The Playlist 11/18

I felt a little off my game for last night’s radio show, but I think it came together alright even though there were a couple wrong button presses. I got to play The Lawrence Arms again and I was able to play a song by The Drums for my co-worker who as been talking about them nonstop for the past couple of weeks. I want to find some time to spend with the Castanets and Kitty, Daisy, And Lewis records though. The songs that I played were awesome, but I haven’t had time to listen to the rest yet.

Mission Of Burma		Blunder		The Sound The Speed The Light
Pastels/Tenniscoats		Hikoki		Two Sunsets
Tim Williams		Stilts		Careful Love
Grates, The		The Biggest And Longest Adventure Ever		Teeth Lost, Hearts Won
World’s Greatest Ghosts		The Royal Court		No Magic
Drums, The		Submarine		Summertime! [EP]
Temper Trap, The		Sweet Disposition		Conditions
Happy Hollows, The		Silver		Spells
Kitty, Daisy, And Lewis		Polly Put The Kettle On		Kitty, Daisy, And Lewis
Frank Turner		Poetry Of The Deed		Poetry Of The Deed
Castanets		No Trouble		Texas Rose, Thaw And The Beasts
Hidden Cameras, The		Kingdom Come		Origin: Orphan
Mason Jennings		Tourist		Blood Of Man
Coconut Records		Bored To Death		Bored To Death [Single]
Lucky Pineapple		Moonlight Spiderbite		The Bubble Has Burst In Sky City
The Lawrence Arms		The Slowest Drink In The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In The Greatest City		Buttsweat And Tears

Source: 90.3 The Core

A shirt, a pink urinal, and a slight mention of a movie that I may have seen (potential Megan Fox content)

I actually got this shirt a couple weeks ago from Tee Fury, but I’ve been kind of lazy about posting it. It’s a pretty decent one though. I also have another coming from Woot that may be one of the best zombie shirts ever. It really covers all your bases. I’ll make sure to post that one as soon as I get. But besides these two, I’m really trying to cut back my t-shirt buying. It’s not even totally a money thing as it is that I’m running out of places to store them and I’m on about a two to three month long rotation now.

I know it’s been a little while since my last update, but there hasn’t been too much to write about. I didn’t do my radio show last week and the only movie I’ve watched is How To Lose Friends And Alienate People with Simon Pegg–the only real reason I had interest in it. I have literally nothing to say about it except for how overrated Megan Fox is. The movie wasn’t great and it wasn’t bad. It just was. I also started writing a short entry about a pink urinal that I used last week and how the urinal is one of the manliest objects to exist since by definition is for men only and woman physically can’t use it properly. But then I got lazy and didn’t really finish it.

Oh well, I’m doing my show tonight, so I’ll post the playlist tomorrow and, this weekend, I’m going to try to see Men Who Stare At Goats, Planet 51, or Pirate Radio. I’ll post about whatever I get to see.

See ya then!

Paranormal Activity

I was going to hold off on seeing Paranormal Activity until it came out on DVD, but I’ve been reading a few reviews about it saying that the only way to see it is on the big screen and not to even bother when it comes out on DVD. So I decided I’d go check it out. First off, I have to agree with that statement, you need to see this on the big screen. It just won’t be the same at home.

With so many other great documentary style horror movies (The Last Broadcast, Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, Diary Of The Dead, etc) in the last tenish years, I wasn’t really sure that there was room for another, but there is. Ghost/haunting/whatever movies aren’t usually that interesting to me, but I liked this one a lot. It stayed interesting without getting too ridiculous. My only real complaint with it was the last couple seconds. I think they could have been left out for a better ending.

Rating: B

The Playlist 11/4

Overall, last night’s radio show didn’t really come together as well as I would have liked, but, at the least, I was able to play a lot of music that I was really excited to spin. New stuff from The Lawrence Arms–seriously Buttsweat and Tears is such a great 7″–, Cheap Girls, Flight Of The Conchords, Coconut Records, Frank Turner, and They Might Be Giants. Along with Monsters of Folk and some of the other stuff I’ve been playing over the past few weeks, there is a lot going on right now from some more well known, at least in the indie scene, bands. It’d be awesome if every week could be like this.

So musically, I really loved last night’s show and I think I had my mic breaks mostly where I wanted them, but I slipped up a bit on my segues between songs. I guess it happens. Oh well.

Flight Of The Conchords	Carol Brown	I Told You I Was Freaky
Coconut Records	Bored To Death	Bored To Death [Single]
Lucky Pineapple	Moment In An Empty Street	The Bubble Has Burst In Sky City
Sea Wolf	Turn The Dirt Over	White Water, White Bloom
Happy Hollows, The	Father Time	Spells
Cheap Girls	I Had A Motorcycle	My Roaring 20s
Swimmers, The	To The Bells	People Are Soft
Headlights	Telephones	Wildlife
Teenage Cool Kids	Reasons Why	Queer Salutations
The Lawrence Arms	The Slowest Drink At The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In The Greatest City	Buttsweat And Tears 7″
World’s Greatest Ghosts	On The Shore	No Magic
Kitty, Daisy, And Lewis	Going Up The Country	Kitty, Daisy, And Lewis
Frank Turner	The Road	Poetry Of The Deed
They Might Be Giants	Electric Car	Here Comes The Science
Mason Jennings	Tourist	Blood Of Man
Monsters Of Folk	His Master’s Voice	Monsters Of Folk

Source: 90.3 The Core

Also, I wanted to post Frank Turner’s new video for Poetry of the Dead because he looks kind of like a cleaned up Brian Graber and I support that. Not the cleaned up part, but the Brian Graber part.

A Few New Shirts

Here are a few new shirts I’ve picked up in the last couple of weeks. The first one, I got at the Threadless store in Chicago. You can’t really tell much in the picture, but it’s a guy on top of a car surrounded by zombies. I don’t even know how many zombie related shirts I have at this point. And the third one, I got at the Lawrence Arms 10th anniversary show.

My cat doesn’t like to wear necklaces

We tried to have our cat wear a fake bloody finger around her neck for our Halloween party, but it didn’t really pan out so well.

The Playlist 10/28

I had another great show last night and I had a lot of fun doing it. Nice mix of music and a bit more diverse than usual. I’ve been saying that a lot recently, but it’s true!

I’ve been listening to the new albums by Frank Turner and World’s Greatest Ghosts a bit and I have to go ahead and recommend both of them. Frank Turner is becoming one of my favorite British acts and World’s Greatest Ghosts sounds a lot like a mix of The Paper Chase and Jukebox The Ghost. Check them out.

Vivian Girls Can’t Get Over You Everything Goes Wrong Old Canes The Last Collapse Feral Harmonic Dutchess And The Duke, The Let It Die Sunset/Sunrise Teenage Cool Kids Queer Salutations Queer Salutations Gossip, The Dimestore Diamond Music For Men Swimmers, The Shelter People Are Soft Rose Melberg Truly Homemade Ship World’s Greatest Ghosts On The Shore No Magic Echo And The Bunnymen I Think I Need You Too Think I Need It Too [Single] Fanfarlo Ghosts Reservoir Lucky Pineapple Moment In An Empty Street The Bubble Has Burst In Sky City Silver Starling Ghosts Silver Starling Frank Turner The Road Poetry Of The Deed Happy Hollows, The Silver Spells Mason Jennings Tourist Blood Of Man Black Heart Procession, The Rats Six

Source: 90.3 The Core

The Lawrence Arms 10th Anniversary Show

I wanted to get something up about the show sooner, but I haven’t had a chance. I’m going to completely ignore the openers and get to the point, The Lawrence Arms are one of the best bands playing right now. An hour and forty-five minutes was a long time for a punk band to play, but I’m going to be honest, I could have done a lot more. A LOT MORE. Hell, they could have played the set twice and I would have been giddy as hell about it.

The band came out on stage with a nice rockstarry entrance, but after that, it was clear that they were just three dudes having one of the best nights of their collective life. You could tell that they couldn’t take themselves too seriously if they tried. They tore through thirty songs with enough talking to break it up a bit and engage the audience, but never enough for you to want them to shut up. I’ve never seen a band get through that many songs that quickly. They were on a mission.

They played songs from all over their catalog, just like they promised they would. They kept things slightly more to the last couple records, but I’m not complaining about that. They played some stuff that they don’t play often, like A Wishful Puppeteer–they had only played this once before–and left out only a couple other songs I would have liked to hear. I’m starting to accept that I’ll never get to see them play Drunk Mouth Kitchen Smile.

They even had Neil sing a song. According to Brendan, Turnstiles is the best Lawrence Arms song “for your money” and I have to agree, in recent months, it has shot right up to the top of my list.

This was a fun set and seeing this band in Chicago was amazing. I love these guys. This was show number 1000 for them and I swear, the next 1000 better be made up of at least 1001 on the East Coast.

Here’s a list of the songs they played. It’s not in order, but you get the idea…

• An Evening of Extraordinary Circumstance
• The North Side of the L&L and Any Number of Crappy Apartments
• Uptown Free Radio
• Smokestacks
• 16 Hours
• Turnstiles
• Light Breathing
• 106 South
• Nebraska
• Quincentuple Your Money
• 100 Resolutions
• Hey, What Time is “Pensacola: Wings of Gold” On, Anyway?
• Your Gravest Words
• Boatless Booze Cruise
• Brickwall Views
• Presenting: The Dancing Machine
• Necrotism: Decanting the Insalubrious
• Intransit
• Raw and Searing Flesh
• On With The Show
• Alert The Audience
• Chapter 13: The Hero Appears
• The Ramblin’ Boys of Pleasure
• A Wishful Puppeteer
• The Disaster March
• Cut it Up
• Great Lakes/Great Escapes
  
• Recovering the Opposable Thumb
• Are You There, Margaret? It’s Me, God
• Lose Your Illusion 1
• Like a Record Player

PS: Chicago really is the best city ever. Every time I go there, I love it more and more. Friendly people, amazing food, awesome vibe, tons of great music.

Gaslight Anthem / Murder By Death / The Loved Ones

I went to see The Gaslight Anthem, Murder By Death, and The Loved Ones in Philly last night at the Trocadero. It was an all around great show.

The Loved Ones played what was probably the best set I’ve ever seen them play. I can’t really describe why it was so great, but they just felt really on and didn’t talk too much compared to other times that I’ve seen them. Their set list was well chosen and leaning way more to the Keep Your Heart side of things than Build & Burn, which works out great for me since I think Keep Your Heart is a much better record.

Murder By Death was slightly worse than the last time I saw them, but that was also about five years ago. They played well and sounded good, but I think I miss them being a five piece. Having a dedicated keyboardist made them able to keep more of their recorded sound when playing live. Sarah did a great job switching between cello and keyboards, but it wasn’t quite the same. The last time I saw them was before their last two albums came out so they had fewer songs to play. This gave them time to rock out and jam a little more. I’m not into jam bands, but I love when bands that I like just jam out for a little bit during some of the instrumental parts of songs. It adds something extra to the live set that you don’t get from a record. This is something that they seemed to do a lot in the past and it was one of my favorite things about seeing them, but now with all the extra songs that they have, there is a lot less time to do it. Still, they sounded great and picked a good selection of songs to play. I think they covered everything that I wanted to hear.

And then there was Gaslight Anthem. They sounded amazing and were tight as hell with a great stage presence. It may have been the tightest that I’ve ever seen them play out of the six or seven times that I’ve seen them. But the selection of songs that they played was a bit disappointing. The ‘59 Sound is a really great record, one of the best to come out in 2008. However, it lost a lot over the last year for me. Most of my interest in it waned. Sink Or Swim has stuck with me though. That’s what I wanted to hear. I didn’t expect a lot, but the entire first half of their set was from The ‘59 Sound. By the end, we only got a couple Sink Or Swim songs in total. I guess normally it would be expected to hear only a few songs from a band’s first album…if they have more than two, but with only two of them, it’d be nice it at least a third of the set was from the first album. Oh well. At least everything they played sounded great.

Even accepting the fact that I’ll never get to hear them play much from Sink Or Swim again, I don’t know that I’ll ever want to see them live again. I’m not sure how to describe it, but they felt very rock starry last night. It was a little too much. They stopped feeling like this band from New Brunswick that used to play basement shows and the Court Tavern to small crowds and more like a band that has their eyes set on stages set in front of thousands and thousands of people. It wasn’t to the point where it was terribly upsetting and bothersome and a lot of it was subtle, but it was enough that I feel as though my love for them will start to decline if I keep on seeing them.

Last night was also the first time that I’ve been to the Troc in about seven years. I’ve generally avoided it as I was never a fan of the place and I was reminded 100% of this last night. The sound is terrible. It might be the worst sounding venue I’ve ever been to. Ugh.

The Playlist 10/14

Last night was another fantastic show. Almost perfect all around. Great music, great segues, and the phone was ringing off the hook. Not even just the phone, but the instant messages too. So much so that it was almost stressful trying to keep up. I was actually sweating because of it.

I found out last night that our station streams perfectly fine over an iPhone just by going to www.thecore.fm and clicking to listen. I’m assuming this will work on any other smartphone too, I guess I never thought about it before.

Apparently, we’re supposed to get a Nor’easter this weekend so that’s going to put a damper on my Field of Terror plans, but I’m still excited to see Gaslight Anthem, Murder By Death, and The Loved Ones on Sunday in Philly. And it seems that there are still tickets for the Monday night show as well. You may want to check that out. Either way, expect a full report next week.

Anyway, here’s what I played…

Sunny Day Real Estate		In Circles		Diary
Lou Barlow		Gravitate		Goodnight Unknown
Fresh And Onlys, The		Dude’s Got A Tender Heart		Grey-Eyed Girls
Splinters, The		Sorry		Splintered Bridges [EP]
Vivian Girls		When I’m Gone		Everything Goes Wrong
Sondre Lerche		If Only		Heartbeat Radio
Old Canes		The Last Collapse		Feral Harmonic
Fanfarlo		Fire Escape		Reservoir
Black Hollies, The		Lead Me To Your Fire		Softly Towards The Light
Frank Turner		Poetry Of The Deed		Poetry Of The Deed
Imogen Heap		Swoon		Ellipse
Girls		Morning Light		Album
Echo And The Bunnymen		I Think I Need You Too		Think I Need It Too [Single]
Yo La Tengo		Periodically Double Or Triple		Popular Songs
Monsters Of Folk		The Right Place		Monsters Of Folk

Source: 90.3 The Core

The Playlist 10/7

Last night’s show got off to a bit of a late start, but I still managed to fit in most of what I wanted. Other than that, it was was a relatively average show. Nothing of note to mention.

Echo And The Bunnymen		I Think I Need You Too		Think I Need It Too [Single]
Jupiter One		Come On		Sunshower
Fanfarlo		Fire Escape		Reservoir
Eva And The Heartmaker		Please!		Let’s Keep This Up Forever
Orba Squara		New Guitar		The Trouble With Flying
Imogen Heap		Between Sheets		Ellipse
Cougar		Thundersnow		Patriot
Steve Shiffman And The Land Of No		Frog In My Throat		Steve Shiffman And The Land Of No
Splinters, The		Sorry		Splintered Bridges [EP]
Vivian Girls		Can’t Get Over You		Everything Goes Wrong
Girls		Morning Light		Album
Choir Of Young Believers		Next Summer		This Is For The White In Your Eyes
Dutchess And The Duke, The		I Don’t Feel Anything		Sunset/Sunrise
Lou Barlow		Gravitate		Goodnight Unknown
Monsters Of Folk		Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)		Monsters Of Folk

Source: 90.3 The Core

Whip It

I think everyone liked Whip It more than I did. I mean, I liked it a lot, but everyone that I’ve heard talk about it loved it. The movie was entertaining and I actually didn’t find Jimmy Fallon to be annoying which was unexpected, but there wasn’t really anything about it that grabbed me like I wanted it to. I feel like for a movie about roller derby with Ellen Page and all the other people that are in this, I want a little more.

Ellen Page is awesome and I love her, but I feel like sometimes that innocent little girl, deer in the headlights look she normally pulls off so well doesn’t always fit. In Whip It, it only felt appropriate about half the time. The look felt overused and Bliss (Ellen Page) seemed like she was more confident than her face was showing in a lot of scenes. I don’t think the problem was Ellen Page so much as it was Drew Barrymore’s directing. Okay fine, I just don’t want to fault Ellen Page. Deal with it.

I don’t know, I really don’t have much else to say about this one.

Rating: B

PS: Andrew Wilson should change his name to Beef Surpreme in real life because that’s all I see when I see him.

Zombieland

You know, if you had asked me a year ago, before I had even heard of Zombieland, if I would have said “yeah, I think Woody Harrelson could wreck some zombies.” Now, ask me this after seeing Zombieland and the answer becomes something more along the line of “why the hell isn’t Woody Harrelson in every zombie movie?” Seriously, it’s a no-brainer. Dude knows how to kill some zombies.

Zombieland is one of those movies where you get so hyped up for and so obsessed with it before seeing it that the day before it comes out, you start to worry that it can’t live up to your expectations. Don’t worry. You will not be disappointed. Zombieland does everything right. It really does. Zombieland actually delivered more than I could have hoped for.

The obvious thing to do here would be to draw comparisons to Shaun Of The Dead. And while that’s not the most inaccurate statement ever, Zombieland isn’t just a U.S. version of Shaun Of The Dead. While both are more romantic comedy than zombie-focused, Zombieland stands on its own without needing a comparison.

Zombieland gives us a lot of great zombie kills, but keeps it light on the flesh eating. In fact, there are actually very few human kills to be seen in the movie. The ones we get are excellent, but like I said, the movie doesn’t focus as much on the zombies, it sticks with good old-fashioned romantic-comedy. This keeps the gore down a bit, but it’s not missed either. It just goes to show, that you don’t need gore for a good zombie flick…and you also don’t need to actually kill any of the characters either.

Bill Murray’s cameo was absolutely wonderful and Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin were all wonderful too, but the start of Zombieland is Woody Harrelson. This dude was born for this role.

Rating: A+

The Playlist 10/1

Last night’s radio show was another great one. I’m really starting to like the 9pm slot…maybe even better than 10pm. I have more energy and it feels like less of a drag towards the end of the show.

There was a lot of good new stuff to play this week which made it easy to get a nice flow from song to song and from genre to genre. I was able to cover a lot of musical ground and also get in some bigger named bands, something that has been missing for a few weeks. Bands like Yo La Tengo, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Lou Barlow.

The Monsters Of Folk album is pretty awesome if you’re into those guys (M. Ward, Conor Oberst, Jim James, Mike Mogis). It sounds exactly the way I was expecting it to, but in the best of ways. And I think prior to last night, I had never actually heard Imogen Heap before, but they’ve got a new album out and I decided to play a song for my girlfriend who is into them. I kind of always thought I’d hate them, but it wasn’t too bad. I’m not in love with it, but I’d play them again.

Here’s what I played…

Yo La Tengo		Periodically Double Or Triple		Popular Songs
Throw Me The Statue		Noises		Creaturesque
Orba Squara		Treasure Map		The Trouble With Flying
Fanfarlo		Drowning Men		Reservoir
Splinters, The		Sorry		Splintered Bridges [EP]
Jay Reatard		My Reality		Watch Me Fall
Electric Tickle Machine		Ask Me Anything		Blew It Again
Eva And The Heartmaker		Charming Sexy		Let’s Keep This Up Forever
Monsters Of Folk		The Right Place		Monsters Of Folk
Imogen Heap		Between Sheets		Ellipse
Or, The Whale		No Love Blues		Or, The Whale
Inner Banks, The		Blame		Songs From Disko Bay
Lou Barlow		One Machine, One Long Fight		Goodnight Unknown
Cougar		Endings		Patriot
Echo And The Bunnymen		I Think I Need You Too		Think I Need It Too [Single]

Source: 90.3 The Core

forgetters

Last Friday, I took a trip down to Philly to see forgetters play their fourth show ever at the Barbary. Forgetters is the new band from Blake Schwartzenbach (Jawbreaker, Jets to Brazil) and Kevin Malone (the original drummer of Against Me!). Blake used to front my favorite band of all time so when he starts up something new, it’s without a doubt going to be interesting to me. His last band, Thorns Of Life, didn’t last long at all. They broke up a few months ago, having never officially recorded anything. A couple of live bootlegs are all the remain of the band. Anyway, this was the first of Blake’s bands that I’ve seen live. I wasn’t old enough when Jawbreaker broke up to even appreciate good music, let alone go to the shows–okay, I was thirteen, if I was on top of my shit, I might have been there, but I wasn’t. And I didn’t actually start caring about Jets to Brazil until it was too late.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from forgetters. I had heard that they were playing some Thorns Of Life songs, but I wasn’t really sure what that meant in terms of what to expect. They came out and started with a Thorns Of Life song…but it sounded better than what I had heard from the bootlegs. They played two other Thorns Of Life songs throughout the set including a one that was heavily re-worked as their last song. The rest of the songs seemed to be all forgetters original. Think something a little more along the lines of Orange Rhyming Dictionary with some Hum influence.

I was a little surprised to find that I held the unpopular opinion among my friends of loving it. I think it is a very positive step from where Thorns Of Life was. Thorns Of Life was pretty good, but this is a lot more interesting to me.

Good stuff. Here are a few videos from a couple of the shows. They sound horrible, but I’m hoping someone made a decent bootleg that will turn up soon.

The Playlist 9/23

Last night was my second show in my new 9pm time slot on Wednesdays. As skeptical as I was at first about moving my show to a new time after being at 10pm for six years, I have to say, it’s going really well. I find that I have a little more energy to do it and I don’t start fading in the second half of the show the way I did at 10pm. And getting home earlier, leaving me with time to watch Glee before bed, is a pretty nice bonus.

I felt on again last night. Everything came together really well with some of the best segues from one song into another that I’ve ever put together. The only flaw in the show was playing a band called The Sexy Accident. I needed something with a poppy-ish indie-rock sound (almost older Weezerish) and it fit in perfectly, but the lyrics are pretty terrible and the name is even worse. I like the singer’s voice a lot though and musically, they sound alright, but I can’t get past the lyrics.

Japandroids		The Boys Are Leaving Town		Post-Nothing
Throw Me The Statue		Noises		Creaturesque
Or, The Whale		Never Coming Out		Or, The Whale
Mean Creek		Light Into Dark		The Sky (Or The Underground)
Holiday Shores		Days Drag		Columbus’d The Whim
Eva And The Heartmaker		Please!		Let’s Keep This Up Forever
Postmarks, The		No One Ever Said This Would Be Easy		Memoirs At The End Of The World
Sexy Accident, The		The Chatty Bandit		Mantoloking
Dodos, The		The Strums		Time To Die
Royalchord		Midnight Lines		The Good Fight
Antlers, The		Shiva		Hospice
Mumlers, The		St. James St.		Don’t Throw Me Away
Blitzen Trapper		Silver Moon		Black River Killer [EP]
These United States		The Important Thing		Everything Touches Everything
Lou Barlow		Gravitate		Goodnight Unknown

Source: 90.3 The Core

Zombie Vampires

So I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past couple of days. It’s not the first time, not by a long shot, but yesterday involved a seriously in-depth conversation about the topic, putting it firmly into my consciousness.

Let’s think about this, what exactly would a zombie vampire be? And we need to make the distinction between a zombie vampire and a vampire zombie. The former being first and foremost a vampire that became zombified and the latter being a zombie that got turned into a vampire. I’m going to say that while the second scenario would work out quite well for the zombie, this is rather unlikely.

It’s also important to note that the relationship between zombies and vampires must be a bit awkward. They have no direct reason to interact with each other. Neither is any good to the other. Zombies need the flesh of the living and vampires need the blood of the living. Since both are technically dead, a vampire is no good to a zombie and a zombie is no good to a vampire. However, since they both seek out the living as a food source, they are in competition. Once either of them get a hold of a living human, that’s about it. There is no sharing.

But this isn’t about zombies vs. vampires and their relationship with one another, this is about a hybrid.

Let’s say that a human were to get bit by a zombie and thus become infected. But let’s say that this human wasn’t killed right away and was living for a while still. Now at this point, he/she is still perfectly alive and therefore still a potential vampire target. If a vampire were to take a delicius little sip of this human’s blood and decide to turn the human, then the human would become a vampire that is still infected with the zombie virus. And the first vampire would have sucked infected blood. We could have two zombie vampires here!

Well, maybe not so fast. If a zombie is a re-animated corpse, that would require the vampire to die to become a zombie. This isn’t too likely, seeing as how a vampire is the living dead. So how would the vampire be affected by the zombie virus? Would it be infected at all? Would the vampire take on some of the zombie’s qualities? There are a lot of questions here.

What qualities could a zombie vampire have? One of a zombie’s biggest weaknesses is that its flesh is rotting and it therefore won’t be around forever before it simply falls apart. But it is pretty reasonable to say that a zombie vampire’s flesh would not rot at all. A vampire is not living and has no trouble with rotting flesh, there is no reason to believe that a zombie vampire would be any different. Now, we have a zombie that has no expiration date.

One of the zombie’s biggest weaknesses after the rotting is the fact that rigor mortis has set in. This is possibly the main reason why zombies are traditionally so slow. But in our case, with the zombie vampire, rigor mortis may not be an issue. There is no dying here and that means there is no rigor mortis. This zombie isn’t going to be a stiffy. Vampires are known for their incredible speed so now we may have a zombie that retains it’s full speed. Even in a worst case scenario, a zombie vampire would be faster than a human.

What if the vampire is of the bat-turning-into variety? Does the zombified version of this vampire retain this ability? If so, a flying zombie is second in scariness only to a shark that can walk on land.

What kind of brain power does a zombie vampire have? If there is no death process and no rotting, it is likely that a zombie vampire retains a fully functioning brain as opposed to just the brain-stem.

What does a zombie vampire need to survive? Suddenly, both blood and flesh are consumables. A living human is now both a meal and a beverage. Much less of the human is wasted. Now you’ve got a green zombie!

How is a zombie vampire killed or at least neutralized? Is destroying the brain or removing the head enough? Does the brain need to be destroyed with a silver bullet?

There are a lot of important questions here and not a lot of answers. Clearly, a lot more (scientific) research will need to be done. At this point, it seems as though a zombie vampire may either not even be possible at all or take on very few zombie traits.

Stay tuned for a followup post.

Rainbow

Take a look at the center of these two pictures. That’s a rainbow that was peering down through a hole in the clouds this morning. I was pulling into the work parking lot when I saw it so I could only snap a picture with my phone, but it was so beautiful. No rain or anything, just a hole in the clouds with a rainbow shining through.

Random Woot shirts

These three are from Woot’s random deal last week. The first and third ones are pretty awesome, but I’m not really sure how I feel about the second one.

The Playlist 9/16

Last night was my first show at my new 9pm slot on Wednesdays. For the last six years, I’ve been at 10pm, but alas it was time to make a move. It was a little hard to remember to say the right times while I was talking on the mic and I actually signed in at the wrong time at first, but other than that, this was one of my best shows in the past few months. I was really happy with everything about it and I think I picked up a few new listeners who were tuning in expecting to hear Now Airing Dirty Laundry with Miss Lisa, the show that had been at 9 for the past couple years.

These United States		Conquest And Consequence		Everything Touches Everything
Bad Veins		Gold And Warm		Bad Veins
Postmarks, The		Theme From “Memoirs”		Memoirs At The End Of The World
Slant, The		Pennsylvania		The Makings Of This House
Guy Fantastico		Graciella		Nesting
Japandroids		Rockers East Vancouver		Post-Nothing
Talbot Tagora		Hunger Strike		Lessons In The Woods Or A City
Blitzen Trapper		Silver Moon		Black River Killer [EP]
Royalchord		Midnight Lines		The Good Fight
When I Was 12		You Me And Symmetry		Dear Eskimo
Nurses		Apple’s Acre		Apple’s Acre
Antlers, The		Shiva		Hospice
Holiday Shores		Bradley Bear		Columbus’d The Whim
Mumlers, The		Raise The Blinds		Don’t Throw Me Away
Envy Corps, The		Screen Test		Kid Gloves [EP]

Source: 90.3 The Core

The Playlist at a new time!

Just a heads up that, starting tonight, The Playlist will now be airing at 9pm instead of 10! This will be the first time in six years that I’ll be broadcasting from a different time, but I look forward to the change. Maybe I’ll even be able to pick up some new listeners.

Listen live at 90.3 FM or www.thecore.fm!

9

Take Meet The Robinsons, The Matrix, Tim Burton’s entire filmography, and everything Steampunk and you get 9. It’s a visually awesome film, no doubt. It’s as beautiful and stunning as the trailers will have you believe. But the story is melded together from so many other ideas in other films that you feel like you’ve seen it all before. Twice. No, three times. No, more.

For as entertained as I was, I feel like I should have walked out of the theater with more. I’m not sure what exactly, but there’s something missing here. 9 is creative, yet at the same time, full of stolen ideas and this isn’t hidden at all. I felt myself going back and forth between loving it and saying to myself “hey…wait…”

Rating: B-

The Playlist 9/10

Last night ended up being a pretty decent show. I wasn’t really feeling it much beforehand and I got to the station late because I was watching Obama’s speech, but I pulled it together nicely. There’s been somewhat of a lack of bigger names on the Playlist lately, but I don’t think the show has suffered from it. I hope I’m not the only one that feels that way.

I think the highlight of last night was getting a call from an angry listener after saying that I thought Obama nailed his speech to Congress about healthcare. The caller did not agree at all. He even went so far as to suggest that maybe I just liked the sound of his voice. Oh well.

Envy Corps, The		Screen Test		Kid Gloves [EP]
Mumlers, The		Tangled Up With You		Don’t Throw Me Away
Vagina Panther		Come On!		Vagina Panther
Japandroids		The Boys Are Leaving Town		Post-Nothing
These United States		Conquest And Consequence		Everything Touches Everything
Holiday Shores		Phones Don’t Feud		Columbus’d The Whim
Timber Timbre		Demon Host		Timber Timbre
Slant, The		The Human Spirit		The Makings Of This House
Hush Now, The		Hoping And Waiting		Hoping And Waiting [Single]
When I Was 12		S Is For Subway		Dear Eskimo
Bad Veins		Fallin Tide		Bad Veins
Royalchord		Turn My Life Around		The Good Fight
Guy Fantastico		Cold Feet		Nesting
Blitzen Trapper		Big Black Bird		Black River Killer [EP]
Pissed Jeans		Dominate Yourself		King Of Jeans

Source: 90.3 The Core

Extract

I don’t think I’ve met anyone that has ever said they don’t like Mike Judge. I know a few people that don’t get or like Idiocracy–I feel sorry for them–but everyone likes Office Space and most people in their mid to late twenties enjoyed Beavis And Butthead growing up. With all that in mind, I don’t think there’s going to be anyone that thinks Extract was bad. It’s not going to blow you away in any way, but it’s far from bad or boring. It’s not a great movie. It’s good movie.

Extract is pretty much exactly what you expect it to be. If you saw the trailer, you already know how the movie plays out. It’s nothing special and nothing you aren’t expecting. But that isn’t to say that it’s not an entertaining movie. Maybe it was because my expectations weren’t super high so I couldn’t be disappointed, but the only reason why I was waiting for it to end was because I had to pee.

To compare it to Judge’s other films, Extract is much more Office Space with a focus on banality, but not a notch or two down. Jason Bateman’s character is a rather likeable and easy to relate to guy, but I couldn’t decide if I really felt bad for him or not. I think I may have been rooting against him slightly. Casting-wise, Judge got it right on…even down to the generally easy-to-hate Ben Affleck who may have given the acting performance of his life in Extract. Okay, maybe that’s a bit overboard, but come on, even though he’s been in some good movies and hasn’t really ruined anything for me, he’s not that great of an actor. But he got the part exactly right for this film.

Overall, I’d say check it out if you’re looking for something to see, but if you’re not already dying to see it or desperate for something to do one night in the upcoming weeks, just wait for the DVD…and Netflix it.

Rating: B-

The Playlist 9/2

Here’s the playlist for last night’s edition of The Playlist. There isn’t really too much to say about the show other than the fact that I was able to squeeze a couple local bands in this week. Other than that, pretty standard affair.

These United States		The Important Thing		Everything Touches Everything
Generationals		When They Fight They Fight		Con Law
Mumlers, The		Tangled Up With You		Don’t Throw Me Away
Do, The		Stay(Just A Little Bit More)		A Mouthful
Front Bottoms, The		Somebody Else		The Front Bottoms
Envy Corps, The		Screen Test		Kid Gloves [EP]
Jaguar Club, The		Sleepwalking		And We Wake Up Slowly
Holiday Shores		Reruns		Columbus’d The Whim
Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros		Carries On		Up From Below
Vagina Panther		Come On!		Vagina Panther
Rapid Cities		There Is A Black Hole		Machinery Saints
Talk Normal		Eureka		Secret Cog [EP]
Strange Attractors, The		Deja Vu		Sleep And You Will See
Postmarks, The		My Luck Charm		Memoirs At The End Of The World
Christina Courtin		Foreign Country		Christine Courtin

Source: 90.3 The Core

Need Help (t-shirt)

I forgot to post this one last week, but here’s another shirt to add to my collection. This one’s called Need Help and comes from Teextile.

Halloween 2

I wasn’t a fan of his music, but as far as his film making goes, holy crap do I love what Rob Zombie does. He seemed to always get it right, but this time around, I think he may have slipped a little. As far as making a brutal horror flick goes, yeah, he pulled that off with Halloween 2, however it is his weakest movie so far.

This movie had a much different feel than the first. Zombie tried to keep the violence, but also tried to get more psychological and weird than he ever has before and while I get what he was going for by trying to connect Laurie and Michael as both suffering from similar pyschological problems, it felt a bit forced. Both Loomis and Laurie came back in this movie feeling like completely different characters. Obviously, the events from the first movie would have changed them, but this didn’t quite feel right. Michael was the only one that felt similar to what he was before, though he was much more intense with his stabbing. A lot more so than in the first film…almost out of character, actually. Also, possibly because the actor looks too old now, Zombie uses a different kid to play Michael as a child. This kid sucked. He was a little too sweet and personable compared to the kid from the first Halloween.

This film is entertaining, but it doesn’t feel entirely like what it should have been. If you want to see an awkward and somewhat failed attempt at being both a psychological horror flick and a brutal stab-a-thon, check this out, but don’t expect the level of greatness that Rob Zombie has been giving us up to this point.

Rating: C+

Bee-in-a-bag

While we were eating lunch outside today, a bee kept bothering us. I’m not very afraid of bees, but some of my co-workers freak out when they fly by and wanted me to kill it. He landed on my hand while I was holding a zip-lock bag and I was able to coax him into the bag. I closed it up with just enough of an opening for air to get in, but so that he couldn’t get out. At the end of lunch, I opened it up all the way and dropped it in a trash can so he could fly safely away. After about 30 seconds, he found his way out and took off.

He’s a cute little guy…

The Playlist 8/26

I finally got my hands on this Patterson Hood record! It’s been out for a little while, but I’ve been completely slacking on getting a copy of it. I’m liking it a lot so far, but it pretty much sounds just like what I would expect from the next Drive-By Truckers album. I guess it’s because his voice is responsible for half their sound. If you’re a fan of the Truckers and liked Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, you’ll like this one. Check it out!

But as far as last night’s show goes, it was a great one. Perfect mix of genres. Perfect flow from song to song. Good mic breaks. It had it all!

Blitzen Trapper		Big Black Bird		Black River Killer [EP]
Generationals		Our Time 2 Shine		Con Law
Creaturesque		Noises		Throw Me The Statue
Pissed Jeans		R-Rated Movie		King Of Jeans
Talbot Tagora		Hidden Note		Lessons In The Woods Or A City
Envy Corps, The		Screen Test		Kid Gloves [EP]
Postmarks, The		No One Ever Said This Would Be Easy		Memoirs At The End Of The World
Christina Courtin		Foreign Country		Christine Courtin
Ramona Falls		Russia		Intuit
Holiday Shores		Bradley Bear		Columbus’d The Whim
Owl City		Hello Seattle		Ocean Eyes
Portugal. The Man		Guns ? Dogs		The Satanic Satanist
Patterson Hood		Pollyanna		Murdering Oscar (and Other Love Songs)
Fruit Bats		Tegucigalpa		The Ruminant Band
Vagina Panther		So How We Gonna Do This?		Vagina Panther
Bjork		I Miss You		Voltaic

Source: 90.3 The Core

District 9

I made the mistake of seeing District 9 a couple days after seeing Inglourious Basterds. As good as District 9 was, all I could think about the whole time was how good Inglourious Basterds was. But anyway, Peter Jackson has yet to let me down, and his ability to be involved with movies that are a bit weird seems to always pay off for him.

This one takes a little while to get going, but once it does, it sucks you right in. While the story was inspired by the actual events of District 6 in Cape Town in South Africa, it’s kind of a mess. I mean, it gets you there and serves its purpose, but it’s full of holes and things that just don’t make sense. You won’t care though. Once the humans start getting exploded by the alien guns, you won’t care about anything else at all. However, even though the story is a bit of a mess, I think it gets across the point that it was going for and the intended message is definitely there.

The film is presented as a documentary type thing which is a little different from what you’d expect an alien movie like this to be, but it works out really well throughout everything except for the last third or so of the movie where it kind of forgets that it was supposed to be documentary like and goes straight action movie. I guess it worked out though because I didn’t even realize this until after I walked out of the theater.

Think Cloverfield meets Transformers if Transformers had aliens instead of robots and was better.

Rating: B

Inglourious Basterds

If you want to see a movie that mixes the exact right amounts of everything you want it to, do yourself a favor and go see Inglourious Basterds…now. At just over two and a half hours, it’s not a short movie, but it flies by. It only feels like an hour and a half and there are only a couple scenes that are a little slow moving, but these scenes have more than enough tension building to keep you engaged and not bored at all. At the end of the two and a half hours, I actually wanted more.

Despite all of the humor in this film, Inglourious Basterds is still very powerful and even difficult to watch at points. Starting right away in the opening scene, Tarantino sets the tone and makes you very uncomfortable as Col. Hans Landa visits a French family suspected of hiding Jews. I actually found this scene a little hard to watch. It was almost too much. Almost. After that, we get some pretty graphic violence that is more than enough, even for seasoned horror and action movie fans. From there, Tarantino very perfectly molds together two different stories that start off very unrelated, but come together quite well.

I won’t say much else because I want to leave the spoilers out of this one. I think much of what makes this film so great when you see it is not really knowing what’s going to happen next. Sometimes, you’re right and other times you’re not. And sometimes, what you want to happen, doesn’t.

Besides a couple of questions I have about some of the characters’ decisions toward the end of the movie (not actually gripes, but just a little interested in why), the only thing I’m torn about was the use of BJ Novak. Part of me thinks that his character may have been a little bit of a waste for him until the end, but part of me feels like it might have been a stretch to use him more. There was already a lot going on as it was and using him more probably would have felt a bit forced an overdone. So, I guess I’m happy with the way it was.

Rating: A+

PS: Eli Roth should stick to making movies like Cabin Fever and do less acting.

Some shirts

This first shirt, I got from RIPT Apparel. It’s the first I’ve ordered from them, but apparently, they work similarly to shirt.woot.com, doing the whole one shirt a day kind of thing.

This second shirt is one that I’ve wanted from Threadless for a really long time. I have no idea why I never bought it, probably because it was always like $18 or so. But my girlfriend was making a purchase from there and decided to throw it in as a surprise for me. I probably could have taken a better picture, but as per the norm, I’m lazy. If you can’t make it out, it’s called The Communist Party.

The Playlist 8/19

Last night’s show was definitely one of the most mellow ones I’ve ever done. It wasn’t really on purpose, it just kind of happened. Still a good one though.

The last month or two have been a little light on good new albums coming out. There have been a few that stood out, but mostly, it’s been a quiet summer. I think, at least. Maybe I’m wrong?

Here’s the playlist from last night…

Moby		Shot In The Back Of The Head		Wait For Me.
These Little Nothings		Rain And Snow		Bingo
Guy Fantastico		Cold Feet		Nesting
Zeus		I Know		Sounds Like Zeus
Fruit Bats		Being On Our Own		The Ruminant Band
Owl City		Dental Care		Ocean Eyes
Jezabels, The		Be A Star		The Man Is Dead
Church		Golden Girls		Song Force Crystal
Bad Veins		The Lie		Bad Veins
Buildings Breeding		Rushing Red		Colors Bent To Seasons [EP]
Starlight Mints		Paralyzed		Change Remains
Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros		40 Day Dream		Up From Below
Sass Dragons		Me Myself And I		Bonkaroo!
Slant, The		The Human Spirit		The Makings Of This House
Timber Timbre		Demon Host		Timber Timbre
Bjork		Hunter		Voltaic

Source: 90.3 The Core

I Can Has Cheezburger MusicLOL

Since I tend to go see the silliest musicals that exist, it should be of no surprise that I went to see the I Can Has Cheezburger MusicLOL. I don’t even know how to describe this. I really don’t. It was complete silliness. The story is the adventure of one lolcat in pursuit of a delicious cheezburg.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect of this. I thought maybe they were puppets, but nope, regular actors…with cat ears. No make up, just cat or mouse ears. Oh, and lolcat pictures projected on a screen behind them. This all sounds silly, I know. And it is silly, but it was a lot of fun actually! The songs have been stuck in my head since I saw the show and I was thoroughly entertained the entire time.

I’d say to go check it out, but I think all the rest of the shows are sold out. Sucker.

The Playlist 8/12

Decent show last night! Good song flow, decent enough banter. Not bad!

I grabbed a copy of the Jukebox The Ghost album, one of the openers at the Harvey Danger show, and I gotta say, it’s pretty awesome. It kind of sounds like Ben Folds (Five) meets Queen. Check it out!

Of the new stuff I played this week, I think Owl City and Christina Courtin stood out the most. Owl City sounds kind of like Death Cab For Cutie except not quite as boring. And Christina Courtin reminds me a lot of New Jersey’s Amanda Duncan. Once I get a chance to check these two out more, I’ll let you know if they hold up.

And here’s the rest of the playlist…

Placebo		Ashtray Heart		Battle For The Sun
Sugarplum Fairies		Westside		Chinese Leftovers
Rural Alberta Advantage, The		Frank, AB		Hometowns
Hermit Thrushes		Ceci		Slight Fountain
God Help The Girl		Perfection As A Hipster		God Help The Girl
Stereo Alligator		Greedy World		Stereo Alligator
Owl City		Dental Care		Ocean Eyes
Buildings Breeding		The Ones We Love		Colors Bent To Seasons [EP]
These Little Nothings		Baby		Bingo
Christina Courtin		Foreign Country		Christine Courtin
Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros		40 Day Dream		Up From Below
Church		Opposite People		Song Force Crystal
Builders And The Butchers, The		Hands Like Roots		Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well
Regina Spektor		Dance Anthem Of The 80s		Far
Magnolia Electric Company		Whip-Poor-Will		Josephine
Starlight Mints		Paralyzed		Change Remains

Source: 90.3 The Core

(500) Days Of Summer (spoilers)

I’m not at all happy with how long it took for me to see this flick, but it was a weird release.  Though it opened in NYC about a month ago, I’ve been unable to make it in to see it. Since then, the general release has seemed to be a bit sporadic.

Based on the trailers, you’d expect this to be a cute, romantic comedy. It is not. I mean, it’s cute and there are some laughs, but it’s not really a comedy. It’s not really a drama either. It just kind of takes the best elements of indie film and uses them to make not-quite-what-you’d-expect love story. Doesn’t really matter what you call it, it’s a fun movie.

I had been told and read that the movie goes out of order and gives you a day at a time from their relationship. But really, it doesn’t feel like it’s presented non-chronologically so much as it feels like it’s actually telling two separate stories at the same time. One story is of Tom and Summer getting together and Tom falling in love with Summer. The other story is of them breaking up and Tom dealing with the breakup. However, the two stories are given to you in an alternating fashion. A day of one and then a day of the other. For the the most, each story is chronological within itself. For the most part. It’s a different way to present a story rather than how almost every single other movie is done, but it works. Well.

(500) Days Of Summer chooses not to give you the Hollywood style love story, but instead to focus on something more realistic, falling in love with someone and fooling yourself into thinking that they’re “the one.” It’s the kind of relationship where it starts out with a crush and you tell yourself that there is no one better out there for you, that this is the girl you’re meant to be with. Eventually, you get that girl and you think your life is perfect, your feet never touch the ground. The reality is, this relationship isn’t perfect. Even from the start it’s not, but you’re choosing only to see the good. You’re so blind to reality that you miss all the warning signs that the relationship is doomed and this girl doesn’t feel the same way. Then you’re shocked when it’s over and you try to justify all those problems as being normal and fixable instead of just accepting that it really wasn’t right and you were wrong. We’ve all been there. Girls, you too, but probably with a dude.

Choosing this over a true love story is what makes this film work and stand out rather than being just another romantic movie.

To top it off, add in a great soundtrack with songs by Regina Spektor, Fiest, The Smiths, and of course She & Him. I’d highly recommend this film. Even though you may be able to predict the last scene of the movie from the first couple of minutes, it’s pretty much perfect.

Rating: A

Harvey Danger’s last show ever in NYC

Last night, Harvey Danger played their last show ever in NYC at The Bell House in Brooklyn as part of their farewell tour. I’m really sad to see the band go, but at the same time, I’m not surprised either. The band had never really been profitable, nor do they really fit in anywhere.

I had never been to The Bell House before and no one I talked to about it had ever heard of it before. It turned out to be a really nice venue. There’s a swanky-ish bar when you first walk in that has a decent beer and wine selection for a venue. The room that the bands play in is big enough to hold maybe 400 people, but still maintains the ability to be relatively intimate at the same time. My only real gripe was that the sound was a little louder than it needed to be. Outside, there was a sweet stenciled sign that said “Beware of ‘dog.’”

I didn’t really watch the first opener much, but Jukebox The Ghost was pretty awesome. They’re from Philly, though I’d never heard of them before. They have a pretty sweet indie sound with a piano and make enough funny faces while playing that even if they had sucked, it would have been entertaining to watch.

Harvey Danger somehow–I’m really not sure of the back story for this one–got John Hodgeman to introduce them. It was hilarious, watch…

Once they came out on stage, they were incredible. They played for about 2 hours and 40 minutes, longer than I’ve ever seen any band play for before in my life. By the end, there wasn’t really too much left that they hadn’t played. It was really awesome and didn’t get boring at all…even if we were all insanely tired by almost 2AM when we finally walked out.

For the encore, they came out and did a lot of Q&A and took requests. A bunch of them.

They sounded really on all night too, even towards the end of the set, they were still playing well and having a great time on stage. Here’s a video of them playing Cream And Bastards Rise…

If you didn’t make this show, you messed up, big time. Below is the full set list so that you can kick yourself for missing the show…

Humility On Parade
Wine, Women & Song
Moral Centralia
Meetings With Remarkable Men (Show Me The Hero)
Cream & Bastards Rise
Problems & Bigger Ones
Sad Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
Little Round Mirrors
War Buddies
Jack The Lion
Defrocked
The Show Must Not Go On (new song)
Flagpole Sitta
The Ballad Of The Tragic Hero (Pity & Fear)
Authentic
(Theme From) Carjack Fever

Encore 1:
Pike Street/Park Slope
*Loyalty Bldg.
*Underground
*Happiness Writes White
*Sometimes You Have To Work On Christmas (Sometimes)
*Wrecking Ball
*Why I’m Lonely
*Private Helicopter
*Carlotta Valdez
*Terminal Annex
Radio Silence

Encore 2:
The Same As Being In Love

The Playlist 8/5

Last night was a really great show! The music selection I went with was awesome and there was a ton of instant message love from listeners. It’s rare to get more than one or two IMs or calls during a show (how often do you call radio stations when you’re listening? Huh?), but there were a ton last night.

I’ve been really excited this week about the albums by The Builders And The Butchers, God Help The Girl, Sean Walsh and the National Reserve, and Deer Tick. Deer Tick, The Builders And The Butchers, and Sean Walsh… are all a bit more Southern in nature and God Help The Girl has a nice 60s pop thing going on. Check this stuff out.

If you haven’t checked out Math The Band yet, they sound kind of like what I would expect if Atom from Atom And His Package was the front man for The Anniversary. Unfortunately, I missed seeing them at Death Valley in New Brunswick this weekend. Got there just a little too late.

Oh and here’s a new song by Teenage Bottlerock…click me!

Here’s the playlist…

Howling Bells		Treasure Hunt		Radio Wars
One Hundred Hurricanes		Ruined		60 Years Under The Sea
Starlight Mints		Black Champagne		Change Remains
God Help The Girl		Perfection As A Hipster		God Help The Girl
Math The Band		Introducing, The Magic Eye		Don’t Worry
Regina Spektor		Folding Chair		Far
Peggy Sue		The Conservationist		The Lover Gone EP
Buildings Breeding		Arms And Elbows		Colors Bent To Seasons [EP]
Magnolia Electric Company		Josephine		Josephine
Stardeath And White Dwarfs		The Sea Is On Fire		The Birth
Dark Knights Of Camelot		Duple		Hurricane [EP]
Sean Walsh And The National Reserve		You Know		Homesick
Builders And The Butchers, The		Down In This Hole		Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well
Dinosaur Jr.		Over It		Farm
Great Nostalgic, The		County Line		The Great Nostalgic
Placebo		Ashtray Heart		Battle For The Sun

Source: 90.3 The Core

Fanboys

A nerdy group of friends tries to break into the Skywalker Ranch in an attempt to see Star Wars: Episode 1 before its release date. Sound nerdy? Don’t worry, it is.

I liked this flick a lot. I thought the cast was pretty well picked and the cameos were fun. It’s a silly movie and if you aren’t a Star Wars fan, you probably won’t enjoy it that much, but if you’re a little bit nerdy this will definitely be worth your time. The story is very predictable and everything feels very familiar, like you’ve seen this movie before almost, but the laughs (more like chuckles, actually) are more than enough to make up for it.

Alright, that’s all I’ve got for this one.

Rating: B-

Funny People

Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Aziz Ansari, Judd Apatow, and a list of cameos longer than pretty much any other movie ever, how could this be bad right? Well, the list of cameos wasn’t the only thing that was long, this movie just refused to end! Two hours and sixteen minutes is way too long for a comedy. The first half to two thirds of the movie was really funny, but it just kept going and ended up getting kind of sad. It almost felt like it could have been two separate movies. There were scenes that could have been cut and scenes that should have been shorter, but for some reason they were still there. I think that had this movie been cut to an hour and half it would have been much, much better.

Honestly, the length of the movie and the depth of which they explored the arc with Leslie Mann’s character were the only things I didn’t like about Funny People. Everyone acted well and there was a lot of funny stuff going on, but after a while, I really just wanted out of that theater.

Oh well.

Rating: C+

A couple random things

First of all, Rita’s now has Swedish Fish flavored ice. It is amazing. I’m not sure how, but they somehow got the taste exactly right. Plus, they give a pack of Swedish Fish with it! This is probably not standard, but just something they are doing while the flavor is new. Either way, try the damn thing! It’s no secret that I am slightly obsessed with Rita’s, but this just upped the ante a bit.

And second, I saw this car yesterday on the way home from New Hope. Now, I’m glad that the person voted for Obama and all, but why wouldn’t they take that W sticker off the back of their car? I mean, I just don’t get it. If you voted for Obama, wasn’t that saying that you wanted something different than the last eight years? Wouldn’t you want to not advertise that you were pro-Bush in the previous election? Come on, the two stand for completely different things. Regardless of what you think of Obama after his first six months in office and despite the fact that on more than one issue he’s following in Bush’s footsteps, liking Bush enough to have a sticker on your car does not at all fit with the idea of putting an Obama sticker on your car. Just doesn’t make sense.

The Playlist 7/29

It always sucks when you have a week off and come back to do a radio show that doesn’t go as smoothly as normal. It was a little rough last night on the mic break front, but at least it was a strong show musically. I don’t really think I’m digging the new Placebo record that much which is a shame, but I really want to check out the rest of this The Builders And The Butchers album. I really liked the song I played last night, I think the record has some serious potential. I’ll have to give it some time.

Here’s what made the show last night…

Moby		Shot In The Back Of The Head		Wait For Me.
Eels		In My Dreams		Hombre Lobo
Stardeath And White Dwarfs		New Heat		The Birth
Reverie Sound Revue		I Could Be Dangerous		Reverie Sound Revue
Hermit Thrushes		Ceci		Slight Fountain
Deer Tick		Easy		Born On Flag Day
Minus 5, The		The Long Hall		Killingsworth
Sugarplum Fairies		Westside		Chinese Leftovers
God Help The Girl		Perfection As A Hipster		God Help The Girl
Sonic Youth		Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn		The Eternal
One Hundred Hurricanes		Ruined		60 Years Under The Sea
Magnolia Electric Company		O! Grace		Josephine
Builders And The Butchers, The		Vampire Lake		Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well
Placebo		Bright Lights		Battle For The Sun
Those Darlins		Who’s That Knockin On My Window?		Those Darlins
Dinosaur Jr.		Friends		Farm

Source: 90.3 The Core

Retardead

Retardead is…special. So very special. It’s like a low-budget Troma flick. I mean, low-budget for Troma, not in general. I didn’t know at the time, but apparently, this flick is actually a sequel to a movie called Monsturd. I’ve never seen it, but just finding out that it’s not only a sequel, but that the original was called Monsturd instantly made this movie make a lot more sense. If you don’t know this or haven’t seen Monsturd, the beginning is a little confusing because it feels like it picked up in the middle of something. Turns out that it did!

This was pretty awful. It was fun and definitely entertaining, but damn was it bad. The acting was terrible, the story was terrible, the gore was really fake as hell, but it was hilarious! While it was cheesily hilarious in that it’s so bad it’s entertaining way, I think that the makers of the flick were in on the joke. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really stick with the namesake for as long as you would like, but it kind of gets the point across…in the most un-PC of ways. Mentally challenged kids being turned into zombies. It makes sense, if you think about it. I think. I guess actually, it’s probably better that it didn’t stick with that too long.

If you can get a good group of friends to come by and watch this with you, do it! You won’t regret it…much.

Rating: D

The Playlist 7/15

The show two weeks ago turned out to be pretty decent. I had a decent selection of music and some good flow from song to song. Unfortunately though, I haven’t really had much time recently to check out new music. I feel like I’m in one of those phases I go through from time to time where I lose interest in checking out new stuff. It should be due to end soon though, these phases rarely last long.

Here’s what made the show…

Lemonheads, The		Green Fuz (feat. Kate Moss)		Varshons
Deer Tick		Song About A Man		Born On Flag Day
Builders And The Butchers, The		Devil Town		Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well
Reverie Sound Revue		We Are The Opposite Of Thieves		Reverie Sound Revue
Eugene McGuiness		Moscow State Circus		Eugene McGuiness
Dinosaur Jr.		Friends		Farm
Elizabeth And The Catapult		Hit The Wall		Taller Children
God Help The Girl		Perfection As A Hipster		God Help The Girl
Cass McCombs		The Executioner’s Song		Catacombs
Magnolia Electric Company		Josephine		Josephine
Sugarplum Fairies		Westside		Chinese Leftovers
One Hundred Hurricanes		Ruined		60 Years Under The Sea
Placebo		Bright Lights		Battle For The Sun
Sonic Youth		Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn		The Eternal
Unsparing Sea		Wolves At A Wedding		In The Crystal Canyon [EP]
Wilco		Wilco (The Song)		Wilco (The Album)

Source: 90.3 The Core

Whatever Works

Whatever Works is absolutely fantastic. I truly believe this is the perfect role for Larry David, even better than Curb Your Enthusiasm. His character Boris is as articulate as he is cynical…or maybe as cynical as he is articulate? Either one. It doesn’t matter. It’s hilarious. His pessimism is actually almost uplifting and refreshing. Rather than bring you down, it makes you want to appreciate the happiness in life more. I’m not quite sure that that’s what Woody Allen was going for, but hey, whatever works, right? And Evan Rachel Wood pulls off an incredibly loveable Southern girl and the accent becomes more of a turn on than an annoyance.

Whatever Works is different than most comedies being made today…at least the mainstream releases anyway. Larry David’s character, Boris, talks to the camera and it’s great. It works. The humor is smart and references physics theories like String Theory and such, but without requiring a previous understanding of them. These references are applied to everyday life and to love, but in a rather relatable way. While I only found myself actually laughing out loud a handful of times, Whatever Works rarely has a dull or even unfunny moment. I do, however, find it a bit scary as I’m afraid that I may one day turn out to be a much less articulate version of Boris, myself. Oh well.

Despite the more negative-than-positive reviews of this flick, I loved it. It was fun. It was smart. It was cute. And through an endless barrage of cynicism, it made me love life.

Rating: A

Brüno

Brüno will probably incite a wide range of emotions for you. Crying. Gagging. Laughing. Disgust. Sexual excitement? I think this is partially why the reviews are so mixed. Sacha Baron Cohen goes more than a little too far for some people and crosses a lot of lines, but I have no lines so I think it was absolutely great.

Brüno follows along a path very similar, but much more outrageous, to Borat, albeit much less cohesively and feeling more like he just had a bunch of smaller ideas and slapped them together rather than a working with a bigger picture. A lot of people seem to think that his attempt to expose homophobia in America is a bit much and instead displays homosexuality in a cartoonish way. While he is a bit over the top, most of the people that are going to see this movie are in on the joke and he’s really just kind of preaching to the choir. The people that are the problem are not really the type to want to see this anyway. Though, if they did see it, I can’t fathom any way in which their negative feelings towards homosexuals would be anything but increased. But like I said, those kind of people probably are not going to see this, so I say relax and have a good time. Don’t get crabby it.

Overall, it’s a decent movie. If you liked Borat and don’t mind a lot of dong right up in your face or some dude-on-dude action, then check it out. If not, you’ll probably want to steer clear.

Rating: B

New random Woot shirts!

These are the shirts I got from Woot’s random shirt deal last week. I’m feeling all three, actually. Good pick up.

The Playlist 7/8

Last night’s show was fun to do. I think I got the mix just the way I wanted it to be. The only thing lacking really was anything to talk about in my mic breaks so I kept them all very short.

In other news, the posts here have been light as of late, but there hasn’t been too much to write about. I’m planning on seeing a couple movies this weekend so I’ll try to post about them when I can. The real highlight of this week was getting to expose my girlfriend to Star Wars for the first time. We only watched A New Hope so far, but we’ll get through the trilogy soon. I think she liked it, but I felt like Ted on the episode of How I Met Your Mother where he makes Stella watch Star Wars for the first time. I was nervous and watching her more than the movie.

Lemonheads, The		Dirty Robot		Varshons
Magic Wands		Starships		Magic Love And Dreams [EP]
Those Darlins		Red Light Love		Those Darlins
One Hundred Hurricanes		Ruined		60 Years Under The Sea
Tin Star Orphans		Chinese New Year/ Your Get It		Yonder
Math The Band		It’s Gonna Be Awesome		Don’t Worry
Post Honeymoon		Night Guard		Post Honeymoon
Icarus Himself		Pigg		Coffins
Lovely Feathers, The		Gifted Donald		Fantasy Of The Lot
Wilco		You Never Know		Wilco (The Album)
Eugene McGriness		Rings Around Rosa		Eugene McGuiness
Still Life Still		Pastel		Pastel [EP]
Unsparing Sea		Diamond Caverns		In The Crystal Canyon [EP]
Son Volt		Dynamite		American Central Dust
Sonic Youth		Poison Arrow		The Eternal

Source: 90.3 The Core

The Playlist 7/1

Last night’s show was another mellow one. I kind of feel like I phoned it in a bit. I actually forgot about a large stack of good stuff that I wanted to play, I had it sitting on the counter on the other side of the console and didn’t see it until I was cleaning up at the end of my show. Oh well. Next week!

Bob Dylan		Beyond Here Lies Nothin’		Together Through Life
Jason Lytle		I Am Lost (And The Moment Cannot Last)		Yours Truly, The Commuter
Hollands		Coughing Boy		Faces [EP]
Meg And Dia		What If		Here, Here, And Here
Hands And Knees		Anywhere But Here		Et Tu, Fluffy?
Peekers, The		Sinkin’ In		Life In The Air
Heart And Lungs		Stasis		Pentapus EP
Post Honeymoon		Night Guard		Post Honeymoon
Eugene McGriness		Fonz		Eugene McGuiness
Wilco		Wilco (The Song)		Wilco (The Album)
Team B		Misma		Team B
Thunder Power		Take A Hike		Love Yourself
Lemonheads, The		Dirty Robot		Varshons
Grizzly Bear		Two Weeks		Veckatimest
Sonic Youth		Leaky Lifeboat		The Eternal

Source: 90.3 The Core

Insubordination Fest and a couple new shirts

I’m not going to go into too much detail, but over the weekend, I took a trip down to Baltimore for Insubordination Fest. It’s a pop punk fest that’s been going on for a few years now. Including the pre-show, it was three straight days of pop punk. It was way more awesome than it sounds, I swear.

I think the best band turned out to be The Copyrights, but Cloak/Dagger, House Boat, Lemuria, Dillinger 4, and Dear Landloard were really awesome as well. The Steinways were very good, but a bit messy. It was supposed to be their last show for real this time, so I’m glad that I got to see them since I never had before.

Anyway, I picked up two shirts while I was there…