Mylo Xyloto Mini Review

So I haven't listened to Mylo Xyloto a TON, but I have listened enough to make an arbitrary and meaningless conclusion about it....


Not the best.


It's not that Mylo Xyloto is the worst album ever, it's just the worst Coldplay album ever. While Coldplay used to be straight up Brit-alt-rock, they have seemed to transform into some sort of pop-rock hybrid, and it's maddening. The album is full of terrible sounding synth noises, things you are used to in bands like Angels and Airwaves, but feels extremely out of place on a Coldplay album. This keyboard synth garbage permeates almost every song, and it drives me crazy. Several songs avoid this annoying and crappy pop influence, my favorite being "Paradise" and I also enjoy "Us Against the World" Not that there isn't any enjoyment to be had from the other songs, they just aren't for me I guess.


So yeah, I'm not impressed. My favorite Coldplay album is A Rush of  Blood to the Head it's darker, more meaningful and more heartfelt that Mylo Xyloto. But the worst part of Mylo isn't the crappy synth, but the lyrics and writing is also pretty terrible. Many of the songs seem random and poppy, not about meaningful topics or love, but just crap. 


And then there's Rihanna.


Man.


Oh well, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends had an epic rolling and wondrous scale, with a cool and novel French revolution theme. Mylo Xyloto seems to be a bad ecstasy experience. They can't all be winners I suppose. 


4/10

Can't We All Just Get Along?

So pretty soon Battlefield 3 will be released, and a little later megagiant game Modern Warfare 3 will be released as well. Both games are set to be the new standard in first person shooters, and the internets are ablaze with fanboys and trolls just waiting to pick fights over which is better and which game sucks harder. But here's my question, can't I just enjoy both? I mean, I have over $60, I could hypothetically buy both games and enjoy them both. I love Call of Duty, but I also love Halo 3, they are both first person shooters, and I enjoy them separately. I think we get caught up in the idea that "I support Infinity Ward" or "I support DICE" and not "I support good games." You can love one and undeniably hate another if you wish, but I think a very viable and respectable option is just enjoying the games that are good, and not making an alliance towards only one. I know I am biased as well, I'm no saint. I think Call of Duty is the current best FPS franchise, I believe BF is too boring, too team oriented, and not arcade styled enough to really peak my enjoyment. But that doesn't mean I won't enjoy a few camper filled, vehicle heavy games of BF from time to time. Ok yes I am pretty biased, so maybe there just isn't an answer, we will always love one child more than the other, but all I'm saying  is that doesn't mean BF3 has to go live in the dog house, it deserves some love too, even if you love MW. 

The Neighborhoods Review

"I'll never let you down boy." The echoing ethereal sounding vocals of Tom DeLonge make sure you know Blink-182 is back, but something is different this time. It sounds like the boys we used to laugh with, the jokesters that frequently sung about having sex with dogs and crapping grandpas have left the studio, and matured, more jaded replacements have returned. Mark, Tom and Travis are back yes, but it doesn't sound like the Blink-182 we used to know, it is something new, and that isn't a bad thing. 


It's only fitting that the first album Blink's released in seven years is darker and more serious though, the unscheduled reunion of the band was brought about by tragedy and pain. The loss of friends and innocence is reflected in the sounds and lyrics of the album, and makes for a much darker and more emotionally meaningful affair. Something I always enjoyed from Blink albums of the past was this sort of twisted and hurt romantic aspect. Thinking mostly of Blink-182 I always got the idea of loss and hurt, but it was always directed towards a girl, and love and feelings about her, with or without her. There's a little bit of that in Neighborhoods, mostly in "Even if She Falls" but it's something I can't help but miss, even more than silly songs like those from Take Off Your Pants and Jacket and Enema of the State. The hurt is different in Neighborhoods, it's not the story of a lonely guy, but the story of loss, permanent loss. So yes it's darker and different, but I can't say I expected after seven years of growing up Blink was gonna be the same guys they were back in the early 2000's. 


So now let's look at the individual tracks:


Ghost on the Dance Floor: The first track on the album starts out very strong. One of my early favorites after hearing it first live in concert, "Ghost" is a great song, and is one of the songs more reminiscent of Blink-182. It has the classic sounding guitar, but some more mystical instrumental sounds as well. The lyrics and singing are really great and emotional, and leaves you feeling a little sad because he misses someone, but at the same time a little hopeful because at least they had something sometime. It brings up the idea of having something, and loosing it, but even though it's gone you look at it fondly and remember the good time you had while it lasted. The classic idea of its better to love and lose than never love at all. At least that's what I get, I'm sure there could be many interpretations. This song is just plain powerful, you feel it, it pulls you in, and you are sucked into the album right from the start.


Natives: I'm gonna be straight up, at first I wasn't super happy with Natives, the fast pace and rhythm kind of threw me off. It sounds different from a lot of other Blink songs, and is a good example of how different this album really is. But when I listened to the lyrics and spent some more time with it I really liked it. It hits a little close to home "I'm just a bastard child, don't let it go to your head" "maybe I'm better off dead" "just let me go, go. I'm never coming home." At the same time while the lyrics are much darker than their older stuff the guitar remains that same old hint that this is still Blink-182, and says "we are different, but we're still the same." 


Up All Night: This song has been out for a while now, I remember anxiously waiting to listen to it online. It's not as exciting now, just since I've gotten used to it and heard it so many times. It's still a really good song though. When I first heard about a new Blink-182 album, and the first single was called "Up All Night" I took it a very different way. I thought "Up All Night" was some sort of anthem to partying and mayhem, but thankfully I was completely wrong. "And all these demons, they keep me up all night" is one of the most chilling and heartfelt lines on the album. "Up All Night" is a song about loss and pain, like many of the other songs, but it never delves to deep into despair, and somehow always gives me the feeling that while everything is not ok, there just might be a light at the end of the tunnel. 


After Midnight: "After Midnight" is a very traditional Blink-182 song. It mixes Tom and Mark's different singing styles very well. It's a little more lighthearted from the other songs, well, you know, except for the part about Tom not being able to step away from the edge of death. It has awesome drumming, and one of Travis' better songs on the album. It's a good song, and a strong addition to the album. I fell weird that I don't have more to say about it, but yeah, that is all.


Snake Charmer: Now this is a great song. "Snake Charmer" is dirrrrrty. It's sexual and dirty and it works. Tom's voice sounds far away and sort of shunned. It brings up images of sort of the taboo of sex and love. It has really good and interesting lyrics, and a catchy kind of hook.The little instrumental ending is beautiful as well.


Hearts All Gone Interlude: This instrumental only song is as Mark Hoppus stated the slower original version of Hearts All Gone. It's a nice little soft and a little bit sinister sounding song. It's a nice addition to the Deluxe edition of the album, and a softer quieter break between the mostly harder other songs. 


Hearts All Gone: Hearts All Gone is another song that has been out for a while now. I heard it some time back and its a pretty decent song. Mark really seems to be straining his voice here to hit those notes, but overall its not bad. The song is really fast paced, a little too fast paced and chaotic for me. In the end it's not bad, but not one of my favorites.


Wishing Well: Wishing Well is one of my absolute favorite songs on the album. It's a good pace, it's got really great lyrics and a great overall sound. Tom's lyrics about reaching for something, failing, and then reaching again really evoke a nice image of childhood ambition and blind forward movement. It's hard to describe the feelings I have towards this song. It's about blind optimism and constant negative feedback, all wrapped into an extremely catchy chorus and rhythm. I love this song, and it's one of the best on the album.


Kaleidoscope: At first this song didn't sit well with me. The lyrics seemed really random and out there, completely unrelated and meaningless. Mark stated that it's about the sort of rat race and moving forward in our crazy lives idea. I have come around to it more as time has gone on, and now I enjoy it. It's still disjointed and kind of weird, but it has a nice catchy-ness to it.


This Is Home: This songs another pretty good addition to the Blink library, not super noticeable or unique, but overall enjoyable. I like the theme of the song, and it's the one on the album that really gives me a feeling why it's called "Neighborhoods" the idea of the crappy place that has a lot of pain and loss, but at the same time it's home.


MH 4.18.2011: This song is Mark's on the album. (Notice the MH) Or at least I assume. It again reminds of Kaleidoscope, because I really don't get it and I'm not a big fan. While Kaleidoscope grew on me, MH hasn't, and sadly I think it's the weakest track on the album. Not to say that it's bad, it's just not the same quality that the rest of the album does a pretty good job of keeping up. 


Love is Dangerous: Love is Dangerous is another pretty solid song on the album. Nothing really new or exciting here, but a solid offer never the less. I suppose there really isn't much else to say about it, but it's a pretty good song with a nice little hook that adds some time to the album.


Fighting the Gravity: This is another Mark song on the album, but it works more for me than MH. Its a little dark and spooky sounding, but overall I like it. I again can't really get the point of this song, or maybe I have ideas but I can't know for sure. It's a pretty good song, but like a lot of the album, I have no real complaints about the song, but it's no Feeling This.


Even If She Falls: While towards the end of the album it  begins to drone on with above average songs, Even If She Falls is a nice way to end things. One of the best songs on the album, also is one of the happiest (no coincidence there) It's more of the awkward  romanticism I have come to love and expect from Blink, and I am very glad this song made the album. Without it the album would be a much bleaker affair, and overall a much less enjoyable package. It's one of my favorites on the album, and a good way to send it off with a ray of hope.


Overall the album is good, but not perfect. It's darker and sadder than the Blink albums of the past, and focuses less on girl-boy love, but more on loss and pain. I can handle a album about these darker subjects, but it feels a little weird coming from a band that ran naked through a whole music video. It certainly doesn't fail, but it could be better. Many of the songs are good, but not great. It's so close, but just not there yet. Maybe we will get another Blink album soon, and maybe that will be the one that returns  Blink to their former greatness. I still think Blink-182 is a great band, one of my favorites, but I can't help but feel like the album we have waited seven years for could have been better.


8/10

How I talked to Mark Hoppus (And why it's important)

I've had Blink on the brain for the last few weeks. Last week I went to a show at SPAC with my lovely girlfriend and saw Blink-182 with My Chemical Romance. Even though they confessed Tom was sick and Travis was very very cold, it was a great show and I had a lot of fun. I've been gearing up for the release of Neighborhoods by listening to all the older music, and reading some early reviews and such. But this summer I got an awesome and very unique opportunity to get excited about the new release.

I spoke with Mark Hoppus himself.

Yeah this guy right here.

So yes, little old nerdy RPI student me, got to chat with Mark Hoppus, the bassist for one of the greatest alt-punk-rock bands of all time, Blink-182.

I was able to do this because I got into Google+ pretty early this summer, and while I was mostly alone except for a few friends who also got into the beta early, there were quite a few musicians actors and whatnot to follow and add to my circles. I thought Google+ was pretty cool, I liked how I could add famous people and see thier posts and comment on them as if I was their friend. I even got lucky and a few higher ups on the notability scale (at least my scale) added me to their circles as well. (I won't brag) (Ok yes I will, Hilary Goldstien (former editor at IGN) and David Vonderhaar (Treyarch) both follow me on Google+ Sweet!)

But anyway, soon after "Up After Midnight" the first single from Neighborhoods was released, Mark began creating open hangouts on Google+. For those of you not familiar with Google+ "hangouts" are basically a big Skype call, where 10 people all get in a room and when you speak you get the big main screen, otherwise you are a smaller box on the bottom. After seeing Mark start a few, but not getting into them in time, and announcing he would be doing another later that night, I patiently waited at the G+ homepage, pressing F5 over and over hoping for that elusive not full hangout. As I sat watching The Wire, tapping F5 about a million times, all of a sudden there it was: "Mark Hoppus started a hangout." I immediatly pressed the join button, and clicked as fast as I could through the settings popup, and then there I was. Face to face with one of my Rock Idols, Mark Hoppus... and 8 other random dudes.

Mark looked tired, but was as friendly as I would have imagined 1/3 of the crudest and funniest alternative band to be. We all got to ask a few questions, I asked about what the new album would resemble, the more serious Blink-182, or the silly happy Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Some people talked a lot, some just sat and watched (a little creepily) but at least no one took out their junk. (Google users are a little more tasteful I suppose from those on Chat Roulette.) Towards the end I told Mark that I wish I had thought of some awesome question to ask him, but I felt more like I was gonna pass out and soil myself. He laughed and said he'll take that as a compliment. I don't know if he got that I was kidding, or just thought I was a weirdo, but I like to think he got it. I then told him I thought it was really cool that he did this, chatting with his fans in a way that didn't use to be possible. Sitting in a hotel room, at 10:00pm, a rock star who is across the country can chat with me, a college student with no money to get VIP tickets or something of the like. That is awesome.

So a little while later Mark proclaimed that he was going to bed, and said goodnight. As fast as it happened it was over, and I was shaking with adrenaline and joy. It was a once in a lifetime experience to me, but for Mark Hoppus it was just a Monday night. And that really shows the power of current social networks and their possibilities. Anyone could set up a hangout and chat with a few of their fans lucky enough to click the link. Politicians, hell, Obama could  start up a chat and answer a few questions from some normal people and get some feedback they may, or may not like to hear. We are not living in a time where communicating with someone takes days or even minutes to do, it's instant, and the world just got a little smaller. I wish more famous people, politicians, artists whoever embraced the idea of chatting and letting people get these cool unique interactions with them that weren't possible before.

But that's it. While unfortunately it seems Google+ will never really gain much steam, I will always look at it favorably for giving me a chance to chat with a personal idol. It was a really cool experience that won't soon be replicated, but maybe if more artists find the heart and time, you could chat with someone you look up to.

New Blink-182 Tomorrow! Review Soon

So tomorrow is a big day in music. The first new Blink-182 album in years is released, and while I did pre-order it (yeah I know I actually BOUGHT music crazy right?) I'm not sure when it'll actually get to me. I ordered the boomba special edition pre-order, so I also get some special gift, from stickers to hats to a signed Mark Hoppus Bass. While I'm not super hopeful that I'll walk downstairs and find a guitar sized package waiting for me, I think it's really cool that no matter what you get, you're getting something cool for no extra cost. Even a few stickers would be a nice little surprise, just a little something extra for being a fan and actually paying for music. I wish more bands did that, maybe if they did I would get more music. Anywhosle I'll review the CD and the individual tracks as soon as I get the CD, (which hopefully comes fast because the shipping was F-in $12!)  But in the meantime I'll be anxiously waiting to get my hands on the new album, and from the few songs I've heard. and heard in person about a week ago, the album should be great.

Also here's the link to order the CD with the bonus stuff, $20 for a deluxe copy and a shirt, not a bad deal at all.

https://shop.bompa.com/blink182presale/men-s-bundle.html


UPDATE: You can listen to the entire deluxe version of the album here: http://neighborhoods.blink182.com/

Also I have seen some people have already received their pre-orders, I can only assume I haven't gotten mine because I am getting one of those signed bass guitars.... one can dream.

Gears of War (Please Purchase the "3" DLC from the marketplace for full title)

So yes, I'm back to school, back to the grind. I haven't posted anything on the old blog in a while, but c'mon it was summer. I was playing Blops, I was busy.


But now I'm back, and I would like to discuss something very important now.


Ridiculously overpriced DLC.


Now as you may know Gears of War 3 was recently released. I love the Gears series, but I haven't been super excited for 3, maybe its the heavy focus on infected enemies, maybe it's cause I'm poor IDK, but what I do know is that after reading this article, I will not be purchasing the game.


http://kotaku.com/5841746/these-are-the-gears-of-war-3-bonuses-you-have-to-pay-for?tag=gears-of-war


That's right, I'm forming a one man boycott on Gears of War 3.


If you watched the Kotaku video you'll see that there is day one dlc you have to buy if you want some pretty skins for your multiplayer guns. Now day one dlc irks me too, but day one dlc that's just for SKINS!!!??? What!? I pay $60 for your game and you can't kick me a couple of .png files!? Now I am still in the ealry stages of game design (just finished my first real video game this week, I'll post it if I can get it online somehow) but I cannot possibly imagine it is hard to make skins for guns. The downloads you can see are only a little over 100 kbs, meaning the images are probably already on disk, or downloaded through an initial update. Also just to purchase all the skins for lets say the Lancer, its over $10! TEN F**KING DOLLARS FOR GUN SKINS...FOR ONE GUN!!! It's insulting that after handing over your hard earned money, Gears 3 goes "K TNX! WANNA SPEND MOAR!? YOU CAN GET SUM STOOPID CRAP YOU DON'T NEED?!" 


Now I could go all day talking about how much I hate DLC, it's all overpriced, it usually should have been included in the game, and lot's of time I think it's akin to stealing. They are stealing your money by making you buy things you should have gotten when you first plunked down $60+. 


But I suppose I should pay some attention to class sometime, so I leave you with this. Don't buy Gears of War 3, instead cry yourself to sleep because we will never win. It won't be long before you buy a game, and it only costs 320 Microsoft points to change the brightness. 


Well you can shove those Microsoft points right up your MACRO-SOFT AS-----

Tomahawkathon

So it's been a while but I'm back on the old blogosphere. I made this little Black Ops montage today of me and Corey doing some major damage with tomahawks on Nuketown. We played this game a long time ago with the sole purpose of getting lots-o-tomahawks and I say we succeeded. I counted earlier but already forgot, I think its a total of 46 unique tomahawks. I am currently working on another video of just random cool Black Ops moments, I wish I had been uploading clips before, now I will just have to go on the ones I am currently making, all though I have already had a few cool ones. So without further ado, here is "Tomahawkathon (In For the Kill)" please enjoy.

Awesome Movie Monday

So sorry I've neglecting my blog so much. I've been pretty busy and I promise there will something big soon... by soon I probably mean after this summer. Until then I will try to keep posting things here and there, and for now I would like to share an awesome movie with you.

Ta da!

Exam! The coolest movie ever made about a test. Complete with proctors and pencils and paper. So the premise is that these eight job applicants have 80 minutes to complete this test, to which they are told there is one question and one answer. Upon starting they flip over the test and.... IT'S BLANK! Oh no! From there they try all means of investigation to figure out the answer, and even figure out the question. From what I gather it was a very low budget movie, and stars mostly completely unknown actors. This is a great example of how storytelling and character development can be used in place of fancy effects and elaborate set pieces. The movie is a gem and should not be missed.


That is if you enjoy psychological thrillers, if not this may just be a movie about 8 whiny jerks with a blank piece of paper to you. It's all preference really.

Wasting Light Review

So yes, I know it's not out yet but through http://wastinglight.foofighters.com/ you can listen to the new Foo Fighters album for free! Yeah, thats pretty cool, a good take on the digital revolution of music, listen for free online, but if you want it on your iPod you have to buy it. Can't complain with that.

Alrighty lets go through one by one.

Bridge Burning- The first track starts out with some sweet guitar, and a great screaming opening line "These are my famous last wordssss!!!!!!" The song is pretty good, not one that I often listen to alone, but it works well enough to open the album. Its a  decent song, worth a listen or too.

Rope- The first single form the album has been out for a while, and at first I wasn't too big of a fan of it, but it has really stuck now, and I think its a really good song. The nice guitar echoes make the song stand out and some unique lyrics make this song a hit. I get the feeling this song is the most radio friendly track on the album, it is still rock for sure, but is a pretty traditional song for Foo Fighters.

Dear Rosemary- This song is a little softer than some of the rest of the album, but has some really great parts and is one of the best tracks. I don't really have much else to say about it, it is a good song, but for no real particular reason, just simply enjoyable.

White Limo- This is definitely the most out of place song on the album. I like the song, even though I really hardly can understand about half of the lyrics. It is very different from the rest of the song and is a real screamer hard rock track. This makes it feel a little out of place with the rest of the more alternative songs on the album, but I always enjoy variety from my artists, and this make the album a little more rounded and versatile, so I can't complain.

Arlandria- This is my absolute favorite song on the album, it has a great chorus, awesome lyrics and a cool name. (Arlandria, who has ever met anyone named "Arlandria") Anyway, the song is great, and for some reason when artists use the classic "rain rain go away" it always seems to work. Hard to believe some little kids tune could song so badass. Overall a great song, and one I'll be listening to for a long time.

These Days- Another great track. This song is a little generic though if you ask me, a very traditional tune. I really am hooked though, and it's very catchy. The "EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!" is very powerful and really makes the song awesome. So like I said, its a very traditional tune, but it's still great.

A Matter of Time- Three in a row of hits is pretty great for a album. This song is another great song, with some catchy lyrics and a good hook. This might not be as good a song as Arlandria or These Days, but its another one thats worth a spot on your iPod.

Did you know that guy with the long hair in the back is Taylor Hawkins, yes, my long lost relative.

Miss the Misery- Another pretty good song. I like it, but not as much as some of the other songs on the album. It's a little softer and a little bit of a change of pace. It sets the stage nicely for the next song "I Should Have Known" which is even softer. Its a nice little come down in order to play out the album, and then bring it all back with "Walk"

I Should Have Known- The softest song on the album, and a rather heartfelt one as well. It's a good tune about being deceived, and is a little bit of a downer. Its still a good song though and deserves its place on the album.

Walk- After the slightly softer songs before it, "Walk" is a great blast of energy. It's one of the best tracks on the album and reminds me of other songs like "New Way Home" with that building power Foo loves so much.  After the songs of break up and despair, Walk states he's "learning to walk again" "learning to talk again" He is making his way in life and can continue on after some heartbreak.  The awesome ending of sheer power and energy is the best way I could think to end the album, and really rounds everything out very well.


So thats it, the album maybe doesn't have as great a single song like "My Hero" "All My Life" or "Everlong" but as a whole the album is great. Foo Fighters might be getting older (Grohl is 42!) but they are getting better and better and keeping rock alive and well. I hope Foo Fighters are around for a long time, and I have no problem with them maturing and making great music. Some bands like Foo Fighters just seem to get better with age, and thats pretty cool.

As for a score, I'll give it a 9/10

Friday Friday FUN FUN FUN

So I hope everyone had a wonderful week last week. Probably looking at the news though, you didn't. There was devastating tsunamis in Japan, war is erupting in Libya, and now that I get back to RPI and the internet, I was introduced to this...

Oh my god.


For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of seeing this great piece of pop culture should go ahead and take a look see now, as for the rest of this post I will be taking an in depth look at the lyrics and the meaning behind the song and the video.


Ok, you watched it, what'd you think? 


Yeah, I thought so.




So here we go:


So the song opens up with a sweeping electronic drone, it already sounds poppy, so I think we can guess what to expect.

Alright so heres this calendar flipping through the pages until we get to the titular "Friday" also Black drops her first well crafted line:

(Yeah, Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ark)

Oo-ooh-ooh, hoo yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah

Yeah-ah-ah

Yeah-ah-ah

Yeah-ah-ah

Yeah-ah-ah

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Very original, very moving. If the rest of the song has a much ground breaking stuff like this it'll be sure to be a hit.

Also who chose using the video effect that makes her look like the demon possessed girl at the end of Paranormal Activity? Gah. 

Alright! 7:00 am and were waking up for school, lets see what she has to say about this.

7am, waking up in the morning

Ooooooooook. Well see thats not really singing that just commenting on what you're doing, lets see how she puts her lyrical spin on it. 

Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs

Well that doesn't rhyme...  but still, she just woke up lets give the girl a chance to redeem herself. ALSO, how does "Going downstairs"  make you fresh? I know when I get up and stumble down the stairs it sure doesn't make me magically "fresh"

Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal

Seein’ everything, the time is goin’

Tickin’ on and on, everybody’s rushin’

Alright now I'm getting suspicious, those are just things you see, they are not real lyrics or even singing. She's just saying things autotuned and put to a beat. And also, we see those things too! I see in the video everyone is "rushin" don't tell me I already saw that, you're the one with your back turned dummy. CONTINUING ON!

Gotta get down to the bus stop 

Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends (My friends) 

Does she have ADD? She can't even describe to me all of her bus stop hijinks before getting completely thrown off kilter by her friends. Another question, her friends can drive? She is thirteen, and all of her friends look like a bunch of eleven year olds pulled right out of a GAP commercial How they are legally licensed to drive I will never know. 

Kickin' in the front seat 

Sittin' in the back seat 

Gotta make my mind up 

Which seat can I take? 

WHAT!? You are confused about what seat to take!? She probably just arbitrarily picked which BOWL she just had to have, just pick a damn seat. Also I can see that the front is full of pre-pubescent five year olds so I suggest hopping in back. How hard is this decision that it requires four lines of lyrics to describe. Thank god she didn't get on the bus I think her head would have exploded with all the choices. 


Now here we go here's the big hook, the chorus. 

It's Friday, Friday 

Gotta get down on Friday 

Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend, weekend 

Friday, Friday 

Gettin' down on Friday 

Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend 

Partyin', partyin' (Yeah) 

Partyin', partyin' (Yeah) 

Fun, fun, fun, fun 

Lookin' forward to the weekend 

Alright... In the chorus Friday is said a total of six times, partyin' is said four times, weekend is said four times and FUN FUN FUN FUN is said once. Those are some deep lyrics. I think she is alluding to Americas culture of weekend parties and hard work during the business days. She is making a statement about how many people party too hard on the weekend and this ends up becoming their only means of escape from the monotony of work. They look forward to this weekend of sex, drugs and binge drinking so much that it becomes all they work for, and in the end what started as a little bit of weekend partyin' has become a drug in itself, with many addicted college students and working adults alike. 

Or shes simply stating its Friday. 

Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday 

Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin') 

We-we-we so excited 

We so excited 

We gonna have a ball today 

Tomorrow is Saturday 

And Sunday comes after ... wards 

I don't want this weekend to end 

*Sigh*

She was just letting us know what day of the week it is. Thanks Rebecca Black, the human calendar. 

Now I would like to take a look at this child molester rapper guy.

R-B, Rebecca Black 

So chillin' in the front seat (In the front seat) 

In the back seat (In the back seat) 

I'm drivin', cruisin' (Yeah, yeah) 

Fast lanes, switchin' lanes 

Wit' a car up on my side (Woo!) 

(C'mon) Passin' by is a school bus in front of me 

Makes tick tock, tick tock, wanna scream 

Check my time, it's Friday, it's a weekend 

We gonna have fun, c'mon, c'mon, y'all 

What the hell does this gibberish mean? I have heard Sims talk more sensical things than this crap. This guy is making more sense than this moron who phoned that rap in:

Yeah I can't understand anything hes saying and it still makes more sense than "Passin' by is a school bus in front of me Makes tick tock, tick tock, wanna scream"  What is a rap sequence doing in the song anyway. It is obviously aimed at middle school disney channel girls who will eat this crap up like its candy. They don;t need to see some hack job Kanye West wanna be rappin about school busses passing him on the freeway. 

And in the end, what kind of coll rapper lets a school bus pass him. 

Ugh.

So there it is. My take on FRIDAY. Sorry it took so long, I'm busy. 

Well, by busy  I mean I'm 12th prestige now in Black Ops

A Look at Foo UPDATE

So I just wanted to let everyone know that there is another reason to love Dave Grohl.

Why he has played in Nine Inch Nails.

Yes Grohl did some of the drums in the album With Teeth one of the best albums ever created.

Here is one of my all time favorite NIN songs, "All the Love in the World", featuring Mr. Grohl.

you may carry on with you life now.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

I present... NINE INCH SNAILS

from Muppets Tonight. hahahaha

Covers Covers Covers

So I don't watch Glee. I would like to make that point right away, you know, just so there's no confusion. But today I saw that they did a cover of "Landslide" and that reminded me of the Smashing Pumpkins cover of the song. This led to me thinking about cover songs in general and I decided to make this list. Here are some of my favorite cover songs:

Landslide - Smashing Pumpkins covering Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks

Bad Company - Five Finger Death Punch covering Bad Company

Metal - Nine Inch Nails covering Gary Numan 

Land of Confusion - Disturbed covering Genesis

Personal Jesus - Marilyn Manson covering Depeche Mode

Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm covering Micheal Jackson

And my favorite cover would have to go to Obadiah Parker with his cover of "Hey Ya" by Outkast 

So maybe not all of these versions of the songs are better than the original, but certainly a few are. Let me know what some of your favorite cover songs are. Thats all for now.

Skateboard

So I wanted to share the new look of my skateboard that I just finished this morning. I'm pretty sure this'll be the final touches I put on it, but gotta say I think it's pretty sweet.I did everything you see on the board by myself with just some paint and a little bit of permanent marker. There you have it, hope people think its cool.

Here was step one, finished this part a while ago. used it for a while, you can see the scuff marks. 

And here is the final design, thats a small bit of purple up in the corner too.

There you have it, my skateboard.

Alien Life Found?

So there's been a lot of talk on the interwebs lately that alien life has been found. While I am skeptical because I have seen to many claims of this before, and it always seems to turn out be be weird normal earth life. Here's the link to the story, see what you think: Shocking Photo's of Alien Life!

OH GOD IT'S HIDEOUS! I hope those photos of terrifying alien life from mars aren't too shocking for our younger readers.

Wait a minute I am being told thats not the alien life everyone is talking about. Here's TIME's take on the story. A little more comprehensible than the previous story.

In other news Trent Reznor, not from mars but still a rock star, might be crafting the soundtrack for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Also Trent could have a cameo role in the film. Its a Tim Burton affair, so while I'm not the biggest fan, almost anything Trent does I am forced to support through NIN law. So with this being my first post actually talking about my favorite band Nine Inch Nails, I leave you with a song everyone should listen too. A beautiful instrumental piece from The Fragile that really conveys deep power and emotion through chilling piano and drum combinations... La Mer.

GAH IT'S BACK!

There Were Too Many D's Man... TO MANY D'S!

So Star Wars 3D has an official release date, February 10th, 2012. Episode I will lead the assault, probably with each other movie coming a year or so after. Are you excited? Am I excited? I guess. I don't know. This is good and bad. Bad because I don;t really care much for 3D movies, and it's not like Star Wars was film to be in 3D, so I bet it won't be the best quality. I am excited however to get a chance to see the movies again on the big screen, especially the original trilogy. Of course I'm sure when we do get to A New Hope I'm sure the films will be the "digitally remastered" crap that has plagued the dvd and blu-ray releases of star wars for the last decade. Never the less it will be a great chance to see the classic movies I have loved since a child on the big screen, and an excuse to get my girlfriend to see them for the first time.

Wookie Rape... not as fun as it sounds

Here's the link to the story:
http://starwars.com/movies/episode-i/3dannouncedate/index.html

Banhammer

So I would like to have a serious discussion for a minute about banning. Banning is the act of getting temporarily or permanently suspended from playing an online videogame. The game I would like to talk about is Call of Duty: Black Ops. Now in Modern Warfare 2 cheating and modding was rampant. I can't count how many games I got into with constant chopper gunners and never ending nuke countdowns. In MW2 I sure hope a lot of people got banned. Now in Blops, I never have seen a modder, and as far as I know it is impossible, but still people get banned due to boosting. Boosting is where you artificially inflate your rank and experience, usually by playing a game filled with idle players. Now I understand bans and rank resets on people who boost, but I think Treyarch must be careful when drawing the line between players boosting, and exploiting THEIR mistakes or inadequacies. The Flowing tweets are between some random twitter user, and Josh Olin, a developer at Treyarch. 

(Tweeter): @JD_2020 http://www.youtube.com/embed/jTqRJsUo9Oc I call shenanigans

JD_2020: @(Tweeter) They all got temporarily banned, and rank reset. That's a form of boosting, so be sure not to do it. 

The video in question

Now if you watch the video it shows players going 501-8, by spawn trapping the enemy team, constantly over and over. I can't say that the teams weren't working together, or that the entire video is all legit gameplay, but from the info I see, there is no modding, cheating or hacking. So why did these players get their rank reset, and get a temporary ban? It seems like the enemy team was just dumb, and obviously shouldn't have stayed in the game, and the players got lucky with that. Some of the team does quit, and brings more legitimacy to the video. So the real question is... is this cheating or is this Treyarch sloppily covering up their overlooks of how spawning works in Blops? Now I can't say for sure it would be easy to make a better spawn system, but I know in Halo there are spawn areas, where players will randomly spawn based on enemy proximity and the current situation. My friends and i investigated the spawns, and it seems like there are only about five spots enemies can spawn in Havana. With six teamates you could easily pull this off as long as you get a team of dummies who don't quit out when they should. I believe that the players did nothing against the rules here, and although  maybe it wasn't the most ethical way to play, they committed no crimes and are not deserving of the reset. The are exploiting the poor spawn system in the game, and Treyarch are suimply trying to make it go away with the simple answer, bans, instead of the better solution, better post game support and patching. 

Steve Jobs has Money

So this weekend I was doing my laundry. I washed it, I dried it. Upon opening the top drier, a small silver object fell (about 5 feet) down onto the concrete floor and bounced with a metallic sounding clack. I looked down, and it took me a second to realize what had happened. I WASHED....AND THEN DRIED MY IPOD. To my horror I ran back to my room and Ashley told me to put it in a bowl of rice, in order to get the water out. "Well its dry" I said. "You dried it too! Oh my god you're screwed" She replied. So started my thought process of the situation, and it went as follows.

1. OMG I WASHED MY IPOD NOW I NEED TO PAY FOR A NEW ONE!

2. Well it's not so bad, now maybe I can upgrade to a touch finally, or at least the new nano.

3. FEW, it still works I don't need a new ipod.

4. Damn now I don't have an excuse to get a new ipod.

So yes, now my ipod works seemingly perfectly, the backlight didn't work at first, but now does. The play button is a little finicky, but works. I have yet to see if the battery is all that it used to be, but so far so good. I can't believe that little 3 year old mp3 player is so resilient, but my cell phones barely make it to the two year mark. So thank you Steve Jobs, by making such good products you saved me 250 bucks that you could have gotten.... OOPS! Your bad.