And they all want you to change

I came across this post the other day on Stereogum . What's really strange is I had not really paid any attention to it, aside from thinking, man that was a great album. Easily one of my favorite records from the early 90's, this album continues to be a great listen, no matter the disastrous albums that have followed, or the craziness that Billy Corgan has dreamt up in his own mind. And seriously, James Iha has to stop following me around the Lower East Side. Anyhows, that thought just crossed my mind, listening to the album. Where are the two girls from that album, then I remembered the post. Even the Pumpkins posted this on their site. Where are you oh siamese girls?

While I got Billy Corgan on the mind, what is up with that album cover for Zeigeist? Did they think that no one would notice it's so obviously a Shepard Fairey job, even though it looks like a Fairey rip-off. Nice way to mail it in Shep. And why does NYC have to be underwaters. Billy, are you still mad at James, and as a result, subsequently mad at the city he currently lives in? Let go man, just let go. I have only heard a song or two, and it doesn't make me want to listen to the rest of the record in any way.

While I'm on a rant about Shepard Fairey and his great Obey the Giant images, I'm reminded of all the imitators and rip-offs. My favorite play on the Obey the Giant images has got to be the Dogs Of War shirts and designs. Seriously, these kill me. I recently purchased a Obey the Schnauzer magnet for my fridge at home.

Listening Pile:
Today, we're listening to the album Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins. Truly a great album, and the breakthrough album for the band. i remember spending many late nights listening to this album. Great from start to finish. Go listen.

At the end of the day, one shall stand, one shall fall!

Finally, got to see Transformers. Loved the special effects, the robots, Megan Fox and it was a half-way decent plot.
However the real actors totally brought that movie down. Why the hell was John Torturro in that movie? He's an amazing actor and he played a horrible part, as agent Simmons. Megan Fox was lovely, as expected. So, was Rachael Taylor. Where the hell did she come from? Shia LaBeouf plays that same annoying goofy character he always plays. Blah, Blah, Blah... But seriously, the stars of the movie, were the Autobots and the Decepticons. The fight scenes were sick! The fight between Optimus Prime and Megatron was unreal, and a great way to cap off the movie. I am soooo getting this movie on DVD to watch through it on HD at home. I wondering if Megan and Rachael seem more real?

Came across this the other day and totally had to share it. You, can go to the Simpsons Movie site and make your own avatar in your likeness. As you can see to your right, it may not come out looking exactly like you, but hey, close enough.
I don't think anyone ever thought there would be a movie, none the less a website to make yourself into a character, or Simpsonized as they like to call it. I remember, when I moved to Springfield, NJ from Hillside in 1990. Every kid, including two of my best friends, Mike and Adam, were wearing Bartman t-shirts. Jeez, how far things have come in 17 years. Really sad to see that our Springfield lost out to Springfield in VT, in the movie premiere contest. That's a bummer. But I bet it could have something to do with the lame movie we entered and the lack of an actual movie theater in the town.


On the baseball front, the Yankees have won 6 out of 8 to start the 2nd half of the season. With four more games against the Devil Rays this weekend, then four more against the Royals leading to a three game series against the Orioles, plus the last two innings make up of a game from a few weeks ago, the Yanks have a real good shot at getting back into the postseason race. If they can win those 3 series, they'll put themselves in a really good spot leading into August. We've been getting pretty good pitching lately from our starters and the bullpen, with the exception of Krazy Kyle Farnsworth, aka the Farnswacker, has been pretty good too. That guy is worthless, unless there is a brawl brewing on the horizon. We do play the Red Sox a few more times this season, not that that's really enough reason to keep him around.

The bats, I have to say, have been pretty lukewarm against the starters lately. It seems they don't get going until the starter is almost out of the game, or the bullpen is in. A-Rod hasn't really hit well since the break, but has a few homers to balance it out. Seems like he's pressing for the homer a bit too much, when he should be looking to hit the ball the other way. And don't get me started on how sedentary our baserunners are on the basepaths. Can Torre call for a stolen base every once in while. Have we not learned anything from the Championship teams of the last few years? Manufacturing runs is always the best way to get an offense going and disrupt a staring pitcher. Serenity Now! Read this article about Dontrelle Willis and his problems lately. The D-Train has been derailed. He can't win a game if his life depended on it. And... he's been killing my fantasy team. I had the choice to keep him or Justin Verlander. Ugh! Also, came across this SI Feature with their picks for best athletes by number.

The easiest choices? Pele (10), Michael Jordan (23), and Lawrence Taylor (56). Numbers that lacked star quality: 65 (Elvin Bethea), 67 (Reggie McKenzie) and 69 (Krumrie).

Runner-up: LeBron James.

Worthy of consideration: Kirk Gibson, Pete Maravich (college), Calvin Murphy, Ryne Sandberg.

Um... #23, you ever hear of a guy by the name of Don Mattingly? Anyhows, there are some great debates, and certainly some no-brainers. Clemente and #21. Robinson and #42. Joe Montana and #16. LT and #56. Check out, it's a cool little feature.


Listening Pile:
BRMC is back with new album, Baby 81. It's a return to form for the San Francisco threesome. While their last album, Howl, wasn't a disappointment, it did lack that gritty, raw rock sound the band had become known for. That album was mostly acoustic, with an americana and rootsy twist. The new album sees them return to the howling(no pun intended) guitar wall of sound and pounding drums. A great piece of work work that reminds many of their early work, with dark textures, sonic soundscapes, and oozing sexuality. For the first time since their S/T debut album, they sound like a cohesive band that enjoyed making this album. With drummer, Nick Jago back in tow, after some addiction problems saw him leave right before the recording of the last album, the group has rejuvenated themselves, with a record that captures much of what initially made them such a great group.

How Are Things On The West Coast?

Things have been strange lately to say the least. July 4th hit me hard in the middle of last week. I keep reading all this stuff about how people want to move a holiday like the Fourth to the first thursday of the month. Now, theoretically, it sounds like a great idea. Like how Presidents day, MLK, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving are always fixed. Plus you get the extra day off, for a Thursday holiday. Lets give it up for the four day weekend. Last week was just a pain in the ass. The holiday did nothing for me, as I had to work half the day anyway, with one of the artists I work with playing a show that day. It killed my day. Killed it. Plus the weather didn't hold up and that just made things worse.

This past weekend was also a baseball induced blur, with old timer's day on saturday, then a marathon 14 inning game, then a regular 9 inning blow-out on sunday. The all-star break landed at just the right time. Those two games in two days, plus 2 games the previous Sunday and Monday proved to be way too much in such a short period of time. Which makes me think, those Ultimate Roadtrip folks have kind of got to be out of their minds. 4 games in 8 days made me kinda go nuts, I can't imagine what 162 games in 6 months would do to me. I'm thinking at some point it starts feeling like Groundhog's day and you're just begging for the toaster to fall into the tub. I ""mean, I LOVE baseball, but really, that's got to be just mind-blowing. I got to a point, when I could not even look at another hot dog. I was literally trying to figure out what beer I hadn't had yet. I'll say this, the Beers Of The World stand they have is a total rip-off. You literally pay $8 for a 12 oz beer, that if you bought at the grocery store, would cost you, no more than a $1.25. And, there's nothing special, it's Pilsner Urquel, Blue Moon, Amstel Light, Grolsch, and Corona. Nothing special really. Meanwhile, you could just go to the Heiniken booth and get a 24 oz. beer for $10. Now, which one sounds like the good deal. hmmmm. That's one of those things that drives me crazy. It's not up there with the great subway challenge, but it's up there.

So, while I'm on the subject of baseball, I'll throw this out there. The Yankees have 77 games remaining. It's been said that they would have to win about 95 games to make it to the postseason. The Yankees currently sit at 42-43. That means they would have to win approximately 52 games out of 77 to end up in the postseason. Aside from those two weeks in early June when they won something like 12 out of 13, they have not looked like a team that could win 52 out of 77. But here is where it gets tricky. 54 of those games are against teams below .500. 14 against the Rays, 10 against the lowly Royals, 12 against the Orioles, 10 against the Blue Jays, and 3 more versus the stumbling White Sox. There's some room to really get back into the swing of things. Now, I know the Yanks can win against those teams, but honestly it seems the Yanks have played pretty poorly against bad teams this year. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can see a big let down if they don't get going fast after the break. And, if they don't get off to a good start and get themselves 7-10 games over .500 before mid-August, they could be done for. As maybe their toughest stretch starts August 16th when the Yanks, start a series against the Tigers, followed by the Angels and then the Red Sox. That's 14 games against 3 very good teams, and possibly the 3 division winners. If the Yankees can pick up those 7-10 games, and play decent ball in those 14 games, this season has a shot, otherwise, we'll start looking towards 2008 a lot sooner.

Wow, now that's kinda depressing huh!

Listening Pile:
Interpol's new album, Our Love To Admire, has been in heavy rotation on the iPod. Their third full length, sees them sort of pick up right were Antics left off. It's dense, dark and brooding album, with the usual vague lyrics and swirling guitars. My biggest beef with the album, is that the production, while a bit excessive at times, tends to drown out a stellar drummer in Sam Foggarino and a superb bass player in Carlos D. In fact, it's a distraction because while Interpol have never been ones to beat you over the head with a sharp melody, the dense structure of the low end on most of their previous work, kept things intact and flowing with ease. I hear a few songs that sort of go nowhere and miss that deceptive low end. However, the record is pretty darn good. I love the melodramatic first song, "Pioneer To The Falls", as well as the confessional, "Rest My Chemistry". "Heinrich Maneuver" is a great first single, but lacks a solid follow-up. This album needs one more really solid rocker. Mammoth", almost pulls that off, but just lacks a catchy hook. There are a few other solid tracks on the album, but a good portion of the record sort of just sounds like filler. It almost seems like they came up a few songs short and just came up with a few uninspired tracks to finish the album.