via//chicago

np: "uncle mountain" - the fire theft

so it's been awhile without an update, i apologize for that. the weeks have been busy as hell with work and meetings and such, and the weekends have been spent mostly with the girl. i promise to be a little more regular with the updates now though, really. this past weekend was chock full of movie watching. not really planned that way, but that's how things worked out. Friday night started out with a viewing of The Italian Job, which was nowhere near as bad as i feared. Saturday night the girlfriend made me watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding since i had never seen it, and i have to say i wasn't really missing anything. it had its funny moments, but i don't get what all the hype was about. after watching her run a 5K Sunday morning, we spent most of the day avoiding the cold weather and watching even more movies. Not Another Teen Movie was stupidly funny and Bowling for Columbine was about what i expected from a Michael Moore film. i'm really torn on my feelings for him, especially with this movie. he is making some good points that need to be heard, but face it... he's just as good at spinning his side of the story as the White House is. you just need to think for yourself and get to the grey area between the two extremes. sounds pretty standard when i say it, but you'd be surprised at the people who eat up every work he says as gospel. later on Sunday night i finally broke down and watched The Matrix Reloaded. ignoring the annoying philosophizing and Reeves' horrible acting, it was a pretty good sci-fi action flick. the freeway chase scene was off the hook, but the hundred Smith brawl was weak. alright, enough inane blabbering about movies i finally saw about 6 months too late, onto the music. i decided to make up for lost time by putting up some capsule thoughts on some recent album purchases.

The Fire Theft - S/T yes it does get a little too proggy for my tastes, but about half the album actually works for me. it teeters on the thin edge between grandiose and ridiculous, and i have to credit him for actually giving it a shot. it's no Diary or LP2, but who would have wanted that?

Kill Hannah - For Never and Ever some of you might remember me hyping the shit out of this band after catching them live this summer. well, i still think this band has assloads of potential, but this album falls far short of showcasing it. the mixing is way off and the production seems a little too crisp most of the times. the biggest crime is the band leaving off some of the more rocking tunes they've perfected live in favor of dull also-rans. "Unwanted" and "Raining All the Time" are worth checking out, but please boys... put some "Hummingbirds..." or "Stunt Pilots" or "All That He Wants" on the next one. yes, they are old songs, but your major label debut should showcase the best of what you've perfected over the years.

The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow Oh, Inverted World was a complete surprise to me when i picked it up on a fluke late in 2001 and it became one of my most replayed albums of that year. the follow-up is just as sugary delicious and i don't think it's going to work it's way out of my changer for some time.