Sunday, March 29, 2009

Days Seven And Eight...NCAA (Elite Eight)

I thought I had this round locked down, but a team from the Big Ten proved that they are a prime contender…

2Michigan St. beat 1Louisville
3Villanova beat 1Pittsburgh

3 wins and 1 loss this round, bringing my total to 49 wins and 11 losses. 99.57% and in 20,012th place! I’m moving up baby!!!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Days Five And Six...NCAA (Sweet Sixteen)

This weekend was amazing! I finished with 7 wins and 1 loss! Bringing my total to 46 wins and 10 losses! I am in the top 98.13% and in 86,363rd place!

3Missouri beat 2Memphis
3Villanova beat 2Duke

The rest of the tournament looks really good for me! I just hope that I can make up the places!?!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Decemberists Hazards Of Love Review

Yet another perfect album from The Decembersits! Focusing heavily on story telling this is a concept album at its best. This is the story of Margaret and William; two lovers plus Rake and The Queen and all of their journeys through the hazards of love.

***If you do not want to know certain details (most) from the story please do not keep reading...These are my interpretations...Enjoy!***

Starting with the Prelude the listener gets a heavy dose of the organ to make for a sad vibe with a woman’s voice in the background.

From the end of the first song all the way to the end of the entire album the music never really stops. Each song flows together and the music sometimes tells more of the story than the lines that the characters have. There are so many different ties and everything comes together at the end, very nice!

The first part of the hazards of love seems to be the actual meeting and being blinded by what is called true and perfect love, which is not a bad thing in the story. Margaret and William go on through the album and the listener finds out that Margaret may be pregnant? The second part of the hazards of love is realizing that you both have to put everything on the line to make this perfect love work, even if it comes down to life.

The Queen gets introduced through the instruments and there is a haunting note ringing through most of the song that leaks into the next song that Margaret and William sing together...This song is a cute, back and forth, poetic speaking between the two lovers. Informing the listener that things are safe with the two of them.

William and The Queen have a song like this as well. William is pleading with The Queen (his mother) to let him have a night with Margaret...When The Queen starts to speak that song goes from light to very heavy with the instruments. The Queen says that William can have his night, but then he must give himself back in the morning.

Then there is the Interlude, which is a soft acoustic sound to resemble the night that Margaret and William are having together!

We are then introduced to Rake. He is going through a hard time because he married for love and his wife started having way too many children with him (his curse). The last child dies during birth taking his wife with. Rake, for the love of his wife, kills all of his children...

Margaret is then abducted in the next song. The music points the finger at Rake or The Queen...

Later we find out that The Queen hired Rake to take Margaret from William...Rake then is haunted by his children and pays for his sins.

Obviously the third part of the hazards of love comes in as revenge. The fourth and final part of the hazards of love is drowning. “We both go down together.” Margaret and William eternally get each other at the end. They are free from all of these hazards as they pass to a better place, sealed with a kiss from William to Margaret.

This is such an amazing album from beginning to end! The best parts are when the happy, light noises of William speaking switch to his heavy, noised Mother whom has a very strong, haunting voice!


This is not the happy side of The Decemberists. This is an extremly artisic album! I give it a 9.3/10.0!!!

Look for The Decemberists maybe signing on to play at Lollapalooza!?!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Days Three And Four...NCAA (Round Two)

Very close games this week, but no huge upsets…

12Arizona is still in the game.
5Purdue beat 4Washignton.

In my brackets I had 14 wins and 2 losses…Total works out to 39 wins and 9 losses…On my best bracket I am in the top 93.66% and in 293,772nd place.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Day Two...NCAA (Round One)

Many more upsets this time around…

The 12seed beat the 5seed 3 out of 4 times this year. That match up is always one to pay attention to.

9Siena beat 8Ohio St..
12Arizona beat 5Utah.
13Cleveland St. beat 4Wake Forest.
11Dayton beat 6West Virginia.
10USC beat 7Boston College.
9Texas A&M beat 8BYU.
12Wisconsin beat 5Florida St..

In my brackets I had 12 wins and 4 losses…Total works out to 25 wins and 7 losses…On my best bracket I am in the top 90.46% and in 441,734th place. Today looks good!!!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Day One...NCAA (Round One)

Not too many big surprises…

10Maryland beat 7California.
10Michigan beat 7Clemson.
12Western Kentucky beat 5Illinois.

In my brackets I had 13 wins and 3 losses. Those 3 losses were tough though…5Illinois was down by 17 with a few left in the game and cut that to 4 and still lost. 7Clemson lost by 3 and 11VCU lost by only 1…

On my best bracket I am in the top 77.4% and in 1,046,425th place. Tomorrow does lay out very well for me even with these losses!

"Why, Hello Occifer"

www.jalopnik.com reports a story on the UK Google Street View Car getting pulled over by the police!

Check out the story, it is funny!!!

http://jalopnik.com/5175308/uk-google-street-view-car-busted-by-cops

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Honey Where Did We Park Our BMW X5? (FAIL!)

A BMW SUV is launched through a parking garage wall in Houston...Thank you so much for giving more and more to write about! Humanity is slowly becoming a big, pile of shit.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

"Gold Here..."


Season six of Entourage on HBO started filming this month and is set to air Mid-2009! Hopefully things will look up for Vince and the boys after a depressing season five!

March Madness

Get your brackets ready! It is that time of year again! Through www.espn.com you can set up ten of your own brackets for free as along as you provide a valid email address. All of this for your chance to win $10,000! Last year I only filled out one bracket and I was in the top 99.4%! Fucking Davidson screwed me over...This year I have seven so far with three left to go and I am looking to make waves in the pool!

On another note Illinois is in it this year! In the first round 5Illinois (24-9) go against 12Western Kentucky (24-8). Most people are predicting an upset with WK winning over the Illini. This is because Illinois Guard Chester Frazier will most likely not play for the first round game due to the injury(hand). If he does play it will only be a few minutes per half. This is a huge defensive setback for the Illini, not to mention that he scores six points per game and also has six assists.

WK does have a chance to win this game...But even without Frazier, the Illini are a very strong team! How I feel is close to the national ranks...Illinois 60% Western Kentucky 40%.

Tip is at 8:55 P.M. on Thursday night!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Here & Now

This is a few months old...

http://illinois.edu/here_now/index.html#19317

Also the photo behind the title "Holding Moments" is mine as well.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

I Am Not Rob Gordon

Here are some of my favorite artists and albums with a short why! I no specific order...


Every Time I Die
The Big Dirty

“We’rewolf”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-ub--XlDBg&feature=related

This album is not like your ordinary loud, screaming band. It is clear that each member has talents that surpass even the greatest Hardcore band! ETID is a mix of Hardcore, Mathcore, and Southern Rock. The guitar riffs are fast and catchy! Each song has moments where you sing along with and then rock out with. The best part of this band would have to be the writing style! There lyrics are a vague, complex mix of living life and partying! They have a sense of humor, which is refreshing and it shows in their style. Listen to how he screams there is a certain quality to it, and is not a man trying to scare the shit out of the listeners! “At their February ‘09 show with Under0ath and Poison The Well in Auckland, New Zealand, Keith announced on stage that we can expect a new album this year.”


Bright Eyes
Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground
(Attended A Show)

“Lover I Don’t Have To Love”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmpVuGp9NpE&feature=related

Bright Eyes is a band that features Conor Oberst and a revolving cast of musicians off of Saddle Creek Records. This is an early Bright Eyes album, so there is heavy piano with different styles weaved in. This album brings sad life realizations, and at the same time showing the happy side to some situations. Later Conor adopted a more folk style to his work.


The Decemberists
Picaresque
(Attended A Show)

“We Both Go Down Together”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rir5m8tejfs
“The Mariner’s Revenge Song”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sw61oITuts&feature=related

This band is one of the ageless wonders. You can go to one of their shows and see the age range from 15-40 years old. This Indie band has a style that no one can compare to! Again the lyrics are so amazing, along with the style and instrument selection! They focus their songs on storytelling more than anything. Some of their songs have pop fun beats, while their other songs are extreme ballads ranging in material from religion, mythology, and tragic love stories. The Decemberists are a nice change of pace from what else is out there! New album to be released on March 24th!!!


The Blood Brothers
Burn Piano Island, Burn

“Cecilia And The Silhouette Saloon”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Cqr-zQCSQ&feature=related

To say the least, they are an interesting Post-Hardcore band. This album is fun of heavy fast music, with melodic, dance keyboards! They are also known for the dueling vocals. Both singers scream at the top of their lungs while switching off singing with very high or very low voices, also overlapping each other. Look and listen for abrupt changes in meter and chords. They focus their odd lyrics on life and love. They have a very loyal fan base considering Rolling Stone and other important music magazines do not acknowledge them as a band. They recently parted ways to form at least three different side projects.


Murder By Death
Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left Of Them?
(Attended A Show)

“The Devil In Mexico”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2-uTgwojDo&feature=related

There is not much to say that I have not said in that last review of their show that I did (See that)…They make you feel like you really are in an old bar in Mexico drinking whiskey on a day of plus one hundred degree weather. The best thing to come out of Indiana since…


Mason Jennings
Mason Jennings
(Attended A Show)

“Nothing”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRChv5VY4pY

Mason Jennings is known for his catchy tunes, loving lyrics, and historical themes; with a very defined voice! This is all very relaxing and fun music. A beer on the front porch kind of thing! Mason Jennings has so many great albums! It was hard to pick just one.


Bane
Give Blood
(Attended A Show)

“Ante Up”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYubKiVPZeQ&feature=related
“Can We Start Again” (Not off of Give Blood. Interesting interview and crowd sing-alongs!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJMBxIOocok&feature=related

First off watch the link to “Can We Start Again” and see how the crowd reacts at 1 minute and 12 seconds (Gives me the chills). That will describe Bane in a nutshell! Known for their yelling of extremely poetic lyrics focusing on energy, anthems, honestly and promotion of tolerance in life and within the Hardcore scene! It is not about style, it is all about crowd participation and having fun while learning! Very normal guys that like to spread the word about being you and living a happy life. They are the E. E. Cummings of the Hardcore scene! My favorite band!!!


She & Him
Volume One

“You Really Got A Hold On Me”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAvnOWc5uD0&feature=related

Made up of actress Zooey Deschanel (Recently engaged to Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service) and M. Ward. This album is a blast from the past with covers of older songs and a sound that can compare to Johnny Cash and June Carter!


Also check out:
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Metric
The Blow
Ratatat
Gregory And The Hawk
Danielson
The Cool Kids
Atmosphere


There are so many others that I love, but I had to keep the list short…Maybe I will do another?!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Marvel Madness

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/ reports;

Iron Man 2=May 7th, 2010
Spider-Man 4=May 6th, 2011
Thor=June 17th, 2011
The First Avenger: Captain America=July 22th, 2011
The Avengers=May 4th, 2012

"Summer of 2011 is going to be so superhero movie rich. I'm barely going to have time to catch waves, work at the local ice cream parlor, and fall in and out of love with a girl I meet at summer camp with all this nerd shit I have to do."

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

This Is Not A Review...It Is A Warning


Never ever see Watchmen.

For the love of god stay the fuck away.

The acting is terrible. The highlight of the film is the opening scene, after that it is just an odd display from Zack Snyder of over slow motion and another annoyingly awkward sex scene. The meaning of the film was rushed. The most interesting part was when my friends and I were trying to figure out if Dr. Manhattan was circumcised…

I will rip this apart even more when I read the graphic novel…

"I Can't Stand To Be Sober In This Place."


Murder By Death took the stage earlier than they normally would have in Urbana, Illinois on 03.07.09, but they still put on an amazing show! Adam (Vocals/Guitar) came out holding a full cup of whiskey, which happens to fit the bands unique style all around. They are a band that makes me feel like I should be all sweaty and listening to them in a bar in Mexico with nowhere to go!

They played two full albums; “Who Will Survive And What Will Be Left Of Them?” and “Red Of Tooth And Claw.”

Each member of the band has their own style and handles their instruments differently (typically) but then there is Sarah; their Cellist. She knows that instrument inside and out, and knows how to show it! Good lord it is like watching soft core porn when she gets going.

Overall they are all very talented artists with a deceiving and well fitting band name. They have a lot to say about life, in a way that has not been done before!

“Until Morale Improves, The Beatings Will Continue”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OPK5PfunNQ

For those who want to see the Sarah, the Cellists do her thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmnuyAoZOf4&feature=related

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Pre Over Pro

Trying to keep up with a growing Smart Phone market Sprint will try...And fail.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5164141/the-palm-treo-pro-arrives-march-15th

Such potential, but with another small touch screen and the lack of Android. I do not think it will go too well. It is like the older brother Centro. Why release when the Pre is on the way?

Public Enemies

Check out the trailer!!!

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2009/03/public_enemies_trailer_continu.php

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Not The Manhattan Melodrama

My love for the Dillinger story is coming out soon. I have been following this one for a while! July 1st of this year!!!