, 2008
As Medellin gets slammed by the critics, Vince and Turtle resort to Mexico to avoid anything to do with the film. Meanwhile, Eric, Drama, and Ari are in L.A., focused on their careers. Drama begins to get recognized and E gets new clients and also, with Ari's help, tries to get a new movie to dig Vince out of his hole from Medellin. Ari and Eric go to Mexico to tell Vince about a movie that Emile Hirsch dropped out of that he would get top dollar for. After a heart to heart between E and Vince, Vince tries to pick up his career.
Now, it's common knowledge that Entourage gets a bad rap in certain circles due to its popularity for those of the frat-boy persuasion. However, as both a fan and critic of TV, I've got to defend the show; it's no where near as vapid, navel gazing, or self-indulgent as any episode of Sex and the City. Plus, from a technical (direction and screenwriting) perspective, the show pulls off myriad things that other shows don't or won't try. On top of it all, Jeremy Piven and Kevin Dillon are two extremely solid cast members and actors. Outside a "fanboy" perspective, the show has a lot legitimately going for it. No really, it does.
Second, where is a new album from Sufjan Stevens?
Despite the lack of another "state" record (or any other album, really), Sufjan's been putting out some great material in the form a single MP3s, contributions to compilations, etc. I bring this up in specific regard to a conversation I was having with a good friend of mine. He debated that Sufjan's non-album work was of the weaker variety, whereas I strongly disagreed; some of his best, forward-thinking material comes in the form of these one-offs. To satisfy my ego and provide a winning argument, I've posted three examples of "new" (non-album anyways) Sufjan songs below.
This track is circa 2005 and is a pretty healthy demonstration that Sufjan's still got it (and creatively growing) despite his musical sabbatical. It's off of the compilation record This Bird Has Flown - A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul and shows Sufjan structurally reworking the Beatles' track of the same name.
A 2007 track off of The Believer CD compilation from the literature magazine of the same name, this one's worth posting because of the radical approach (read: departure) Sufjan takes; it's more fuzzed-out, over-sustained, and distortion-saturated than anything Sufjan's done so far. And in what could be a bonus for some, Sufjan lyrically abandons his stereotypical storyteller approach for more simplistic, perhaps punk-inspired, lyrics.
So far, this track's only seen light at Sufjan's live shows (click for the Pitchfork-approved photos of the Sufjan show I attended). It's more epic and outstanding than anything Sufjan's attempted thus far, even on Illinois, and despite the mediocre sound quality, it's easy to hear.
So c'mon Sufjan, we know you've got the talent, record a new album already, "state" or otherwise.
Third, I should mention Comic-Con. It was quite radical. I got to hang out with such legends as Paul Pope, Eddie Campbell, John Cassaday, David Lloyd, and more.
That and I got a stack of books rough 15" tall, the complete Tales from the Darkside, a plethora of pictures, and nearly killed my wallet.
Here are a few shots...
Alright, I think that's all I've got until tomorrow. Check back throughout the week for more updates; I've got a brand new mixtape, a slew of MP3s to share, and a variety of videos that are worth checking out.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Updates
A few quick things to note as I'm sitting at my computer in San Diego, waiting to take a shower...
The Past Few Weeks:
I got to see Ricky Gervais perform live at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood while (luckily) sitting front row center. Ricky was great, with his timing and anecdotes coming off than anything you can find in his YouTube clips. Let's also note that instead of sipping from a bottle or glass of water, like most comedians do during their sets, Ricky nursed a giant can of Foster's Beer. The show was hilarious.
Sometime after the Gervais performance, I scored tickets to a sold-out Ratatat show. The venue was very cool, cool being the crowd wasn't too hipster and the area wasn't too. They played a lot of stuff off their latest record, LP3, which is to be expect, but everything they played from 2006's Classics sounded great. And yes, they eventually played "Seventeen Years." It was the closing song from their encore and the vibrant track sounded even better live.
I didn't get any pictures, but during their perfromance, they projected a whole hunch of strange videos, like the Predator one I posted a few weeks ago. Here's the video backdrop for the song "Flynn." It's entertaining if, y'know, you're a fan of VH1 Classic or Chevy Chase.
This Week:
I'm in San Diego for Comic Con, which is why I haven't touched a computer recently. More updates on this ridiculous event when I get back to L.A. on Monday.
Fin
The Past Few Weeks:
I got to see Ricky Gervais perform live at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood while (luckily) sitting front row center. Ricky was great, with his timing and anecdotes coming off than anything you can find in his YouTube clips. Let's also note that instead of sipping from a bottle or glass of water, like most comedians do during their sets, Ricky nursed a giant can of Foster's Beer. The show was hilarious.
Sometime after the Gervais performance, I scored tickets to a sold-out Ratatat show. The venue was very cool, cool being the crowd wasn't too hipster and the area wasn't too. They played a lot of stuff off their latest record, LP3, which is to be expect, but everything they played from 2006's Classics sounded great. And yes, they eventually played "Seventeen Years." It was the closing song from their encore and the vibrant track sounded even better live.
I didn't get any pictures, but during their perfromance, they projected a whole hunch of strange videos, like the Predator one I posted a few weeks ago. Here's the video backdrop for the song "Flynn." It's entertaining if, y'know, you're a fan of VH1 Classic or Chevy Chase.
This Week:
I'm in San Diego for Comic Con, which is why I haven't touched a computer recently. More updates on this ridiculous event when I get back to L.A. on Monday.
Fin
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Listmaking
So here is something I found rather interesting that has been (or had been over 4th of July weekend) appearing on several blogs recently:
"List your favorite record from every year you’ve been alive.
You can do it based purely on hindsight, or you can do it by listing the answer you would’ve given in that year (assuming you were aware of pop music at the time)."
Wikipedia helps.
Of course, I decided to make my own list.
1987 - Dinosaur Jr., You're Living All Over Me
1988 - Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
1989 - Pixies, Doolittle
1990 - Fugazi, Repeater
1991 - My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
1992 - Pavement, Slanted & Enchanted
1993 - Nirvana, In Utero
1994 - Weezer, "Blue Album"
1995 - Foo Fighters, Foo Fighters
1996 - Cake, Fashion Nugget
1997 - Built to Spill, Perfect from Now On
1998 - Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
1999 - The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin
2000 - Radiohead, Kid A
2001 - Daft Punk, Discovery
2002 - Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf
2003 – Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan
2004 - Eagles of Death Metal, Peace, Love, Death Metal
2005 – The National, Alligator
2006 – the Thermals The Body, The Blood, the Machine
2007 – Battles, Mirrored
2008 – Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
Obviously, the list culminated in a listing of some of my favourite albums, but it was surprising to see which years garnered records I hold dearest to my heart and which years were lacking records I liked all that much.
1994 was hands down the hardest year for me. So many incredible albums came out that year, albums that are solidified in my personal all-time-favourite-canon, but I ultimately went with a record that influenced me greatly at the time I first received it. In contrast, 1991 and 1998 were quite easy for me to decide upon.
1995, 1997 & 2001 also proved difficult years. Instead of laundry listing the seriously talented or laughably poppy albums that came out in said years, scan Wikipedia. 2008 was pretty hard too, especially since the year is far from over, so I went with the record that's gotten the most spins from me as of today.
What does your list look like and what was the hardest year for you?
You can do it based purely on hindsight, or you can do it by listing the answer you would’ve given in that year (assuming you were aware of pop music at the time)."
Wikipedia helps.
Of course, I decided to make my own list.
1987 - Dinosaur Jr., You're Living All Over Me
1988 - Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
1989 - Pixies, Doolittle
1990 - Fugazi, Repeater
1991 - My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
1992 - Pavement, Slanted & Enchanted
1993 - Nirvana, In Utero
1994 - Weezer, "Blue Album"
1995 - Foo Fighters, Foo Fighters
1996 - Cake, Fashion Nugget
1997 - Built to Spill, Perfect from Now On
1998 - Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
1999 - The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin
2000 - Radiohead, Kid A
2001 - Daft Punk, Discovery
2002 - Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf
2003 – Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan
2004 - Eagles of Death Metal, Peace, Love, Death Metal
2005 – The National, Alligator
2006 – the Thermals The Body, The Blood, the Machine
2007 – Battles, Mirrored
2008 – Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
Obviously, the list culminated in a listing of some of my favourite albums, but it was surprising to see which years garnered records I hold dearest to my heart and which years were lacking records I liked all that much.
1994 was hands down the hardest year for me. So many incredible albums came out that year, albums that are solidified in my personal all-time-favourite-canon, but I ultimately went with a record that influenced me greatly at the time I first received it. In contrast, 1991 and 1998 were quite easy for me to decide upon.
1995, 1997 & 2001 also proved difficult years. Instead of laundry listing the seriously talented or laughably poppy albums that came out in said years, scan Wikipedia. 2008 was pretty hard too, especially since the year is far from over, so I went with the record that's gotten the most spins from me as of today.
What does your list look like and what was the hardest year for you?
MP3 of the Day
As you may have noticed, I skipped a mixtape for this week. I've been busier than expect with work and this past weekend, but no worries, new content will be arriving shortly. Here's today's MP3.
It is what it is, a free, web-hosted MP3 of my choice awaiting your download. Click the link and enjoy.
MSTRKRFT - Vuvuvu
I posted a single of this tune's A-side in an April mixtape, but I found myself coming back to MSTRKRFT's "Vuvuvu" quite a bit recently.
The song itself is a pulsing electro-house jam that sounds self-generating and hypnotic, its prime listening location being someone's dank, oversexed basement. Though it's around two months old now, it still holds up to anything off the recently US released Hercules and Love Affair record or Justice's recent MGMT "Electric Feel" remix. Oh why not, I posted both songs below...
Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
Justice - Electric Feel (Remix)
Enjoy.
It is what it is, a free, web-hosted MP3 of my choice awaiting your download. Click the link and enjoy.
I posted a single of this tune's A-side in an April mixtape, but I found myself coming back to MSTRKRFT's "Vuvuvu" quite a bit recently.
The song itself is a pulsing electro-house jam that sounds self-generating and hypnotic, its prime listening location being someone's dank, oversexed basement. Though it's around two months old now, it still holds up to anything off the recently US released Hercules and Love Affair record or Justice's recent MGMT "Electric Feel" remix. Oh why not, I posted both songs below...
Justice - Electric Feel (Remix)
Enjoy.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
MP3 of the Day
It is what it is, a free, web-hosted MP3 of my choice awaiting your download. Click the link and enjoy. Today's a two-for-one.
Jay Reatard - Nightmares
An stellar example of Jay Reatard's lo-fi branded, punk influenced, guy next door garage rock, "Nightmares" is off his 2006 solo debut, Blood Visions. That being said, "Nightmares" is in the middle of the Reatard spectrum; his songs get harder and, at times, softer (see below).
Jay Reatard - I Know a Place
Whereas "Nightmares" was a demonstration of Reatard's straightforward punk rock, "I Know a Place" offers a more subtle listening experience. It's gentle and doesn't operate at a breakneck speed, differing greatly for Reatard's much more fervent material.
Jay Reatard's musical output is incredible. Since 1998, he's released nearly seventeen albums and thirty four 45s/EPs. He's definitely worth checking out.
An stellar example of Jay Reatard's lo-fi branded, punk influenced, guy next door garage rock, "Nightmares" is off his 2006 solo debut, Blood Visions. That being said, "Nightmares" is in the middle of the Reatard spectrum; his songs get harder and, at times, softer (see below).
Whereas "Nightmares" was a demonstration of Reatard's straightforward punk rock, "I Know a Place" offers a more subtle listening experience. It's gentle and doesn't operate at a breakneck speed, differing greatly for Reatard's much more fervent material.
Jay Reatard's musical output is incredible. Since 1998, he's released nearly seventeen albums and thirty four 45s/EPs. He's definitely worth checking out.
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