Disappointed...

So the trailer for Dragon Ball leaked a few days ago. Looks like James Wong turned this martial arts/fighting drama into a kung fu film. With guns. GUNS. In my Dragon Ball? (It's more likely than you think!) Anyway, turns out they're retooling the franchise's roots and some of the HUGE details. Goku isn't some country boy; he's a nerdy, antisocial college student. Grandpa Gohan died not by Goku's Oozaru, but by Piccolo (Jr.?). THERE'S NO KRILLIN. By fucking g-d, if you make a Dragon Ball movie, you had best include Krillin. Mai is present, but Pilaf isn't. Piccolo is ghost white. Wait, wait. Let me repeat that: PICCOLO IS GHOST fucking WHITE. See fig 1:

fig 1: James Marsters as Piccolo
WHITE?! What are they thinking? This is Piccolo! The Demon Lord Piccolo! Turban, cape, and purple robe-clothes are MANDATORY (see fig 2)! ARGHH.

fig 2: Piccolo as he is seen in the anime
This is a travesty of the highest degree; I won't stand for it. Commercialization has destroyed the heroic tales nearest to my heart.
Let's not mention the fact that the producers said something like "there'll be a kamehameha in there...somewhere. uh, yeah. maybe." I'm still going to watch, but only for the Kung Fu aspect.

i just want to RAAAAAAAAAGEEEEEE

Favorite Album 1999: AFI - Black Sails In The Sunset

This is a weird choice for me. I don't usually like punk or hardcore punk or horror punk or whatever you'd like to call it; that's why this record it's so weird that I really like this record. What's worse, I don't really like anything else AFI has put out.
Anyway, aside from all the punk hate, I've got to say something positive about this record. It's fast, it's got that punk drum beat (bass-snare-bass-snare-bass-snare-bassbass-snare, repeat ad infinitum), and it's got Davey Havoc's funky scream-y, yell-y, nasally vocals. For some reason it strikes a chord with me, especially the closer, which is just awesome. Maybe it's Havoc's inflection or the way his words trail off at the end of every line. Maybe it's the overabundant power chords. Maybe it's the fact that this record was before they made decemberunderground. I don't know. But what I do know is that I dig this record, punk or not. The whole record is strong throughout, all the way up until the end where it slows down and shows you the creepier side of an already creepy band. Then the hidden track hits and you remember why you put this record in. Fast, loud, distorted as fuck music for doing whatever the hell you please to.

Favorite Album 1998: Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

Weird. Adorable. Weird. Catchy. Folky. Weird. Loud. Off-beat. Weird.
Just a few words to describe Jeff Magnum's...opus. It's definitely not for everyone. Hell, it's probably not for most people. At least, not at first. Even the most avant-garde kid these days would have to listen a few times to appreciate this record fully. Once one does begin to realize how to enjoy this record, though, it's a veritable treasure trove of indie gold. Magnum's songs paint oddly vivid (and vividly odd) portraits of a dreamscape so rarely exhibited in the modern world; a world lush with oddities and weirdos, all pasted onto melodies that range from shimmering acoustic riffs to horn-laden punk diddies. This is an album which, regardless of opinion, should not--and cannot--be missed.

EDIT: Listening again, I rediscovered how amazing this record is. Jeff Magnum's voice is haunting and resounding, proving that true vocal talent is the ability to convey emotion. I can't say enough. The closing track is as somber as it is beautiful, giving a nod to the tragic plight of Anne Frank (which heavily influenced this record's creation). This is defninitely among the greatest records ever written.

It's the simple things, really.

Just the little bits of things that make life worth living. Little things; nothing but a kind thought, a CD, and a message to the world. With one act my entire week has been justified. Brian Bohan sent me a copy of his band,His Hideous Heart's debut LP It's a Weird Time To Be Alive, and that simple gesture reminded me why we live. It was six words on a pink post-it note that brought joy to my heart.

Much gratitude. Support free music. Support love. -hhh

Simple. Yet within it was a message to the entire world. Life's about love, people. Spreading and giving are the purest forms of goodness and to give it out is to have it grow.
Like I said, it was just the gesture and the act of friendship that brought a smile to my face. This is why we live. We live for each other, and it seems all too often everyone forgets that. Love is everything.



Now let's talk about the actual CD. This is a fantastic work from six young folk from various midwest places, but centered in Cleveland, Ohio. Their debut LP, It's A Weird Time To Be Alive is both epic and minimalist, both deep and accessible. It's honest, moving post-rock/indie with beautifully arranged instrumentation and execution. Keep in mind that these are college kids who're all around 20 years old. I'm expecting a lot from this band in the future.

ps. <3 you, brian.

Favorite Album 1997: The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile

Man, I had a good post for this album but it got baleeted because my internet decides to shit on me every other day.

I can't really say much right now because I have writer's block, but it's a great emo/pop-punk record that was both accessible and deep. Plus, it gave us James DeWees, whom without we couldn't have Reggie and the Full Effect.

This Too Shall Pass

we dance like this matters
we dirty our hands with their lives
press on, press on, lives unwashed and clean
the world of the living becomes the world of the dead
their books and bones, their paper thrones
never burn our hearts and stones
we stain the stained, we wake the deceased
yet still the choir sings to their crooked priest
to a god of filth and wretched bones
who feeds on their faith and wrecks their homes
our words reach deaf ears
though the fire we hold
melts the heart
and breaks the soul
a pile of hopes and our bag of dreams
amid dead hands and shackled freedoms
this underfed season and dreary weather
have fed our bones and left us together




a work in progress...

Influence.

"This place is built of men
People who crush your hope and the things
that make you different
and my art is no art at all
my art is just bought and sold
and it makes no difference what you believe
if you don't stand up and make the difference"

Thanks.