Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Records

Here's what I liked this year. It's kind of a lot of current releases for me, actually...

(Rather Roughly Ranked)

Hot Snakes: Thunder Down Under
My favorite band. Recorded. Live. Perfectly.

The Raconteurs: Broken Boy Soldiers
I love everything Jackie White does. I love everything Brendan Benson does. The Greenhornes are alright, I suppose. The Raconteurs fucking rule. I always thought this record sounded like a cross between Abbey Road and Zeppelin II, which, if you know anything about my taste in music, makes it no suprise that I dig it so much. I could go on an on about Jack White's bad ass guitar, or the dudes' pristine harmony, but I won't.

Mogwai: Mr. Beast
I listened to this record more than any other one this year, I think. I like it because it's thick and evil, and then it's soft and beautiful. The vocals are great. All the songs are great. I love the lap steel. I love it all.

Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped
I fear that I may like Rather Ripped too much. Right now, I can almost say it's my favorite SY record, but I don't know if I like it better than Dirty (and Daydream Nation). But I realllllly like it- right from the very opening chord (which reminds me of A Hard Day's Night) all the way to the end. I actually like Kim Gordon's vocals, as well. And Incinerate is bad ass- even if I did hear them play it 10 times in one day (soundcheck) when I went to see them. It just made me like the song more.

The Sword: Age of Winters
I had a metal rebirth this year, to be sure, and it was all thanks to The Sword. What's better than songs about Wolves, Trolls, Spiders, and Axes played by a band that is the modern day equivalent to an American Black Sabbath? Not much, really. Plus, I liked this band before they even had a record out, so I'm an old school Sword-o-phile.

Mastodon: Blood Mountain
More metal. The definition of a record that slays. Better than Leviathan, even though, at first, I was not into hearing an album about an adventure up a mountain (as compared to Leviathan- an album about Moby Dick). It's better without being too much of a departure, which is super challenging- especially when you go from Relapse to Warner. But shit, it fucking rules. Plus it has Josh Homme and Cedric Bixler-Zavala.

The Mars Volta: Amputechture
Hmmmmmm. Sometime Cedric and Omar get a little too hippie. Like Frances the Mute (sorta). I dig this record tons though. If the only good song on it was Tetregrammaton, I would be satisfied (it's not). The way the guitars, drums, and bass lock up on that song is the reason I love the Volta. Plus, John Frusciante played most of the guitar.

Pete Yorn: Nightcrawler
Oh, Pete. You're a vetran of my year end lists. By far the most boring show I've been to lately, so I wasn't too excited for this CD. The teaser EP bummed me as well. But, as always, Pete, you pulled it off. Vampyre is a sweet song, as was the single (the one that DG played drums on... the name escapes me). Many, many choruses stuck in my head after each listen. Reminds me of LA at night in the summer, by the pool at the Roosevelt.

The Strokes: First Impressions of Earth
I liked the old Strokes, I like the new Strokes. So do you, you just won't admit it. Perfect rocking pop, Cars-style, and therefore near to my heart.

Lakes: Photographs EP
OK, OK, Jason is one of my best dudes, and Seth is up there also, but this isn't friend favoritism. I really like this record, and listen to it often. What other justification than that can I offer? It's super good. I'd listen to it if it were two other random dudes. But it's not- it's my friends and I'm super proud of them.

Mogwai: Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
A late entry. I don't even think this is available in the US yet. It's very mellow, and I would love to see the film. Even before the last World Cup, Zidane was an interesting dude, and I could imagine how these songs fit the film perfectly.

The Beatles: Love
I was super super super sceptical about this to begin with. But then I heard it. It's fascinating. There's really no way to describe it if you haven't heard it- so go listen to it. If George Martin and his son Giles don't win Producer of the Year Grammys for this, well, then, I guess I wouldn't really be suprised. But they should anyway.

Muse: Black Holes and Revelations
Suprise of the Year, for sure. Not really into their other records at all, but I love this one. I think Freddie Mercury would like it too. Almost all the songs are greatness. I can't stop listening to it.

Blood Brothers: Young Machetes
Super wierd and abrasive, but kinda oddly poppy. Great sounds and production, thanks to Guy Piccioto, of course.

Morrissey: Ringleader of the Tormentors
Morrissey still does no wrong. Not as good as the last one, but it's still Morrissey, and therefore, better than most anything else.

Eagles of Death Metal: Death By Sexy
Rock party goodness. Shitty and sleazy, in a good way.

Tom Petty: Highway Companion
Tom Petty reminds me of my parents having parties when I was little, so almost any Petty record gets instant good vibes.

The Vines: Vision Valley
I don't care what anyone says- I (still) love The Vines.

(I was kinda dissapointed in these next three. I had high hopes, and didn't dig the records as much as I thought I should have. Oh Well.)
Isis: In The Absense of Truth
Pretty much only one song I'm into- the free download teaser I got months before the record came out. Seesh.

The Appleseed Cast: Peregrine
Good, but the older ones are sooo much better. Peregrine is just wierd, and I don't know why.

Converge: No Heroes
Really, the first time I've been dissapointed by Converge. I'll admit, You Fail Me was a damn near impossible record to surpass, but even though the songs are all pretty short, they don't have the right energy. Not like mid-period Black Flag (what it should be). But, after all, it's Converge and I like it anyway.

(to be edited, of course, later.)

[edit: 1:30pm: I should totally do a list of the worst records (better yet, the most dissapointing) of the year. but that may be near impossible. stay tuned. maybe. any suggestions?]
[edit: 12/21: added The Beatles, Tom Petty and Isis. Also, I realized I hadn't heard the ...Trail of Dead CD, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt and put it up there.]
[edit: 12/29: added Hot Snakes. How could I forget my favorite band? jesus. switched the ...TOD record (which, after acquiring, I'm not that into) for the Muse record (which I love), and added comments.]

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Testing... Testing...

Ahhh, a fresh new blog- unsoiled by my ridiculous antics.

But not for long, my friends.
Check below for an archive of some old LiveJournal posts (unfortunately without the comments and the "Music:," which are probably more entertaining than the posts themselves).

(Belated) Thanksgiving Scorecard

+9 years!!!!!!!
+pumpkin pie overload
+Mafia Bowl Victory!
+the return of Michael
+Brian H.'s no-look poker strategy
+prolific television watching
-illness
+Pick Of Destiny
-Paso Robles
-bummed out people on the 405 (huge wreck)

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Obligatory

Deep down, I guess I like these. I can't resist 'em... and here's one that isn't aimed at 14 year olds.

1.How old will you be in five years?
32. fucking hell.

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?
So far, Oliver the Cat.

3. How tall are you?
6'1"

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?
Christmas Sesh.

5. What's the last movie you saw?
The Pick of Destiny

7. Who was the last person to call you?
Dawn

8. What was the last text message you receiveved?
Tim saying to tell mom he wasn't coming home that night.

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail?
Jason, I think (sorry brah...).

10. Do you prefer to call or text?
I fucking HATE text messaging.

11. What were you doing at 12am this morning?
yesterday, I think I was at the gym.

12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced?
One is happily married and the other is divorced.

13. When is the last time you saw your mom?
2 days ago.

14. What color are your eyes?
Beautiful.

15. what time did you wake up this morning?
Initially around 7.

16.What are you wearing right now?
pants with snowmen on them (cute) and a tall tee. just kidding. sorta.

17. What is your favorite christmas song?
"Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" by The Darkness (RIP)

18. Where is your favorite place to be?
With my lady, probably eating or fuckin' shredding the guitar.

19. Where is your least favorite place to be?
Stressed out.

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
World Tour.

21. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
Slightly successful would be nice.

22. Do you tan or burn?
Olive skin. You do the math.

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
Aliens.

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?
Either some ridiculous idea we came up with for my sisters weding, or playing poker with Brian H, Tim, Dawn and Michael.

25. How many TVs do you have in your house?
3, but we only use one.

26. How big is your bed?
Queen: A Night At The Opera.

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer?
Desktop.

28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?
With, always.

29. What color are your sheets?
White.

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?
1.

31. What is your favorite season?
The beginning of each different one. Then I get tired of 'em.

32. What do you like about fall?
Halloween.

33. What do you like about winter?
Winter clothes, food, the mountains, the holidays, fireplaces.

34. What do you like about the summer?
Long days, warm water, bike riding.

35. What do you like about spring?
Pleasant weather.

36. How many states have you lived in?
One.

37. What cities/towns have you lived in?
Paso, San Luis, Costa Mesa.

38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet?
Bare feet usually, but I really dig shoes.

39. Are you a social person?
Not particularly.

40. What was the last thing you ate?
Last nite: Ravioli and garlic bread. Oh wait: chocolate pudding for dessert.

41. What is your favorite restaurant?
Native Foods, Cafe Roma, The Dal Rae, Thai Classic, the restaraunt next to out hotel in Florence (and the one down the street too), Toast, Urth (for desserts and coffee), Chubby's and so many more.

42. What is your favorite ice cream?
Whatever kind gets made into my milkshake.

43. What is your favorite dessert?
Most types of Pie.

44. What is your favorite kind of soup?
Corn Chowder (no bacon).

45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich?
Boysenberry.

46. Do you like Chinese food?
I like Thai and Japanese better.

47. Do you like coffee?
No, I need coffee.

48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average?
A big Trader Joe's bottle's worth, usually.

49. What do you drink in the morning?
2-3 cups of coffee.

51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
Yes.

52. Do you know how to play poker?
Yes.

53. Do you like to cuddle?
Nothng against it. I tend to move around too much to do any serious cuddling though.

54. Have you ever been to Canada?
No.

55. Do you have an addictive personality?
Possibly.

56. Do you eat out or at home more often?
At home. I'm one hell of a cook, if you didn't know.

58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
Yes- Diddy and Jeff Probst.

59. Do you want kids?
Only to train them to do cool shit. I don't particularly like children.

60. Do you speak any other languages?
Barely any Spanish.

61. Have you ever gotten stitches?
Nope- probably should've a few times though.

62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
No.

63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool?
A warm ocean.

64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seats?
Business Class- British Airways style. I don't fit well in regular airplance seats. No matter how I sit, my knees are up against the seat ahead of me... but I love looking out the window.

65. Do you know how to drive stick?
Very very well.

66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
Guitars and records.

67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7?
No.

68. What is your favorite TV show?
Mythbusters, The Office, Survivor, McDreamy.

69. Can you roll your tongue?
Yes.

70. Who is the funniest person you know?
Dawn, and probably the members of Pitch Change/Imperial Griffins.

71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
No.

72. What is the main ring tone on your phone?
The ringy one.

73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little?
No. Some little mexican kid probably has my old OP gear.

74. What red object is closest to you right now?
Chinese Stress ball box.

75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth?
Not anymore.

76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
Always slightly open, since there are usually towels hanging off it.

77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees?
Bees. I'd try to punch those motherfuckers right in the face.

78. Do you flirt a lot?
Only with Alan.

79. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
The fucking trash can. Unless its a vegan Morningstar Farms one, then barbeque sauce or ranch.

80. What is your favorite food?
Probably burritos or some sort of pasta.

81. Can you change the oil on a car?
If I had to.

82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Once.

83. Have you ever run out of gas?
Twice.

84. What is your usual bedtime?
After midnight most days.

85. What was the last book you read?
"The Metaphyisical Club: A Story of Ideas in America" (in progress)

86. Do you read the newspaper?
Online.

87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
Maybe, unless my Guitar Player subscription has run out.

89. Do you watch soap operas?
Dawn watches "Days of Our Lives" on TiVo and fast forwards through most of it. It's pretty much the purest form of comedy I've ever experienced.

90. Do you dance in the car?
I drum in the car.

91. What radio station did you last listen to?
Indie 103 is on my alarm clock.

92. Who is in the picture frame closest to you?
Ha! Myself, but only barely.

93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper?
No idea.

94. What is your favorite candle scent?
Cinnamony wintry ones.

95. What is your favorite board game?
Trivial Pursuit.

97. When was the last time you attended church?
Dawn's grandma's wedding last summer.

98. Who was/is your favorite teacher in high school?
Mr. Williams.

99. What is the longest you have ever camped out in a tent?
Probably a few days.

100. Who was the last person to do something extra special for you?
Dawn- every single day.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Katrina-esque

In the middle of the night last night, for no apparent reason, our toilet decided to flood our downstairs area. The hallway and half of the living room was a swamp. there was about 2 inches of standing water in the downstairs bathroom. The water leaked into the pantry. They had to tear out 90% of the downstairs carpet and padding; now the living room is referred to as "The Warehouse." Dawn and I spent most of the day yesterday moving furniture upstairs, cause they're coming tomorrow to replace the carpet.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying the natural reverb created by Great Flood of '06.
Fun times.
But, at least we get some new carpet.

Maybe I'll throw up some pictures of The Warehouse, but I doubt the camera has any batteries.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Halloween Playlist

Shane-hain asked, so here it is. (Shufflified)

Name:Artist
Die, Die My Darling: The Misfits
Monsters In The Parasol: Queens Of The Stone Age
Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell: Iggy & The Stooges
Store Bought Bones: The Raconteurs
King Ink: The Birthday Party
Deadly Rhythm: Refused
Diabolic Scheme: The Hives
Initium\\Samhain: Samhain
London Dungeon: The Misfits
Cursed Realms (Of The Winterdemons): Sunn 0)))
Gallows Pole: Led Zeppelin
American Nightmare: The Misfits
Black Shuck: The Darkness
Head Of The Baptist: Cursed
Halloween : The Misfits
Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight: The Misfits
Omalleys Bar: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Black Celebration Depeche Mode
Demonomania: The Misfits
Skulls: The Misfits
Celestial Crown: The Sword
How The Gods Kill: Danzig
Jack the Ripper (live): The White Stripes
Walking with a Ghost: The White Stripes
Monster In The Parasol: Desert Sessions
He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named: Samhain
Black Dream: Samhain
Your Sweet Six Six Six: H.I.M.
Abra Cadaver: The Hives
The Omen (Ave Satani): Fantômas
Death Comes Ripping: The Misfits
Up In Hell: Desert Sessions
Cape Fear: Fantômas
She: The Misfits
Come to Daddy: Dillinger Escape Plan With Mike Patton
Someone's In The Wolf: Queens Of The Stone Age
Ghoul's Night Out: The Misfits
Fearless Vampire Killers: Bad Brains
Children Of The Grave: Black Sabbath
RIP: Cursed
Thriller: Michael Jackson
All My Friends Are Going Death: Some Girls
NYC Ghosts & Flowers: Sonic Youth
Green Hell : The Misfits
A Dead Song: The Birthday Party
Rosemary's Baby: Fantômas
Barael's Blade: The Sword
666: John Frusciante
Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground: The White Stripes
Down in the Park: Gary Numan
Red Death at 6:14: The White Stripes
Suicide Invoice: Hot Snakes
Religion II: Some Girls
Automatic Midnight: Hot Snakes
Who Died: Hot Snakes
Last Caress: The Misfits
Vlad Tepes: Sunn 0)))
Bladecatcher: Mastodon
Dead Man's Party: Oingo Boingo
Sympathy For The Devil: The Rolling Stones
What's Behind The Mask: The Cramps
Horror Business: The Misfits
Blood and Thunder: Mastodon
Winter's Wolves:The Sword
The Mercy Seat: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Up Jumped The Devil : Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Long Way Back From Hell: Danzig
Blue Veins: The Raconteurs
Fade To Black: Metallica
Bringer Of Death: Danzig
Ebethron: The Sword
Halloween II: The Misfits
Zombie Dance: The Cramps
Don't Fear the Reaper: H.I.M.
No Quarter: Led Zeppelin
6 Feet Deep: Gravediggaz
It Took The Night To Believe: Sunn 0)))
Rather Be Dead: Refused
Superstition: Stevie Wonder
Fatalist: Cursed
Twist of Cain: Samhain
Song of Joy: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath
Death Letter: The White Stripes
Someone's In The Wolf: Queens Of The Stone Age
Ghosts: Shellac
Master of Puppets: Metallica
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: Black Sabbath
Damaged 1: Black Flag
Electric Funeral: Black Sabbath
Track 2: Khanate
Dead Souls: Joy Division
Horror Biz: Samhain
Night Of The Living Dead: The Misfits
Black Thunder: Doomriders
Die, All Right!: The Hives
One: Metallica
Lovely Creature : Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Chase The Devil: Eagles of Death Metal
The Opera Song: Botch
I Was A Teenage Werewolf: The Cramps
Colony Of Birchmen: Mastodon
Marry Mortuary: Some Girls
Soul on Fire: Danzig
Hells Bells: AC/DC
Human Fly: The Cramps
Song For The Dead: Queens Of The Stone Age
Hatchet Job: Hot Snakes
The Devil Rides Out (Remix): Fantômas
Your Funeral, My Trial: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

[chosen based on title, lyrical content, and creepiness factor.]

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Winter Records

It's only 84 degrees here today, so that got me thinking.
Here's some records that remind me of Winter, and don't feel right when listened to any other time:

The Strokes: Is This It?
The Strokes: Room On Fire
Interpol: Turn On The Bright Lights
Interpol: Antics
Misfits: Static Age
The Darkness: Permission to Land
Elliott Smith: From A Basement On A Hill
My Bloody Valentine: Loveless
Explosions In The Sky: Those Who Tell The Truth...
Fugazi: End Hits
George Harrison: All Things Must Pass
Mastodon: Leviathan
Nirvana: Unplugged in New York
Smashing Pumpkins: Gish

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Inventory

Interesting (and not so interesting) Things On My Desk:
-2 coffee cups
-drum machine
-surfboard fin
-art show price list
-bills
-headphones
-buddhist prayer beads
-box of stickers
-2 iPods
-airsoft gun
-CM buttons
-2 watches
-business cards
-Chinese relaxation balls
-recording interface
-stack of burnt/blank CDs
-speakers
-cup full of pens and change
-multiple guitar picks
-Miguelito Pancho Sanchez-Danzig, my erstwhile cellphone.

Monday, October 2, 2006

American Hardcore: A Meditation

There are many privileges, in my opinion, about living in Southern California (along with, of course, many disadvantages), and one of them is getting to see the movies that don't come out in most other places. Now, I normally don't get too excited about going to the movies, but, a documentary? On music? About Minor Threat, Black Flag and Bad Brains? Sign me right the fuck up.

Punk inspired/derived movies are usually an incredible bummer. Take, for example, Punk: Attitude, which came out a few years ago. Complete and utter shit. Horrible. A thrown together, woefully incomplete, highlight reel that might as well have been made by MTV. And it wasn't, which could have also been the biggest bummer.* 1991: The Year Punk Broke contained some of my favorite bands in the world, ever, but it was suuuuuuuper boring. And barely "punk" related. The Decline of Western Civilization is mildly entertaining because everyone in it is so absolutely fucked up. It looks, however, like it was made by the Channel 4 news in their spare time, and there's no real information in it. Decline 2: The Metal Years was way better, but I digress. SLC Punk, though, is really good for some reason.

Needless to say, I approached American Hardcore with much trepidation. My reasoning was, "Even if I just get to see a bunch of Black Flag and Minor Threat clips I've already seen on the big screen, that'll still be cool." The book it's based on, American Hardcore: A Tribal History is a rad book. Kinda confusing, but really fascinating to me. Since I am a gentleman and a scholar, and have read pages upon pages of essays about punk, I didn't really intend to learn anything new.

I don't know about you, but when I'm sitting in the movie theater and the screen goes dark, and fucking Banned In DC starts playing, I nearly loose my shit. In a good way. So we're off to a good start.

It's a similar phenomenon to watching Lord Of The Rings: you know and love the story, and you're suprised that the film pulls off all this stuff that's supposed to be just a part of your imagination. So maybe it's not LOTR, but I didn't think there was any way "they" could've gotten right all this stuff that has been such a big part of me for so many years. I really didn't think the movie could come close to what I know it should be.

But I'm pleasantly surprised. It was (pretty much) all there. It reminded me of Dogtown and Z-Boys, stylistically. Ian, Henry, Greg Ginn, HR... they talked to the right dudes. I wondered where Adam Yauch, Glenn E. Friedman and Chuck Dukowski were, however, but other than that (and maybe Ray Cappo... but more on that later), everyone was there. Unfortunately, some douchebags were there that probably shouldn't have been (Dicky Barrett- I'm looking at you), but whatever. They even had a piece on the Adolescents (Steve Soto's lost a ton of weight. Gastric Bypass?)! TSOL! My friend Kimm was on there!

And it wasn't just a bunch of reused old footage. I have seen, I think, every bit of filmed evidence of Minor Threat, so AHC gets a pass on that one. But seeing Rollins knock the fuck out of a heckler on the big screen was remarkable. There was rad Bad Brains footy too. What else? Pretty much every band that mattered, and some that really didn't, but it's always good to err on the side of too much info as opposed to too little. But there was nowhere near enough Misfits, for god's sake.

As Ian Mackaye (ma-kiye, thanks Jerm) said, Minor Threat was a good band, talent wise. Most of the bands are incredibly tight. Bad Brains were robots created to play incredibly fast and tight. Black Flag: practice, 8AM, Christmas morning. Enough said. Listen to a "modern" punk record: that shit is tres horrible.

Dawn brought up that she thought they should have gone into what hardcore punk evolved into- namely present day hardcore. Which is a good point. It was fine without it, but it could have been interesting to hear what Ray of Today or CIV had to say. Maybe.

And of course, there was a punker in the theater mouthing off the whole time. Fuckin gutter punks.

But yeah- it was good. Could have been a lot worse.



*[It was made by Don Letts, who was allegedly big in the late 70's British punk scene. You'd assume he'd know better. Actually, I wouldn't assume. I know better than to trust the preachers of the 70's punk gospel.]

Friday, September 15, 2006

Wait a second...

Dr. Octagon returned after 10 years and I didn't even realize it!
Fuck!
Looky here.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Confessions of a record nerd, and more.

i lead a tough life- yeah right.

i spent the better part of the day searching out record stores and trying to find the new Hot Snakes record:
thunder
(buy that fucker.)

i went to like 6 different record stores- most looked at me like a fool for asking. some were not open. some had closed down for good. some only sold vinyl.
i must've spent $10 in gas and drove from Costa Mesa to Newport, Newport to Laguna. kinda retarded. anyways, i neglected to go to the store literally closest to my house. (i decline to name the store. sorry) not kidding, it's mere blocks away. my decision was based at least partly on snobbery- i'd been there before, and it didn't live up to my expectations. so i kinda wrote it off and haven't gone there since.
and, of course, they we're the only store that had it.
of course.
plus i found a used copy of Eucalyptus by Pitchfork. fuck.
[side note: i hate it when stores put stickers on the actual cd case, like Cheap Thrills. for whatever reason it bugs the shit out of me. This place does that too, but at least it's done before you purchase it. however, there were a total of 3 unremovable stickers on the used cd i bought.]

so have i learned my lesson? perhaps...

in other news, i have sort of become a quasi journalist, at least i will be on Thursday night- when i have an "Assignment" "Covering" a rather cool art show for a reputable magazine's (which i decline to name also) web site. i have to write an article and take pictures. good thing i took journalism in highschool. i'm kinda nervous, but whatever.

rant #4000:
it's already almost 6 and the mail man was only just here. i hate that. get that shit here early.

Saturday, August 5, 2006

the sheer boredom i feel right now is astounding

it's saturday... i'm hanging out by myself... i'm dead-ass broke...
a recipe for a good time.

i've been watching Shark week non-stop. Apparently, Shark Week has been on the Discovery Channel every summer for 19 years. i guess you learn something new every day. all in all, its a pretty good one (except for this douchebag photographer guy that hosted several of the shows). and also: Sharks+Dirty Jobs=badical.
i'm such a nerd.

oh yeah-
oftentimes in my life i refuse to listen to a band because of their name- regardless of how good they are. i'm trying to get over that. examples of bands whose name took me a while to get over (and are now some of my favorite bands):
-jimmy eat world
-at the drive-in
-hot snakes (actually, i think this is, phonetically, a pretty sweet name now. i didn't used to like it at all. and it's origin kind of bums me out too.)
-hella (for gods sake- this word might be the worst bastardization of the english language i have yet to encounter. i cringe whenever i think of it. i hate northern california. but that's beside the point: the band's damn good.)
-explosions in the sky (just sounds too emo, kinda like planes mistaken for stars.)

i guess that's about it. its still a big deal for me. bad band names almost ruin it completely.

am i hungry? i don't know.

Friday, July 21, 2006

celebration

today is Ernest Hemingway's birthday.

i'm going to honor him by hunting down and killing various big game- with a drink in hand at all times.

Friday, July 14, 2006

shane is having a hard time deciding

if my house was burning, and i could only rescue 5 of my punk records, these are the ones i'd go for (in order):

-minor threat: discography
-descendents: somery
-black flag: damaged
-misfits: collection 1
-adolescents: s/t


(disqualified: the stooges, refused, fugazi, joy division... not strictly "punk" enough)

the ball's in your court, Kaiser.

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

viva italia!

july 4th scorecard:

+mid-week debauchery
-across the street reggae/jack johnson/country bro party
+new bike
+19.2 miles (biked) in 2 days
-sore legs, ass
+overheard bullhorn announcement: "Attention: sausage party on the balcony..."
-hoverload
+rad weather
+75 degree water temps
+uncrowded beach (seriously)
+Italia kicking German ass!
+feastage
+4 fireworks shows seen from one crucial vantage point
+lighting fireworks in driveways
-hand burns

(side note: i really don't have anything against the 4th of july holiday, except faux-national/imperialistic pride and the fact that the government can talk some more about wars for "freedom" and "patriotism." the american revolution was a pretty cool thing: a small band of people rebelling against tyranny and standing up for their rights. Jefferson believed in having a revolution every seven years- sounds good to me.)

Friday, June 30, 2006

update

hot/sunny.

4th of july soon: insane crowds, closed streets, Costa Mesa=Baghdad Jr., startled awakenings by fireworks at 4 AM, Piccolo Petes and Dancing Flowers are outlawed, i need a bike.

world cup: England v Portugal tomorrow. Argentina lost to the germans. Damn.

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

welcome

i've been on this shit a lot lately.

so help me welcome my 5th replacement cell phone into the world, henceforth christened Miguelito Pancho Sanchez-Danzig.

Tuesday, June 6, 2006

super evil

today's playlist:

black sabbath: s/t
black sabbath: paranoid
black sabbath: master of reality
black sabbath: volume IV
tenacious d: s/t
the sword: age of winters
the birthday party: prayers on fire
cursed: II

and that, my friends, is how it's done.

(update:
danzig: s/t
danzig: danzig II- lucifuge
misfits: earth a.d.
sunn o))): black one)

Monday, June 5, 2006

disneyland scorecard

+not arriving too early
-shitty parking
+heat
-heat
+moderate line lengths (for a weekend)
-long lines for short rides (indiana jones, i'm looking in your direction)
+better space mountain
-no pirates
+splash mountain breaking down with us on it
-brer rabbit: "Whooops- looks like there's a log jam up ahead!" x1000
+california adventure has the best rides and super short lines to get on them (Grizzly Rapids, Tower Of Terror, California Screamin' and Soaring Over California)
-more midwestern white trash than one could shake a stick at
-bad food

Thursday, June 1, 2006

june already?

it's getting hot these days. not paso hot, but the temperature is definitely rising.

disneyland is on the menu this weekend- always a good time.
however, pirates of the caribbean (my favorite ride) is not open, which totally sucks. it's always something.
finding vegetarian food is always a challenge as well.
expect a recap next week.