tony bennett

i'm just sayin'

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:08:01 GMT

i'm going to try this diet

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:20:22 GMT

neil young's new song/video

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:54:06 GMT

it's really weird to me that a guy neil's age is cranking out songs like this and no one "current" is. where are all the protest songs? is this generation too complacent? where's the 22-year-old bob dylan or neil young? is that even possible anymore?

also, this song sticks in your head after one listen. meanwhile, animal collective is getting RAVES for their new one, which i've heard about 3 or 4 times, and i can hardly recall any of it, save a couple of things here and there.

there's a bailout coming, but it's not for you.

so, this is it, huh?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:03:01 GMT

all there is to read anymore is stuff about peoples' ab muscles and their recycled twitters where they talk about sharpening pencils, taking shits, and twiddling their fingers?

can't you fuckers post some kinks lyrics, at least?

i think i might jump this livejournal ship. i've been hanging on just out of habit.

who is smarter? a fifth-grader or this guy?

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:24:01 GMT

every once in a while, you come across an internet ad so sublime, you have to share it:

well, are you? are you smarter than BRET MICHAELS?

raymond douglas davies knows

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:49:40 GMT

Well I woke this morning with a pain in my neck,
A pain in my heart and a pain in my chest,
I went to the doctor and the good doctor said,
You gotta slow down your life or you're gonna be dead,
Cut out the struggle and strife,
It only complicates your life.

Well I cut down women, I cut out booze,
I stopped ironing my shirts, cleaning my shoes,
I stopped going to work, stopped reading the news,
I sit and twiddle my thumbs cos I got nothing to do,
Minimal exercise,
To help uncomplicate my life,
Gotta stand and face it life is so complicated,
Ladi dah di dahdah, ladi dah di dah dah,
You gotta get away from the complicated life, son,
Life is overrated, life is complicated,
Must alleviate this complicated life.

Cut out the struggle and strife,
It's such a complicated life.

Like old Mother Hubbard
I got nothin' in the cupboard,
Got no dinner and I got no supper,
Holes in my shoes, I got holes in my socks,
I can't go to work cos I can't get a job,
The bills are rising sky high,
It's such a complicated life,
Gotta stand and face it,
Life is so complicated.
Ladi dah di dahdah, ladi dah di dah dah
Gotta get away from the complicated life, son,
Life is overrated, life is complicated,
Must alleviate this complicated life.

Gotta get away from the complicated life, son,
Gotta get away from the complicated life.

The best Kinks songs I heard in 2008

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:03:57 GMT

So, not much music worth a damn came out this year. When Fleet Foxes is everybody's #1 album, something's wrong. I liked a few new things here and there, but i spent most of my time in 2008 listening to the Kinks and Creedence. I have trouble giving a damn about Santogold, Antony and the Johnsons, or lcd soundsystem when not a single one of them has written one song as good as Ray Davies' c-level material.

In honor of Mr. Davies, his brother Dave, and the rest of the Kinks, i give you my Top Ten Kinks Songs of 2008.

1. "Brainwashed" -- Cutting, incisive lyrics and kick-ass music. I went through a phase this year where I drove Kelli crazy by singing this song's "Yes, you are" refrain OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OV

2. "This Time Tomorrow" -- I'll just admit it: hearing this tune in "The Darjeeling Limited" got me started on my Kinks binge. That movie came out in the fall of last year, and the binge is still happening. This song actually made me shed a tear this year. Only a few tunes have ever done that to me.

3. "Victoria" -- Catchy as shit. I woke up with this in my head at least fifty times this year. Probably, it was more like a hundred.

4. "20th Century Man" -- Perhaps the best example of Ray Davies' grumpy anti-modern views. "Apeman" is a good one, too. I don't know any songwriter who talked about modern life sucking as much as Ray. My hero.

5. "David Watts." -- Much like "Victoria," a tight, concise jam, and a great album opener.

6. "Some Mother's Son" -- If Jeff Mangum from Neutral Milk Hotel wasn't SEVERELY influenced by this song, I'll be a donkey's nephew. This song seriously sounds like it could be on "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea." Only Mangum never wrote a chord progression this amazing.

7. "King Kong" -- A totally rocking b-side.

8. "Strangers" -- Oh, so, you know, Ray Davies is a genius and everything, but then his brother also wrote some songs, too. And most of THEM were genius. And maybe no lyric hit me harder this year than "If I live too long, I'm afraid I'll die."

9. "The Village Green Preservation Society" -- Great opener. Great key change. God save the Kinks.

10. I can't just pick ten. Here are some others that, ahem, really got me in 2008: "Death of a Clown," "Mindless Child of Motherhood," "Shangri-La," "Johnny Thunder," "Do You Remember Walter," "Waterloo Sunset," and "Misty Water."

From about 1965 to 1973, the Kinks wrote and played some of the best songs I've ever had the pleasure to hear. You should hear them, too.

Happy new year. 2009 had better shit all over 2008, or I'm asking for a refund.

SUPER ten!

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:16:11 GMT

anyone who knows me knows how much of a pearl jam fan i was (and, i guess, continue to be) when i was growing up. i still remember being the first person i knew with the stickman shirt. they really spoke to me, maaaaaan. now, fuck, look at this:

it's the "super-deluxe edition" reissue of ten. LOOK AT THAT. comes with a reproduction of their first demo cassette! a replica of one of ed vedder's notebooks! an unreleased concert from the era on 2 vinyl albums! photos! a DVD! completely redone album artwork and a total remix of the music! bonus tracks! books! FUCK!

cost: $150. seriously. but it actually looks to be worth it.

luckily, my birthday's in march, when this thing comes out. no bloody way am i not going to get this.

oh, and supposedly this is just the first of a series of rereleases leading up to PJ's 20th anniversary in 2011. oh, dear.

oh, dawkins, you nut

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:37:05 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7681914.stm

okay, now let's walk over to sesame street

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:41:25 GMT

and this one can't be embedded for some reason, but it's worth clicking the link:
http://www.sesamestreet.org/video_player?p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_id=videoPlayer_WAR_sesameportlets4369&p_p_uid=08399829-dc15-4f3c-a263-5d4b31c1484c

feeling nostalgic for early-to-mid-eighties cable television

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:13:33 GMT

what's up, california?

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:06:30 GMT

i can understand florida and arizona being dicks about gay marriage, but YOU? you, who've already given gay people the right to get married, are now just going to rescind those very rights?

california, this is like a fart at a birthday party. you've pissed in the punch. i thought you were supposed to be cool?

the only thing that comforts me is knowing that, over time, liberalism always wins. we'll get 'em next time. fight on!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/05/california-gay-marriage-b_n_141429.html

oh, and look at this: "Arkansas voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents. Supporters made clear that gays and lesbians were their main target."

wow, that is fucking ugly. way to go, hicks. sheesh.

wow

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:33:52 GMT

it actually happened. the guy i liked. the other guy i liked. a cool family. i really have no complaints. how can this be?

i actually...gulp...feel proud of my country. i feel like a believer. weird.

now he just has to do a good job.

but, even if he ends up sucking...what a night. watching all those black people just beaming in harlem, it made me teary. turns out history isn't just some stuff in the past you read about.

all that "hope" stuff: this is what it feels like to have that check cashed. neat.

i am happy.

make your electoral college guesses!

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:02:14 GMT

http://270towin.com/

fill in your states, place your bets, and then we'll compare guesses tomorrow.

i predict:
Obama 367
McCain 171

i'm going with landslide-blowout numbers. this is risky, but it feels like it will be obvious in retrospect. I FUCKING HOPE.

tomorrow!

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:50:09 GMT

holy shit. i can remember being in chicago in '06, and everyone there was obama-crazy. it was around the time his last book came out, and people were whispering "presidential run." and i thought, yeah, that'd be great, but this country will fuck it up. we always do.

maybe not?

we'll find out, tomorrow. if he wins, i might actually start to feel hopeful about america. i'd like that. after the last eight years of disaffection and anger and fear, it'd be nice to feel good about the president, to feel like you're on the inside of something rather than perpetually being the outsider. we are living through history. you are here.

alright, enough.

here's the final gallup poll:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/111703/Final-Presidential-Estimate-Obama-55-McCain-44.aspx

and here's a guide to watching the election results:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/167186/page/1

if you're not, VOTE!

ladies and gentlemen, here's your october surprise!

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:35:51 GMT

apparently, this info came out last night. obama's aunt is illegal! yay, more racist fodder!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27481680

they're going to deport his aunt before the election. i just know it.

michelle bachmann is a rep. from minnesota's 6th district.

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:09:53 GMT

are you okay with that, minnesota resident?

how about now?

jeff mangum plays a neutral milk hotel song in public

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:48:55 GMT

and then, later, monkeys flew out of wayne's butt.

even more bombay tv!

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:07:41 GMT

i'm disappointed in everyone else, out there, for not joining in with me. lame-o's!

their vote counts just as much as yours...

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:52:23 GMT

you know those mccain supporters, the ones who shout crazy things and make threats at his rallies? let's get to know them a little better, shall we?

yeah, you should be puking right about now. i guarantee you that no one at an obama rally is THIS STUPID.

exclamation points!

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:36:34 GMT

hey, sportsmen! todd palin's going to be in duluth! at gander mountain!
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/?event=article&id=75761
anyone who shows up to see the husband of a the governor of a state smaller than the city of memphis is a total fucking dickwad! unless you're protesting!

lovable grump atheist christopher hitchens endorses obama!
http://slate.com/id/2202163

i love bombay tv!

Bombay TV time!

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:26:45 GMT

For some reason, this has become a new fall tradition, in my mind. Mid-October rolled around, and i realized it was time to subtitle some Bollywood movies. Here's one, just to prime the pump. Let's go!

Click this to make yer own:
http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/index.php?lang=uk

credit where credit is due

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:28:30 GMT

john mccain had to do some damage control, today, when his wingnut supporters started going a little TOO crazy. his rallies have been getting ugly, and i give him major props for telling the truth, today. the old john mccain came back, at least for a day. this video is amazing. it's like he's having to soothe a would-be angry mob:

oops, vietnam flashback

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:12:39 GMT

li'l bill

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:12:32 GMT