It’s you Champer Damper. It’s YOU.
I love things that make me laugh, and this is definitely is one of those things.
(I <3 everythingisterrible.com)
It’s you Champer Damper. It’s YOU.
I love things that make me laugh, and this is definitely is one of those things.
(I <3 everythingisterrible.com)
Last night, I went with James and Broderick to see the amazing Bat For Lashes at the Loft, and she was, well, amazing (albeit, a bit strange… she really takes being “alternative” seriously). I really enjoyed her set (Natasha Khan was admittedly outstanding live), and even the opening band, Other Lives, was quite amazing as well (they reminded me a lot of the Decemberists). However, I had some gripes about the show in general, and I came up two things that I would do differently, if I were in a band, and performed concerts for people.
1. I would come out a lot sooner after the opening act.
Now, don’t get me wrong; I understand that sound checks and whatnot need to happen. However, they could happen before the show starts; your gear was up on the stage while the opening act played, so don’t act like you couldn’t have done a sound check before they went on. Also, if you MUST do a sound check (if that really is the reason you wait so long to come out after the opening act), why does it take so long? Seriously, if it is longer than 30 minutes, you are leaning heavily into being just plain rude; and I don’t care who you are, you are not that important, so stop being a diva. My feet hurt, and it is hot, and waiting forever in order for you to grace us with your presence is really starting to push it.
2. I would use the fucking lights, and not play in the dark.
As much as I love going to concerts, I love taking concert pictures just as much. I like to get a neat shot of the person that I payed to see perform, which for me, is a major keepsake, and a memory of my experience. However, and this is a big however, when they perform in the dark, it is not only hard to see them with my naked eye, but it is damn near impossible to get a decent picture. So for my show, you would see me flooded in light, actually performing for a crowd; not hiding in the dark while I sing on stage. I would also make sure to have a little stage presence; she was bent over or had her back to the audience most of the show.
Looking back at the night, I thought I had more things that I would do if I were in the band, but I guess the other gripes I had about the show had nothing to do with the actual performance. First of all, I may sound like an old codger, but it was way too fucking loud at that show. Those of you that have been to the Loft know that it is a small space, and it really doesn’t need to be EAR BLEEDINGLY loud for the show to be good. I want to be able to continue listening to the good music that I came out to see after the show ends, afterall.
Also, after Bat For Lashes finished their “1st set” (you know, the fake, “goodnight!” before coming out to play basically the second half of your show), I was pretty tired of standing in the front, so I asked James and Broderick if they were ready to head to the back, and maybe even home (my feet were hurting because we waited forever for her to take the stage, afterall). While walking through the crowd, this guy that was several rows of people behind us says to me as I pass him something to the effect of, “hey big guy! you are so freaking tall! you were blocking us all night! glad you are leaving!!!”. Being who I am, I couldn’t let a bitchy remark go without retort, so to that, I leaned into him, and made sure to say loud enough so his short ass could hear me, “Well, now you’ll know to get here earlier next time, so you can stand up front, won’t you?”.
Seriously. You came to a standing room, general admission concert, and you are bitching because someone 6’1″ is standing in front of you?! Go fuck yourself, munchkin; it isn’t my fault that a) you are shorter than me, nor more importantly, b) that I got there earlier than you and found where I wanted to stand, and did so because I knew that it was standing room only, general admission. I honestly couldn’t believe he had the nerve to bitch about it, especially when there were several people around me that were the same height as me, but I digress.
Overall, the show was great, and I can just add these to my “general gripes” about things in life. Ah, first world problems… so much fun to bitch about, eh?
Not much is going on with me at the moment, so there isn’t much to post about; well, nothing that I would want to commit to typed words going off into the infinite reaches of the internets anyway.
This weekend had it’s nice points. I saw two movies, both of which I liked, District 9 and Ponyo.
I liked the idea and the attempt at paralleling apartheid that came with District 9, but it had a little too much going on for me to really focus (as my friend John stated, this must be Peter Jackson’s Cloverfield — even though he didn’t direct it). However, I will say, that we saw it at the drive in, so perhaps I just need to see it again, in an environment when I can really focus on it. I will have to rent it when it comes out. It was enjoyable, though.
As for Ponyo, I posted about it last week, and my excitement had me really revved up to see it. I detest going to the theater, and this was no exception; all of the talking and whatnot around me made it hard to really let go and enjoy the film. However, I really did love the story, and the animation was incredible. I can’t wait to see it again, because I think that most of Miyazaki’s films require at least two viewings before a true opinion can be formed. The more I reflect on my feelings about Ponyo, the more I love it. I hope that Ponyo’s eventual release on Blu Ray will cause the powers that be to go back and commit Miyazaki’s other films to the format; they are truly deserving of the treatment, and I know that I would be one of the first to rush out and buy them!
Other than that… not much else. How about you?
For today’s selection, I decided to go back through some artists that I may have featured in the past. The thing is, that they have more than one good song, and deserve to be featured again, because sometimes, it isn’t enough to say something nice only once.
Stars – Barricade
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_814_stars-barricade.mp3]
I posted about Stars about a year and a half ago, and their brilliant track, Take Me To The the Riot. Well recently, I was listening to my ipod on shuffle (as I now seem to do quite often), and the achingly beautiful Barricade came on. This song really makes me wonder why I don’t listen to Stars more often than I do, because it is truly a beautiful song; as are many of their others. The juxtaposition between the gentle, and peaceful music and the dark, violent lyrics is extremely captivating, and really highlights the talent of this marvelous band. Again, I really should listen to them more often.
Daughtry – Life After You
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_814_daughtry-lifeafteryou.mp3]
Back in 2006, Daughtry’s self-titled debut ended up making my year end favorites list, and since then, it has been way too overplayed on the radio (Seriously!). However, when Daughtry announced they were releasing their sophomore album later this summer, I couldn’t resist at least giving it a listen when it came out. I was happy to find this amazing track on my first listen, that reminded me why I pulled for this hottie on American Idol. He truly has singing talent, and given the arrangement of this song, he has some skill at making the music to go with it as well.
Band Of Skulls – Cold Fame
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_814_bandofskulls-coldfame.mp3]
It has barely been a month since I posted about Band of Skulls, and after listening to their most recent release, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, I felt compelled to bring more of their amazing music into the spotlight. The influences on this track go back several decades, and it serves as another great example of the amazing music they are making. The whole album is very, very good, and after one listen, I was glad that I checked out more than just the lead single, I Know What I Am. Overall, BDDFH is a great album that I am sure to listen to more and more in the coming months.
Joshua Radin – One Of Those Days
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_814_joshuaradin-oneofthosedays.mp3]
My love for Joshua Radin began when I heard his tear-inducing track, Today. Since that time, he released an album, which ended up making my year end list in 2008. This song came back up recently on a session of shuffle, and I fell back in love with it; even more so than the first time. I love Joshua’s style of acoustic rock, and his lyrics completely make me weak in the knees. Definitely an artist I will continue to watch from now on.
Greg Laswell – And Then You
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_814_greglaswell-andthenyou.mp3]
I posted about Greg just a couple of weeks ago, and I can’t get enough of his beautiful music (beautiful is apparently the word of the day). His sound is noticeably similar to Mat Kearney, but he is unique enough to garner attention of his own. He’s cute, makes beautiful music, and I couldn’t be happier that I found him; which is why I wanted to post more about him. If you liked either of the two songs that I posted, you must download his album Three Flights From Alto Nido, the whole album is fantastic.
Well, there are five great songs by five great artists; all of which I have mentioned before, and felt the need to mention again because of how great they are. I hope that you enjoyed them! Let me know what you think!
I rarely ever get excited about movies, and I almost never get chills watching a preview (go and check it out here, since embedding is disabled on most of the youtube clips), but both things apply to Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea, the upcoming Hayao Miyazaki film. I have been a fan of Miyazaki’s for many, many years, and with Ponyo, I dare predict that my love of Miyazaki will only continue to soar.
Miyazaki’s films contain a sense of imagination, wonder, and hope portrayed in a medium that I haven’t seen anywhere else. His whimsical stories are usually backed by a deep concern for our footprint on our world, and often explore the consequences we might face if we ignore the signs; which is kind of deep for a “kid’s movie” huh? His animation, story telling, and direction take dreams, and make them into a visually stunning experience that you can enjoy while you are awake. I find it almost impossible not to fall in love with is characters, and even more impossible not to enjoy their adventures.
As Ponyo is being released this Friday, I will do something I NEVER do: I will head to a theater to see this film. Those that know me, know very well that I HATE going to the movies (with one notable exception: the drive in), but my excitement for this film will force me to put my hatred of all things movie theater aside, and go out to see it. If anyone wants to come along, let me know, because I can’t wait to see this movie, and I definitely want to see it this weekend for sure. I’m hoping that it is everything that I think it will be and more; and given Miyazaki’s track record and the previews, it looks like it might be just that!
Also, I am really, really hoping that the release of this film gets some (if not ALL) of his films onto Blu Ray here in the states. As I said, his films are visually stunning, and bringing them to high definition would be outstanding!
This week has gone by pretty fast, so there isn’t much to report today. So, without further adieu, let’s jump right into the music!
Mika – We Are Golden
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_87_mika-wearegolden.mp3]
This is the first single from Mika’s hotly anticipated follow up to his amazing debut, Life in Cartoon Motion. I saw lots of “eh” feelings on the blogosphere about this track before I got around to listening to it, and honestly, I couldn’t disagree more. The song has Mika’s trademark vocals, great pop sensibility, and an upbeat and happy nature that makes it unmistakably Mika. It sounds like he has had some more time to “craft” this next album, and is obviously up for taking some chances (the intricate layers and use backing multi-instruments) that he didn’t fully explore on his debut. Overall, the track is extremely catchy, and I think it is even more polished for radio than anything he has done before. Perhaps Mika is going a bit more “mainstream” with his brand of pop, but that doesn’t really bother me, because with We Are Golden, he is proving that he can do that, AND stick to what made me a fan of his in the first place; making great pop music.
Mr Hudson feat. Kanye West – Supernova
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_87_mrhudson-supernova.mp3]
Not too long ago, I wrote a tweet that stated the words “feat. Kanye West” meant that I would instantly skip a song. I have seriously ODed on Kanye, and I am tired of him, and even more tired of his droning form of “rap”, that lately seems to do more mucking up otherwise brilliant pop songs (see Keri Hilson’s Knock Me Down) than adding anything worthwhile at all. So imagine my surprise when I loved this track after finally hearing it. One very notable exception to my aforementioned beef with Kanye is his participation in this track; he actually sings, and it doesn’t distract away from Hudon’s brilliant pop track, and it doesn’t do what Kanye has proven himself so good at; completely taking the spotlight from Hudson and putting it on himself. I will give credit where credit is due, and say that it was my buddy John who first mentioned the greatness of this track, and it wasn’t until I finally saw the video that I actually gave it a chance. I’m telling you, Kanye needs to go away for a while so we can remember why we appreciated him so much in the beginning (I personally loved Kanye’s first two albums); people like me are completely turned off to his presence and will avoid even good stuff to steer clear. Too much is too much, and too much Kanye is what we’ve got right now. That being said, it’s subtle enough to still enjoy this track.
Muse – United States of Eurasia
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_87_muse-unitedstatesofeurasia.mp3]
I love Muse. I think that they are one of those bands that are crazy amazing, and should be on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but for some reason, they aren’t. I first heard them a few years ago when I stumbled on their release “Black Holes and Revelations”, and my only disappointment with that album, was to have discovered a full year after it was released (because it would have topped my year end list; it is completely flawless). Well, I have been waiting for a new album for Muse since I fell in love with that album, and it appears that my wait is almost over. After hearing this song, and reading what others are saying about the resemblance to Queen, I must say, that while I do hear it, I think that Muse definitely have their signature woven deeply throughout the track. They take an influence and turn it into their own epic rock opera. I also particularly love the almost Bollywood flair of the backing orchestrations, and the ending which takes you back to a Victorian palour where someone is sitting and playing a peaceful sonata. I expected that Muse’s new album would be amazing whenever it came out, and after hearing this first song from that record, I am even more excited for it to be released this fall.
Kellie Pickler – Somebody To Love Me
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_87_kelliepickler-somebodytoloveme.mp3]
I may alienate some of you with this one, because it is a VERY country song, but there is something about Kellie Pickler that I just adore, and when this song came up recently while my ipod was on shuffle, it gave me chills. The way that she gently eases into the chorus where she cries out that she just wants someone to love her, just grabbed hold of my heart and wouldn’t let go. I am a sucker for deep sentiment that comes in small packages, and this song is definitely an amazing example. The feeling and emotion in this song is echoed with her beautiful vocal, and it really forces me to constantly reconsider my “ban” on most things country (I ignore at lot of it, but admittedly, not all of it, and Kelly is firmly in the “do not block” column). Regardless if you like country or not, there is no denying the tender beauty that permeates every second of this song.
Eulogies – Two Can Play
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_87_eulogies-twocanplay.mp3]
This song reminds me a lot of other male/female folk-rock collaborations like She & Him, the Weepies, and the amazing pairing of Ben Gibbons and Fiest on The Train Song (which I posted a few months back). I love the sweet and tender vocals of the man and the woman, and the sweet melody and arrangement of the song makes for a delightfully fantastic pop song. I heard this song after seeing the SUPER CUTE video, and I knew that I wanted to hear more from the Eulogies. After checking out their recent release, Here Anonymous (from which this song comes), I was really pleased to have found another fantastic album that will probably end up somewhere on my year end best of list. Also, when I saw the video, I knew that recognized the beautiful female vocalist; she’s none other than fellow label mate, Nikki Monninger from the AMAZING Silversun Pickups. I just love when great musicians come together and make beautiful music, and this great track is certainly no exception.
I hope that you enjoyed this week’s selection as much as I do; they are all brilliant songs. As always, let me know what you’re spinning, and let me know what you thought about these tracks as well. Have a great weekend!
Imagine my surprise when someone requested to be friends with me on Yelp today, and I find out that he is writing extremely hurtful and bigoted remarks about me in one of his “reviews”. Not only did he post the review, but after it was taken down, he was allowed to remain member of Yelp, AND, re-posted a similar version of the review just a few minutes later.
Here’s what he said (the first time around), in “response” to my review of my experience at Green’s Liquor store:
After reading Duane M. review of Green’s Beverage Store, I had to fire back. I visit Green’s Beverage store once or twice a month. Everyone there has always been very nice and helpful.
However, I have never carried a purse and I don’t understand why a man would. You said you are not a woman, but after reading all your reviews you sure do act and bitch like a woman. Come on, we all know that someone that wants to homosexualize America likes to pretend that he is a woman. Perhaps Duane should take the dildo out of his ass!! Fucking pussys like you make me sick. When you choose to suck another man’s dick or take some guys cock up your ass, you become a 2nd class citizen. You have no right to ever bitch. Please keep your mouth shut and get back into the closet.
hmmmm, and you wonder why most of America hates gays.
So eloquent. Let’s look at the face of a true bigot, and oh so clearly one of the highest forms of complete and total asshole, Jake P. of Dacula, GA, shall we:
Now, the review was flagged, and eventually taken down, and I didn’t even know about it until I randomly read this thread. However, Yelp allowed him to post another review, very similarly filled hate speech as the first one:
After reading Duane M. review that he likes to dress up like a woman and wants to homesexualize American, I had to do something. I go into Green’s a few times a month and everyone is very nice and helpful.
But, Duane with his fag bag is acting like a little bitchy woman.
Perhaps if Duane got his dildo out of his ass, all of America would be a better place to live in. Duane what you wrote about Green’s was pure hateful, you being a little light in the loafers should understand what is it to be hated.
You are not a woman, your worse. Your a 2nd class citizen, start acting like one.
That second review was even better, Jake flexes his superior knowledge of all things grammar (um, it’s you’re, sweetness, not your).
While this will probably be taken down as well (I’m fairly certain it has of this posting), I can’t help but question why Yelp would allow someone like this to remain a member of their site? As a member of Yelp for YEARS, I was honestly considering deleting everyone of my reviews and publicly declaring myself against their organization; especially because they did not initially seem to have much concern for their members (if only because this guy was allowed to go on posting hate speech, even after he was “punished” for doing it the first time). Not only am I extremely offended by the bigot that was allowed to spread his hate about me without any repercussion (on a public website that I am willingly a part of), but I am even more upset that they there was very slow response to one member of their site clearly gay bashing another (my point being that he was allowed to continue using the site with no restriction).
Well, I sent this post to the Atlanta Ambassador for Yelp, and I got an answer and a clear and expected response, and they are taking care of it. That is a major plus in the Yelp column. As I mentioned above, I considered severing ties with Yelp, because I have had enough people call me a faggot to my face during my lifetime, to continue supporting a web service that just gives someone the platform to do it to me on the internet. However, because of Yelp’s positive and proactive actions, I will not go that far. HOWEVER, and that is a BIG however, I still think that people like this should be banned from the site after a post as bad as his was; 3 strikes is clearly 2 too many with things like this. A first offense of this nature should not be tolerated. If you are clearly bashing another member of the site, do you really deserve a chance to keep contributing? It honestly destroys my hope for humanity when people like this rear their ugly heads, and spread their hatred for all to see.
UPDATE: BANNED. Yelp wins. AWESOME. Thank you YELP!!! I really makes me happy that Yelp takes things like this seriously.
Yeah, you’re right… being gay isn’t all that bad anymore. Being second class isn’t that big of a deal. Things are just swell for us, and we should stop complaining. RIIIIGHT.
So this weekend, I got a Mac Book Pro. I really like it, but am frustrated, because I have had some issues trying to get my ipod, playlists, and song ratings onto the damn thing without having to manually update it and move each and every song (that would take FOREVER). Thanks to you fellow internet dwellers, I have been offered a few solutions, and will be trying one of them today (I couldn’t do it this weekend, because conveniently, our DSL was out ALL WEEKEND). I got a great deal on the thing, and I think that it will really serve me well in nursing school (even though it is WAY more computer than I need).
Now for the potential problem with an “old” shiny thing: I was playing my Xbox 360 last night, and during the game, the entire screen got red static all over it. I went to the dashboard/console menu, and it wasn’t there when I was on that screen, but going back to the game, it happened again. James was in the room, and he said it happened to him when he was playing a game the day before, so I am worried/wondering; is this the sign of an upcoming RRoD? I’ve had the Xbox for a little over a year and a half at this point. We bought the service plan through Best Buy, and I think that I am going to see if I can take it in and see if they will let me “upgrade” to an elite; which I have heard doesn’t get the RRoD. If anyone has experience with this particular screen issue, let me know, won’t you! I don’t want to be without the Xbox, or deal with this issue, but I know that RRoD is common, and doesn’t take much to fix (send it off, it comes back in a few weeks), so I guess it “could be worse”. Either way, I will keep my eye out for more “signs” of the pending RRoD apocalypse.
Not too much is going on, so there isn’t much to report today. So let’s just jump right into the music, shall we?
Pixie Lott – Boys & Girls
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_731_pixielott-boysandgirls.mp3]
A little bit Pipettes, a little bit Sugababes, and a little bit Amy Winehouse, this track sure is chock full of fun, and great pop influences. Pixie is getting a lot of buzz over the UK, and I am going to do my part, and bring the buzz stateside. This song is a fun, danceable song that has a drum beat that reminds me a LOT of Imani Coppola’s amazing hit from the 90’s, Legend of a Cowgirl. Damn, there’s yet ANOTHER great influence. This girl is harnessing some great stuff, and making fun, relatable pop with it. Um, did I mention FUN enough?
Ivyrise – 1000 Feet
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_731_ivyrise-1000feet.mp3]
I heard about this track from a fellow music blogger, and I liked it right away. It really reminds me of other pop-rock “boy bands” like The Script, and a LOT of BBMak, who unfortunately are no longer making music together. Since this is only a taste of a forthcoming album, I can only hope that I’ve stumbled onto something really great here. I love sound of the background guitar picking; it really gives it an ethereal feel that adds layers to an otherwise straightforward pop-rock song.
A Fine Frenzy – Blow Away
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_731_afinefrenzy-blowaway.mp3]
I had a hard time getting into this track initially, because it really feels like stumbling onto some kids doing double dutch, and you are instantly asked to join in. The beginning of this song starts at a running pace, and you really have to already be at a good pace to catch up (and to maintain, this track will not slow down for stragglers!). However, when I did finally do catch up, and got to the airy chorus where she sings, “blo-ho blo-ho oh-oh oh-oh away”, I saw the greatness in this saccharine sweet pop track. I enjoyed A Fine Frenzy’s debut album, and if this is an indicator of her forthcoming effort, I think that I am going to enjoy it as well; perhaps even a little more.
Ryan Star – Right Now
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_731_ryanstar-rightnow.mp3]
I will admit that I was originally drawn to Ryan’s EP because I thought he was cute; but I loved his smoky, deep vocals, and that is what got me to download it (think Chris Daughtry with more edge). Then, I kinda forgot it was on my ipod, and then Right Now came up on random one day, and WOW. I love how he uses familiar lyrics like, “we are strong, we are young”, and builds a MASSIVE rock and roll track for the youth of the world with Right Now. The message in this song of “cherish all that we have, for tomorrow may not come” goes from mere sentiment to power and stamina from Ryan’s amazing vocals. I’m defiinitly looking forward to more from Ryan in the coming months.
Aqua – Live Fast, Die Young
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_731_aqua-livefastdieyoung.mp3]
Yes. I posted a song by Aqua. The same Aqua that gave the world Barbie Girl. And YES. I am demanding that you listen to it, because it is FUCKING GREAT! Aqua recently released another greatest hits album, and while I wasn’t feeling the lead single (Back to the 80’s), this song REALLY stood out, and only has me questioning why they didn’t chose this gem as a comeback single? Either way, this is a great song that satisfies my nostalgia for earlier Aqua (and their particularly sweet style of pure-sugar driven bubble gum pop), and brings them into the here and now. Now, if they made more like this, I think we would all be ready for a whole album of new stuff, from Aqua! Take note!
Now the usual: 1) let me know what you thought of today’s picks, 2) let me know what you are listening to, and 3) have a great weekend!
So here’s the list of songs that will be included on the upcoming guitar hero release (GH 5): (I have conveniently bolded the ones that I am excited about)
What a list! As always, there is a bunch of shit I have never heard, but just the bolded ones indicate that this will be a fun edition. I better get to practicing, because I need to be crisp for when this baby is released in a couple of months!