In no particular order
1. David Vandervelde - The Moonstation House Band
2. Apostle of Hustle - The National Anthem of Nowhere
3. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
4. The Good, The Bad and The Queen - The Good, The Bad and The Queen
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
4 on the list already is pretty good for January!
Check other good albums : http://www.revinity.com/2007
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
They might be the next Clash....
Or maybe just the next 7 Seconds.
Yeah Baby.... AGAINST ME!
I put them in the 10 best bands around. They have a new album coming out in the spring.
I've maintained Against Me! could be the next Clash... a band the defies expectations, and creates something amazing.
But maybe....
Anyone remember 1987? Anyone remember 7 Seconds?
7 Seconds had released what was a career-defining album Walk Together Rock Together, were on the verge of something grand, and then released a change of pace record called : New Wind.
The album was released in a hail of angry and narrow minded fans shouting "SELL OUT"
Against Me! recently released a career-defining album Searching for a Former Clarity (the best album of 2005) and are definately on the verge of something grand, and are about to release a new album called.... New Wave
No one has heard a note yet, and there's a hail of angry and narrow minded fans shouting "SELL OUT"
20 years later, perhaps there is some similarity.
Or not....
Perhaps they are the next U2.
Bear with me a second.
Back in 1985 U2 had released 3 albums, and had defined their sound to the point of near-perfection. This culminated with the War album (quite possibly the final, triumphant note of "The Big Sound" era).
With the release of The Unforgettable Fire, U2 started exploring their music a bit deeper.
Bizarre as it may sound, cries of "SELL OUT" rang loudly.
A rabid following put their fingers in ears, shouted "LA LA LA" and refused to accept that a band should grow beyond helicopter guitar riffs and videos of them marching around in the snow.
7 Seconds tried.... U2 succeeded.
I have high hopes for Against Me!
In March, I'm headed up to the wilds of Grand Rapids. Home of DeVos, Van Andel and a bunch of other creepy white christian dutchmen to see the band play.
Slightly less creeepy and quite a bit more fetching is Lil' Ms. Kristin, who is going with me to the show.
Anyone in GR... Go see this band. March 10th, Skelletones.
It may be like 1983, when U2 played Dooley's.
Yeah Baby.... AGAINST ME!
I put them in the 10 best bands around. They have a new album coming out in the spring.
I've maintained Against Me! could be the next Clash... a band the defies expectations, and creates something amazing.
But maybe....
Anyone remember 1987? Anyone remember 7 Seconds?
7 Seconds had released what was a career-defining album Walk Together Rock Together, were on the verge of something grand, and then released a change of pace record called : New Wind.
The album was released in a hail of angry and narrow minded fans shouting "SELL OUT"
Against Me! recently released a career-defining album Searching for a Former Clarity (the best album of 2005) and are definately on the verge of something grand, and are about to release a new album called.... New Wave
No one has heard a note yet, and there's a hail of angry and narrow minded fans shouting "SELL OUT"
20 years later, perhaps there is some similarity.
Or not....
Perhaps they are the next U2.
Bear with me a second.
Back in 1985 U2 had released 3 albums, and had defined their sound to the point of near-perfection. This culminated with the War album (quite possibly the final, triumphant note of "The Big Sound" era).
With the release of The Unforgettable Fire, U2 started exploring their music a bit deeper.
Bizarre as it may sound, cries of "SELL OUT" rang loudly.
A rabid following put their fingers in ears, shouted "LA LA LA" and refused to accept that a band should grow beyond helicopter guitar riffs and videos of them marching around in the snow.
7 Seconds tried.... U2 succeeded.
I have high hopes for Against Me!
In March, I'm headed up to the wilds of Grand Rapids. Home of DeVos, Van Andel and a bunch of other creepy white christian dutchmen to see the band play.
Slightly less creeepy and quite a bit more fetching is Lil' Ms. Kristin, who is going with me to the show.
Anyone in GR... Go see this band. March 10th, Skelletones.
It may be like 1983, when U2 played Dooley's.
McFlickr
So I got an email that says I have to get a Yahoo! account to use Flickr now.
Yes, I know they bought them and are free to do what they feel they need to do. It shouldn't be so odd, I had to change to my Google login to resume using this blog.
But here's the deal....
I really don't like Yahoo!
I never have. I don't like their tools, I don't like their manner, I don't like the look of their face.
They are not my playground friend.
What about Google? What about Picassa?
Well, I like Google only a bit more than Yahoo!
They're like that guy that had a party at his house and had good beer, didn't play any Creed or Nickelback, but was still sort of an ass.
I have Gmail, but rarely use it. I use Blogger, but also have a Wordpress account. In other words, I'm not tied to it.
I'm sure in the next few weeks, scores of people who contribute more to the whole blog thing will be declaring their love for the new great startup photo sharing site.
I'll be checking them all out, too.
Pity tho, Flickr was pretty fucking cool.
Yes, I know they bought them and are free to do what they feel they need to do. It shouldn't be so odd, I had to change to my Google login to resume using this blog.
But here's the deal....
I really don't like Yahoo!
I never have. I don't like their tools, I don't like their manner, I don't like the look of their face.
They are not my playground friend.
What about Google? What about Picassa?
Well, I like Google only a bit more than Yahoo!
They're like that guy that had a party at his house and had good beer, didn't play any Creed or Nickelback, but was still sort of an ass.
I have Gmail, but rarely use it. I use Blogger, but also have a Wordpress account. In other words, I'm not tied to it.
I'm sure in the next few weeks, scores of people who contribute more to the whole blog thing will be declaring their love for the new great startup photo sharing site.
I'll be checking them all out, too.
Pity tho, Flickr was pretty fucking cool.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
10-Minute Presentations
This may be crap.
I've been working on a long-form book / presentation / manifesto for a while now. I make progress from time to time, but realized that it, most likely, will never be finished.
So, I'm chiselling off small pieces.
My goal : A concise discussion of a single topic in 10 minutes.
This means no fat, no fluff, none of the usual shit.
The audience will either get it completely or not at all.
That's fine, it's only 10 minutes of their lives.
I'm posting the first shortly.
I've been working on a long-form book / presentation / manifesto for a while now. I make progress from time to time, but realized that it, most likely, will never be finished.
So, I'm chiselling off small pieces.
My goal : A concise discussion of a single topic in 10 minutes.
This means no fat, no fluff, none of the usual shit.
The audience will either get it completely or not at all.
That's fine, it's only 10 minutes of their lives.
I'm posting the first shortly.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Darwin in the backyard
I'm watching survival of the fittest unravel in my backyard.
I put out food for the squirrels as I think the cold took them by surprise.
There are two that I see often : 1 scrawny and patchy one and a healthy, robust one.
Photo of Scrawny one (from summer '06)
Photo of Healthy one
Each are after the food, and each have their tactics to drive the other off.
The scrawny one has no fear of me walking by the windows, where the healthy one bolts anytime he sees something move.
My cat, Spoon is an added wrinkle, wanting to kill and eat both of them.
Known killer evidence : Exhibit One | Exhibit Two | Exhibit Three
Results of the Darwinian smackdown are pending.
I put out food for the squirrels as I think the cold took them by surprise.
There are two that I see often : 1 scrawny and patchy one and a healthy, robust one.
Photo of Scrawny one (from summer '06)
Photo of Healthy one
Each are after the food, and each have their tactics to drive the other off.
The scrawny one has no fear of me walking by the windows, where the healthy one bolts anytime he sees something move.
My cat, Spoon is an added wrinkle, wanting to kill and eat both of them.
Known killer evidence : Exhibit One | Exhibit Two | Exhibit Three
Results of the Darwinian smackdown are pending.
Still looking for a great writing program
I got spoiled by VoodooPad.
I'm looking for a writing program with a few basic (I consider them basic) features:
Multiple documents in a browsable list
basic editing features
single portable file
ability to synchronize with other computers (e.g. desktop and laptop)
Export to Word (for the suits)
Ability to post to blogger
Pagination for printing
Nice to look at
I've been sampling pretty much everything out there.
My current faves are :
VoodooPad - Link
Notae - Link
Journaler - Link
Scrivner - Link
But somehow, none of them accomplish all of what I need.... anyone have any other thought?
I'm looking for a writing program with a few basic (I consider them basic) features:
I've been sampling pretty much everything out there.
My current faves are :
VoodooPad - Link
Notae - Link
Journaler - Link
Scrivner - Link
But somehow, none of them accomplish all of what I need.... anyone have any other thought?
Dreaming like Andrew Bird's Violin
My dreams have been becoming increasingly bizarre.
I've been trying to take notes in the morning, to remember what occurred as it's far more fascinating than my current waking life.
I had one last night where I was discussing the current state of online design in the Detroit area. I have a lurking fear that this city is dead to me, and that the "business of design" is beating any real innovative thought.
Out of the dream, all I can recall is one line that sums up all my feelings :
Retards working hard to make it to baseball cards.
I'll be putting that one in a song shortly.
I've been trying to take notes in the morning, to remember what occurred as it's far more fascinating than my current waking life.
I had one last night where I was discussing the current state of online design in the Detroit area. I have a lurking fear that this city is dead to me, and that the "business of design" is beating any real innovative thought.
Out of the dream, all I can recall is one line that sums up all my feelings :
Retards working hard to make it to baseball cards.
I'll be putting that one in a song shortly.
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