Thursday, November 8, 2007
I bought an Xbox.
I bought an Xbox 360 a couple of days ago. Thanks to the generosity of my cousin Steven, I'm also connected to Xbox Live. My name on there is Gump Worsley. (Yeah... The Weakerthans' new album, Reunion Tour, was sitting right next to me when I was signing up.) So far all I have is the Orange Box and the pack-in games, but I'll be picking up Halo 3 sometime soon. If you want to play some games against someone who probably sucks a whole lot more than you, add me.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Modest Mouse, Man Man, Love is Laughter - Odeon, Nov. 5th, 2007
Modest Mouse has been my favourite band for quite awhile, almost to the point of it getting ridiculous. In the two years that I've had a last.fm account, for example, I've managed to listen to them well over twice as many times as their closest competitor. Not that I particularly mind... there's just something about the band that lets me listen to them over and over again; it may be the deceivingly catchy way their songs are written, Isaac Brock's headstrong personality, or maybe the poetic, ponderous way his words often resonate with me. Probably a combination of all of these...
But, regardless of why I like Modest Mouse so much, the concert on the 5th was a treat for any music fan. Sure, longtime fans were there in full force, but so were the newly converted, and a few people I talked to who'd never heard the band at all but decided to come along, either at the last minute or just on the faith of a friend's word that it would be an experience worth having.
Love is Laughter and Man Man were terrific openers for the show. I heard some grumbling about Love is Laughter being boring, but I thought they were quite earnest and heartfelt. The singer's voice also reminded me of the guy from Band of Horses, which isn't a bad thing at all. Man Man was insane; constantly multitasking, switching instruments, drumming, strumming, tapping, blowing, yelling, tooting, dancing, chanting, on and on, often simultaneously. I'm not sure if I could listen to them recorded, but I'll give it a shot.
Modest Mouse took their time getting to the stage after the openers, and the pit packed itself tight in anticipation. The front, where we'd staked our spots out as best we could, definitely felt the effects, with many an "Oh, hey, sorry about that, it's not my fault, ya know?" from people being forced to crush others.
The setlist was new-material heavy, and probably the weakest part of the show. Not that that's really saying anything, though; it barely affected the incredible momentum created by Isaac Brock, Johnny goddamn Marr, and the rest of the band. Marr's integration into the band is seamless, and a solid addition. Show highlights for me included Isaac screaming into his guitar pick-ups, Isaac (drunkenly?) saying "You took a picture? Fuck you." to some jerk looking to get a shot of a girl after she fainted, the way the keyboardist looked like Tom Waits' and Chuck Norris' love child, the twin drummers, Here It Comes, Paper Thin Walls, Bukowski, Satin in a Coffin, Cockroach, Broke, and, of course, the very awesome extended Tiny Cities Made of Ashes. Basically every second Modest Mouse was on stage was incredible... highlights sort of stop being special when you can't stop listing stuff, eh?
But, regardless of why I like Modest Mouse so much, the concert on the 5th was a treat for any music fan. Sure, longtime fans were there in full force, but so were the newly converted, and a few people I talked to who'd never heard the band at all but decided to come along, either at the last minute or just on the faith of a friend's word that it would be an experience worth having.
Love is Laughter and Man Man were terrific openers for the show. I heard some grumbling about Love is Laughter being boring, but I thought they were quite earnest and heartfelt. The singer's voice also reminded me of the guy from Band of Horses, which isn't a bad thing at all. Man Man was insane; constantly multitasking, switching instruments, drumming, strumming, tapping, blowing, yelling, tooting, dancing, chanting, on and on, often simultaneously. I'm not sure if I could listen to them recorded, but I'll give it a shot.
Modest Mouse took their time getting to the stage after the openers, and the pit packed itself tight in anticipation. The front, where we'd staked our spots out as best we could, definitely felt the effects, with many an "Oh, hey, sorry about that, it's not my fault, ya know?" from people being forced to crush others.
The setlist was new-material heavy, and probably the weakest part of the show. Not that that's really saying anything, though; it barely affected the incredible momentum created by Isaac Brock, Johnny goddamn Marr, and the rest of the band. Marr's integration into the band is seamless, and a solid addition. Show highlights for me included Isaac screaming into his guitar pick-ups, Isaac (drunkenly?) saying "You took a picture? Fuck you." to some jerk looking to get a shot of a girl after she fainted, the way the keyboardist looked like Tom Waits' and Chuck Norris' love child, the twin drummers, Here It Comes, Paper Thin Walls, Bukowski, Satin in a Coffin, Cockroach, Broke, and, of course, the very awesome extended Tiny Cities Made of Ashes. Basically every second Modest Mouse was on stage was incredible... highlights sort of stop being special when you can't stop listing stuff, eh?
FOX News has found a new and exciting way to be manipulative.
FOX News is well-known as a champion of right-wing, conservative, and often quite biased reporting, a fact that can irritate and frustrate even the most mildly reasonable among us. This can also, apparently, extend to their promos, where even the innocent Simpsons watcher is not safe. The offending promo I saw wasn't even for their news; it was for their weather guys.
FOX's weathermen, it would seem, find it completely unacceptable that the public might think, in any way, that their jobs are boring. "We have to show them how goddamn BAD-ASS we are!" I imagine them saying to each other. So what do these guys have that's bad-ass, you might ask? Well, enormous, potentially fatal storms, of course. These guys were practically orgasming over the thought of getting the chance to cover a storm. "It really gets the adrenaline pumping!" They don't seem to particularly care that these storms affect real people in terrible ways, they just want to add some excitement to their day. I guess I can't blame them for latching onto the one exciting thing about their jobs, but the ad was tactless and unnecessary.
FOX's weathermen, it would seem, find it completely unacceptable that the public might think, in any way, that their jobs are boring. "We have to show them how goddamn BAD-ASS we are!" I imagine them saying to each other. So what do these guys have that's bad-ass, you might ask? Well, enormous, potentially fatal storms, of course. These guys were practically orgasming over the thought of getting the chance to cover a storm. "It really gets the adrenaline pumping!" They don't seem to particularly care that these storms affect real people in terrible ways, they just want to add some excitement to their day. I guess I can't blame them for latching onto the one exciting thing about their jobs, but the ad was tactless and unnecessary.
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