Monday, July 31, 2006

Nasty

So it has been gross outside and inside my houes. Only two rooms with AC and I usually end up getting ousted from them as my parents and sister hog that. Whatever. Anyway, so I've been pretty bored and down in the dumps so I think we all know what that means. LISTS! Stev and Leo started doing more intimate and personal lists of their fav artists so it was only natural that I did my own.

In honor of the Who coming to town in a few months time, I will post the glorious top 100 Who songs. It's a good list as any band with an amazing catalogue of rock songs would be. So here tis.

1
Love Reign O'er Me
2
I've Had Enough
3
Behind Blue Eyes
4
Baba O'Riley
5
However Much I Booze
6
Won't Get Fooled Again
7
Amazing Journey/Sparks
8
We're Not Gonna Take It
9
Sea and Sand
10
I Can See For Miles
11
Too Much of Anything
12
The Real Me
13
Dogs
14
My Generation
15
A Quick One (While He's Away)
16
I Don't Even Know Myself
17
I'm One
18
Sunrise
19
1921
20
I'm Free
21
The Seeker
22
Pure and Easy
23
Bargain
24
Naked Eye
25
Cut My Hair
26
Join Together
27
Quadrophenia
28
Substitue
29
Who Are You
30
5:15
31
Dreaming from the Waist
32
The Song is Over
33
Overture
34
Odorono
35
Christmas
36
Happy Jack
37
Pinball Wizard
38
Magic Bus
39
The Kids Are Alright
40
Squeeze Box
41
Run Run Run
42
Let's See Action
43
Underture
44
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
45
Long Live Rock
46
Slip Kid
47
Melancholia
48
Music Must Change
49
The Punk and the Godfather
50
How Many Friends
51
The Ox
52
The Relay
53
I'm A Boy
54
My Wife
55
Aremenia City in the Sky
56
Bell Boy
57
Boris the Spider
58
Water
59
Now I'm a Farmer
60
Heaven and Hell
61
Blue, Red and Grey
62
Pictures of Lily
63
Little Billy
64
Success Story
65
Trick of the Light
66
Imagine a Man
67
Sally Simpson
68
Fortune Teller
69
Our Love Was
70
Don't Look Away
71
Tommy Can You Hear Me?
72
Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand
73
Go to the Mirror!
74
Doctor Jimmy
75
So Sad About Us
76
Put The Money Down
77
Glow Girl
78
I Can't Explain
79
Cobwebs and Strange
80
The Acid Queen
81
A Legal Matter
82
I Can't Reach You
83
Is It In My Head?
84
Silas Stingy
85
Getting in Tune
86
Tattoo
87
Whiskey Man
88
Someone's Coming
89
Drowned
90
In A Hand or a Face
91
Rael
92
New Song
93
Sister Disco
94
Sensation
95
Leaving Here
96
Going Mobile
97
Postcard
98
Disguises
99
Eminence Front
100
905

So thats that list. It's pretty solid all around. Some of you might say 'Jeez, Paul. Most of the big hits are on the top.' Well, let's be honest. When it comes to rock songs that are big hits, The Who wrote the best ones. I mean, no shit Baba O'Reilly is that high. It's just that great. No matter what. Unlike the Beatles or something, if I even ever TRIED to list my fav songs of theirs, it would be totally different as the Beatles biggest hits arent nearly my favs. Anyways, I am working on two more artists lists. Neil Young, which is proving to be very daunting, and a newcomer that will only be 50 songs, King Crimson.

Artists list still needs some tweaking, but here is a preliminary artists top 100 that is pretty solid for the first half then a jumbled mess of great bands that arent ranked yet.


1
The Who
2
Neil Young
3
The Beatles
4
Beck
5
Pink Floyd
6
Pavement
7
David Bowie
8
Warren Zevon
9
King Crimson
10
Brian Eno
11
Talking Heads
12
The Velvet Underground
13
Radiohead
14
Built To Spill
15
Jeff Buckley
16
Lou Reed
17
The Clash
18
Led Zeppelin
19
Wilco
20
The Lemonheads
21
The Rolling Stones
22
XTC
23
Nine Inch Nails
24
Yo La Tengo
25
The Raveonettes
26
The Flaming Lips
27
T-Rex
28
Donovan
29
Nick Drake
30
Foo Fighters
31
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
32
Elton John
33
U2
34
John Lennon
35
Death Cab For Cutie
36
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers
37
George Harrison
38
Cream
39
The Shins
40
Badly Drawn Boy
41
Bob Dylan
42
Stone Temple Pilots
43
Weezer
44
Van Morrison
45
Secret Machines
46
Pearl Jam
47
The Zombies
48
Television
49
Mott the Hoople
50
Echo and the Bunnymen
51
Jimi Hendrix Experience
52
Sufjan Stevens
53
Stevie Wonder
54
Elvis Costello
55
The Kinks
56
Joe Strummer and the Mescelaroes
57
Simon and Garfunkel
58
Don McLean
59
Creedence Clearwater Revival
60
The Moody Blues
61
The Fever
62
Grand Funk Railroad
63
Guided by Voices
64
Nada Surf
65
Nirvana
66
Interpol
67
Modest Mouse
68
The Strokes
69
Grandaddy
70
Primus
71
Coldplay
72
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
73
Dinosaur Jr.
74
Janis Joplin
75
Tears For Fears
76
Muse
77
Eric Clapton
78
Supertramp
79
ELO
80
Chicago
81
Steely Dan
82
Marvin Gaye
83
Peter Gabriel
84
Black Sabbath
85
Sonic Youth
86
Cat Stevens
87
Cake
88
The Ramones
89
Buddy Holly
90
The Pretenders
91
The Jesus and Mary Chain
92
Roxy Music
93
John Cale
94
Prince
95
Robert Fripp
96
Up Up Down Down…
97
My Bloody Valentine
98
The Yardbirds
99
The Four Tops
100
Fountains of Wayne


Some changes and additions. Crimson moves up, Beatles move down, Floyd moved down and some additions of other artists I have been getting into big time as of late.

Let me know what you think. I figure I wont hear anything about the Who songs, or the artists list for that fact. But ya know, lets spark some conversation, dammit!

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Tiny Mix Tapes

For a few of my unemployed months, I have been submitting mix tapes to the website Tiny Mix Tapes for their Automatic Mix Tape Generator. I am a robot. So I figure most of you out there don't know this, so I decided that I will post all the mixes I have had put up on the site up to this time here so you can check some of em out. If any of them sound fun to you, let me know and I can hit you with a copy. Remember, these are mixes random people have requested and NOT my themes directly.

A mix for falling asleep in church

01. Peter Gabriel- "The Feeling Begins" (Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ)
02. Brian Eno- "Spider and I" (Before and After Science)
03. Sun Kil Moon- "Jesus Christ Was An Only Child" (Tiny Cities)
04. Big Star- "Big Black Car" (Third Sister Lovers)
05. Van Morrison- "Beside You" (Astral Weeks)
06. Sufjan Stevens- "Abraham" (Seven Swans)
07. Sonic Youth- "Do You Believe in Rapture?" (Rather Ripped)
08. Nada Surf- "Neither Heaven Nor Space" (Let Go)
09. King Crimson- "Cadence and Cascade" (In The Wake of Poseidon)
10. Jeff Buckley- "Satisfied Mind" (Sketches for my Sweetheart, the Drunk)

Bonus Track (Getting Caught sleeping in church... and having to pay for it)
11. Soundgarden- "Jesus Christ Pose" (Badmotorfinger)

FUCK TACO BELL!

01. Beck- "Satan Gave Me A Taco" (Stereopathetic Soul Manure)
02. Primus- "Shake Hands With Beef" (The Brown Album)
03. King Crimson- "Cat Food" (In the Wake of Posiedon)
04. Syd Barret- "Late Night" (The Madcap Laughs)
05. Nine Inch Nails- "Burn" (Downward Spiral Deluxe)
06. Adrian Belew- "Madness" (Side One)
07. Electric Six- "Danger! High Voltage" (Fire)
08. Nirvana- "Stay Away" (Nevermind)
09. Soundgarden- "Blow Up the Outside World" (Down on the Upside)
10. Neil Young- "Wrecking Ball" (Freedom)
11. The Who- "We Close Tonight" (Odds and Sods)

I once met this boy when I was 10 years old and I fell in love with him. I havent seen him since then, and I'm now 24. I've never felt the same about anyone since...

01. Portishead- "Sour Times" (Dummy)
02. The Decemberists- "From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea)" (Picaresque)
03. Beck- "Ship in a Bottle" (Sea Change Import)
04. Sufjan Stevens- "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (Seven Swans)
05. Peter Gabriel- "Modern Love" (Peter Gabriel)
06. The Zombies- "A Rose For Emily" (Odyssey and Oracle)
07. Roxy Music- "More Than This" (Avalon)
08. Stevie Wonder- "Lookin' For Another Pure Love" (Talking Book)
09. XTC- "The Disappointed" (Nonsuch)
10. Doug Martsch- "Impossible" (Now You Know)
11. Elton John- "Love Song" (Tumbleweed Connection)
12. Pink Floyd- "If" (Atom Heart Mother)
13. David Bowie- "Soul Love" (The Rise and Fall of Zigy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars)
14. Jeff Buckley- "Morning Theft" (Sketches for my Sweetheart the Drunk)
15. The Arcade Fire- "The Backseat" (Funeral)
16. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole- "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" (Meet Joe Black Soundtrack... yes the movie is lame, but this song is perfect)

I want to blow up the world.

This is a strange concept I came up for this, but if you want to blow the world up, you must have a lot on your mind. Here's a mix with both your full fledged anger at the world around us and your obvious paranoia.

(The world around you stewing in your mind.)
01. System of a Down- "Boom!" (Steal This Album)
02. Refsued- "Liberation Frequency" (The Shape of Punk to Come)
03. Beck- "Mutherfucker" (Mellow Gold)

(You decide to destroy the world. Now you will sit in your basement and plan the events. Building weapons, planning your strikes and gathering comrades)
04. Radiohead- "Idioteque" (Kid A)
05. Sonic Youth- "Teen Age Riot" (Daydream Nation)

(You have finished setting up your plans and Project Mayhem is basically on the brink of starting. RILE THE TROOPS!)
06. Rush- "Anthem" (Fly By Night)

(The fuse is lit and BLAMO! Chaos in the streets!)
07. The Mars Volta- "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus: Facillis Descenus Averni" (Frances the Mute)08. King Crimson- "21st Century Schizoid Man" (In The Court of King Crimson)

(The Cops Are On to you! Go into Hiding!!)
09. Secret Machines- "I Hate Pretending" (Ten Silver Drops)
10. Pavement- "Cream of Gold" (Terror Twilight)

(As the heat blows over, you come above ground and see what you have finished with your plans. The sweet euphoria of success comes late in the track, but first you see the destruction you have caused.)
11. Godspeed, You Black Emperor!- "The Dead Flag Blues" (F# A# Infinity)
12. Pink Floyd- "Goodbye Cruel World" (The Wall)


Songs to listen to during the first night of a 72-hour period during which you are kept awake by snorting many lines of blue adderall powder

Note from Cropulis: These are songs I find disgustingly addictive, almost to the point where I need to listen to them over and over again. Also, they are a bit nuts and fun to hop around and bounce of the walls to. I feel this is fitting for the type of 72 hour marathon that you may venture into.

01. Roxy Music- "Love is the Drug" (Siren)
02. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists- "The High Party" (Hearts of Oak)
03. Beck- "Diamond Bollocks" (Mutations Secret Song)
04. David Bowie- "Speed of Life" (Low)
05. Brian Eno- "Backwater" (Before and After Science)
06. XTC- "Garden of Earthly Delights" (Oranges and Lemons)
07. The Flaming Lips- "Ego Tripping [Self Admiration w/ Blow-Up Mix]"(Ego Tripping EP)
08. T. Rex- "Ride a White Swan" (Greatest Hits)
09. Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention- "Flower Punk" (We're Only In It For The Money)
10. Sigue Sigue Sputnik- "Sex-Bomb-Boogie" (Flaunt It)
11. The Fever- "Scorpio" (Red Bedroom)
12. Reggie & The Full Effect- "Get Well Soon" (Songs Not to Get Married To)
13. Interpol- "Roland" (TUrn on the Bright Lights)14. Captain Beefheart- "Tropical Hot Dog Night" (Introducing Captain Beefheart...)
15. Pavement- "Flux=Rad" (Wowee Zowee)
16. Prince- "Raspberry Beret" (Greatest Hits)
17. The Shins- "Fighting in a Sack" (Chutes Too Narrow)
18. Peter Gabriel- "Moribund the Burgermeister" (Peter Gabriel)

Songs to aid your sixth attempt to quit smoking

01. Luna- "Time to Quit" (Lunapark)
02. Led Zeppelin- "How Many More Times" (Led Zeppelin)
03. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- "Ain't No Easy Way" (Howl)
04. Juliana Hatfield Three- "For The Birds" (Become What You Are)
05. Built to Spill- "Reasons" (There's Nothig Wrong With Love)
06. Foo Fighters- "Tired of You" (One by One)
07. The Lemonheads- "The Great Big No" (Come On Feel...)
08. Guided By Voices- "Cigarette Tricks" (Guided By Voices)
09. Neil Young- "Hold Back The Tears" (American Stars and Bars)
10. XTC- "Burning With Optimism's Flames" (Black Sea)
11. The Who- "Little Billy" (Odds and Sods)
12. Warren Zevon- "The French Inhaler" (Warren Zevon)
13. Yo La Tengo- "Today is the Day" (Summer Sun)

Tunes for sitting on the beach at night looking up at the stars and realizing how insignificant you are.

01. Brian Eno- "Everything Merges With The Night" (Another Green World)
02. My Bloody Valentine- "To Here Knows When" (Loveless)
03. The Beatles- "The Fool on the Hill" (Magical Mystery Tour)
04. King Crimson- "Epitaph" (In The Court of the Crimson King)
05. Built to Spill- "Randy Described Eternity" (Perfect From Now On)
06. Badly Drawn Boy- "How?" (Have You Fed The Fish)
07. David Bowie- "Warszawa" (Low)
08. Yo La Tengo- "Nowhere Near" (Painful)
09. The Flaming Lips- "Vein of Stars" (At War With The Mystics)
10. Jeff Buckley- "Lilac Wine" (Grace)
11. Television- "Carried Away" (Adventure)
12. Nick Drake- "Things Behind the Sun" (Pink Moon)
13. John Cale- "The Endless Plain of Fortune" (Paris 1919)
14. Warren Zevon- "Desperadoes Under the Eaves" (Warren Zevon)

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Culture

Sorry about that last post. Sometimes you need to try and get some pity points from friends to make you realize your life isn't as shitty as it feels. I am still in employment limbo and poor as balls.

Anyway, so the point of this post is to talk about my recent music obsessions. I am culturing myself in the ways of Hip-Hop and some other artists that I have always loved but never delved into their catalogues. Music is really the best support I have right now. So here are my obsessions with a little write up about them.

1. Neil Young's Entire Catalouge- So Neil Young has dethroned the Beatles for the #2 spot on my all time artists. I think I have pretty much all of his albums right now (missing a few elusive 80s discs) on cd and my vinyl collection is growing. Young writes some of the best classic rock infused with country and folk songs ever, but one albums stands out of the pack like a sore thumb. That album is Trans. If you think most Neil Young songs sound the same, look no further to the synthed out 80s techno-meets-folk album. It's not straigt up Techno, but it's Young with limited guitar work, synths and singing through a vocoder. If you don't know what a vocoder is, it's a microphone that makes your voice robotronik and is connected to a synth. Need further description, check this out. So wh an album like this? Young signed with Geffen after his contract with Reprise was up and started recording an album. He recorded a whole album that Geffen rejected most of it (the songs "Like an Inca", "Little Thing Called Love" and "Hold On To Your Love" were kept) due to them being "unmarketable" and "not Neil Young sounding songs." If you hear these three songs, you will say, wtf is Geffen talking about? So what does Neil do? He straps on a vocoder, gets behind his guitar, invites old friends to experiment and comes up with Trans. The songs on this album are ridiculously Neil Young if you strip away the 80s synth vibe that he tinkers with. "Transformer Man", "Computer Age" and "We R In Control" are brilliant songs about futuristic society, Orwellian themes of supremecy and bittersweet tales of love in the computer age. It's amazing. Check it out.

2. Jedi Mind Tricks- So Ray and my fav non-Tsikitas Greek, Faz, introduced me to some good hip-hop on our Delesandro's when we were graduating. So they are white boyz from South Philly. This makes me say "who can really say Eminem is a good white boy rapper?" Not only are their rhymes sick, the beats and samples they lay down are disgustingly catchy and fun. They mix themes like conspiracy theory and eastern religion into their rhymes and sample things like Spanish Guitar and the "Diamonds are Forever" commercial bit. I don't really listen to any hip-hop/rap and I feel the need to get into some. ANd this was the perfect place to start. Gritty, deep roots in the hip-hop of the older age when it was better and all around great listening experience. If you know more stuff like this, let me know so I can expand. The album Legacy of Blood is the goods.

3. Peter Gabriel- As mentioned in last post, his first solo album (self titled, but known as Car since he has about 4 self titled albums) is amazing straight through. He tinkers with many different genres on the album. After he left Genesis, he decided to keep the vein of progressive rock, but added a nice pop music flair to the sound he had created with Phil the Shill and crew. However, as Genesis went the ultimate cheese pop route from this point on, Gabriel kept a level head and went the route that the Talking Heads and Bowie took with pop music and made it influenced foreign cultural music. Anyway, songs like "Moribund the Burgermeister" and "Modern Love" are filled with gooey pop goodness, but a strange vibe covers them. "Solsbury Hill", one of the best pop rock songs of all time, appears here. "Humdrum" and "Here Comes the Flood" are very personal, but beautiful songs. Gabriel has many other early albums that are just as good, but the first one seems to be the best of the bunch.

4. The Red Elvises- So yeah. Kinda random, but I ahve been listening to these guys since Kevner gave me their cd and I saw Six String Samauri in which they starred and had songs of theirs in the film. They are, simpyl put, Bolshevik Russian Rockabilly. It's really just straight up fun music with silly lyrics like "Last night, Jesus called me on the phone. I was surprised this morning. He told me... and he said 'Why don't we do some boogie voogie. Some boogie voogie on the beach." Gotta love that shit.

So thats it for my culture lessons.

I am having a serious identity crisis

Being unemployed is draining my life force out of my body. I spend all day listening to music and playing video games (which sounds great.) Let me tell you, it's not. I am poor, I am stuck inside my house like I have mono again and I am desperately in need of some life changes. As Sunrise pointed out on her page, she vented a bit and made a list of her traits that some people might not know about her. And I appreciate that someone can come out and point out some of the negative aspects of their character. So I think I need to do that in order to try and get myself motivated and out of the rut I'm in. Some of these are good things, some are bad.

I am having a serious identity crisis.
I am disgustingly lonely and dependent on others.
I have no clue what it is I want out of life, love and the pursuit of happiness.
I am smart, but not motivated; therfore lazy.
I feel as if I am alone in the world sometimes and don't want to listen to the reality checks I get from others around me.
I am a general optimistic person, but only when I have good things happening to myself.
I need to move out of this house.
I love my friends.
I love my family but need to move away from them ASAP.
I am afraid of the female species, but am in desperate need of companionship.
I love my usual crew, but feel that I am in a stagnant place and if the above needs to come to fruition, I need to meet new people and get out more.
I am too hard on myself.
I sometimes need someone to shake me and say "you don't have it bad at all."

So these are mostly the bad things that are milling about in my brain. And I know I shouldn't give a shit about half of this because good things come to those who wait, but I don't like waiting. The waiting is the hardest part. I feel like I am a good enough person. So can I meet someone out there dammit! Can I get a job? Can I move out sooner than later? I am in a rut. I need asylum.

Here is a song that helps me through the days. There are a few and for the most part it is Peter Gabriel's first solo self titled album. It's excellent stuff. Here are the lyrics to Here Comes the Flood and I posted a video of him on some strange-o variety show.

When the night shows
the signals grow on radios
All the strange things
they come and go, as early warnings
Stranded starfish have no place to hide
still waiting for the swollen Easter tide
There's no point in direction
we cannot even choose a side.

I took the old track
the hollow shoulder, across the waters
On the tall cliffs
they were getting older, sons and daughters
The jaded underworld was riding high
Waves of steel hurled metal at the sky
and as the nail sunk in the cloud, the rain
was warm and soaked the crowd.

Lord, here comes the flood
We'll say goodbye to flesh and blood
If again the seas are silent
in any still alive
It'll be those who gave their island to survive
Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry.

When the flood calls
You have no home, you have no walls
In the thunder crash
You're a thousand minds, within a flash
Don't be afraid to cry at what you see
The actors gone, there's only you and me
And if we break before the dawn, they'll
use up what we used to be.

Lord, here comes the flood
We'll say goodbye to flesh and blood
If again the seas are silent
in any still alive
It'll be those who gave their island to survive
Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry.



I need some moral support these days.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

My Friends

So the Leo Retreat is still only a few days past, but I miss the good times it always brings already. So here I decided to make a mix for every retreekender and will post the tracklistings here when I finish them. Some have yet to be handed out, but it was such a fun concept that I am doing it for all 8 of the other members. I will post the complete ones even though the people haven't gotten them yet. This is because I only have one blank disc left as of now and no money to invest in new blanks. So if you want an express copy, give me a blank and you will get yer mix back as fast as I can burn it.

Justin Leo

1. "I can't remember" (Pee Wee's Big Adventure)
2. Neil Young- Days That Used to Be
3. "Surprise Me" (Fight Club)
4. David Bowie- A New Career in a New Town
5. "Plan 9" (Plan 9 From Outer Space)
6. Led Zeppelin- Going to California
7. "What kind of people..." (In the Heat of the Night)
8. Death Cab For Cutie- "Why You'd Want to Live Here
9. "This town needs an enema!" (Batman)
10. King Crimson- Nuerotica11. "In charge" (Magnolia)
12. Rolling Stones- Happy
13. "Prepare to die" (Princess Bride)
14. Rush- Best I Can
15. "I'm the cooler" (Road House)
16. Phish- Stash
17. "A nice chianti" (Silence of the Lambs)
18. Warren Zevon- I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
19. "Calmer than you are" (Big Lebowski)
20. The Who- Relax21. "Truly" (Mullholland Drive)
22. Arcade Fire- My Mind is a Freeway
23. "A very attractive man..." (A Fish Called Wanda)
24. Electric Six- Taxi Nowhere
25. "Slaughtered" (Dr. Strangelove)
26. Radiohead- No Surprises
27. "God creates man..." (Jurassic Park)
28. Grand Funk Railroad- I'm Your Captain
29. "Say what again!" (Pulp Fiction)
30. Weird Al- Amish Paradise
31. "Optimisim" (Being There)
32. Deodato- Also Sprach Zarathustra
33. "Stuff in life" (Adaptation)
34. The Kinks- Cellulod Heroes"
35. "Has anyone seen Lowry?"/Kate Bush- Brazil

Mike Muller
Ok so I made him one and we listened to it on the way up, but I lost the track listing. So oh well.

Kev Ketner

1. Deep Purple- Lazy
2. Yo La Tengo- Barnaby, Hardly Working
3. Belle and Sebastian- Electronic Renaissance
4. Bryan Ferry- Don't Stop the Dance
5. The Jesus and Mary Chain- Happy When It Rains
6. XTC- Pink Thing
7. Built to Spill- I Would Hurt a Fly
8. Modest Mouse- Bury Me With It
9. David Bowie- Cactus
10. Cursive- Bloody Murderer
11. Priestess- I am the Night, Colour Me Black
12. The Clash- I'm So Bored with the U.S.A.
13. Mott the Hoople- Wrath and Roll
14. The Lemonheads- The Outdoor Type
15. Neil Young- Vampire Blues
16. Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start- I Know You'll Find Out That I'm a Geek
17. The Dresden Dolls- Coin-Operated Boy
18. The Pixies- Number 13 Baby
19. Refused- Tannhauser/ Derive

Steve Lipenta

1. Simon and Garfunkel- Old Friends
2. Luna- Math Whiz
3. The Strokes- Barely Legal
4. Sonic Youth- Catholic Block
5. The Fever- Pink Paganz
6. Yo La Tengo- Night Falls on Hoboken
7. Rush- I Think I'm GOing Bald
8. The Who- Batman
9. The Rapture- Open Up Your Heart
10. Grandaddy- The Crystal Lake
11. XTC- Cynical Days
12. Stereophonics- You Stole My Money, Honey
13. Talking Heads- Radio Head
14. Pink Floyd- Paranoid Eyes
15. Radiohead- I Might Be Wrong
16. David Bowie- Always Crashing the Same Car
17. Body Count- Cop Killer
18. Coldplay- Don't Panic
19. Blur- Mellow Song
20. The Kinks- Destroyer

Ryan Carey

1. Primus- Space Farm
2. Mott The Hoople- Marionette
3. Pink Floyd- Fearless
4. Brian Eno- The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch
5. The Who- Doctor, Doctor
6. King Crimson- Epitaph
7. Stephen Malkmus- Jo Jo's Jacket
8. Donovan- Fat Angel (and no, im not being a dick... this is the song that the magic hat drink gets it from)
9. Stereo Agency- Mission Control
10. Matisyahu- Dispatch the Troops
11. The Velvet Underground- Oh Gin
12. Led Zeppelin- Dazed and Confused
13. David Bowie- Blackout
14. Neil Young- Mellow My Mind
15. Beck- Que Ondo Guero
16. Warren Zevon- Nighttime in the Switching Yard
17. Peter Gabriel- Down the Dolce Vita
18. Carl Cunningham- I Just Want You To Shut Up

Danno Somavilla

1. The Roots- Phrentrow
2. Beck- Bonus Beats
3. Refused- Refused are Fucking Dead (Remix)
4. John Cale- You Know More Than I Know
5. Fountains of Wayne- Hat and Feet
6. Neil Young- The Round Stones Beneath the Earth (Dead Man Soundtrack)
7. Air (Feat. Beck)- The Vagabond
8. Lou Reed- Gimme Some Good Times
9. Electric Six- Getting Into the Jam
10. Elton John- Son of Your Father
11. Reggie & The Full Effect- Dethnotronic
12. Gorillaz- Feel Good Inc.
13. King Crimson- Sleepless
14. Television- Guiding Light
15. David Bowie- God Knows I'm Good
16. The Who- However Much I Booze
17. Pavement- Transport is Arranged
18. Warren Zevon- Desperados Under the Eaves

Simon Burger

1. Refused- New Noise
2. The Flaming Lips- It Overtakes Me/ The Stars Are So Big, I am So Small... Do I Stand a Chance?
3. Wilco- I Must Be High
4. The Velvet Underground- Cool It Down
5. Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros- Get Down Moses
6. Adrian Belew- Men in Helicopters V4-0
7. Death Cab For Cutie- Debate Exposes Doubt
8. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Still Suspicion Holds You Tight
9. Bright Eyes- Take It Easy (Love Nothing)
10. Television- Prove It
11. King Crimson- Cadence and Cascade
12. Pink Floyd- Wot's... Uh The Deal
13. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks- No More Shoes
14. Luna- I Want Everything
15. Neil Young- Cortez the Killer
16. Peter Gabriel- Moribund the Burgermeister

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Chez Geek, Sonic and Sell Fest

Those are the three words that I will always think of when I look back on this past Leo Retreat Weekend.

Retreekends are pretty much some of the best days of my life. The ultimate goal for Retreeking is slacking and enjoying the company of good friends. And this always happens everytime the sweet Lancaster air fills my lungs.

So Friday night, arrived at the Leo household and the first event of the night was a trip to Sonic. Yes. SONIC. THE SONIC. It's basically fast-food heaven (or hell if you are so inclined to see it's strange powers.) So you've seen the commercials for Sonic, so here is a brief description of what Sonic really is all about. First off, it has 168,874 (rough guess) different drink combos from Slushies, Sodas, Milkshakes, Smoothies and everything in between. Then there is a HUGE food menu. Breakfast is 24 hours. The people who work there are (sometimes) on roller blades. THe music playing is amazing. THe quality of food is way better than ANY fast food place I have ever been. Basically, its the best fast food place that has ever been created. They have drive through, outdoor seating with tons of stations to order AND drive in ordering a la American Graffiti. I will be in serious depression and withdrawl for the next few months until the next retreat weekend or until Jersey steps it up and makes a Sonic nearby. The scary thing about Sonic is it makes Sheetz look like... dick. Amazing.

So then there were other awesome things to be done like the mixes. I had Justin Leo and made a concept album I know he will love. It chronicles his journey to the west coast to persure his dream of film. It's about being seperated from family and friends, about how the West Coast sucks, its about his uplifting and optimistic view on the world and his general kind hearted nature that is second to none. I am proud of how it turned out.

We played ridiculous rounds of Apples to Apples. Here is the top 5 rounds with the winners.

5. Various Snakes on a Plane Sequel rounds: There were too many in this round to even remember which won and which were just balls to the wall exciting. The one I made that I enjoyed the best was "Gila Monsters on a Sock"

4. This _____ is a Pipe Bomb: So there is a band called This Bike is a Pipe Bomb. I thought it would be fun for someone to put in a card with what they thought would sound like a funny cover for a pipe bomb. Winner- These Car Bombs are Pipe Bombs.

3. Micro Brews- I also came up with an idea for naming a microbrew. Basically you had to give a noun card to name the Pale Ale. A great round all around with Tree Hugger Pale Ale taking the cake.

2. This round was what two notorious sleep talkers in the group would say if you were sleeping in between the two. One was Stev and the other was Ryan Carey. For Ryan, I put in Tyrannasaurus Rex and for Stev I put Wine Tasting. I won. It was too easy because Stev's one sleep rambling that started this round a few retreats back was "Mmm, I'll taste this." So it was a lock.

1. Beck Lyrics- Ok so I guess most of these are centered around me winning them or making them up, but I'll be honest, I had a shitty game overall, but owned some of the best rounds. So Curry, the cinderella story of the game winning shit loads of rounds, came up with the idea to take two of your noun cards and make it a Beck song lyric. I owned with Meat cleavers driving off a cliff.

Then there was Chez Geek. A really nerdy card game where the whole point is to out slack someone else. I'd love to get into the logistics of the game, but its too hard to describe. Regardless, I will be buying it and trying to get people to play more often.

All in all, the weekend was glorious. Basically, all it was was us selling hits (throat punches, hink faces and the like) and being around the good peoples. Leo never fails to host great getaways.

Friday, July 14, 2006

ZIDANED!








I guess you could say I love the Who


September 12th, 2006.
Section 112.
Row 3.
The Who World Tour Kick-Off.
The Wachovia Center.

I'm fucking there, baby. Got my tickets as to what is easily one of the best birthday gifts. Don't worry, it's not my birthday for another month, but they went on pre-sale today so I asked for an early gift that comes late. It's sad since I know that only these two clowns on the right are left of what I believe is the greatest rock band of all time, but they have some great back-ups. Zach Starkey, who has toured with The Who the last two times I saw them, is the best person to fill in the void that was left when Moon died many moons ago?? Seriously though, Ringo's son is friggin great. On bass, I believe is Pino Palladino, who played with the band in a rush when The Ox moved on to rock and roll heaven a few years ago, is also back.

Now why should I be excited for a band with only two original members left and late in there career? Well, because they still have it. Yes they are old. But if anyone watched either the Concert for New York post 9/11 OR Live 8 in the past years, you could clearly see that Pete is still shredding with great ease and Daltrey can still wail out the songs with the same intensity. SO I am friggin stoked to go. I bought two tickets and have one extra that is for sale. I, of course, went for a decent priced ticket as I would like to get a good spot for my fav band in what could always be one of the last times I see them. If you are at all interested, comment and I will get an idea of who would be interested in seeing them.

Now, why do I think the Who is the best band of all time?

Well it's simple really. When it comes down to Rock and Roll, there are three things I look for.
First is the actual music. Then the lyrics. Then, yes, the band as performers.

So then there is the Who. First we got the music. Pete Townshend's guitar is great but when you listen to the songs, it is not the focal point. This is where the best rhythm section in rock music comes along. A strong, wave of sound comes from Moons drums and Entwistles underdog pounding bass work. These factors led to Pete's growth in a lead guitarist. His soloing in such shows as Woodstock and Live at the Isle of Wight are ridiculously awesome and frantic. His destruction of his guitars was a fury of insanity (but more on that later.) Pete could write not only amazingly catchy riffs, but amazing, heart-felt lyrics. Sometimes angry, sometimes heartbreaking, all the time amazing. The who as performers could either be highly entertaining and fun or a frantic array of destruction. These elements lead them to have many layers of greatness than even now I am still discovering.

Don't believe me that they still got it? Here is a clip from a recent webcast of Pete playing "A Quick One" on some webcam type tv-show of sorts. He loves the internet by the way.



Moving on from the exciting times to other exciting times.

Retreat Weekend starts today. There will be a sweet post about that at a later date.

Until than, keep rockin'.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

I don't know, Lloyd, the French are assholes.

World Cup was fun to watch. A very exciting game. I predicted Italy 2 France 1 in overtime. It looked like it might happen. Especially because Zidane went aliéné dans la membrane. Check this shit out.



How does a captain and star player of a World Cup team decide, "Hey... the game is almost over. Instead of trying to when, I think I will head butt this guy? That will be productive." Proof that, indeed, the French are not the brightest country in the world. I hope when Zidane returns to france they déchirez outre de ses boules et alimentez-les à sa mère.

Speaking of competition, as Norlen started the grand tradition and Stev emulated, Ryan Carey and I have started our own leisure activities decathalon. So here are the ten events with breakdowns of who won what (still in the process so check back for updates if you give a shit.)

1. Heads- Up Texas Hold-Em (Tsikitas)
This match up was fierce but short lived. I went up fast, Ryan broke me down, and than in a swift all in, I took out his growing stack and left him with a quarter. Ryan lasted about 3 more hands until it ended in a very uneventful final hand.

2. 500 Gin Rummy- So we each had our own views of what is probably the most leisurely activity you can get. Not over yet, but we started and I am up with 150 points and Ryan has 55.

3. Billiards.

4. Bowling

5. Beer Pong

6. Ping Pong

7. Risk

8. Monopoly

9. 8-bit Series (games to be decided)

10. Chip-N-Putt

Be sure to keep yourself updated!

I have a funny feeling they have plastic in the after life

So you saw that Beck list and the raucous Beck Till You Smash night and all that good stuff. Well, things will be drastically changing as I have found so many new great Beck songs. It's sick how much recorded music he has and I'm glad that I can find them scattered across the interweb.

In other news, I have finally landed a second job interview with the Evening Bulletin. The first one went really well. The people I interviewed with seemed really nice and it seems like a job environment I can live with. It's located on 15th and Walnut which means I can easily take Mr. PATCO if I get the job. It also means beastly hours and excellent location for post work shenanigans. However, I would be working till well into the night. I don't mind since I stay up late anyway, but long days will get to me. The thing with the location is that it's right near McGillans (sp?) Pub which was so much fun when I went there with my Brog class. So keep me in your thoughts as I need a job and this one is somewhat inticing. Copy editing and poss book reviews/entertainment and culture writing. Not sure yet, but thats part of the job description.

Here is the reason why I need SUUURGE back in my life.



Ahh yes, Feed the Rush. The good ol' days.

Speaking of that, I went to my buddy Volkwine's birthday party and that was a blast from the past extravaganza. I miss that fucker dearly as I never see him since he lives down in MD. I got to see my buddies from SJS (just Laranko, but he's always good times), the Foster clan, and some CCHSers (Kat and Drew.) Not too eventful besides reminiscing, drinking some Yueng and relaxing. It was a gorgeous night and was highly enjoyable. Kathleen leaves tomorrow for Minnesota so it was nice to see her before she leaves. I may just have to trek out there and visit.

World Cup is today. I need to get out and watch it somewhere. Probably PJ's, but I need to hear back from Dr. Carey.

Leo Retreat is just a few days away. I can't friggin wait. But before that, is Electric Six. And here is the thing. This E6 show will probably be the most fun and best of them so far. It'll be 3 in a row which is sweet, its at the Khyber which will be a sweaty man mess, I'm taking PATCO which means Belidge central AND the cast of characters showing up for this poses to be the best conglomeration of people in my life ever. So here is the rundown of people who are def coming and are very possible.
Leo, Danno, Ryan, Stev, Kevner, Norlen, Klinger, Ben, Muller, Giles, Drust, Ealer, Sarah Deal, Tara Fleck and more that I'm sure I'm forgetting. This poses to be sick.
That being said, if you are interested in a great time, GO TO THE KHYBER ON WEDNESDAY AND DO NOT MISS ELECTRIC SIX! I implore you! It will be awesome.

As for Retreekend, I'm not sure if I'm driving or if Muller is (I gotta talk to him about that.) It shall be a fun time as I haven't seen Leo in many months and any occasion in Lancaster has been a good one. Thankfully, I hit up the Penny Arcade yesterday at Commerce and have some sweet spending cash that I must horde some away so I don't spend it. Lord knows I will need as much money as I can get to spend on SONIC!, thrifting, Schmonsters (vith Hildigarde in Dooseldorf) and vinyl. However, I won't really be spending money at the stores this time unless I find a few clutch recordings or flannel shirts.

Another fun fact from last night, whilst talking to Kathleen, we chatted a bit about politics and financing and adult stuff. She read in a book a great idea on how to have sweet spending cash saved up. As most people know, when you have money, it is usually 20's and 1's. So whenever you get a 10 or a 5, put it in a box or save it somewhere. Don't spend the 5ers and 10's and at the end of the month, that shite will add up. It looks like I have a new way of saving some cash. Get rid of 20s and 1s, save the rest. I like it and lord knows any extra money will help.

So thats about it. A normal post for once.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

TV is the Opium of the Masses

So Leo asked if I would take a stab at this one, so I will. It's going to be short and the ones that will matter most will be in the top 10 or so.

TV SHOWS!

1. Upright Citizen Brigade
2. Arrested Development
3. Space Ghost: Coast to Coast
4. The Adventures of Pete and Pete
5. The Kids in the Hall
6. Quantum Leap first three seasons (just try and say it wasn't awesome)
7. Twilight Zone
8. Twin Peaks
9. Sienfeld
10. SNL (Select seasons like Orig cast, 80's with SCTV crossovers and the 90's heyday)
10. The Critic
11. Home Movies (althoug I haven't seen too many, I love every one that I have)
12. Curb Your Enthusiasm
13. South Park
14. Freaks and Geeks
15. Ali G
16. The Venture Bros.
17. E.R. (early years with Clooney and orig cast... young Noah Wyle was the SHIT)
18. Danger Mouse
19. N.Y.P.D. Blue (seriously, really great)
20. Law & Order (Orbach, Waterson years)


Runners up:
Sliders for comic value, Animaniacs/Pinky & The Brain (I need to see a DVD of this show to see if I still like it), Salute Your Shorts, Working (short lived sitcom) and various Comedy Central Sketch Comedy shows like Reno 911 and Viva Variety. I am bad with newer tv shows, so its hard for me to include them. Also, random eras of ABC Soaps as I was forced as a child to watch All My Children and General Hospital. I can still follow storylines. Also, pro wrestling, which is basically soap operas with spandex and Pile Drivers.

I'll stop there as the rest will be a stretch.

If you have questions, concerns or want to talk about shows, comment me. Otherwise, thats the list.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Stolen from Lily Graypure

Follow these rules and see if you are as music savvy as I am.

Honor system ladies and gents!
If you cheat, you die.
If you win, I will buy you one Slurpee.
Unless you don't live near me. If you are an out of towner or stranger, I will give you mroe respect.
These songs are a true strange amalgamation of the addictions I have been through in the past few months as my pod is still new. So thats the best hint I can give to you.

A. If you’ve got an iPod or similar technology, copy your Top 25 Most Played.
B. Then pick a lyric from each.
C. Post the lyrics on your blog.
D. Have commenters guess what the song is.
E. Either strike out the lyric once it has been correctly identified or place the guesser’s user name directly after the lyric.
F. Extra points for knowing the artist. Let’s not go overboard and try to figure out albums. I’m not even sure I could figure some of them out. Heck, some of the lyrics would stump me and I'm the one posting them.
G. NO INTERNET ASSISTANCE.

1. Seemed like another dayI could fly into the eye of god on high
2. I've seen the writing on the wall
3. It's in your eyes what can I say, They turn me on
4. This thing's outrageous, I tell you on the level. It's really so contagious must be the work of the devil
5. I'm taking my time, trailing behind, I thought of you
6. Oh shit! Run through the ghetto
7. Seen somebody walkin' down the street, hangin' head and shufflin' feet
8. Days and nights. Weeks and months and seasons. Rolling through me. So chronologically.
9. They come from every state to find Some dreams were meant to be declined
10. You change all the lead sleepin' in my head to gold.
11. I feel like I'm heading up to a cardiac arrest
12. Blue, blue, electric blue. That's the color of my room where I will live.
13. We control the data banks, we control the think tanks
14. Oh what to do not a sausage to do. Brian Eno- Backwater: Justin Leo
15. Won't need no shadow man runnin' the government. Won't need no stinkin' war.
16. If you don't like the world your livin in. Take a look around. At least you got friends.
17. I got the fuel of desire, I got the fuel of desire
18. Chokin' like a one man dust bowl. Beck- Beercan: Justin Leo
19. I dont understand how a heart is a spade. But somehow the vital connection is made Elastica- Connection: Otis
20. He said he'd give up the crack and the one night stands Foo Fighters- Baker Street (Cover): Otis
21. So come and fill my empty arms and make my life worthwhile
22. I've seen those suit and tie John's buy you a drink, and buy you some more
23. The police disco lights
24. Bang! bang! goes the night. All wrapped up in the firelight
25. Bells around St. Petersburg when I saw you.


Good luck as this is NOT easy.

Top Ten Videos

I figured out what was effing up blogger so here is the rest.

10) Pavement- Cut Your Hair
Okay so it was hard picking from the Pavement catalogue, but I love slacker life anthems. This is only one of the best Slacker videos ever made. The money shot is what made it make the list over others.



9) The White Stripes- The Hardest Button to Button
Yet another band with a huge list of awesome videos, this is the one that tops it. Great direction, excellent concept and a shit load of kick drums.



8) Beck- Loser
Now, HERE is the slacker mission statement. Filled with squigees, flaming guitars and strange athletic girls in graveyards.



7) Electric Six- Gay Bar
Two Words. Honest Abe.



6) Pearl Jam- Jeremy
Groundbreaking and dark as hell. Plus Vedders face is a yestival of scaryness.



5) Daft Punk- Around the World
So this is what I imagine is going on inside of a disco ball at all times. If you broke it open, these little creatures would still be doin' the dances. Gondry directs again in the best video that makes whats on the screen emulate the music. Also, it's perfect for the hypnotic song.



4) Radiohead- Paranoid Android
So I used to catch this ALL THE TIME on MTV. Lucky for me. This was probably one of the last videos that were played regularly during the day before dating (no offense, Next!) shows and crappy videos came along.



3) Beastie Boys- Sabatoge
YES! but no because its not online. Well, its such a friggin hilarious video that when it came out, we would play Sabatoge video in the school yard (I always made sure I was Cochise.) Friggin fun and great for the song and the band who has a great catalogue of videos.

2) Foo Fighters- Everlong
Best song of the 90s and one of the best videos ever made, Gondry again helms this brilliant peice that came from his nightmares. SO GOOD!



1) Nine Inch Nails- Closer
So this video is fucked up. But hey, it's Fincher and it's Reznor. You don't get much better than that now, do ya? One of the best artistic videos ever, its not effed up just to be effed up. It's effed up and awesome to watch as its visuals surpass all music videos to date. Leave it to two geniuses to top this medium.




So I have some runners up. Weezer gets runners up for Sweater Song and Buddy Holly. I love em. Surprisingly, Genesis' Land of Confusion gets some nods for having great puppets. Lastly, Malkmus' video for Jo Jos Jacket as it is RIDIC! Check out Bogarts Blog for that one.

Videos 15-11... something is screwy with Blogger..

So i wrote out all of this and for some reason, the links are getting effed up. So here is a continuation.

15) Red Hot Chilli Peppers- Give It Away
Straight up fun with the Chilli's, it really is just that. FUN! I wish I was on the set for this as dancing around and making a fool of myself is good times. RHCP's have a great catalogue of videos, but this one takes it for me.



14) Radiohead- Just
Amazing concept that is a chilling statement to... whatever it is that is going in this guys head. God Help Us All!



13) Beck- Deadweight
Michel Gondry directs a video that meshes footage from A Life Less Ordinary and with the concept of the video to genius level.



12) Fatboy Slim- Praise You
HILARIOUS! Spike Jonez is on of the best video directors out there and this one is definitely only one of the best.



11) Herbie Hancock- Rockit
Post modernism at its best. A jazz man messing with a Vocoder and turntables PLUS random robots doing things to the music?! LOVE IT!

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Beck Till You Choke List (It's not exact, but its as close as it can get)

So yes, here is the Beck list you have been lookin' for. Like I said, it's a bit different as I can't remember since I lost my list. However, I added the song "Baby" as it was supposed to be on my list and wasn't. GRR! Here tis form 1-100.

1
Ramshackle
2
Debra
3
Nobody's Fault But My Own
4
Lonesome Tears
5
Jackass
6
Novacane
7
Hollywood Freaks
8
We Live Again
9
Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime
10
Dead Weight
11
Feather in Your Cap
12
Devil's Haircut
13
Lost Cause
14
Nicotine & Gravy
15
Mexico
16
Earthquake Weather
17
MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack
18
Borken Train
19
Arabian Nights
20
Diamond Bollocks
21
Lord Only Knows
22
Diamond in the Sleaze
23
Satan Gave Me a Taco
24
The New Pollution
25
Loser
26
Mixed Bizness
27
He's a Mighty Good Leader
28
Dead Melodies
29
Halo of Gold
30
Pay No Mind (Snoozer)
31
Hell Yes
32
End of the Day
33
The Golden Age
34
High 5 (Rock the Catskills)
35
Fourteen Rivers Fourteen Floods
36
Soul Suckin' Jerk
37
Missing
38
Cold Ass Fashion
39
Get Real Paid
40
Broken Drum
41
Hotwax
42
Asshole
43
Where It's At
44
Whiskeyclone, Hotel City 1997
45
Go It Alone
46
Cancelled Check
47
Tropicalia
48
Farewell Ride
49
Peaches & Cream
50
Sissyneck
51
Fume
52
E-Pro
53
Guess I'm Doing Fine
54
Lazy Flies
55
Fuckin With My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)
56
Pressure Zone
57
Beercan
58
Cyanide Breath Mint
59
Girl
60
Nightmare Hippy Girl
61
Hollow Log
62
Electric Music and the Summer People
63
Sexx Laws
64
Already Dead
65
Bottle of Blues
66
Minus
67
Que Ondo Guero
68
Send a Message To Her
69
Brother
70
Paper Tiger
71
Mutherfuker
72
Chain Reaction
73
Rental Car
74
Black Balloon
75
Atmospheric Conditions
76
Cold Brains
77
Diskobox
78
Heartland Feelings
79
Sleeping Bag
80
Emergency Exit
81
Readymade
82
Painted Eyelids
83
Alcohol
84
Last Night…
85
Rowboat
86
Midnite Vultures
87
Outcome
88
Clap Hands
89
It's All In Your Mind
90
O Maria
91
Milk & Honey
92
Baby
93
Forcefield
94
Derelict
95
Runners Dial Zero
96
Leave Me On The Moon
97
Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)
98
Devil Got My Woman
99
Sing It Again
100
Corvette Bummer

So like I said, it's a little different, but the main difference is probably like 5 songs that are in different positions and then the rest moved like one space up or down. Enjoy and get to downloadin' the songs you don't have!

The lists keep coming! But a pause before the next ones start up...

So as you noticed, I'm a nerd who loves to talk about the things he loves and list them. Well, yeah. When you are unemployable, bored, lonely and the only thing you do is do extensive research on Neil Young albums from the 80s all day, you tend to get opinionated, bored and need some sort of outlet to let your creative thoughts out. So yeah. That plus when you have no mon-ay and no social life anymore, you tend to need some extension to the outlet. Sadly, mine is now through the free digital playground known as blogger.

Enough of that, now on to what my next two lists will be. First is my Beck songs. This will be one post. Sadly, the list I used on my iPod that night got effed up not only for that night, but since then, I must say that some of it may be a tiny bit different than what was used for the Smash night. However, I will make sure the matc-ups stay the same for continuity sake (thanks to Secretery Danno for that) and my top 25 will be pretty much exactly the same. I think you will get some joy out of it if you are a hardcore Beck fan. Check out the b-sides that you might not have heard yet. They rule.

Then as some of you have noticed, I have been looking up great videos on youtube a lot lately and decided to do my top 10 music videos list. I will simply post the video for your viewing pleasure.

That is all. Leave comments on my #1 film as I'm sure some of you are intrigued that such a new film made it to my #1.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

#1- City of God- Fernando Meirelles- 2002

"It was like a message from God: "Honesty doesn't pay, sucker."

That's right. My all time Favorite film is from Brazil. It's gritty, its bloody and sometimes it's downright hilarious. It has a message, it has amazing characters with depth and it has the best direction I have ever seen. City of God is the best film of all time. Hands down.

Ok, so why is this the best film? Here is the checklist of what makes an amazing film.

1. Story- As far as I'm concerned, if the story is sucky (i won't count films that don't have stories as I like them sometimes ie- Mullholand Drive) then why bother? I guess that's why I want to write movies. A film is a form of storytelling. In City of God, not only are the stories told in an interesting narrative set-up with side stories flying off in tangents as our narrator Rocket gives us the information, the characters (and there are quite a few) are interesting. Their stories are funny, tragic, horrific and downright uplifting. There isn't an end to the complexity of characters that add to the film.

2. Visuals- As film is a visual medium, I like to see something pleasant to the eyes. Well, not always pleasant per se, but something that is challenging and thought provoking. The direction in this film is genius. The cinematography, gritty and groundbreaking. From the opening scene where we get a chickens perspective to the time changing during the "Story of the Apartment", we get unique storytelling via image. Meirelles deserved the Oscar for best director that he was nominated for.

3. Acting- If the people in the film aren't convicing, why watch? A cast of no-names is what makes this film perfect. And although we all know Seu Jorge from Life Aquatic, I don't see him as Seu Jorge or his character from Life Aquatic. I see him as Knockout Ned. His character pierces through the screen. Beyond him, Lil Ze is one of the most brutal performances I have ever seen. He makes Scarface look like a douchebag pansy. Rocket is the most uplifting character who comes out of the slums to become someone. Benny is a heartwrenching parable, Carrot is a great enemy that you love and the Tender Trio at the beginning are all important to the story even though their story ends in the firt 1/3rd of the movie. These characters seem real.

4. Entertainment/Art- The ever pressing battle for films is are they entertainement or art? The answer is both. Many films fail on one side or the other. The Sting is entertainment. The Seventh Seal is art. City of God is both. The movie is damn fun to watch. You get into the story, you laugh, you cry and you learn lessons. All the things that an entertaining movie like The Sting do excellently. Then it goes on to break barriers in storytelling, make cinema not just fun to watch, but make you appreciate what you are watching. Then it becomes artistic like a classic Bergman film or something like Roshamon. When a film is both, it is excellent.

I highly recommend seeing this ASAP. If you don't like violence, don't watch it as it is pretty violent. But I implore those who may be saying "I've never heard of this" or "I have never watched this" and especially "I've been meaning to see this." GO and get it. No other film that I have seen thus far has been as excellent as this.