AFI has got to be the band that has broke my heart the most during this emo slide that came about around 2001. This album like my last Unknown Road flashback is one of the less popular early AFI albums.
After listening to the first five albums repeatedly over the years I cannot really dicipher what is so different from the other AFI albums, but like the Unknown Road album I think it is experimentation, and lyrical content.
One theme that is prevelant in through Answer That and Stay Fashionable is that of betrayal, and more specifically pretending to be someone you are not. Two of a Kind, and Yurf Rendenmein are number one and three in the album...
I'm sorry, I'm listening to the album and I realize why people didn't like this album. It's the high pitched vocals that Davey Havok used to advance East Bay Hardcore, but also converted into so poppy junk that I just cannot support. I hated it when I heard the new stuff, but it is so catchy I am worried I might get sucked into a black hole of lame emotions, and stories about my Xs. C'mon man.
AFI used put on one hell of a show, and I paid thirty bucks in 2002 I think to see them promote their new album like they were the second coming of Metallica. Thank God they haven't gone as far as to sue everyone that wears make up.
Back to the album. This album has some old school punk in it. High Scool Football Hero is an original throwback to the Dead Kennedy's Jock o' Rama.
The tracks are solid, and the intros that include Resevour Dogs, and a movie I was sure was Spinal Tap, but on further inspection clearly is not. These aspects make this an album I think hits listeners on every level even stuff like great movies that only have a loose connection to music.
If you like new AFI ANDREW PARKER I send you a challenge to listen to two hours of old AFI without digging the real AFI.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Unknown Road
One of the bands that defines 90's skate punk is Pennywise. From thier 1989 release Wild Card to about 2003 Pennywise was creating athem like tunes that reached from kids smoking pads to hockey dressing rooms.
My favorite Pennywise album is Unknown Road. The entire album is written like a motivational speech. The title track is a great mix of classic chords, a message of pushing limits, and an introduction to Jim Lindberg singing. When the album was released many fans weren't fond, of the direction Lindberg had taken with the vocals, but I think it was a great direction to go in. I wish Pennywise would write more albums similar to this now that they have Zoli Tagles formally of Ignite singing for them.
"Up to Me",is a fast number that starts with some drumming that brings up tempo combined with classic Pennywise guitar distortion.
The one song that really won me over was "Dying to Know", it has some of the best guitar I have heard on a Pennywise album ever, and the vocals and lyrics are so strong that you cannot help but get into it. Lindberg sings the heck outta this one, and the message is more creating a heaven on earth rather than wait for when a person dies. I think it is a message that no matter what you believe you can get behind, because it focuses on problems on earth, rather than what people believe.The rest of the album is comprised of great tunes that stick out from every other Pennywise album.
There has been criticism in the past from people including myself that Pennywise got stale after about five albums becuase they mainly play sing-a-long power chord punk, but this album has fewer woahs, and the best lyrical content of any pennywise album.
My favorite Pennywise album is Unknown Road. The entire album is written like a motivational speech. The title track is a great mix of classic chords, a message of pushing limits, and an introduction to Jim Lindberg singing. When the album was released many fans weren't fond, of the direction Lindberg had taken with the vocals, but I think it was a great direction to go in. I wish Pennywise would write more albums similar to this now that they have Zoli Tagles formally of Ignite singing for them.
"Up to Me",is a fast number that starts with some drumming that brings up tempo combined with classic Pennywise guitar distortion.
The one song that really won me over was "Dying to Know", it has some of the best guitar I have heard on a Pennywise album ever, and the vocals and lyrics are so strong that you cannot help but get into it. Lindberg sings the heck outta this one, and the message is more creating a heaven on earth rather than wait for when a person dies. I think it is a message that no matter what you believe you can get behind, because it focuses on problems on earth, rather than what people believe.The rest of the album is comprised of great tunes that stick out from every other Pennywise album.
There has been criticism in the past from people including myself that Pennywise got stale after about five albums becuase they mainly play sing-a-long power chord punk, but this album has fewer woahs, and the best lyrical content of any pennywise album.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Dickin' Around on the Facebook
I thought The Social Network was going to be good, but I was surprised at how good it was when I saw it Tuesday night. Jesse Eisenberg has made it into an elite group of actors that I watch in movies as long as they are not romantic comedies - worst movie genre ever!
My elite actors by the way are Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tim Roth, John Turturro, and of course Adam Sandler. I'll even give my boy J.T. a shout out.
I liked the way Eisenberg portrayed Zuckerberg, because it didn't clearly paint Zuckerberg as good or bad. The audience is allowed to draw conclusions, and I think that most reasonable people would realize that we have all made poor decisions regarding people with which we have had differences. Stealing the idea for Facebook I thought was the most incriminating evidence, but I think if someone tells you something, and you improve on it, especially if that idea is based on something you did, it is their fault for giving intellectual property away. The film did a great job of going from present to past, while expanding knowledge on both timelines. I really liked how they developed the rift between Eduardo, and Mark. Most of the movie you are wondering how Eduardo is involved with the litigious matters, but there is enough information throughout for the audience to draw conclusions before the events are revealed in their entirety. There actually weren’t many specific parts that I loved, it was just a great movie overall.l
If there is any effect on Facebook's popularity I can only see it being positive. People don't go onto Facebook because of their love for Mark Zuckerberg. They go on there because their friends are on there too. The release of this movie likely will only increase the number of people on, and popularity of Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg's response in the PR Post blog was necessary, and exactly what he should have done. There are parts in the movie that are open to interpretation, for instance the creation of facemash and the comments he put on a blog about his ex-girlfriend, but Zutterberg allows for people to draw their own conclusions. All he says is that the movie is supposed to be "fun", which I believe allows him to separate himself from the way he is portrayed on screen, while not making claims that the creators are lying, or misrepresenting him. I think he therefore avoids having people look deeper into his past, and limits the impact anything in the film will have on him, or his future endeavors. I don't know if there is much else he could have done, and despite what Tiffany Gallicano might think I don't believe there is ever a wrong time to give to charity. I would have done the same thing as Zuckerberg.
My elite actors by the way are Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tim Roth, John Turturro, and of course Adam Sandler. I'll even give my boy J.T. a shout out.
I liked the way Eisenberg portrayed Zuckerberg, because it didn't clearly paint Zuckerberg as good or bad. The audience is allowed to draw conclusions, and I think that most reasonable people would realize that we have all made poor decisions regarding people with which we have had differences. Stealing the idea for Facebook I thought was the most incriminating evidence, but I think if someone tells you something, and you improve on it, especially if that idea is based on something you did, it is their fault for giving intellectual property away. The film did a great job of going from present to past, while expanding knowledge on both timelines. I really liked how they developed the rift between Eduardo, and Mark. Most of the movie you are wondering how Eduardo is involved with the litigious matters, but there is enough information throughout for the audience to draw conclusions before the events are revealed in their entirety. There actually weren’t many specific parts that I loved, it was just a great movie overall.l
If there is any effect on Facebook's popularity I can only see it being positive. People don't go onto Facebook because of their love for Mark Zuckerberg. They go on there because their friends are on there too. The release of this movie likely will only increase the number of people on, and popularity of Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg's response in the PR Post blog was necessary, and exactly what he should have done. There are parts in the movie that are open to interpretation, for instance the creation of facemash and the comments he put on a blog about his ex-girlfriend, but Zutterberg allows for people to draw their own conclusions. All he says is that the movie is supposed to be "fun", which I believe allows him to separate himself from the way he is portrayed on screen, while not making claims that the creators are lying, or misrepresenting him. I think he therefore avoids having people look deeper into his past, and limits the impact anything in the film will have on him, or his future endeavors. I don't know if there is much else he could have done, and despite what Tiffany Gallicano might think I don't believe there is ever a wrong time to give to charity. I would have done the same thing as Zuckerberg.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Buyer Beware
I got to admit buyer beware was way more informative than I thought it would be, and I think the turning point was when Digital West emailed Andrew back about the failure rates of their products. On the other hand Seagate responded to us as well unlike Hitachi, but I found the process to get information off of Seagate’s website exhausting, and futile many times when I didn’t a model, or serial number.
I had no idea that external hard drives were so prone to problems. I think the most surprising thing we discover was how fragile they are. Every site I visited recommended that you by a case for the hard drive, because a drop is a great risk with these products. That being said it seems that if you are careful with the drives they should last quite a while. Our research said upwards of five years, and in that time something better will likely come out anyway.
Secondary research helped, but primary research is really where we made some hay. As mentioned above going to the manufacturers was a great place to find information about how to care for hard drives, warranties, and even how to shop smart. John Pura deserves thanks. The guy is a wiz with computers. A couple days after he helped with our project he fixed a frozen computer in the radio station - and he wasn’t even in the room. Guy shows up anyway to make sure we a cool - class act all the way. I was surprised how much information even Wal-Mart electronics employees had about the external hard drives. We didn’t use any in our report, but when I asked about failures, and quality. He got me a hard drive from Lexmark, which is cheap, and has worked well for the first two weeks at least. I gathered much of what I learned from him by observing him talk to another customer who actually knew less than me.
I found that customer feedback, and critique are of limited value. Some are accurate, but in many cases, especially on-line, there is a limited pool that is not statistically significant, sometimes one person that rates the product so low it is meaningless accompanied buy explanations that are for the most part useless. Therefore we didn’t base any of our findings off that information, other than student, and expert testimony.
The aspect our project that I thought was most helpful for consumers was the how to care for a hard drive section, because it even if you buy the best hard drive improper care such as not ejecting, or constantly using the hard drive can cause it to malfunction. It is also good advice to ask any questions you may have, because there is so much information, and variety regarding external hard drives.
One thing that I noticed with all the projects was that there were items such as flight costs (Air Canada cheaper in some cases) that I had disregarded as impossible. The one that shocked me the most was the rental scam project. If they haven’t done this on the I-Team they should a lot of people could be helped just by what was taught in class, great research too possibly finding where the “creep” lives. I also liked that they highlighted different ways the scams can unfold.
I was impressed by all the buyer beware projects. They were all entertaining, and all immediately useful. The timeline provided for it gave time for review, and even elimination of information such as that of the forums, which were replaced by the purchase of an external hard drive.
I had no idea that external hard drives were so prone to problems. I think the most surprising thing we discover was how fragile they are. Every site I visited recommended that you by a case for the hard drive, because a drop is a great risk with these products. That being said it seems that if you are careful with the drives they should last quite a while. Our research said upwards of five years, and in that time something better will likely come out anyway.
Secondary research helped, but primary research is really where we made some hay. As mentioned above going to the manufacturers was a great place to find information about how to care for hard drives, warranties, and even how to shop smart. John Pura deserves thanks. The guy is a wiz with computers. A couple days after he helped with our project he fixed a frozen computer in the radio station - and he wasn’t even in the room. Guy shows up anyway to make sure we a cool - class act all the way. I was surprised how much information even Wal-Mart electronics employees had about the external hard drives. We didn’t use any in our report, but when I asked about failures, and quality. He got me a hard drive from Lexmark, which is cheap, and has worked well for the first two weeks at least. I gathered much of what I learned from him by observing him talk to another customer who actually knew less than me.
I found that customer feedback, and critique are of limited value. Some are accurate, but in many cases, especially on-line, there is a limited pool that is not statistically significant, sometimes one person that rates the product so low it is meaningless accompanied buy explanations that are for the most part useless. Therefore we didn’t base any of our findings off that information, other than student, and expert testimony.
The aspect our project that I thought was most helpful for consumers was the how to care for a hard drive section, because it even if you buy the best hard drive improper care such as not ejecting, or constantly using the hard drive can cause it to malfunction. It is also good advice to ask any questions you may have, because there is so much information, and variety regarding external hard drives.
One thing that I noticed with all the projects was that there were items such as flight costs (Air Canada cheaper in some cases) that I had disregarded as impossible. The one that shocked me the most was the rental scam project. If they haven’t done this on the I-Team they should a lot of people could be helped just by what was taught in class, great research too possibly finding where the “creep” lives. I also liked that they highlighted different ways the scams can unfold.
I was impressed by all the buyer beware projects. They were all entertaining, and all immediately useful. The timeline provided for it gave time for review, and even elimination of information such as that of the forums, which were replaced by the purchase of an external hard drive.
Friday, October 8, 2010
I know how Dennis Green felt - Mayoral Debate
I knew who Judy Wasylycia-Lies was when she started the forum, and I let her off the hook. I got to ask the first question during the question period, which I used to ask about how the candidates would help families instil respect for communities in their children. I meant to include "how do you get the parents to take the kids to the community centers?", but being green to the media game I missed it, and Judy rambled about community centers.
Richard Cloutier should check his facts. I am a Ozzie Gullien fan, not a White Sox fan - I cheer for the A's, Jays, Twins, and of course the Brew Crew (Brewers) - The A's are my team for the record.
Other than those faux pas' (some one get Chris Petty on this grammar) I thought forum was great. Sam Katz is quite the speaker. It was almost as if Judy was setting him up. What the love is she thinking. I got the documents in the garage. Yeah, you wanna see my old paint, and the toilet I used before the renovation. C'mon, I thought this was political hardball, not No Talent League slo-pitch. Sam Katz returned that one like was on the Jose Canseco steroid diet. Katz guaranteed that you can find his info on the internet, rather than his garage - makes sense.
I never thought that I would vote for Sam, but I was enchanted by his speaking, and I have to admit that we made eye contact several times, and it was magical. But seriously when I asked that question that Judy waffled on I knew she is not mayoral material. She seems like follower, not a leader. Judy also seems like a contrarian, because she has only one new idea, raising property tax, and Sam shredded that information. Sam on the other the other hand (still waffling somewhat), answered my question. He talked about getting all levels of government involved, and helping dysfunctional, poor, and single parent families. I know that is a generic answer, but at least I felt like I asked a good question. Call it cliché if you wish, but I really felt like Sam was listening to the people.
Can I say that I will vote for Sam? No. Let’s just say that my boy Rav Gill may have lost a vote on Wednesday even though I like that he has different ideas, but Steve V. schooled CreComm on how little the Mayor can do without support from the council.
Am I getting sucked in buy the Sam Katz charm? Who knows?
The points that really affected me (someone please get Petty on this word use) were Sam’s assertion that Judy has no useful experience in the real world. Sure promoting events is a dream for most, but it is a REAL job. My friend Dale Kibbins does it, and until you get to a Katz level it is often hard, thankless work.
Judy had no response these kind of attacks from Sam, and I fret to think of how she would respond to Harper if she needed help.
Oh yeah “conservative” mayor will be better for Winnipeg. The federal government I believe needs to be wooed a little bit more than the provincial one, because the Provincial government is invested directly in the province. The federal government id invested in the overall well being of the country primarily. Plus Harper already does well in the west.
Stay tuned for a anti political Propaghandi flashback "Less Talk, More Rock"
Richard Cloutier should check his facts. I am a Ozzie Gullien fan, not a White Sox fan - I cheer for the A's, Jays, Twins, and of course the Brew Crew (Brewers) - The A's are my team for the record.
Other than those faux pas' (some one get Chris Petty on this grammar) I thought forum was great. Sam Katz is quite the speaker. It was almost as if Judy was setting him up. What the love is she thinking. I got the documents in the garage. Yeah, you wanna see my old paint, and the toilet I used before the renovation. C'mon, I thought this was political hardball, not No Talent League slo-pitch. Sam Katz returned that one like was on the Jose Canseco steroid diet. Katz guaranteed that you can find his info on the internet, rather than his garage - makes sense.
I never thought that I would vote for Sam, but I was enchanted by his speaking, and I have to admit that we made eye contact several times, and it was magical. But seriously when I asked that question that Judy waffled on I knew she is not mayoral material. She seems like follower, not a leader. Judy also seems like a contrarian, because she has only one new idea, raising property tax, and Sam shredded that information. Sam on the other the other hand (still waffling somewhat), answered my question. He talked about getting all levels of government involved, and helping dysfunctional, poor, and single parent families. I know that is a generic answer, but at least I felt like I asked a good question. Call it cliché if you wish, but I really felt like Sam was listening to the people.
Can I say that I will vote for Sam? No. Let’s just say that my boy Rav Gill may have lost a vote on Wednesday even though I like that he has different ideas, but Steve V. schooled CreComm on how little the Mayor can do without support from the council.
Am I getting sucked in buy the Sam Katz charm? Who knows?
The points that really affected me (someone please get Petty on this word use) were Sam’s assertion that Judy has no useful experience in the real world. Sure promoting events is a dream for most, but it is a REAL job. My friend Dale Kibbins does it, and until you get to a Katz level it is often hard, thankless work.
Judy had no response these kind of attacks from Sam, and I fret to think of how she would respond to Harper if she needed help.
Oh yeah “conservative” mayor will be better for Winnipeg. The federal government I believe needs to be wooed a little bit more than the provincial one, because the Provincial government is invested directly in the province. The federal government id invested in the overall well being of the country primarily. Plus Harper already does well in the west.
Stay tuned for a anti political Propaghandi flashback "Less Talk, More Rock"
Friday, October 1, 2010
The lost Green Day Post
There was a time when Green Day wasn't creating generic junk, and lame musicals. Back in 1990 when they released Kerplunk on Lookout records Green Day had a sound that made them huge a few years later with Dookie. 2000 Light Years Away is the first track, and you can hear in this song why Green Day has been able to make it as far as they have. It is very catchy, but unlike their new stuff it has a little edge. Welcome to Paradise was originally released on this album, and it is that kind of tune you can expect for the rest of the album, but unlike later releases they still incude their hillbilly humor song Dominated Love Slave (it is sorta like Sassafrass roots off Dookie.
I don't know really where to start when discussing songs on this album, but Words I Might Have Ate is a great, almost folksy song. The cover of My Generation was a formitable achievement. Think the opposite of the abomination Limp Bizcut created.
This is the best Green Day album - trust me. Dookie is an argueable alternative, but it might be the recording value (the crappier the punker) but this album has a sound that I don't think can be topped for the type of music it is. That is not to say that I think this is the best album ever, but I believe that out of every disc I own this is the one I would bet on being universally enjoyed.
By the way I got to say I am very disappointed in Green Day, but I want everyone to know I am not sore at them despite what I am going to write.
What the Hey!? is with all this American Idiot noise. I read an article in a Magazine called Threat (don't get me started on that publication) where Green Day said they thought writing a rock opera was so the opposite of punk that it was super punk. Super punk is my descriptive word, but that was the gist of an explanation for American Idiot. There are about three quality tunes on that album in my opinion and other than that Green Day is more about make up than music.
Save your money next timew Green Day releases an album, and buy Kerplunk.
I don't know really where to start when discussing songs on this album, but Words I Might Have Ate is a great, almost folksy song. The cover of My Generation was a formitable achievement. Think the opposite of the abomination Limp Bizcut created.
This is the best Green Day album - trust me. Dookie is an argueable alternative, but it might be the recording value (the crappier the punker) but this album has a sound that I don't think can be topped for the type of music it is. That is not to say that I think this is the best album ever, but I believe that out of every disc I own this is the one I would bet on being universally enjoyed.
By the way I got to say I am very disappointed in Green Day, but I want everyone to know I am not sore at them despite what I am going to write.
What the Hey!? is with all this American Idiot noise. I read an article in a Magazine called Threat (don't get me started on that publication) where Green Day said they thought writing a rock opera was so the opposite of punk that it was super punk. Super punk is my descriptive word, but that was the gist of an explanation for American Idiot. There are about three quality tunes on that album in my opinion and other than that Green Day is more about make up than music.
Save your money next timew Green Day releases an album, and buy Kerplunk.
What in the World happened to you?
The name of this Blog is two fold.
It lets me explain that I had written a Green Day blog on Monday, but I didn't realize their was an error, so hear comes the belated mystery band blog.
Green Day was the answer. Good job Kenton.
The other reason is that even though it is an Offspring song, I wonder what in the world happened to Green Day. This band used to be great. The album I'm reviewing, Kerpluk, is proof of that. The tunes on this album have something that has been missing since Dookie. Lets call it over production. Kerplunk has good tunes that are a little poppy, but they still have enough edge, and lack of production that it has the sound of an old 80's punk record. Something like the Descendents, who I believe could have made it huge if they allowed their tunes to be over produced.
The best songs on the album in my opinion are "Who wrote Holden Caulifield","Sweet Children", and "Words I Might Have Ate." All of these songs have great speed changes, and they are emphasized by Tre Cool's perfection on drums. The lyrics are what I think seperates these three from the rest of the album. The rest of the songs are well written, but these ones have a reflective quality that I think complements the instruments well. They don't stink of a writer that isn't as clever as he thinks is like "Time of your life", what a piece of junk from a long time fan perspective. Maybe Green Day is just trying too hard to be profound.
I read them quoted as saying that they did the American Idiot album as a rock opera because it was so unpunk it was punk- sorry guys it is a cop-out, sell-out, waste of a forty minutes other than St. Jimmy.
And what is with the make-up? I don't think the establishment cares what these guys do now that they are anthem for everything that is wrong with music.
So to sum up I love Kerplunk, and I cannot believe that Green Day is now the opposite of Kerplunk.
It lets me explain that I had written a Green Day blog on Monday, but I didn't realize their was an error, so hear comes the belated mystery band blog.
Green Day was the answer. Good job Kenton.
The other reason is that even though it is an Offspring song, I wonder what in the world happened to Green Day. This band used to be great. The album I'm reviewing, Kerpluk, is proof of that. The tunes on this album have something that has been missing since Dookie. Lets call it over production. Kerplunk has good tunes that are a little poppy, but they still have enough edge, and lack of production that it has the sound of an old 80's punk record. Something like the Descendents, who I believe could have made it huge if they allowed their tunes to be over produced.
The best songs on the album in my opinion are "Who wrote Holden Caulifield","Sweet Children", and "Words I Might Have Ate." All of these songs have great speed changes, and they are emphasized by Tre Cool's perfection on drums. The lyrics are what I think seperates these three from the rest of the album. The rest of the songs are well written, but these ones have a reflective quality that I think complements the instruments well. They don't stink of a writer that isn't as clever as he thinks is like "Time of your life", what a piece of junk from a long time fan perspective. Maybe Green Day is just trying too hard to be profound.
I read them quoted as saying that they did the American Idiot album as a rock opera because it was so unpunk it was punk- sorry guys it is a cop-out, sell-out, waste of a forty minutes other than St. Jimmy.
And what is with the make-up? I don't think the establishment cares what these guys do now that they are anthem for everything that is wrong with music.
So to sum up I love Kerplunk, and I cannot believe that Green Day is now the opposite of Kerplunk.
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