Friday, March 03, 2006

When the levee breaks

So it's been a while since I've updated. I could use the excuse that I'm going for quality not quantity... but, judging by my posts I don't think I can use that one...

Well, here's what's new (categorized for a change, coz' there's quite a bit):

PERSONAL

I'm getting quite excited for my Chicago trip to see the Arctic Monkeys 3/18/06 @ the Metro. I just finalized flight and lodging with my friends tonight. Looks like we'll be staying at the Swissotel right on Lake Michigan from Friday until Monday. 4 star hotel, should be a great time. Did I mention I have 1-2 extra tickets? Ha ha, I think I'll make some $$$ on these (just check ebay at the moment). Anybody else going?

After working on this for the past year... I finally finished my upstairs remodeling project! The "carpet people" just came in yesterday morning to measure, and new carpeting is set to go in next week (or so).

I forgot to tell you previously... I had a bit of bad luck with both of my last two electronic purchases. First I had to return my Ipod because the battery totally died. Luckily the exchange was no problem, and the new one works beautifully. After that I had to return my Dell notebook because it had some dead pixels on the screen... I had read a lot of bad things about Dell's customer service. However, I thought it was exceptional. They apologized to me profously and sent me a new system right away. They then picked up the old system for free via UPS and that was that... I highly recommend Dell to anyone (and this new notebook is awesome)!

September 9th my buddies Jan and Nina are getting married in Braunschweig, Germany. And I'm in the wedding as best man... Looking forward to traveling back to the home continent in September....

Have I been to any concerts/shows since BRMC? Nope... man, I've been quite the homebody. March will change all that...

My parents are in the middle of a divorce. Hang in there Mom and Dad! I probably shouldn't talk about that on here, so 'nuf on that...

My little niece Rayna is doing great at 3 weeks old. She's busy doing what babies do best. Eating, sleeping, crying, and dirtying diapers. Ahhhh, the life!

Things are also going great with my new roommate (and doggie roommate)... The dogs are definitely buddies in crime (but oh so cute).

For more personal news please consult Mr. G. W. Bush as he probably has a "surveilance" tape on me.

TV

I don't really watch a whole lot of TV. But, a few shows I like the past few weeks:

a) The Office. Just keeps on improving...
b) The Shield. A lot better already than last season.
c) Real Time With Bill Maher. Classic, every week.
d) Lost. I've only seen about 5 episodes, but I think I'm getting addicted. The series pilot last week really opened my eyes. Plus in another episode, they explained why the fat guy hasn't lost any weight... And the hot woman is actually the prisoner... That's about all I know so far. I guess I'll have to rent the DVDs to find out more.
e) Survivor. Coz' I love watching the guy who quit smoking 2 packs a day, cold-turkey. Plus, I think there's at least one hot girl on there right?
f) Most importantly, The Sopranos are back 3/12/06! Any bets on who will get whacked???

MUSIC

Here's what I've enjoyed listening to lately:

Youth Group - Skeleton Jar

Youth Group - Skeleton Jar

I really love this album. Perhaps it's because it reminds me so much of James. Great power rock/pop! Did you know this is also an Australian side-project by the bassist in the Vines? Either way, I highly recommend checking them out.

mp3: Youth Group - Shadowland
mp3: Youth Group - Skeleton Jar
mp3: Youth Group - Drowned
mp3: Youth Group - See-Saw

Bonus: head over to the excellent Come Pick Me Up for the amazing cover tune of Youth Group doing "Forever Young" (as well as some other great songs).

Youth Group Website
Youth Group MySpace

Mylo - Destroy Rock & Roll

Mylo - Destroy Rock & Roll

Perhaps the most fun electronic record since any of Daft Punk's albums. I think it's been pretty much covered by other bloggers... still, it's such a great record I absolutely had to mention it. I think pretty much anybody will enjoy this album, even you Sufjan and Ryan Adams fans...

mp3: Mylo - Muscle Cars
mp3: Mylo - Drop The Pressure
mp3: Mylo - Destroy Rock & Roll
mp3: Mylo - Need You Tonite

Mylo Website

Clearlake - Amber

Clearlake - Amber

In my mind this may be the next "big band" to come out of Britain. Very infectious Brit pop, heavily influenced by early Blur, as well as Pulp, Doves, and others. One tune even sounds a bit like Kasabian to me. Anyway, highly recommended, check it out.

mp3: Clearlake - No Kind Of Life
mp3: Clearlake - It's Getting Light Ouside
mp3: Clearlake - Good Clean Fun
mp3: Clearlake - Here To Learn

Clearlake Website
Clearlake MySpace

Sergio Mendes - Timeless

Sergio Mendes - Timeless

I'm lazy, therefore I'll let Amazon do the talking on this one:

"Timeless is the magnificent new album by the legendary Sergio Mendes. Produced by and featuring Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas, this album is a wholly original synthesis of music from the man who--40 years ago--brought Brazil 66 and "Mas Que Nada" to the world. Timeless beautifully blends the urban culture of Brazil, samba and bossa nova with the urban culture of America, hip hop and rap, the results of which are truly spectacular. "

Couldn't have said it better myself...

mp3: The Black Eyed Peas - Mas Que Nada (Mah-sh Keh Nah-da)
mp3: John Legend - Please Baby Don’t
mp3: India.Arie - Timeless
mp3: Black Thought of The Roots, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Debi Nova & will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas - Yes, Yes Y’All

Sergio Mendes Discography

VIDEO

My roommate's favorite video at the moment:



I'm out of time unfortunately...

Don't forget the World Baseball Classic, a.k.a. the "real" World Series has begun. Have a geat weekend and enjoy the Oscars!

P.S. Mark your calendars: Arctic Monkeys on SNL, 3/11/06.

P.P.S. Even JW wrote an inspiring story on the AMs.

P.P.P.S. This link is mandatory for all the guys (and girls who are into it). OK, I'm done now...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

youth group isn't pat's side project. youth group have been around since 1998, so they're not really a recent phenomena but popularity wise yes. they've released a whole heap of singles and have released one other album called urban and eastern.

-obsessive fan

Steve said...

Thanks for the info obsessive fan! Yep, got to get a hold of the first album...

Steve said...

Solace: That's what I heard and read (Pitchfork review pretty amazing)... I have to pick that one up ASAP!

queenvick said...

Dude, your niece is older than 3 weeks! :)

Steve said...

Whoops, yeah, I really meant 7 weeks. I can't count (or type); that's why I work in banking.