Music recommendation: Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

Elbow is an English band that's been around since the earlier part of this decade. I only discovered them a little over a year ago, myself. They tend to stick to the mellower side of things, but they do it very well. From the two albums I was initially introduced to, I particularly enjoyed 2005's Leaders of the Free World. The song "Forget Myself" jumped out at me, and I'd suggest watching that music video I linked to there (but turn up the volume, I'm not sure why it's so quiet).

Their latest album, The Seldom Seen Kid, was released this past March, but I only first heard it this month. After muddling through the first track (which annoyed me with its sudden bursts of unnecessarily loud interludes that scared the shit out of me since the rest of the song is so soft and, consequently, my volume was cranked), the album really takes off.

I found myself putting the CD on repeat in my car and listening to it for about a week straight... It's not perfect (a couple songs do drag a bit), but there are many memorable moments to be discovered here. The three tracks that immediately follow the opener set the bar pretty high, and by the time you get to "One Day Like This," you're on board to join in on the little singalong they've conveniently put together at the end.

That's Elbow for you... Always lookin' out for the listener.

YouTube proves America has no sense of humor

OK, that subject is admittedly a hyperbole... YouTube actually proves that 80% of America has no sense of humor. Besides the scientifically sound fact that the Internet brings out the idiot in everyone, YouTube comments are the perfect example of the moronity that so many people are capable of. Besides the comment fields being rife with "fag" and "cock" comments, many of them (while entertaining) make me scared. Scared that most of America does not get the joke. And by "the joke" I mean "what a joke is." By now you're hoping for a concrete example. I would never let you down.

I saw a sneak preview of The Dark Knight on Wednesday, after which my friend Lon Harris interviewed some people (myself included) about what we thought of the film for the Mahalo Daily podcast. Since I am basically incapable of giving a straight answer anytime anyone asks me anything (I should probably see a psychiatrist to analyze that), my response actually described Iron Man. When asked if I went into the wrong movie, I responded "what's the Dark Knight?" After the credits roll, you see Lon egging me on by asking me about the Angelina Jolie film Wanted, to which I respond with a comment about Pixar's WALL-E. You can view the video here.

It would be clear to anyone who knows me that I was goofing around and being an idiot on purpose. I made the ignorant assumption that anyone with half a brain would extrapolate that. But looking at the YouTube comments, it's actually pretty amazing how many people just plain don't get the joke. And by that I mean it's amazing that anyone wouldn't get that it's a joke. But with all the genuine stupidity we all see in a daily basis, it's a sad truth that people assume some folks really are that dumb. It's just a shame that the art of deadpan is lost on people who read Perez Hilton's blog.

Anyway, onto the examples. Here are my favorite comments on the video:

JokerJr87 said: "i wouldve so puched out the guy who was like 'Whats dark knight?'"
(Dude, I'm totally a yellow belt. Don't even try it.)

crapbag5892 said: "your an idiot."
(This was in response to another comment on there, I just wanted to include it because it reminds me of this shirt.)

dawson01912 said: "These are some shitty fucking critics. Suck on my cock, faggots."
(This goes back to my "fag" and "cock" insight above.)

Fred1is1awesome said: "damn that one guy don't know what the dark knight is? and what the hell they're talkin' about wanted and the guy switches it to wall-e"
(Fred1, you truly are awesome)

xroflmaoz said: "lol, 1:20 is kinda funny"
(1:20 is where I come in!!! Someone gets it! Rejoice!!!)

The Dark Knight

I was certainly looking forward to seeing The Dark Knight, even if I didn't seem quite as ecstatic as others. I had a healthy dose of reality (c'mon, sequels suck) mixed with a touch of optimism (X2 and Spider-Man 2 proved sequels can be awesome) going into seeing an early showing of the film earlier tonight.

Now I'm not one for movie reviews, because when it comes down to it I really don't know what I'm talking about. But I felt compelled to write a quick note for those of you cautiously optimistic about The Dark Knight: breathe a sigh of relief. The movie is better than Batman Begins (a film I was a big fan of).

It is long-winded (2 and a half hours) but never feels too slow. It mixes numerous action scenes with heavy character development. Heath Ledger is, as so many have hinted at, very, very good as the Joker. There are multiple important characters but it doesn't suffer from the "too many villains disease" that many other films do *coughpreviousbatmanmoviesandspiderman3cough*. It even - so help me god - makes you think a little bit.

Does The Dark Knight have its flaws? Of course. But they are so few, and the movie is so darkly entertaining, that there is no point in nitpicking. If you're considering seeing the movie, do yourself a favor and go through with it. I can only hope Quantum of Solace can give me this much satisfaction.

Boo? Fuck you!

What does All-Star Chase Utley say when some Mets fans boo him while he's being announced in the Home Run Derby lineup? It ain't "thank you," I can tell you that much, but he does utter at least one of those two words. Here's the video:



True to form, a Philly fan has already made this shirt available to an adoring public. Utley may not have gotten past the first round, but he won the derby in our hearts with that moment.

The iPhone hoopla

There sure has been a lot of Internet chatter over the new iPhone and its shortcomings lately. Never one to back out of a civilized discussion such as this, I have decided to officially put my two cents in on the subject:

Dude, it's just a phone. Get over it.

Supergrass

I finally got to see one of my favorite bands, Supergrass, play live this past Saturday. They don't have a huge fan base in America, and as far as I can tell they don't come out here too often to play. I've been wanting to see them for a while and this was one of my first opportunities.

Many people who have actually heard Supergrass have only heard the song "Alright" from the Clueless soundtrack way back when and said, "oh they're that band that plays bratty britpop-punky music." It's not an entirely untrue statement, by any means. Their first album, I Should Coco (which included "Alright"), was chock full of this kind of music. But at the same time, the album forays into much more mellow territory in the second half, and even the teen-punk moments hint at a more complex undertone. I first heard the album as a pre-teen when my older brother bought; I thought it was catchy.

But when I was 17 and living in Scotland for a semester of my junior year of high school, I heard a side of Supergrass that I hadn't before when the song "Moving" was played in a music store I was browsing. I bought the album and immersed myself in its unique chord progressions and dark vocal harmonies. Later I ended up rediscovering the catchiness of their debut, and I became completely convinced when I listened to Road to Rouen, a collection of thoughtful, melodic, nuanced music that I didn't even realize the band was capable of.

Road to Rouen turned me from a casual fan into a big fan. I finally realized that the musical complexity I felt I had been hearing in their earlier work was confirmed and this was a genuinely great band who really knew how to write good songs. Their live show didn't make me want to back away from that stance.

The mix of the concert could have been a little better (when is it really perfect, anyway?), and I would have liked to hear more bass and drums. But Supergrass had great energy, played a great set, and rocked the shit out of the show. I could have used a few more songs, but they had another shindig going down at the Avalon afterwards that night, so the band clearly didn't have much of a choice. Plus, when you see a band with six albums of material, you're bound to be left wanting to hear a few extra songs.

It's funny how seeing a band live can have them make total sense to you, answering questions you've had in your head about how they tick that you can only guess the answers to by listening to recordings. I can say I'd see Supergrass any chance I get from here on out. They are a true rock 'n' roll band.

Happy 4th of July!

Independence Day: the time for all Americans to reflect on what makes the USA kick ass. Hey, there may be some serious problems facing the country today, but that doesn't mean we can't put aside our bitching for 24 hours to celebrate the things that rock, like freedom, Ben & Jerry's and Fender guitars. So for today's special occasion, I bring you two videos that encapsulate the glory of America.

The first is a fine video put together for the "America - Fuck Yeah" song from one of my favorite movies, Team America: World Police. Then to wind things down a bit is a song that makes me feel genuinely patriotic: Ray Charles' amazing rendition of "America the Beautiful."

Happy birthday, USA.