Mar 25, 2003

np: "How to Rob" - 50 Cent
awesome track. but you can definately tell how the bullet through the jaw affected his vocal style, but this is definately all Fiddy. the beat is somewhat weak and the production isn't what it is on the new album, but lyrically its one of the strongest 50's ever done.
so i've been on a big "garage rock" kick lately... The Datsuns, The Libertines, The D4, etc. i don't know exactly what it is, but for some reason i find this music kind of refreshing right now. kind of an antidote to all the art rock i had been listening to over the past few weeks - Can, VU, Wire... i'd have to say that The Libertines is my favorite of the bunch, but that Datsuns album is just balls-out as all hell.

Mar 20, 2003

np: "Radio America" - The Libertines
decent album. i don't think they are worth all that much hype, but what can you expect from a British band? they seem to come in with pre-packaged hype kits or something...that's what makes it hard to read stuff like NME, every other week there's a new band that's supposedly the "best thing since _______" or "the best new band in rock and roll". come on guys, save it for someone truly worthwhile. speaking of British bands though, i am excited to hear more from British Sea Power. apparently they put on a hell of a show at SXSW and a local radio station played a track last night that i was really digging. unfortunately i didn't catch the title of it. i'll be keeping an ear out for more from them.

Mar 12, 2003

np: "Halleluhwah" - Can
one band that i've always been looking to explore more, but just haven't found the time until now. i'm very, very impressed so far on my first listen. i can see what all the hype was about with this one. one of those albums that makes you wonder just why the hell you haven't heard it until now. damn good stuff.
if you haven't ever heard any Can, let me put it this way, if you are into any kind of non-traditional, explorative music at all - check this out now. you'll see where post-rock got much of its influence from. i'm suitably impressed here...

Mar 8, 2003

np: "Bring the Noise" - Public Enemy
i haven't listened to this album in years. i remember a full year in junior high when i would listen to this and "Fear of A Black Planet" over and over on my walkman. it was the first real hip-hop i got into, after Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince. unlike most of the stuff from that era, this doesn't sound that dated. just goes to show how much of an awesome album this was. amazing to see how far they fell off though... "Greatest Misses" was the last album that i really liked, but the "He Got Game" soundtrack was halfway decent.
so i spent the last two days down at my alma mater at a career fair trying to find new recruits for our firm. it was so weird being back in the architecture building after three years away from it. all these memories just came totally flooding back, nostalgia major. walking across campus to get my boss' van, i had this really strong feeling of actually missing being down there. i can't exactly tell you why, but it was there. i guess i really loved being down there or something, things seemed so much simpler when i was down there. but like most things, it only looks good in retrospect. i'm sure if i was back in the full swing of class stresses i wouldn't be enjoying it half as much. oh well... it was also interesting to see the portfolio's of the students, seeing how they did some of the exact projects i worked on during my undergrad design classes. you can really see how much the computer technology has affected design. makes me wish i had spent more time learning 3-D rendering programs, they had some really cool looking stuff. we talked to several people that seemed like they would be great additions to the firm, hopefully one of them will pan out.
i'm going out with K again tomorrow night, so thats enough to put me in a really good mood tonight. anyway, enough random rambling, back to Chuck and Flava...

Mar 5, 2003

np: "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" - Radiohead
snow still sucks. we got like 6 inches last night, making for yet another miserable drive home. but it's all good now. i'm off to Champaign for the next two days for a career fair for work. should be fun to head back down to the old stomping grounds for a bit. hopefully see a couple friends i haven't seen in awhile. the rough part is going to be getting up at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to leave for the damn thing. that's not gonna be fun...
but, i have good things to look forward to when i get back. K called last night and definately wants to get together again this weekend. which is awesome. i was kind of worried that i wouldn't hear from her after the first substantial date we had, but the fact that she called and wants to see me again; well i'll take that as a good sign. i think i could really see myself falling hard for her, so i better be a little careful.
onto music related topics. a friend of mine called Coldplay "the new Radiohead" last night. yeah. before you react though, you have to realize that this girl rarely ventures outside the Top 40 pop and hip-hop. for her to get all excited about Coldplay is actually a pretty bnig step. but then again, i doubt she could name 5 Radiohead songs if she was pressed, so i'm guessing she just read that tag somewhere and decided she'd try to impress me with it. i'll give her points for trying. but that's about it. it's so cute when she tries things like that.
i hate hipsters. i hate the whole hipster irony bullshit. i was checking out a message board this week and got simply crucified for being into Pavement. yet the same ones persecuting me were hailing fucking Huey Lewis as an underrated pop genius. christ. sometimes i think they need to send out a memo to let the rest of us know what's going to be considered "hip" that week. just so we can keep up. yes, i do like Wilco AND Dashboard. yes, i do like The Clash AND Rancid. yes, i do like The Microphones AND Smashing Pumpkins. guess i'm just not hip enough. ouch.