Thursday, April 9, 2009

Question of the Day

I'll keep this short: Why do people leave hang up messages? Chances are they already know they're not going to leave a message before someone's voicemail starts, so why not just hang up BEFORE the beep?

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

video of the day

Here is a video from an Of Montreal concert. I saw this show in Richmond last year, and it was truly one of the best concerts I've ever been to. This video also happens to be my favorite song from their 2008 album Skeletal Lamping. Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Wicked Awesome!

I love hearing folks say, "Wicked Awesome!"... This has nothing to do with the topic at hand this evening, I just thought it had a nice ring to it. Sorry if this may seem to jump around, but I have a bunch of things on my mind tonight, tonight, tooooonight. Toniiiiiiiight, tonight. Striiiings, striiiings, striiiiinnnngggs.

First, the maintenance man in my building = Dwight Schrute. We had an hour-long test of our fire alarms last week, and every time he'd come over the loud speaker saying "this is a test, this is only a test" I'd find myself imagining staplers entrapped in jello. Every maintenance man I've ever known takes himself very seriously, with the exception of one: Les.

I worked with Les all through high school and college, and he was the coolest maintenance man ever. Seriously. Throughout my obnoxious teen years and trouble-making college years, Les was always nice. In fact, the only time I ever saw him get pissed was when we'd feed the ducks (I even snuck them inside once). Can't say that I blame him - who would want to scrub duck shit off the sidewalk? One time, on a really slow day, he let me go up on the roof, which was very adventurous for being at work. He offered to let me toss pumpkins off the roof at Halloween because no one wanted to be at work. That never happened, but just the fact that he mentioned it was cool in my eyes. He was an old school hippie - he recalled seeing Jimi Hendrix live in Virginia Beach in the 60's, and I never heard him yell at anyone. I saw his assistant drop a commercial light bulb on his head, shattering into a million pieces. He never even raised his voice. Once, while moving some plants around after an open house event, I got the facilities golf cart stuck in some double doors, and Les came to the rescue and helped me get it out before any of the managers noticed. He played in a cover jam band and drove an old station wagon (not a creepy chester molester wagon though). Ultimately, I think he was fired, but I had already moved on at that time, so I'm not sure. I'm guessing he is still practicing maintenance at some other business, as fixing things was obviously his calling. So next time some douchebag maintenance dude yells at you or treats you like an idiot because you don't know the difference between flourescent and HID light bulbs, think of Les, the coolest maintenance man ever.

Now, on to a list of two types of things: things that are bad, and things that are bad-ass. This list was inspired by my recent enjoyment of Important Things with Demetri Martin on Comedy Central. I'm going to list one of each. There are only five that I have right now, so please supplement this list in the comments section if you have something to add.

1. Things that are bad: chester molester vans.
1. Things that are bad-ass: El Caminos.

2. Bad: certain types of mustaches.
2. Bad-ass: Snagglepuss.

3. Bad: Paula Abdul 2009.
3. Bad-ass: Paula Abdul Reeboks from the 80's.

4. Bad: Mullets (fem-mullets included).
4. Bad-ass: Sweater shavers.

5. Bad: Miley Cyrus.
5. Bad-ass: Radiohead dissing Miley Cyrus at the Grammy's.

I was hoping to include photos of my broken finger (THANKS AND A SHOUTOUT TO BRETT SHANKLES!), but unfortunately my phone is too slow to send pictures, so hopefully I'll be able to post that sometime in the coming days. Not like any of you are super anxious to see a swollen "stinky pinky", but it's my blog isn't it???

I will leave you with the coolest 80's hair metal video. Thanks to Brad for sharing this gem.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

New Tunes for a New Season

Happy Spring blog-reading peeps!!! I wanted to talk a little bit about some of the music I’ve been listening to lately. Here are some great new releases, plus a couple of disappointments:

-Alela Diane (To Be Still): I stumbled upon Alela Diane’s poorly updated blog (Wandering Stillness, featured in my blog list below), and decided to check out her music. Her first album, the Pirate’s Gospel, is good, and I was instantly mesmerized by her voice. Think of her as a more tolerable Feist. Her voice is distinctly different and folky, but without too much of the up-and-down quivering of some other voices.
-Neko Case: (Middle Cyclone) was something that had to grow on me, and it did. It took me at least three full listens to get hooked. Now it’s one of my favorite albums of 2009 thus far.
-Bishop Allen (Grrr): This was a huge disappointment for me. I was really looking forward to this album, and I’ve only listened to it once all the way through. It was just boring.
-Wavves (Wavves): I heard a random Wavves song and my first thought was ‘ugh, noise’. However, I’ve listened to multiple songs and have to admit it is growing on me. I’m looking forward to making it through the entire thing.
-Elvis Perkins in Dearland: I’ve only heard a couple of songs on KEXP, and I WANT this! It’s been out for a couple of weeks now, and I'm working on acquiring it.
-Metric (Fantasies): I’ve been anticipating this album since the end of last year when I heard “Help I’m Alive” on KEXP. Once I get that beat in my head it won’t stop, and Emily Haines’ voice is like crack. I just got the album last weekend, and have yet to give it a good listen (besides my sad attempt at jogging on Sat and Sun). I am predicting that I will love it, but I doubt any of the songs will suck me in like “Help I’m Alive” did. Here is Metric playing an acoustic version:

-Animal Collective (Merriweather Post Pavilion): After hearing “Summertime Clothes” and “My Girls” on KEXP, I was all about this album. I made a note to self to download it. Brad found the right version last weekend (you have to make sure you get the studio album, not a live version), and it lives up to the critical acclaim. It takes me to another place, without foreign substances.
-A.C. Newman (Get Guilty): This is ok, there are a few songs that I really like, but I probably couldn’t make it through the whole album without skipping a track or two… or three.
-Camera Obscura (My Maudlin Career): I heart Camera Obscura. I heart this album.

So I guess you've noticed that a lot of the new music I'm listening to I first heard on KEXP. This is the best radio station on the planet. (Thanks Brad, for telling me about it.) I just wanted to say something short about public radio and pledge weeks. I listened to the dj's on KEXP for a week and a half during the spring pledge drive, and finally made a donation with a day to go in the drive. I felt at the time that they 'bugged' me into donating, but then I thought about all the joy I receive by listening to the diverse music they play. I've heard so many different types of music, from artist that don't even have albums in stores, that I'd never have heard if it weren't for their live radio stream. It really makes my workday more tolerable. SOOOO, I just want to say to those that complain about pledge drives and refuse to donate, but continue to listen to public radio - get off it. Seriously, if you want to continue to be able to listen to something that's not complete mindless crap, donate some pocket change to keep those stations going. That is all. :)