Reverse Engineering Influences

Okay, I listed to Gang of Four the other day. It was bizarre.

Listening to recent albums from bands like The Futureheads and Franz Ferdinand, you can hear influences from bands of the past. However, it's jarring when you listen to one of the primary influences.

It almost makes you think Gang of Four was influenced by The Futureheads.

Fun At Amoeba

I love Amoeba Music. It's like a crack house for music lovers. There's a couple in Norcal (San Francisco and Berkeley) and one down here in Hollywood.

I usually go at least once every other week and today was one of those trips. Much like someone needing a hit, if I don't go for too long, I get nervous and edgy. Do I want to deal with what's driving this? Hella no.

So, here's the latest editions to my growing CD collection (all but one were bought used -- Ameoba has the best, largest used CD collection out there... and everything's in excellent condition).

So...

Ben Folds - Songs for Silverman -- Previewed this one on the listening post. Great piano playing.



They Might Be Giants - A User's Guide -- One of those bands whom I not into enough to want to get individual albums, but I like their singles, so this is the perfect sampler for me.



Gang of Four - Entertainment! -- I'd heard of them, but never heard of their stuff. One of my favorite things is listening to stuff I'd never heard before and, if I like it enough, adding the album to my collection. This is one of those discs. The late 70's rock/punk sound was excellent -- The Jam, The Clash, etc.



Live From Las Vegas - Various Artists. Part of a series of new CDs commemorating one of the greatest cities in the world, Las Vegas, on it's 100th anniversary. A great sampling of live tracks during Vegas' musical heyday -- when the Rat Pack reigned supreme. Absolutely essential for its historical element. Plus the music ain't half bad.

Cold Case

We're watching "Cold Case" right now.

This show has one kick-ass soundtrack. Must be a licensing nightmare from episode to episode.

If the Producers decided to put out a set of "best-of" soundtracks, they'd clean up. It'd be one of the best sets of varied music out there.

Lost. Hella Yeah, I'm Lost!

Okay, I watched the season finale of "Lost" last night.

I'm hooked. This show has been the worthy successor to "The X-Files" to keep me glued to the tube for at least one hour a week.

The show has managed to dole out little tidbits about the island throughout the season and give us nice segments on each person stuck there.

Now the press leading up to the finale said that some questions would be answered and new questions would be created. The only problem is... I'm not sure what questions were answered. Obviously not the questions I was asking.

So, given that I've watched the whole season, here's my questions:

1. The monster (the security system): So it's a puff of smoke? Is it some kind of corporeal manifstation? What was with the mechanical noises? Sure sounded like some kind of crank...
2. Okay, so what's up with Hurley's numbers?
3. Is there some connection between all the vehicles that have crashed on the island? (We're up to the Oceanic airplane, a plane of Nigerian drug runners, an old slave ship - "Black Rock", and whatever ship the French lady was on.
4. Why do the "Others" want Walt? Was THAT the boy they were after? Sure didn't seem like they cared a whit about getting Aaron (Turniphead).
5. Is that it for the "Others" -- or are there other "Others"? Are they really human?
6. Do I really have to wait three months for this madness to continue?
7. Since a majority of everyone's back stories were revealed during Season 1, what are they going to reveal during Season 2?

That's enough! It's enough to make your head ache!!

Welcome To My House

It's May 27th, 2005 at 11:42 P.M. Pacific Standard Time.

This is what's going on right now at my house:

- My wife and brother-in-law are singing karaoke. He's singing a song in Samoan.
- I'm surfing other blogs that have been created on Blogger. Everything under the sun is there... everything from "I'm so depressed and I hate you all", "Look at my beautiful children", to "Consolidate your debt here!"

Maybe I'm just tired, but I came across a Harry Potter blog. Doesn't "Harry Potter" sound like some dirty sexual maneouver?

Good Music For This Week

Wanna hear something good?

Check out the new one from Gorillaz (Demon Days). Not quite as off-kilter as their debut album. Good, slightly eccentric, electronica-hip hop hybrid.

Go now. Get it now! While stores are selling it cheap.



I also got the latest from Audioslave (Out of Exile), but the jury is still deliberating on that one.

Pure Torture

You wanna have torturous fun?

1. Get a cold.
2. Make sure your sinuses are fully plugged.
3. Get a migraine because of your plugged up sinuses.
4. Make sure your sinuses become doubly plugged up on that side of your head where the sharp pains commence.

Nifty, good time fun for all.

Then, take an Ultram -- knocks you flat on your ass cold. Makes the pain go away. Makes you feel much better a few hours later. Much better than a migraine would normally make you feel the next day.

All better.

God Bless the Three Day Weekend

Isn't there something magical and wonderful about three day weekends?

It's only an additional day. It's a helluva lot shorter than a vacation. And, yet, as the days leading up to the weekend tick by, there's an excitement unlike any other. Somehow, that one extra day off that doesn't cost us any vacation time and doesn't get docked from our paycheck, gives us hope that we're going to get some extra rest or that little bit of playtime that we so desperately need now that our weekends are usually gobbled up by work or housework or other icky stuff.

And, yet... do you notice how a three day weekend seems to go FASTER than a regular two day weekend? Phooey! And, yet.. isn't it nice when you get back to work, you realize that you only have to work four days before the next weekend? YAY!

And do you notice we never actually pay attention to the reason WHY we're getting an extra day off? Sure, we know WHAT the holiday is called, but not WHY it's there. Something to do with Martin Luther King's Fourth of July Memorial Thanksgiving...

Wasting Bandwith

This is my first post. Just to have something there so that you're not confronted with "Page Not Found" or "Site Under Construction" or "He's too busy to post something meaningful, but too stupid to not have created a Blog space"