You Are So Relevant

Hopefully Maron Isn't Just A Louie Clone

2013-04-12T14:30:00.000-05:00

I know we don't see a lot of Louie CK's parent's on Louie...I think we've only had one episode with Louie's mother, if I remember correctly...but when Marc Maron''s friends are introduced as being all stand-up comedians, just like Louie's, it's just too hard not too compare the two the two shows. Don't get me wrong, the world would definitely be a better place with more shows of the caliber of Louie but having listened to many, many, many WTF episodes I think that critical comparisons between Louie and Maron will drive Marc crazy and so I would have thought he would have gone out of his way to make the shows significantly different...even if it possibly made it not quite as good as it could be. Either way, I'll be watching May 3rd.

Rhett Miller's Voice Needs A Break

2013-04-12T11:10:00.002-05:00

The Old 97's Rhett Miller is having some major vocal problems recently and some 97's show have had to be cancelled. Here's one of my favorites from the Blame It On Gravity album from 2008 called "Dance With Me."

You can find more Old 97's songs to stream on their SoundCloud page.

The Boxer Rebellion Have A New Video

2013-03-25T17:00:00.000-05:00

The new Boxer Rebellion video "Diamonds" is out tomorrow...but it's up on YouTube now so here you go:

It's a slow burner that I really like. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I wasn't familiar with The Boxer Rebellion until seeing Going The Distance with my wife a couple of years ago. I've been a fan ever since and I'm really looking forward to their new album which is due this year.

You can currently get a six-song EP on their website for free and for your listening enjoyment here's a nice cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence."

All Six Star Wars Movies At Once

2013-03-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's not quite as awesome as The Shining shown backwards and forwards at the same time but all six Star Wars movies at once is pretty good. At least get through the first minute to hear the main title themes piling on top of each other as they are slightly delayed by a few seconds on each film.

Here's a quick little live version of the theme played by Buckethead who then transforms his guitar into a blaster and something sounding a little like R2D2.

Buckethead -- Star Wars Main Theme [Live] [mp3]
You can find the full video here and buy Buckethead's albums here.

New Daft Punk Album Cover

2013-03-24T09:17:00.001-05:00

Daft Punk's new album Random Access Memories comes out May 21st and you can order it here.

Begin Here: Tyrannosaurus Dead

2013-03-23T07:24:00.000-05:00

In this series we give you the key songs that you should check out from newer artists.

Today's group is Tyrannosaurus Dead from England. They have a new EP Pure//Apart coming out in June and you can preview two songs below. I really enjoy their fuzzed out style and "Soft" "will certainly be making its way into my top songs for 2013.

"Soft" href="http://oddboxrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pure-apart">Pure // Apart by Tyrannosaurus Dead

The second song is called "Sadie" and is certainly at least the second greatest song ever with the name "Sadie" in the title.
href="http://oddboxrecords.bandcamp.com/track/sadie">Sadie by Tyrannosaurus Dead

These two songs are back to back on the EP and they flow very nicely into one another. You pick up the Pure//Apart EP on the bands Bandcamp page.

YouTube Deep Tracks: Live Zombies

2013-03-22T17:27:00.000-05:00

In this series we comb YouTube for live tracks or rarities of some of my favorite artists.

My favorite group from the 1960's would have to be The Zombies and I've written about that a couple of times. Today's YouTube Deep Track is a live version of "Gotta Get A Hold Of Myself" from the British TV show called the Hippodrome Show. The song itself was a UK single only and you won't find it on either of the Zombies official albums Begin Here or Odessey and Oracle but it is regularly found on Zombies collections like my personal favorite Absolutely The Best.

The Zombies -- Gotta Get A Hold Of Myself [Live from Hippodrome Show, 1966] [mp3]
You can purchase the studio version of this song here.

A New Direction For Sigur Ros

2013-03-22T13:56:00.001-05:00

I'm really enjoying the new Sigur Ros song " Brennistein." Here's the new video which reminds me of Tool more than what you typically expect from Sigur Ros.

Their new album Kveikur doesn't come out until June and you can order it here. Here is what they have selected for their album cover.

Nick Offerman's Ode To Paste Magazine

2013-03-05T03:35:00.003-06:00

Nick Offerman a.k.a. Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation is currently on the cover of Paste Magazine and to celebrate he wrote a short song thanking them for the honor. I like it a lot!

Nick Offerman -- Ode To Paste Magazine

You can subscribe to Paste here and get a free t-shirt in return.

Archie Bunker's Thoughts On Minnesota

2013-02-28T09:23:00.002-06:00

I've been working through the entire run of All in the Family and I've been really enjoying it. Here's a video clip I made for Archie's thoughts on Minnesota:

The All in the Family theme song went through a few different versions and the one highlighted below is from the later seasons when Carroll O'Conner and Jean Stapleton sang the lyrics a little slower so everyone could understand the line "Gee, our old LaSalle ran great."

All in the Family Theme [Version from later seasons]

And here is a longer piano version of the closing theme played by Roger Kellaway.

Roger Kellaway -- Remembering You [All in the Family Closing Theme]

You can buy All in the Family DVDs here.

New Low

2013-02-27T15:00:00.000-06:00

Low have always been one of my favorite local bands...they hail from Duluth and I'm from Wisconsin...I know, not too local but still you take what you can get. You can grab their new song "So Blue" from the upcoming The Invisible Way on Soundcloud right now.

For the video of "So Blue" they would like to be sent photos that are inspired by the song. You can find more information on that on their Facebook page.

You can also pre-order The Invisible Way here.

Rifftrax Kickstarter Campaign + MST3K Theme Song Variations

2013-02-27T09:30:00.000-06:00

I'm a huge fan of Mystery Science Theater and Rifftrax and so I was excited to see that Rifftrax recently started a Kickstarter campaign to purchase the rights to Twilight which would let them host a live riffing to theaters across the country later this year. Their goal was $55,000 and so far they are nearly $100,000 over their goal. Twilight here we come!

Here's a clip explaining the Kickstarter campaign:

Here are a bunch of different versions of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme song...some with Joel and some with Mike singing.

Sung by Joel Hodgson:

MST3K Theme Song KTMA Version
MST3K Theme Song Season 1-4

Sung by Mike Nelson:

MST3K Theme Song Season 5-6
MST3K Theme Song Season 7
MST3K Theme Song Season 8-9
MST3K Theme Song Season 10

And here's the instrumental from the end credits

MST3K Love Theme

Here's the official Mystery Science Theater home page and you can buy all the MST3K DVDs from Shout Factory.

Eraserhead and The Eraserheads

2013-02-24T08:09:00.000-06:00

It took the better part of two days of stopping and starting but I finally finished watching David Lynch's Eraserhead. In some ways this movie screams for a Mystery Science Theater or Rifftrax take on it while at other points there are some truly beautiful/disturbing visuals that justify this films cult status. I don't believe the film had a proper trailer at it's release in 1977 but here is a fan made trailer that will give you an idea of what you'll experience watching this film.

While searching around for clips/commentary to the film I discovered a band called The Eraserheads from the Phillipines who were very popular in the 1990's. As you might imagine it is super catchy, chorus heavy rock...which is right up my alley.

The Eraserheads -- Magasin

Buy Eraserheads music here.
The Eraserheads official site.

Similar Album Covers

2013-02-21T07:48:00.000-06:00

Since I'm on the subject of Alabama Shakes, here is their album cover:

It more than reminds me of one of my favorite albums from 2006, The Black Angels' Passover.

Alabama Shakes -- Hold On [Live]

2013-02-21T06:55:00.001-06:00

This is one of my favorite Saturday Night Live performances from the past couple of years. "Hold On" is the first track from Alabama Shakes great debut Boy and Girls.

I'm Not Giving Up

2009-01-25T01:31:00.003-06:00

I'm not giving up on this blog but I think I will be taking a little hiatus. I have a little side project that I've been working on since September that has taken up more and more of my blogging time. The life of a music blogger can be lonely but I imagine that I will return shortly as my love of music has not diminished one bit...I'm just at a loss for words right now.

Things Learned Tonight

2008-11-04T22:13:00.002-06:00

--Chuck Todd nailed his audition for the Meet the Press hosting gig.

--No matter what a person has done in their life, they are still allowed to give their opinions on election night [e.g. Tom DeLay]

--Next to Obama winning, I am most happy that the buses will continue to run in Lawrence! YES!

--Hologram reporters rule!

--You know, re-watching that last John McCain appearance on Saturday Night Live, I feel really bad for John McCain...If only he could have been like that the entire time...full of humor, the ability to laugh at himself. I wish it could have been different for him...if he just could have beaten Bush in 2000.

President Barack Obama

2008-11-04T22:02:00.001-06:00

The Worst Possible Outcome

2008-11-04T10:50:00.002-06:00

I have been tossing this idea around in my head: three major twists of political history from 2000 until 2008 have worked to keep John McCain out of the White House.

Consider the following counterfactuals:

Al Gore wins Florida in 2000 in a disputed recount: Now conservatives are angry. Just when they have a decent shot at the White House, Rove/Bush screw it up. Another four years in the wilderness. And they have the feeling they were robbed. 9/11 still occurs, because the biggest failure was the lack of imagination to see what al-Qaeda could do and that failure crossed party lines. In the months that follow 9/11, Republicans begin the drum beat for investigations, etc. But unlike actual history, the attack is blamed almost entirely on the Democrats. There is no "My Pet Goat" moment for the Republicans. President Bush didn't receive the August 16, 2001 PDB briefing -- President Gore did. And the inability to turn the tragedy into a bipartisan failure -- President Gore had been a top government official since 1993 -- dooms the Democrats on national security issues. (This counterfactual shows that most of the blame arguments post-9/11 were nothing more than political CYA; I have no doubt that this counterfactual world has Sean Hannity mentioning the PDB every 8.2 seconds). The Republicans turn to McCain, who has the national security credentials to credibly and savagely attack Gore. With the full backing of the base, he could have run to the center and been the relaxed candidate that nearly took down Bush in 2000. And McCain is not facing the loose, relaxed Gore we see today. He is facing the wooden Bill Clinton-lite who is barely able to get out of his own way.

John Kerry squeaks out a win in Ohio in 2004: Again, you have to remember that the President Kerry that would be running for re-election in 2008 is not the John Kerry you saw on Meet The Press this weekend. Think about the awkward politician who votes for it before he votes against it. As Iraq deteriorates -- because there is no way that President Kerry doubles down in Iraq with a surge in 2007 the way President Bush did -- the blame game begins. Right now, Iraq can be squarely laid at the feet of the Republicans. Beyond the initial authorization vote, Democrats can escape all political repercussions for how well/poorly Iraq goes. But in this counterfactual world, the election of President Kerry gives the Democrats a political stake in the matter. And the question rings out, 'Who lost Iraq?" (Again, it is assumed that counterfactual Sean Hannity will claim that we were doing fine in 2004, President Kerry cut and ran, Democrats are weak on national defense, Democrats favor surrender, etc.). The huge Democrat gains of the 2006 election? Since they were a reaction to President Bush's leadership, they are gone. While President Kerry would not have been quite as incompetent on Katrina, I doubt that he would have had enough time (roughly 8-9 months) to make substantial changes to the Bush-era disaster preparedness scenarios. And he would have been hamstrung by the Stooges-like leadership of Blanco and Nagin. The Republicans turn to McCain, who has the national security credentials to credibly and savagely attack Kerry. With the full backing of the base, he could have run to the center and been the relaxed candidate that nearly took down Bush in 2000.

Hillary Clinton beats Obama in the primaries: This would be a far different race if it was McCain v. Clinton. McCain would have never needed to shore up his base. Almost everything that has turned off open-minded voters about John McCain has been an effort to shore up the base and guarantee that they come out to vote. Sarah Palin, William Ayers, the constant attack ads, socialism, etc. Steve Schmidt, Nichole Wallace, etc. are the JV team of the Bush/Cheney 04 campaign. BC04 won by getting out more Republicans than Kerry got out Democrats. KE04 hit every metric a D would want to hit in Ohio and still lost. But they are trying to replicate that magic in a campaign where it is doomed to fail. They haven't sufficiently scared the base about Obama and have turned off voters in the process. But with Hillary, the base would be sufficiently scared. They may not especially like McCain, they may not like the idea of an Obama presidency, but the idea of President Hillary Clinton sends chills down the spine of every Republican. I think a lot of the Hail Marys (Palin, suspending the campaign, etc.) wouldn't have been necessary, because you don't need to give the base any more reasons to vote. With the full backing of the base, he could have run to the center and been the relaxed candidate that nearly took down Bush in 2000. And Hillary would have had to spend time repairing a war within her base as the Obama supporters threaten to vote McCain or stay home. That would have forced her to the left, playing into McCain's hands.

Instead, McCain has to wait until 2008 and draw the worst possible opponent for his style. Politics is a lot like boxing -- styles matter when it comes to matchups. McCain's political style has been to vote with the party on plenty of issues, but when he doesn't agree, he makes sure everyone knows about it. He always tries to position himself as the non-ideological crusading independent. In all three counterfactuals, he would have been able to position himself as the Washington outsider, condemn business as usual in the capitol and keep his normal style without losing the base. But instead, he faced a candidate who was well-positioned to move to the center, had a strong committed base behind him and who didn't enter the race with the Republican base ready for blood. McCain faced a boxer with similar skills in a match where all of the externals of the political environment were for the other guy. And he is going to go down in a Bob Dole-like defeat as a result.

Matt's Predictions

2008-11-04T09:40:00.004-06:00

Writing this post is like putting on your favorite shirt after its just out of the dryer...I haven't really posted recently because of my level of frustration with the election reached critical and I also needed to find some steady employment and I felt bad writing my days away living off my fiance...

But now that both of those problems have been corrected, let's get down to business...

Some predictions:

1. Obama will win Georgia but lose North Carolina. I'm reaching on the George bit here but it will be interesting based on the huge amount of early voting that occurred there.

2. Pennsylvania will prove to be nowhere near as close as the reports from last week made it seem.

3. In my adopted home state of Kansas, Pat Roberts is going down baby!

4. A rising tide lifts all boats and Franken wins by 2%...and the independent candidate gets over 20% of the vote.

5. And to get hyper-local, Proposition 2 in Lawrence which would keep the City Bus service opperating by increasing the sales tax will pass with 70% of the vote. It makes me laugh when people talk about communism-this and socialism-that and I live in a major metro area that might get rid of its bus service.

6. Obama cracks 320 electoral votes and this "blue/red state" shit is over for eight years.

7. After the election http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/ will become the standard barrer for poll coverage and predicting the future.

8. Tim Russert's chalk and slate will be missed tonight.

9. Michelle Bachman in Minnesota will keep her seat in Congress.

10. Prop 8 will be defeated and California will fall into the ocean.

11. The Dems end up with 57 seats and Lieberman loses his chairmanship.

12. Ted Stevens will be re-elected even though he can't vote for himself.

13. Montana goes for Obama...so does Arizona.

Election Day has arrived

2008-11-04T08:36:00.002-06:00

Long time no talk, etc., blah, blah, blah.

Matt didn't post about the election for the sake of his mental health. I didn't post because I didn't have anything new to say. But now that ~~Christmas~~ Election Day is upon us, time for some predictions.

In the 7 key Senate races:
Alaska: Begich by 6
Georgia: Martin wins with less than 50%, forcing a December runoff that Chambliss wins.
Kentucky: McConnell by 4
Minnesota: Coleman by 1
New Hampshire: Shaheen by 9
North Carolina: Hagan by 9
Oregon: Merkley by 2

I'd love to hear Matt's predictions.

As If We Didn't Need Another Reason To Vote For Him

2008-10-14T18:05:00.003-05:00

But he gives us one anyway...this is the kind of calm we need in our leadership...

More Swift Kids

2008-10-08T00:19:00.003-05:00

Here is the new one about Sarah Palin and I think it is the best one yet:

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

And just to show they are equal opportunity, here are videos about Hilary and Obama:

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

New Logo

2008-10-08T00:13:00.000-05:00

One quick question

2008-09-26T22:42:00.002-05:00

After the first 2000 debate, which Al Gore won on substance but committed hari-kari on style, did the "dial" groups that the networks love reflect that?

By comparison, the first 2004 debate was a complete knock out for Kerry in every possible way.* Bush's debate coach considered the worst beatdown in presidential debate history as it was occuring.

* The two biggest victories in terms of just annihilating your opponents were Kerry v. Bush I in 04 and Mondale v. Reagan I in 84. Notice that neither "victor" won the ultimate prize.