no_brain_er

I'm not sure when this went live, or if it's already being discussed in another thread, but the new website for Monsters University looks so much like a real university website, it's scary (pardon the pun). It's got admission information, student testimonies, stuff about the different colleges under the university, and a webstore! Great stuff. Surely I can't be the only one who's looking forward to this. Here's hoping this sequel isn't as bad as Cars 2, considering Monsters Inc. was a much stronger original movie than Cars in my opinion.

Daft Punk is fantastic. They basicaly redefined popular electronic music in their prime. As for a favorite album, I really like Discovery, but Homework is just as good. Not as universally acclaimed, but it did produce singles like "Around The World" and "Burnin", two of my favorite DP songs. (Sounds awesome on vinyl, too!)

Not to change the subject or anything, but I went record shopping today, and found this gem straight from the 80's in the bargain bin at FYE. After The Fire - ATF Surprisingly, it's pretty good. They only had one hit in the US, which was an English cover of "Der Kommissar." Give it a listen, you might love it (or, depending on your age, it might give you a weird flashback). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdhUwVjQzRk

I'm leaving for Orlando tomorrow afternoon! I haven't been since 2004... It's been entirely too long.

It feels pretty good to be done for summer, even if my last final exam didn't go so well. Oh well; I might be going to Orlando for the last week of May!

I don't know how many of you (or if any of you) are planning on partaking in this year's festivities, but today is Record Store Day! I've been waiting for today for a very long time, and my local record store, Wuxtry Records, had a midnight opening! I gotta admit, standing in line might not have been the most exciting thing in the world, but I got two great records out of it, and I can get the other ones that I want later today! This is my haul so far:

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the most terrifying carnival ride I've ever seen. Ever.

"Dick Clark, the music industry maverick, longtime TV host and powerhouse producer who changed the way we listened to pop music with American Bandstand, and whose trademark Rockin' Eve became a fixture of New Year's celebrations, died today at the age of 82, ABC News has learned." Rest In Peace.

Goliath, at Six Flags over Georgia last weekend. This was the last ride of the night, following an eight-ride Mind Bender marathon!

Not sure how heavy folks around here like to go, but hey, it's worth a shot. There's a band called La Dispute. They're crazy good. A little heavier on the music side, and their vocalist takes a bit of time to get used to, but once you've given their stuff a try, it's hard to stop listening. Their album "Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair" is a post-hardcore masterpiece, musically and (definitely) lyrically. (The song isn't actually seven minutes long, but the video is for some reason.)

Just got back to my dorm from the Real Estate show, which I was able to go to after all! The opening band, Folklore, was alright, but not really my cup of tea. Next to play was Twerps, and they were a lot of fun! But, of course, Real Estate stole the show for everyone. They even played my two favorite songs of theirs back to back! Great guys, great music, and great stage presence. I'm going to be feeling it tomorrow morning.

Saw Machinedrum and SBTRKT (two insanely good electronic artists) last Tuesday, and both of their sets killed. I got there half an hour early, because I have horrible timing, but was shocked and saddened to see that there were (literally) three people in the room when Machinedrum started his set, including me. Two other guys came in when the music got loud, and they started dancing like crazy, which made everything much more fun! By the end of his set (which lasted over an hour!), there were 50-60 people in the room, a much better number to end with. Of course, all of the drunk frat guys and sorostitutes showed up for SBTRKT (completely missing Machinedrum), which isn't a bad thing, but I felt so bad for Machine. He's so talented, and he was actually the reason I went to the show in the first place, but that's a different rant for a different day. Long story short, SBTRKT was crazy good, but they played all of the songs I wanted to hear in the first 30 minutes, so I left early. That, and someone in the middle of the crowd lit up a blunt or something, and I hate the smell of weed. Anyways, the show was fantastic; I definitely need to see Machinedrum again before too long. The Georgia Theatre, a great place made greater after the fire a few years ago. Machinedrum doing his thang. I swear, the entire building was shaking for an hour. His new EPROM remix is killer, by the way. SBTRKT being generally awesome. Sampha is a phenomenal singer. So, my next concert was going to be Real Estate, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to sell my ticket. It's looking to be that my next concert will either be the Reptar album release show later this month (if you haven't heard of them, check 'em out!), or the Beach House show in May.

The SBTRKT/Machinedrum show is tonight! I'm so psyched! Also, is anyone here into Surfer Blood? They sort of remind me of a cleaner, more rock-n-roll Vampire Weekend. Really, really good.

^ Anyways, I've never really been a fan of the Prius family, but earlier this evening, I found the Prius C. Needless to say, if I ever decide to get a hybrid, that will be the one (or a Lexus CT hybrid, but I'm planning on being broke for the next few years, so a Lexus is basically out of the question). It's small, looks better than a lot of other small hatchbacks, and gets over 50mpg in the city! The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the tail lights, but that's just a part of the Prius style.

So, I'm kinda psyched for the next few weeks. Aside from the SBTRKT show I've been waiting for since January, I'm also seeing Real Estate and Twerps on April 7th! It's a real shame that Real Estate isn't more popular, they're so good... (They have an album called Days. Go listen to it.)

I just got into collecting vinyl records late last year, but it's a lot of fun! So far, I've just been buying some of my recent favorites and a few new releases, but I'm also trying to get a serious collection started, what with limited pressings and colors. I don't really have a records that's worth much yet, only because that would require me spending a bunch of money I don't have. Two of my favorites that I currently own are a seafoam green copy of Best Coast's Crazy For You, one of 1000: And, a metallic blue pressing of Jurgen Muller's Science of the Sea, one of 300:

I don't know how many of you are into them, but Sleigh Bells has a new album, Reign of Terror, coming out TOMORROW. Usually, if there's an album I really want, I'll download it and then decide whether or not it's worth buying; but, since Treats was so good and the two singles from this new album (Born To Lose and Comeback Kid) were mouth-watering, I went all out and pre-ordered the vinyl without downloading a leak. It's going to be great. The vinyl is arriving tomorrow, and as soon as I'm out of class, it's on. R.O.T http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsQep6H5qXU

Sulk, by Trust. Weird song, in the best way possible.

I think they'll both sell fine. While it's true that Subaru has been in the game much longer, and that a lot more people are probably aware of the brand, Scion has sold plenty of cars since 2003 (think of how many xB's and tC's you see on the road), and they cater to a newer generation of car buyers. Since the cars look almost the same, I think it'll probably come down to which brand name people are more attracted to: the modern edginess of Scion, or the established reliability of Subaru. I'd be more inclined to buy the Scion, but I do take some bias (I drive a Scion currently, and I love it).

I know it's probably already been discussed somewhere in here, but the new Scion model, the FR-S, is coming out this Spring. It's Scion's first RWD car, as well as being Toyota's first in a while, if I'm recalling my facts correctly. Here's hoping it'll drive as nicely as it looks.

So, I watched Hobo With a Shotgun a few weekends ago... Let's just say that it was completely gratuitous in every way, form, and manner. Lots of blood, gore, violence, swearing, and ACTION! What can you expect? It was made to look like a grindhouse film from the 80's! At some points, the sheer insanity of it all got to me for a bit, but I was able to quickly recover from either laughing or going "awww" from the one or two sentimental moments it squeezed in. If none of that sounds particularly fun to watch to you, then avoid at all costs. If you have an iron stomach and an open mind, then go for it. It made my Top 10 list. 8.5/10

There definitely is a talent in dubstep or any electronic music (I can't make dubstep on my computer, so obviously these people have more skill at music editing programs than me), but I agree that if there are no instruments or singing these artists are not musically talented. I would call them masters of computer-generated sounds There is something to be said for playing the guitar, drum set or piano live versus "live dubstep" which is an anomaly. I have to disagree with you here (respectfully, of course). Personally, I think it takes a great deal of talent to make good electronic music without "instruments or singing." Sure, anyone with FL Studio can throw together a dance or rap beat and auto-tune themselves to death, and (unfortunately) that has become the standard for Top 40 and most Dubstep tracks today. But! There are plenty of amazingly talented EDM artists out there that have more talent behind a drum machine than many people do behind an instrument. Take Machinedrum, for example. He doesn't actually play what we think of as an "instrument" to my knowledge, but what he can create is emotion, and he does so through his programming. The ability to put actual emotion into an electronic music track, including dubstep, is what separates Skrillex-esque "Brostep" from artists like Mala, Coki, or Skream. Speaking of Skream, here's a fantastic track that demonstrates that dubstep doesn't have to have heavy saws and WUBWUBWUB bass.

As a small update to the list that I made some time ago, I'm going to add Natasha Leggero. She's so freakin' funny! If you don't know her by name, she's on Chelsea Lately a lot (which I don't actually watch all too often, because there's no TV in my dorm room). Hilarious woman. Also, Patton Oswalt. I didn't like him very much for the longest time, but now I can see what I've been missing. Werewolves and Lollipops is one of the funniest comedy albums I've listened to in a long time.

Agreed about Sepalcure. That would be so amazing. I swear, any time Travis Stewart starts a new project, I obsess over it.

Just bought a ticket to see SBTRKT and Machinedrum in March! I'm so excited; these are my two favorite electronic artists as of recently. Strangely enough, I think I might be a little more excited for Machinedrum, but SBTRKT is sure to amaze as well.