Author Archives: georgediab

Dare to be STUPID! (Part 3)

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So…I assigned homework to the staff. Find a song that sums up the last eight years with George W. Bush, and come up with 2 or 3 sentences/paragraphs to explain the choice in song. I joined in the fun too. Problem is, we couldn’t keep it short…so it’s going to be a three part series. HERE IS PART THREE!

MISTERZINK:

Right away, I knew which song defined the torture we’ve dealt with from the moron-in-chief of the last eight years. “Weird Al” Yankovic was asked to contribute a song the original Transformers movie back in 1986. What was submitted is a vastly underrated song of his. Essentially a parody of all the bad ’80’s music – Devo most notably – the song now takes new meaning with our Commander-in-Vacations doing a stupendous job of being superior in stupidity to even Millard Fillmore.

The song I’m talking about? “Dare To Be Stupid”. I’ve added both the music video as well as the part of the flick in Transformers it was from. Because that movie kicked mucho asso.

Seriously, does it hurt this guy’s brain to think about things that go beyond playing a game of horseshoes? I digress. As you were.


[Download Weird Al Yankovic – Stupid]

Link to the actual video, since Al doesn’t like embedding, I guess.


Think you can do better? pick a song and write up a few words to explain why, and maybe you will get published on our blog! send your drafts to: inallcapsATgmailDOTcom (replace “AT” with “@” and “DOT” with “.”)

Dare to be STUPID! (Part 2)

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So…I assigned homework to the staff. Find a song that sums up the last eight years with George W. Bush, and come up with 2 or 3 sentences/paragraphs to explain the choice in song. I joined in the fun too. Problem is, we couldn’t keep it short…so it’s going to be a three part series. HERE IS PART TWO!

MOOKIE:
I made the mistake of watching the September 11th, 2001 show of Howard Stern’s program recently. It totally bummed me out.

I used to always listen to the show on the way in to work when it was on FREE FM. When I tuned in that day, I remember being in shock as to what I am hearing.

I put my foot down to get to work. I needed to get to the office. There were TVs there. There were people there.

I am sure we all remember that day.

On the Stern show, they were talking on the radio like normal people. Like you and I. Not a news organization that is afraid to get things wrong so all the information is guarded. They were watching the TVs like we were. Trying to speculate what is happening.

When the second tower falls into dust, Howard Stern says, “They’re gone.” I can barely stop my chest from heaving.

Howard Stern maybe was the first person to ever say the name Osama Bin Laden. I had never even heard the name before. I, like most people, wanted to see this mother fuckers head on a stick paraded thru Manhattan.

And then we go to Afghanistan. But this mother fucker slips out of our hands. Instead of doubling our efforts, we end up in Iraq. Why? It was an excuse. We all know that. I’ve always thought that the government allowed this to happen so that the Bush regime could take Military action against Iraq.

Anyways.

The point of this post is that the whole time I am watching this, I keep thinking… these MFers won! Bin Laden won! They hit our financial nerve center. Bin Laden wanted to hit is where it really hurts. Our pockets.

Speed forward 5 years. Gas is crippling high. We have the lawmakers passing an 800 billion bail out bill for the financial markets. The Market is below 10,000 for the first time in FOUR years.

UPDATE: The Dow Jones index in New York closes well below 9,000 points — the lowest close since 2003. (10-9-2008)

Maybe if we had someone competent at the helm, we could have had maybe gotten through this with just some minor scrapes and bruises. Instead, it seems like the end of the road for this country. Might be the end of the world as we know it…

[Download Great Big Sea – End Of The World]


Think you can do better? pick a song and write up a few words to explain why, and maybe you will get published on our blog! send your drafts to: inallcapsATgmailDOTcom (replace “AT” with “@” and “DOT” with “.”)

Dare to be STUPID! (Part 1)

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So…I assigned homework to the staff. Find a song that sums up the last eight years with George W. Bush, and come up with 2 or 3 sentences/paragraphs to explain the choice in song. I joined in the fun too. Problem is, we couldn’t keep it short…so it’s going to be a three part series. HERE IS PART ONE!

THE LITTLE ONE:
“We got him.”

Wow, we were impressed! That was comparatively swift and skillful! I guess military action in response to 9/11 was the right move. Go, U-S—what? We got who?

George Bush’s tenure in the oval office cemented for all of us that the Hollywood story of Wag the Dog was entirely possible and probable. We all began wondering which of the discredited conspiracy theories over the years should be revisited.

Ordinary citizens who believed in equality and justice, who believed that the intentions of their great country were inherently good, were thrust into the reality that political egos had hit a record high and were in desperate need of being reigned in.

When will the world listen to reason? I have a feeling it will be a long time.
When will the truth come into season? I have a feeling it will be a long time.

This was not the first time in history that Americans had been lied to by their President, or felt as if they had been. But I would argue that this was the first time that the majority of Americans became convinced that an entire administration was diabolical in their intent to mislead the citizens and the other branches of government.

Egos will feed, while citizens bleed. That’s always the way it goes.

It’s not difficult to begin to wonder whether there were domestic motives behind the vicious attacks on September 11. And that is the most disgusting legacy that George W. Bush leaves behind. When the proud face of a son who has completed his father’s mission is broadcast to a confused nation, we are forced to wonder who and what this was all for?

Americans need to have their faith and pride restored. Americans need to understand that nationalism and patriotism are not four-letter-words. In 2008 I truly believe that it is the Democratic Party that has put forth the face and the name that has the only chance of getting us there. Without that hope that a regime change will bring, I truly fear for our future.


Think you can do better? pick a song and write up a few words to explain why, and maybe you will get published on our blog! send your drafts to: inallcapsATgmailDOTcom (replace “AT” with “@” and “DOT” with “.”)

‘Cause I’m a rat, there’s no mistake.

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According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2008 is a Year of the Rat, which begins on February 7, 2008 and ends on January 25, 2009.

They sound like someone…

I don’t remember how I stumbled across them, but I knew right away that I liked them. Figures they are from Georgia. Seems like all the bands I am falling for these days are from the South. They remind me a lot of the sound Colour Revolt had on their EP.

Dead Confederates are a dark rock band that on September 16th released their debut full-length album WRECKING BALL. They recorded this album in a small concrete box studio in Austin, Texas where the sound effects for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were recorded.

And they sound like a band I love. Maybe they sound like a few of them? I swear it sounds like Kurt Cobain on Shadow The Walls.


[Download Dead Confederates – Shadow The Walls]

I am reminded of Pearl Jam a lot when I listen to The Rat. The Rat would definitely be THE single off the album. It’s a strong and dark anthem that is often misunderstood.

“A lot of people think it’s about a relationship,” explains bassist Brantley Senn. “It’s kind of a protest song about the religious right.”

It’s funny, I immediately thought of Manchester Orchestra while listening to this album. I even had a thought to send an email to MO and ask them if they have heard of Dead Confederates. Then I discover they are touring together through the winter! Wow!

Even with all the touring they find time to visit with Conan O’Brien on Oct 10th.

P.S. Speaking of Manchester Orchestra, their EP is dropping soon. Check out this song off that EP. It’s powerful.


[Download Manchester Orchestra – I Was A Lid]

Take this sinking boat and point it home

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We’ve still got time

I am feeling very uninspired at the moment. Sorry. I hate to disappoint, but sometimes it’s tough to come up with something interesting to write, so instead, I will just highlight a few tracks that I think are interesting.

Deal?

Funny thing JUST happened! I put iTunes on shuffle to have something to listen to while I sit down to write this, and I totally fell in love with a new song from an album I had not gotten around to listening to yet. The group is The Frames. The song is Falling Slowly. I know nothing about the artist, song, album. Nothing.

But the song stopped me in my tracks just now. So good it earned a spot in the title for this post.

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can’t go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I’ll paint it black


[Download The Frames- Falling Slowly]

I went to see Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighters recently. Good show as always. Although I have seen better Foo shows, it’s still good to see them live. 

A friend of mine thinks that Grohl and Taylor Hawkins have had gay relations. I mean they do seem to be inseparable. I think I might disagree. Well. Maybe they did experiment together? Taylor could have been a power bottom.

TANGENT.

They played Gimme Stitches in the encore. They haven’t played it in MANY years. That was kick ass.


[Download The Foo Fighters – Gimmie Stitches]

My last thought is that I may have to eat my words, because I have always talked shit about Chris Cornell. Two important people in my life love Cornell. I would spout off how untalented I thought he was as soon as his name was mentioned.

Then things start unraveling.

My friend requested some specific tracks. One of them was Chris Cornell covering Micheal Jackson. I was appalled, and quickly said: “Don’t hold your breath.” But I was intrigued. I was confident that hearing Cornell do a cover of Billy Jean would crystallize his awfulness. Fuck. I was wrong. I was sorta awestruck after hearing it. Then I made the mistake of listening to more of his acoustic covers. Led Zeppelin cover. Amazing. Bob Marley cover. Even more amazing.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Then I discover that Cornell is doing an album with Timbaland. Oh…I cracked jokes for a week. Then I heard the single Scream off the upcoming album. Damn it all to hell. It was great!

My stomach hurts just at the thought of publishing this post. You just don’t understand the shit I am about to get.

I deserve it.

Listen for yourself:

[Download Chris Cornell – Scream]

…and bonus downloads:

[Download Chris Cornell – Bob Marley Cover]

[Download Chris Cornell – Michael Jackson Cover]



walk off my drink…

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From the blog dated September 23, 2008:

Manchester Orchestra’s very own lead singer Andy Hull is proud to announce the release of his second installment in the Right Away, Great Captain! series. For those unaware, Andy took us on an intense and emotionally rattling 15 songs with “The Bitter End” and now his 17th century protagonist has returned. After the crushing blow in losing his captain he has once again lifted his head and this time he is heading home… To Kill His Wife…

Stay tuned: November 11th will see “The Eventually Home” released both digitally and in indie music retail outlets around the country on Favorite Gentlemen Recordings.

I’m planning on reviewing the album fully once it’s released…but I couldn’t help to tease it.

Enjoy!


[Download RA,GC! – Anna No]

Maybe you’re the one who’ll complete me

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Bloc Party has a new album out called Intimacy. I think it’s fantastic, but I have liked everything this band has put out. It speaks to many parts of me. I love rock. I am a DJ. I like diversity. I like indie bands, too. Bloc Party is probably one of the most popular bands in the indie genre.

Despite their popularity, this new album seems to be getting negative feedback: sounding overproduced to sounding messy and utilizing too many effects.

“Were you hoping for a miracle?”

From a previous version of their website:

“Bloc Party is an autonomous unit of un-extraordinary kids reared on pop culture between the years of 1976 and the present day …”

Wipe those dirty hands on me… Check out Halo:


[Download Halo]
Is Intimacy cutting edge? Not for Bloc Party. But it is different from their previous albums, Silent Alarm and Weekend in the City, in many ways. Half of this album is dreamy and subtle, with the other half showcasing grinding guitars laced with electronica. No real difference there, until you break down some more subtle elements: It is different from past work in the perspective of songwriting. Okereke had never really written songs about his life and relationships before this album, but as I have said before…heartache makes for amazing songs. 

Intimacy, aptly named, is about Okereke’s year long relationship with…well, I couldn’t find out. I couldn’t find out if it was a male or a female. Much of his life is vague and mysterious. He has compared himself to famous bisexuals (David Bowie and Morrissey) and has discussed the homoerotic story behind the song “I Still Remember” as semi-autobiographical. It doesn’t matter. A broken heart is very often the spark that ignites a great piece of work.

And to satisfy the DJ in me, I present you with a remixed version of Mercury:

[Download Mercury (CSS remix)]

Like a relationship, this piece of work is both confident and unsure.
Graceful and clumsy. 

With that, I ask you to gracefully drive to your local music store on October 28th, and confidently pick up this CD.

I’ve seen this band live, and was very impressed, so if you get the opportunity to see them in your city, make it happen.

Meet me after school and I’ll beat you like gorilla

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FUCK!

/giggle

I always wanted to start a post with that word. It’s a beautiful word! There is a lady at the inALLcaps.com HQ that hates when I say that word! As soon as the word fuck comes out of my mouth she says, “Fudge.”

No. It’s fuck. It’s a great word. Embrace it.

Ok. Let’s move on.

I am desperate to get something good to you. But I got nothing. Well I do. I have some super writing in my head for you. But it’s not gonna happen today. I need to let it incubate a little longer. Instead I have a quick story that ties in to a song you can download. We are gonna do this fast so I can get back to the game show “Hole in the Wall”. It’s a hilarious show. But it will never last more than one season. Catch it while you can!

Ok…c’mon…let’s get to this already.

I just got an iPhone. I get shitty reception. Which sucks, because it is a phone after all. But other than that it’s one of the coolest devices I have ever laid my greedy hands on. Not only is it an iPod but it’s a handheld computing device! The applications for this thing are incredible! Most of them you can download and install for free! One such amazingly free application is called Shazam!

Why is it great? I’ll explain:

You got a hot blonde in the car. You throw a mix tape in the ole stereo. The first track is some funky number. You both start shaking your asses in the car seat! Life is good!

Then your worst nightmare! She says, “Who is this?”

Oh oh.

You forgot. How lame. But you were smart enough to install Shazam on your phone! You just have the app listen to the song and the application tells you what the artist and song is!

What was the song?

Bonde do Rolê – Office Boy (Architecture in Helsinki remix)

[Download Track Office Boy (Architecture in Helsinki remix)]

Everybody’s deranged…

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…and I wonder what happened the day that I fell from the sky.

I am lying on a tiny bed in a small hotel room that I am sharing with my brother in London. I’m reading Anthony Bourdain’s book, Kitchen Confidential, when my brother rips out his iPod headphones to exclaim, “The new Faint album is amazing!”

At this point my head is all messed up from jet lag and I just want some peace and quiet, but for all my brother doesn’t know… Music is one thing he does know.

It’s in his blood. Well, okay, that is stretching it. There are no musicians in our family. But from the moment he could crawl, I was pushing music all over him; giving him tapes and vinyl to hear. Discussing music when he was able to speak intelligently (some would argue he still doesn’t speak intelligently…) When I got the job in the music store, and was taking home every free demo from the record labels I could get my hands on, I did my part and shared it all with my lil’ bro.

We share many similar tastes in music, obviously. But I will point out that he was on the cutting edge of the emo/screamo movement, so he has shown me a few new things over the years. In fact, since he was the first person to ever say the word screamo, I thought for sure he had invented the name for this genre.

So when he is passionate about some music…I know this is the real deal. It’s like an air-raid siren going off!

Granted: I already knew about the Faint. He introduced me to Danse Macabre some time in 2001, and I remember thinking…he’s slipping! Well, let me explain…

I have been DJing for about a decade now. The Faint are a dance-punk/new wave/electro band. I was on the cutting edge of electronic music and playing electro style records since the mid 90s, and I mean the original electro was popular in the early 80s, so I felt like this was nothing THAT new or amazing. I already had some records in that same vein that would truly blow his mind.

But Danse Macabre was good! I would listen to it a lot, epecially impressed with the track Glass Danse. It wasn’t until maybe a few months ago that I realized there was a remix album for Danse Macabre! Here I found some of my favorite DJs getting in on the remixing! Junior Sanchez, This White Duke, Photek, Tommie Sunshine!

Back to London.

“There is a new album?” I say, eyes peering over my book to the bed on the other side of the room.

“Yeah…August 8th, it’s awesome. I can’t stop listening to it. I listened to it the whole way here non stop.” That was a 9 hour plane ride…and this kid doesn’t exaggerate. He continues, “I’ll let you borrow my iPod later so you can check it out. But right now I haven’t gotten enough of it.” He then puts back in his earbuds, and I don’t hear a peep from him until he is snoring loudly 2 hours later.

Apparently he never got enough of it. It wasn’t until I got back to the States that I even got to listen to the The Faint’s new album Fasciinatiion.

And I loved it instantly! It’s so damn good. It blows my mind that some kids from Nebraska could come up with something like this! They even broke off from their label and produced this independantly! DIY ethos!

No official remix album in the works yet, but hypem.com is filled with unofficial remixes of just about everyone’s favorite track: The Geeks Were Right. But for you, the original:

[Download The Faint – The Geeks Were Right]

…and my favorite remix so far of this single:

[Download The Faint – The Geeks Were Right (DIOY,Y? Remix)]

so now all you have left to do is buy the album…and you get to sleep well knowing that your money is going to the band and not some bullshit label executive.

she matters when everything is meaningless

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It was FATE; it had to be. I was stressing about a topic to write about for inALLcaps.com, and struggling with writer’s block. It was then that I turned on the TV and caught the last half of the movie Natural Born Killers.

I have watched this movie hundreds of times. I even wrote a thesis on Natural Born Killers in college. The epiphany came at the end of the movie: The reminder that Trent Reznor had produced the soundtrack to this excellent movie. FATE! I knew then that I had my idea!

For almost a decade I’ve been telling anyone who would listen that “The Fragile” was the best album ever put out by Nine Inch Nails. This was an epic album but it got shit on by just about everyone. “The Fragile” never got the respect it deserved.

It was the kind of album that, when the volume was cranked you could lie in bed with your eyes closed and imagine it as the brilliant soundtrack to an even better movie. This movie might have everything you would want in cinema: drugs, sex, violence, and maybe something redeeming for the twisted main character. At least that’s what happens in my version.

Let’s stop here; this post won’t be about that old ass album. (But really…if you don’t own it…buy it ASAP)

This post is about HALO 26, otherwise known as Ghosts I – IV. 4 CDs – 36 tracks.

Reminiscent of “The Fragile”, yet “Ghosts” is a completely instrumental album. The packaging and artwork on this album is amazing, just like most NIN albums of recent release. But this whole piece of work is very different then anything Nails has put out thus yet.

So let me get you started with a tune from Ghosts:

[Download Track 29]
This track is more upbeat than much of the rest of the album, chosen in order to pique your interest.

Trent Reznor explains, “I’ve been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn’t have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective – dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I’m very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference.”

It’s this soundtrack concept that I love. I like the fact that I can just get lost in the music. Maybe even better than “The Fragile” is the lack of lyrics to get in the way. I wanna just let my mind wander.

I want to remind you that this not the industrial rock that you would expect from Trent. This is, as Reznor has explained on his website for the album, an unexpected surprise from experimentation. 10 weeks with no agenda and driven by impulse.

Trent elaborates:

We began improvising and let the music decide the direction. Eyes were closed, hands played instruments and it began. Within a matter of days it became clear we were on to something, and a lot of material began appearing. What we thought could be a five song EP became much more. I invited some friends over to join in and we all enjoyed the process of collaborating on this.

The album was initially released digitally on the Nine Inch Nails official website without any prior advertisement or promotion. They even created their own torrent to distribute 9 tracks from the album. Actually, check out this from a text file inside the official torrent:

Now that we’re no longer constrained by a record label, we’ve decided to personally upload Ghosts I, the first of the four volumes, to various torrent sites, because we believe BitTorrent is a revolutionary digital distribution method, and we believe in finding ways to utilize new technologies instead of fighting them.

[Download Track 7]
I want to stress again…this is not about one great track. Much like a concept album I feel like it needs to be listened to from beginning to end. You don’t have to…but just do as I say, you’ll be happier in the end. /smirk

Trent is my hero. If you had a NIN sticker on your car I instantly think you are probably someone I would like to hang out with. Check out this album, however you get your hands on it. Then comment here. I want to know what you think about this album. Truly. Let’s become friends.

This is where I would normally put the Amazon referral links here so you can buy the album and we can hope to make 10% commish. Put the best deal for this album is direct from Trent: ghosts.nin.com $5 gets you the album in digital form. Tough to pass on that right? You spend more than that on a coffee in the morning…