Verbiage dump

Then again, I can’t do simple card tricks, so who am I to judge?

KKCK:

Paramore “That’s What You Get”
What we get is another song from the Riot CD.  I go back and forth on how to feel about this band, but as far as listening to this band, I have no problem.  I don’t know if they still consider themselves pop-punk, but they should just go straight rock and get it over with.  I think Haley Williams can pull it off.

Daughtry “What About Now”
Did you ever see the episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force that involved Meatwad losing his brain and floating out to sea saying “Do What Now” over and over?  For some reason, I hear Meatwad’s voice in my head saying “What About Now” as he floats in badly animated water every time I mention this song.  Ah, good times.  Oh, the song?  It’s a Daughtry song with more piano.

Hinder “Use Me”
These guys are from Oklahoma.  Rocklahoma is in Oklahoma.  Coincidence?  Not really.  “Use Me” has lyrics that would have been right at home on an album by Faster Pussycat, Tora Tora, Warrant, or [insert band here] on any album released between 1987 and 1991.  Even their music is less NickelCreed than before.  That being said, it will take a lot more to help me heal emotionally from people calling during “Lips of an Angel” to hear “Lips of an Angel”.

Pick to click: Hinder

I’ve been meaning to write a blog about my weekend in South Dakota, and I’ll probably post that here and elsewhere.  Work has been crazy this week, so I don’t have much time.

To be continued…?

I have a ton of work today, so the KKCK new music blog might be delayed.

One thought I had right at this moment was about Incubus and Faith No More.  I’m finally hearing FNM’s King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetimealbum (for some reason I bailed on FNM after Angel Dust, which I actually liked) and going back now, I hear a lot of stuff that Incubus has made a pretty good living with.  I’m not talking about them copying songs, but other similarities sound wise.

Just my two cents for the moment.

Don’t want no short short blog?

KKCK:

Jordin Sparks “One Step at a Time”
Why Jordin Sparks fans will like it: The song has a bit more bounce than “Tattoo”, which showcases her ability to handle a good dance song.
Why casual Jordin Sparks fans won’t like it: No Chris Brown.
Why Jack Johnson won’t like it: The sound of heels clacking clearly indicates shoes.

Mariah Carey “I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time”
Why Mariah Carey fans will like it: It’s Mariah.
Why non-fans of Mariah Carey will hate it: Well…it is Mariah Carey.
Teachers most likely to not like the song: English and/or Grammar teachers

Pick to click: it’s a tough call with both songs being third singles, and both supported by the Clock King, but I’ll pick Jordin Sparks.

If you like checking my music news links at the KKCK website (or even if you’ve never check them) I must report they are moving for a while.  The KKCK website is getting a face-lift, and won’t be able to work for a few weeks or months.  So, I’ve set up a temporary home for my music news links, KKCK playlists and Shag playlists, along with progress updates on our website (as I get them).

I don’t know my internet situation for the rest of the week, and due to the trip, I don’t have much time today, as I’ll be leaving for South Dakota in a few hours.  Check here or here for possible trip updates, and possible pictures from my personal favorite state in the union.

Have a great rest of the week!

Part two takes care of the list portion of today’s programming. Inspired by (and not copied from) James Montgomery, here’s a look a my Top 10 albums of 2008 so far. This list isn’t quite complete, as some albums need more time to grow on me (Atmosphere and Motley Crue spring to mind here).

10. Death Cab for Cutie Narrow Stairs
DC4C brings the mellow, but they also flash a side that isn’t quite as mellow.

9. Weezer Weezer (red album)
This one is really hit and miss, but the hits outweigh the misses by quite a bit.

8. Filter Anthems for the Damned
Richard Patrick sobers up and delivers a Filter album worthy of following Title of Record.

7. Airbourne Runnin’ Wild
This might be the best AC/DC album of the year, and AC/DC is even releasing an album this year. Drop this album into the late 80s and they would be retired by now, or headlining Rocklahoma.

6. The B-52’s Funplex
A sixteen year gap between studio albums? It sounds like the B-52s are but a year removed from Good Stuff.

5. Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords
This duo is ready for business and their business time is now. If not for the sudden electronic swerve on some of the tracks, I’d have put this one higher.

4. The Raconteurs Consolers of the Lonely
Jack White’s first go around with this band left me flat. One listen to this album inflated my hopes about this side project’s future. “Many Shades of Black” might be one of my favorite tracks of the year.

3. Spooncat! Higher Than the State
On what might be their last album as Spooncat, the band goes out swinging with an album that takes almost as many chances as Tao Babies, and finally gives us some studio versions of live classics like “Tiger” and “Person 3″.

2. R.E.M. Accelerate
This is the first R.E.M. CD I’ve paid for (others being dubs and radio freebies) and I don’t regret it one bit. The band tries to take their chances and rock out at the same time, and in my book they pulled it off.

1. Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
Indie pop-rock and African touches? I’d have said “it would never work” (had I not read up much before listening) but hearing tells me it not only works, but I’m hoping Vampire Weekend make it work for many years and albums to come.

Any other good 2008 so far suggestions? Lists?

[MySpace simulcast time]

Part two will not be a remix, nor will it go straight to DVD.

KKCK:

Jonas Brothers “Burnin’ Up”
When the CD single came in, it had two versions: rap and no rap. I have no problem with rap, and a rap in a Jonas Brothers song would have to be one of the cleanest ever. However, it sounds so awkward, so out of place and so…forced, I put in the no rap version. The song is your typical sanitized rock fare. It will do nothing to sway your opinion of the Jonas Brothers, while the version with a rap breakdown may cause you to question their judgement.

Seether “Rise Above This”
When Amy Lee and Shaun Morgan broke up, Amy fired first with “Call Me When You’re Sober” from the second Evanescence record. Shaun decided living well was the best revenge, and it looks like Seether’s album has a lot more in the “legs” department opposed to the last Evanescence CD. This song walks a fine line between being good for rock radio and good for CHR, and it works the tightrope better than anyone on “Celebrity Circus”. Also, if I ever reference that show again, please revoke my internet cred.

Ne-Yo “Closer”
One of my co-workers thinks this song will be the next big thing. I’m not quite sold on that, but I do appreciate that it isn’t another ballad. This is one of those songs that doesn’t inspire me to extol its virtues, nor does it inspire any snark in my snarking place. Where is one’s snarking place anyway?

Pick to click: Jonas Brothers

I have now caught up on every episode of “The Venture Bros.” minus the newest episode, which is waiting on my DVR. I eagerly look forward to the show making slightly more sense now. I’m not sure which episode or character is my favorite, but Dr. Girlfriend might be in the running, along with Henchmen 24 and 21.

Things at home are good, but a bit stressful. Juggling getting ready for a new baby in a few months, along with car repairs and hotel costs for my nephew’s wedding next week are proving a small challenge, but maybe I can talk Citibank into letting me work off some debt on the weekends. Some days I really wish they still had debtor’s prisons so I could go in and work on the weekends.

The year is now half over. It doesn’t seem half over. James Montgomery at MTV’s Bigger than the Sound column counts off his top albums of the year so far. I don’t have an easy way to look at my top ten of the year so far right now, but I know Vampire Weekend is probably on top. I’ll try to grind out my own list later, once I can take a better look at my inventory.

So, we’ll call this blog part one of two. Can I get a…

TO BE CONTINUED!!! (read loudly and in your best Doctor Orpheus voice)

I’ve been trying to write a blog about ZZ Top for a few days now, but it never looks or sounds right.  Here’s the last one I tried, and rather than delete it, I thought I’d share what I still had.

What happened to ZZ Top?

First off, nothing I know of is technically “wrong” with the band.  It’s the same three guys, they’re still relatively healthy and on tour every year.  What I’m wondering is what happened to their studio output?

Their Texas-boogie-blues sound made them arena favorites in the 70s.  MTV and a synth’d up approach shot their popularity through the roof in the 80s.  Then, came Recycler.  My friend Joe, the biggest ZZ Top fan I’ve ever known, was rather so-so on the album.  The album’s most memorable song was basically a beefed up “La Grange”.  His beef was that every track on Recycler sounded like a previous ZZ Top song, just redone a bit.  Antenna came next, and while a bit better, it never connected with me.  The same goes for Rhythmeen and XXX.  By the time Mescalero came out, I was done.  Now, comes word that Rick Rubin is on board to produce the next ZZ Top album.  Mr. Rubin has a pretty solid track record, and if anyone can pull one more great album out of Billy,

I had more ideas and more thinks to hit on, but I just couldn’t find a way to make it sound interesting, nor could I put it together in a way I was happy with.  Another topic would have been whether or not the 1980s were the best or worst decade for ZZ Top (I actually think it was both).  My curiosity about revisiting Recycler and Antenna have been awakened slightly by thinking about this.  Yes, I have time to think about how I feel about ZZ Top.  The question is, does anybody else?  ZZ Top was huge for a few years, but in the last 10-15 years does anybody talk about/care about ZZ Top?  They did get in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few years ago, and Billy Gibbons pops up on the odd TV show now and then.  Nobody I talk to on line or offline seems to care one way or another about ZZ Top.  Heck, I didn’t even care enough to get this blog right. 

Then there’s the worry about whether or not my musical moods/tastes have moved in a direction that doesn’t have room for a band I once counted as one of my favorites, but that’s a whole other blog.

ZZ Top lovers and/or haters are encouraged to point me in a direction.

It might be time…to outsource these blog titles.

KKCK:

Kardinal Offishall w/Akon “Dangerous”
The slow migration of Canadian hip-hop to America continues at a slower pace than I’d like.  I can’t even remember how long ago KKCK played Swollen Members (their song “Breathe” with Nelly Furtado) and I’m still let down that “Money Part 1″ by Jelleestone wasn’t a huge hit.  Mr. Offishall is someone I’ve kept tabs on thanks to the MuchMusic countdown page, and now that I finally get to hear him, all I can remember are the Akon parts.  After pulling up the file and listening again, I realize that Akon and the Kard sound a bit alike, and in casual listening my brain wasn’t differentiating.  That’s my bad.

The Offspring “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid”
I really wanted to see “Hammerhead” get the chance, but the CHR beast will not have any Offspring song that isn’t both catchy and quirky, and hopefully funny.  “Hammerhead” is catchy but not quirky (enough) or funny (at all).  I’m glad the Offspring decided to skip writing another “Original Prankster”, and “Pretty Fly” was a once in a lifetime musical moment for them. 

Pussycat Dolls “When I Grow Up”
Nicole Scherzinger sure has a rough life.  I mean, she has to do almost all of the vocals while the other Pussycat Dolls just dance around and lip words (can they even sing?).  Then, when she starts work on a solo album, the songs do so poorly that the album gets put on the shelf indefinitely, even though NINEsongs have been floated as singles in one way or another.  Then again, according to wikipedia, she’s a salaried employee of Interscope.  I could think of worse ways to make a living, or I could just watch them on Dirty Jobs.  I wonder if “GWAR roadie” has ever been offered as a dirty job for him to do?

Pick to click: Kardinal Offishall w/Akon (even though I shoul disqualify any song with Akon…it just isn’t fair right now)

I had more in mind, but I’ll save it for next week (the mood to write has been quashed by a long day). 

…and by “out this September”, I mean on the SciFi channel.

KKCK:

Rihanna “Disturbia”
Not only is this the third of three new songs on the re-release of Good Girl Gone Bad (now called Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, which sounds like a sequel for a made for Spike TV movie), it’s the third one to be a single, following “Take a Bow” and “If I Never See Your Face Again” (with Maroon 5). Three of the album’s seven singles are now from the re-release, which begs the question about how relevant the original release is. I’m not sure which is my favorite yet. “If I Never See Your Face Again” has a definite 80s vibe, and “Disturbia” reminds me a little of songs like “S.O.S.” and “Pon De Replay” in that it is not another “Take a Bow” type of ballad. Judging by the calls, the listeners don’t share my feelings about Rihanna. Ever. I only get calls for “Take a Bow” which is starting to border on how annoying the calls for “Unfaithful” were. The only fast Rihanna song that got the phones buzzing was “Shut Up and Drive” which is my least favorite fast Rihanna song. The moral here? Fast Rihanna songs do alright, but Rihanna singing a ballad is like Rihanna printing money. I’m just happy that on this occasion an artist I said would be around for a “long time” is so far living up to that.

Newton Faulkner “Dream, Catch Me”
The first time I heard this I focused more on where I’d heard his voice rather than the song. I was convinced he was the lead singer of some other band I couldn’t think of. After deciding it was Blue October, I checked his wiki entry, only to find out he’s not the former lead singer of any band, and is only the current lead singer of Newton Faulkner. The song gets the dreaded “pretty decent” mark from me, which is a nice way of saying I don’t have a lot to say about it (which I admit here for the first time!)

September “Cry for You”
Good news everyone! We added a Swedish pop star with a dancy beat. No, it isn’t a song from Robyn. Rather, it’s September! No, I know it’s June. Her stage name is September, and not even Green Day could sleep through this one. Sorry, I can’t resist a bad pun built around “Wake Me Up…” and you know the rest. In the fine tradition of Real McCoy, Ace of Base, Vengaboys, Eiffel 65, Cascada and Ian Van Dahl, we have a new dance-pop song with a fast beat that even I can dance to, albeit badly. This type of music will never be my favorite, but one popping up now and then is good for a CHR station. As a Midwest CHR, we do acknowledge and affirm that no electronic dance song, no matter the beat, no matter the lyric, no matter the sound, will ever touch the Rednex in popularity.

Mark Medlock “Summer Love”
American Idol? Been done. Canadian Idol? Uh…moving on. Pop Idol in the U.K.? We’ve gone there, but now we move on to…Deutschland sucht den Superstar, and their 2007 winner. Now, before I dismiss this as our music director feeling his German heritage again, I ask you give it a listen. It is a formulatic electro-pop song, but the summer vibe and vocals that flow very well with the music (English vocals, BTW) make it a song that I don’t mind hearing once or twice a day, probably for a few months at a time. Mr. Medlock’s life is an interesting read. I don’t know if he’ll totally cross the pond, but you can judge for yourself in a variety of places. Also, it is nice to hear a winner of one of these Idol type of shows releasing something with some thump in it. I must be in the mood to dance. I’ll let the wife know to close the curtains and move the cats with weak stomachs out of the room.

Pick to click: Rihanna

I had a lot to say about Battlestar Galactica’s mid-season finale, but Greg Dean at Real LIfe Comics said it all:

Truth and a frackin’ bag of space-chips.

I don’t often write about webcomics, but I’m always meaning to. I read about 80-100 of them every week. I had them in a folder that I could just open as a long stretch of tabs, but I had to break that up when went over seventy. As a kid, one of my favorite activities was reading the comics page every day. I used to save rolls and rolls of the Aberdeen American News, and I had a box or three full of Sunday comics pages. Some days I’d just get them out and read them all again, which is a practice I stopped once I started buying collections of comic strips. My interest in the comics page had waned during the 90s into the 2000s, but webcomics have revived my love of the medium to a point where some days I’m standing in the studio wondering how Shortpacked, Questionable Content, Starslip Crisis, Kevin and Kell, Sinfest, Marilith, PVP, Schlock Mercenary, Evil Inc, and others will wrap up their storylines for the week/month/ever. I’d like to start featuring some of my favorites, mainly because I don’t have the resources to buy stuff/donate/help them out any other way. It’s about the least I can do, but if my ship ever comes in, or if a ship lands on my house and I net the insurance, I’ll buy shirts/books/whatever until I can’t.

Kate is painting the kid’s room today, with some help from a friend who is in town visiting. She surprised me on Father’s Day with a picture frame (with a current ultrasound in it), a card, and a little Seattle Mariners onesie. Hopefully the team doesn’t suck so bad by the time he’s old enough to root for them, or against them. I had my time rebelling against my step-dad’s love of the Cubs, but he, Harry Carey and WGN wore me down within a few years. I want him to grow up liking whatever team he chooses, and I’ll try and be supportive even if he picks the *shudder* Yankees.

Mac is back from the vet, and she’s been meowing like crazy. The vet thinks her hormones are out of phase, which is causing her to think she’s pregnant. Her behaviour is a lot like when she was expecting kittens, so there might be a lot to that diagnosis. I just hope she stays as friendly and close to her daughter Eileen when they wear off. Listening to the two of them meow at each other is about the cutest cat sound I have ever heard.

In quick other blog news, I ranted about FNMTV, and wrote about one of my favorite Kate moments of my life at the old russ4life site.

The sound of new Local H isn’t cute. It’s angry, depressed, introspective, raw, and everything one would expect from Local H. Too bad Scott Lucas’ new muse was his last break-up.

If you said “make Decepticons adorable”, well…

Thanks (?) to Shortpacked for the tip.

[It is time for this week's MySpace blog simulcast]

I wouldn’t want to anyway.  Seattle weather for the block!

KKCK:

Plies w/Ne-Yo “Bust It Baby (Part 2)”
This summer…get ready…for the ultimate hip-hop big budget team up.  Plies…Ne-Yo…in a sequel so big..it…okay I’m done.  I’m not watching any more summer movie trailers.  I have a hard time believing that the busting was such that a sequel was really necessary.  The good thing about this song is the copious amount of Ne-Yo in it.  To me anyway, Plies sounds like he’s had too much syrup or booze or some mix of both.  I expect to hear drunk-sounding vocals in concert, not in the studio.  Heck, Dave Mustaine can’t remember recording a few of the early Megadeth albums and he at least sounds sober on them.

Safetysuit “Someone Like You”
I get the safety angle here.  The song is equal parts mid-90s power rock and mid-00s power rock.  I don’t like to bust a band’s balls for not being original, but these guys bring nothing new other than their name.  Even their wikipedia page is boring.  Now, the suit angle would be different, but not really that different thanks to the Hives.  On the plus side, the song is doing well, and there isn’t anything about it that’s bad.  It’s a vanilla cone of alt-rock, and some people like those.  I prefer my vanilla cones to be the real kind, but that’s just me.

Adele “Chasing Pavements”
Some have called her the next Amy Winehouse.  Amy, if you’re still alive and they’re looking for the next you, they don’t expect  you to live very long.  I hope Adele avoids flashing the camera, getting arrested, addiction, racist rants, more addiction, stumbling through concerts, and more addiction.  She still lives with her mom, so unless her mom is Amy Winehouse she’ll be okay.  I don’t disagree with the comparisons to Amy Winehouse, but she owes her music more to the style of Duffy with less of the slick production of Duffy’s slower songs. 

Pick to click: Plies with Ne-Yo

If  you pick one show to catch up on via DVD and/or torrenting, make it Battlestar Galactica.  Sure, some episodes, like the first chunk of season four, are a bit slow and nothing seems to happen.  Then you have episodes like last week that take all the slow plot threads and give them a yank that leaves you with a threadbare Colonial uniform.  [minor spoiler alert...stop if you don't want it NOW]When Adama and Roslin saw each other again, after what they had each realized each other, it was one of the most real, heartfelt, emotional moments of any TV show I’ve ever seen.  Of any movie I’ve seen.  Of any anything I’ve ever seen.  I’m not ashamed to say it almost made me tear up a little.  Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell will probably not win Emmys because the show is science fiction, and that is damn, damn shame.

I wrote another blog about my feelings on AC/DC going the Wal-Mart route, but I posted that here.  I revised and reread it a lot, but I’m still not sure I’m happy with it, nor am I sure it says everything I want to say.  This is what happens when I get the idea to post something I whipped up with a font download and MS Paint before figuring out what I’m going to write about.

Things at the household are going well.  Almost all the stuff I had in the nursery room is now elsewhere, and the few things that are left won’t take up much room.  We’ve finally got Mac off to the vet to get fixed, so we’ll be dodging the loud heat-meowing from now on.  Eileen hasn’t been fixed, but she’s easily distracted(aided by the fact she’s not as smart as her dad, who won’t win any “smartest cat” awards) when she’s in heat.  Since both boy cats have already been clipped, there’s not a kitten concern.

Kate has been packing for her eventual hospital stay in a few months.  I’ve been thinking about what to pack as well.  I know that there will be some time for me at the hospital to hold and comfort the new arrival, and I know the mom suites at hospitals these days have a DVD player.  So, I’ve been debating what to imprint on the young un’s psyche at an early age.  G.I. Joe or Transformers (I’m leaning “Revenge of Cobra” unless I get some of the new show on DVD)?  Batman or Superman (I’m leaning towards Supes here, since his show actually has an origin story, where the Bat-show didn’t)?  Star Trek or Star Wars (probably Trek)?  I’m pretty sure one of the first things he’ll get is “The Trouble with Tribbles”, since that is widely regarded as a Trek classic, and it doesn’t have any awkward moments where Kirk gets it on with anyone.  Also, he’s due in September, so I won’t be watching the baseball playoffs alone this year.  I wonder if he’ll be drawn to the World Series winner when he’s older.  Oddly enough, one of the first baseball teams I liked, when I was old enough to buy one or two packs of cards, happened to be the Oakland A’s. 

I sometimes think I’m going to talk to the little guy so much his first words will be “shut up”.

Speaking of shutting up, I’ll sign off for the week here.  Write at’cha later.