cehennem bir daha

A partial list of the reasons why I suck:

1. I am unable to whistle

2. I have never read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

3. I sometimes don’t follow through on my big ideas

4. I don’t know the definition of the word “macerate”

5. I haven’t blogged in forever…

For those of you keeping score at home, 2 of those are likely never to change, 2 of them changed tonight, and 1 might change in the long run – if I ever follow through on following through. For the record, “macerate” means to “soften and separate by soaking; grow or make lean.” Obviously, tonight I also rectified the lack of recent blog post situation, although this entry will be less than entirely pleasing to those who have been waiting – it’ll be a short one, although I’m not lacking material.

There are certainly all sorts of knowledge, pictures, anecdotes, and even videos to drop on you all, from my visits to Alcatraz and Mexico to my struggles to understand the nuances of the Turkish language. For now, I will leave you with one of the aformentioned videos – if you spend a summer in the Bay Area you gotta get down with hyphy.  Here’s one song that’s totally slumper:

You gotta admit – that sampling is pretty ridiculously awesome.  Hopefully the good tune will compensate you for my weak effort tonight, but no worries – there are many more stories and pictures to follow, and I imagine I will try to break the summer down into bite-size pieces for those of you who don’t enjoy blog posts that would make James Joyce jealous. For now, I’m off to watch the Red Sox (man, I’ve missed NESN) and to find a tall, cold beverage. Have a good night, kids – expect more soon.

“Seasons Change but People Don’t…”

So I kicked off my weekend (and coincidentally, my return to Eastern Massachusetts), with a stop at the Tweeter Center to see Fall Out Boy. There were some traffic nightmares getting there, but once I arrived, it was all good. I met up with some very special friends, and we started staking out a spot in the parking lot where we could, you know, park. While driving through the parking lot, we noticed that other than the parents who were accompanying some of the kids, we were pretty much the oldest kids there – everyone else was in middle school or high school. That sobering reminder was mitigated somewhat when we saw a number of prepubescent emo kids being arrested for underage possession – who says being over 21 is a bad thing?? After parking, we engaged in typical concert activities, such as playing Canasta. Unfortunately, the card game was ruined by a sudden downpour (I thought April was for showers and May was for flowers? Silly confused Mother Nature – it must be the fault of El Nino!), and so we were forced to batten down the hatches and proceed into the concert.

We missed most of the opening acts, so we only had about an hour to wait around before the boys from Fall Out came on-stage. It would be cliche to say they were worth the wait, so instead, I will just say they were quite enjoyable. I failed to get a complete set list, or to record the show, two failures that instantly have lost me a few readers who may have been under the misapprehension that this was a hardcore music blog. To make it up to the rest of you, I did a little Internet trolling and found a bite-sized preview of my experience:

I was pleased to notice that Fall Out Boy honored some of their long time fans by playing more than just their most recent album. Although it is by no means comprehensive, a partial list of the tunes they played includes:

• Sugar, We’re Going Down
• Dance, Dance
• This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race
• I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me
• The Take Over, the Breaks Over
• Of All the Gin Goints in the World
• Tell That Mick He Just Made My List Of Things To Do Today
• Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy
• Hum Hallelujah
• Saturday
• Golden
• Thnks fr th Mmrs

All in all, it was a fantastic show, even if we felt like senior citizens trapped in a rain shower – a memorable night all around, and I’m glad I got down there. Hopefully it will be the first of many concerts this summer…

“It started out with a kiss”

Introducing a new somewhat regular feature for the blog: Music Video Minute! These posts will serve as a showcase for some of my favorite music videos. Some will be underrated, some will be unknown, some will be just plain effin awesome. If you haven’t already guessed the first video I would choose for this feature, you just aren’t paying attention, sunshine. Enjoy…

“Should have held back, but you throwed the punch”

Like I need a reason to direct you towards good music, old and new?

P.S. Even Black Bush has to admit that the residents of Stankonia, like most Americans, are not behind the war in Iraq.  Wait for it…wait for it…wait for it…around the 3:47 mark:

We miss you, Chappelle’s Show.

Top O’ The Charts

So, some mildly delusional people out there seem to think I have good taste in music, and occasionally, I am on the cutting edge. So, with those two things in mind, I have decided upon a new method of letting you all into what Im listening to.

Click on the cute little picture to get some amazing statistics on what I’ve been listening to lately.

Also, for the record, I like Fall Out Boy a lot, but even I don’t like them that much…I just fell asleep with them on repeat. Please also note, this feature is available all the time in my sidebar – try clicking on the shiny CD with the musical note under my blog roll section. Enjoy the tunes, people.

The Songs of the Year – 2006

So, it’s that time of year again. Time for me to review the ten best songs of the last year…in this case, 2006. For those of you who don’t know, this is actually how the first blog I ever did got started. I had a list of the Top 10 for 2003 on my AIM profile, and people got so interested, I jazzed it up with some pictures and words – and that led to the creation of the first blog entry. As always, there are two disclaimers:

1. Unlike awards shows, I am not overly particular about when a song came out. If it came out in the last few months of 2005, but still had a large impact upon 2006, then you can bet your balls it would merit consideration.

2. There is no particular order to these songs, they all are worthy of the Top Ten, but I will make no distinctions between the songs on this list.

Enjoy the list, and I’m eager to hear your suggestions for inclusion to this list. Alternatively, if you want to bitch about the songs I chose, I suggest taking it up with the guy who delivers your Chinese food, not me – I don’t want to hear it. Without further ado…

“Snow (Hey Oh)” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Sexyback” by Justin Timberlake

“Crooked Teeth” by Death Cab for Cutie

“Smiley Faces” by Gnarls Barkley

“What you Know” by T.I.

“Don’t Feel Right” by The Roots

“Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance

“Currents” by Dashboard Confessional

“Carpal Tunnel of Love” by Fall Out Boy

“Bones” by The Killers

From Music to Movies and Then Back to Music KindaSorta

Could this be the next “Garden State?” It looks damn good from the preview, and Zach Braff undoubtedly knows what he’s doing in this genre…

 

In any case, I’m potentially excited for it, and even if the movie sucks, the soundtrack probably/definitely will not. Here’s what I assume is a preliminary track listing, via Amazon.

1. Chocolate – Snow Patrol
2. Star Mile – Joshua Radin
3. Pain Killer – Turin Brakes
4. Warning Sign – Coldplay
5. Ride – Cary Brothers
6. El Salvador – Athlete
7. Hide And Seek – Imogen Heap
8. Reason Why – Rachael Yamagata
9. Hold You In My Arms – Ray LaMontagne
10. Prophecy – Remy Zero
11. Paper Bag – Fiona Apple
12. Today’s The Day – Aimee Mann
13. Arms of a Woman – Amos Lee
14. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Reprise) – Rufus Wainwright
15. Paperweight – Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk

Sounds like some pretty good stuff to me, you can never go wrong with Snow Patrol, Rufus Wainwright, and Ray LaMontagne, at the very least, and Im sure the others will all be very listenable, as well. Thats all for now kids, good night.

Top O’ The Charts

So, some disillusioned people out there seem to think I have good taste in music, and occassionally, I am on the cutting edge. So, with those two things in mind, I have decided upon a new method of letting you all into what Im listening to.

Click on the cute little picture to get some amazing statistics on what I’ve been listening to lately.

More Pop Culture

So, the mini-apocalypse I hinted at months ago has come to pass. As you may recall, while I was still basking in the glow of my peace negotiations with 50 Cent and Mister The Game, I noticed that Mister The Game was wearing a Red Sox hat in his video for the popular little ditty “Hate it or Love It.” You can find the full article in the archives from Feburary 3rd, 2005.

As rappers are often barometers for pop culture, and thus, teach impressionable people what they should wear, I feared that the Red Sox would fast become a pop phenomenom along the lines of the Yankees or Paris Hilton. (Both suck, and both do drugs. Zing!)

Anyhow, this prophesy of sorts has come to pass. The Red Sox hat has become popular, to the point that the most unlikely of suspects was today wearing one. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the aforementioned 50 Cent is wearing a Red Sox hat in his new video, the one that single-handedly made Mobb Deep at least mildly relevant again. The problem is, he is also wearing a Yankees hat. Not simaltaneously, mind you, because then he would look silly with one hat stacked upon the other, and no rapper, in the history of rapping, has ever looked silly. But he continually switched hats throughout the film. This, in my opinion, is a faux pas. One cannot support both teams. Such a show of allegiance is tantamount to supporting both Hitler and Nelson Mandela. (I will leave it to you to figure out which is which.) As 50 has once declared himself from “South Side Jamaica Queens,” it would seem to be that by nurture, he is a Yankees fan. If he chooses to switch sides, Red Sox Nation would probably welcome him. However, he can’t have it both ways. Dont get me wrong. 50 is a cool guy, and he bought me some Cris at the last club we opened together. But not even my best friend would be able to pull these kind of shenanigans without getting busted by me, so 50 doesnt get a free pass, either. Shape up, Mister Curtis Jackson. For the rest of you, do as he says, not as he does. Have a good evening, folks.

Word Vomit!

Its going to be an interesting week, to say the least. This paper is cramping my style big time, I wish it was just done. I may have an old friend stop by as well, which could prove to be an exciting time. Other than that, I have no idea what the week will hold.

So, remember this guy?

You know, my whole tirade about him and 50 Cent having a feud? Well, as you no doubt recall, my plea for peace did the job and they are cool again. But, it went one step further. Now they have made a song together. And, they followed another one of my pleas. I have always wondered why when two artists collaborated, they didn’t share credit for the song and both place it on their respective albums. Well, this is what they did. And in my mind, its the best hip-hop song of the year so far.

As keen-eyed observers no doubt notice in the video of the song, one of the Game’s homies (that is what the kids are calling them nowadays, right?) is wearing a Red Sox cap. In an earlier post, I lamented how the Red Sox were apparently becoming fashionable and trendy. I am willing to overlook that here because the homie is anonymous, and therefore, unlikely to establish mad rushes to redsox.com the way lingerie sales drives women to the mall in hordes. Anyhow, the video is fairly enjoyable, and I don’t think its a bold prediction to guess that the song will be quite popular. I think they owe me a slice of the profits for inspiring their reunion and song idea.

So, some of you may have noticed I haven’t been writing serious posts in here very much lately. Don’t worry, its not because I don’t like you. If I didn’t like you, Id be more obvious about it. Instead, Ive been pouring my blogging attention into building my new Europe blog and putting some posts on there. If I do so myself, its looking pretty hot. I’m doing some more advanced things with it, and I think you’ll all like it. When its fit for public consumption, you will be allowed to see it. Until that time, it shall remain private. Anyhow, thats it for now, bed is calling. See you on the morrow.