Ramblings in the Media Lab

What would happen if you add trumpets to a Kaiser Chiefs album? Other than my head exploding, God only knows, but according to "rumours" that exact thing is going to be happening. Yes my friends, my favourite producer (otherwise known as the gorgeous Mark Ronson) and my favourite band may be joining forces to explode my mind sometime in the future. I'm both giddy and terrified.
In other music related news I'm going to be writing an essay in my English class about why a 1960's style British Invasion will never/can never happen again. So that means my pop obsession has made it's way over into English. Somehow I doubt it will make it's way to history, but British history can cover that subject. Now all I need to do is convince everyone in the music department that pop is a valid form of music and my take over will be complete. Mwhahahahaha.
I scanned something today for my voice lesson. Now Prof. Tavenier can't complain about how she doesn't have a copy of my English art song. Granted she can feel free to complain about everything else, but I have a copy dammit.

Etymology

I was listening to the Proclaimers "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" and I heard a word that I didn't recognize. I assumed I had misheard the word and so I looked up the lyrics. Here's the verse and more specifically the couplet I'm referring to:
And if I haver yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you
Thoroughly confused I headed over to dictionary.com to find out what haver means. The first definition says that haver means to equivocate or to vacillate. Given the context of the song the definition didn't make sense, so I scrolled down. After the Hebrew definition (friend; comrade; companion) which I knew couldn't be the correct one, I found the definition of haver, according to Scottish slang. (You see, the Proclaimers are two Scottish brothers, so it would make sense that they would use Scottish slang.)
Haver: To maunder; to talk foolishly; to chatter
So there you have it. This is what I do when I'm bored; look up strange words in songs that I'm listening to.

On a completely different note, in English class today we were discussing our research topics. Of course mine center around British culture and I happen to know that the Brits are absolute nutters for soccer and so one of my classmates asked me if I was British. I politely replied no, just somewhat obsessed. :)

More Oscar Nonsense

Unabashedly ripped from Filter Magazine's online blog

Score one for indie rockers. At last night's Academy Awards presentation, the stars of Once - The Frames' Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - brought tears with their symphony-backed performance of the film's central song "Falling Slowly" and were awarded the film industry's highest honor: an Oscar for Best Song.

If you want to see the acceptance speeches given by Mr. Hansard and Ms. Irglova (not Ms. Marketa as I called her last night), head on over to Filter Blog.

I'm So Sorry About This

ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, ONCE WON BEST SONG, HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ONCE WON BEST SONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beat that Enchanted.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just this in, a little quote from Mr. Hansard and Ms. Marketa (and further proving that somethings going on between them):
Glen: Let's have them kiss (the statuettes)
Marketa: But they're both guys
Glen: It's Hollywood!

Brotherly Love

In case you needed any evidence that a) I like the Kinks a bit too much and b) the Brothers Davies originated the brotherly hatred and are still the best, look no further than this article as reported by Billboard. Gotta love that brotherly love.

It's Not Fair

Everyday, usually in the morning, I check NME.com for news. Usually there isn't anything too interesting and I move on quickly. The format to NME.com is something like this: Left hand column is the highlights of the news from the last 24 hours and anything new that's particularly interesting. The right hand column is devoted to pictures from the magazine, awards, and other various things involving music. It's a fairly good set-up, nothing to complain about. Except of course when they feature pictures like this. Then I have to cover up half the screen with my hand and somehow make it seem like I'm not the biggest weirdo roaming the earth. When I saw that picture this morning I took one look and hit the back button on my browser it was that sexy traumatic. I guess there are just some things I can't handle. Like pictures of Ricky Wilson.
On a completely different subject, I've finished the first season of Torchwood and just rewatched the eleventh episode of season 3 Doctor Who. Essentially what this means is that a) I have to find a more productive way to waste my time or b) find a new show to watch on YouTube. Or c) rewatch NMTB and The IT Crowd. I suspect I will be going with option c. Also, on a Torchwood related note, as much as I didn't want Owen to die, I didn't want him to come back and be a complete jackass. So yeah, I want Owen to die this week.
Well that's it for me kiddies. I think I'm going to watch some IT Crowd.

Brits, A Proper Nash Review, and Why Colds Suck Ass

The Brit Awards (also referred to as the British version of the Grammys) are tomorrow (or Thursday, I can't remember which) and it seems that whoever runs the ceremony has decided to shorten the list in the category of best single. As some readers might remember, the Kaiser Chiefs were one of the groups originally nominated for this award. As of today, that is no longer true. So what does the band do in reaction? Have their lead singer open his big mouth. "I am just a bit annoyed" is the least offensive part of the quotes used from Mr. Wilson's interview with BBC 6Music earlier today. Bashing the singles that did get nominated was something else he did. Now it's been a long time since I've criticized a group or individual, but there are time when keeping one's gob shut, especially when one is being interviewed, would be a very good idea. If one doesn't do that, then one will be ridiculed in this blog, it's practically my job. On the other hand the only good song on the now shortened list is "Valerie" by Mark Ronson. The other songs, as far as I know or can tell, are shite. Still, it's just not good manners to bash. So remember that next time Richard. >_<
I'm going to admit something. I've been trying to write a review of Made of Bricks for hours and I can't do it. Let's just say my main issue with the album is that, much like Mel Brooks, Miss Nash doesn't know how to end things. Mel Brooks can't end a movie well and Kate Nash doesn't know when to end a song. Otherwise the album is pure gold.
You know why cold suck ass? They suck ass because they suck all the life out of you and make playing the clarinet harder than it already is when you don't practice as often as you should. It also makes life generally difficult because the instinct to stay curled up in ball is often overridden by the need for food, which is hard to get because it's far away and you just want to stay curled up in a ball. Colds also suck because they make your nose all congested and so you have to blow your nose all the time which is, in and of itself, a pain in the ass. Generally colds just suck a big one and should go away. Stupid rhinovirus.

A Kinky Update

I wrote this in my seminar blog, in response to the fact that I got to grill the new class and got my seminar blog praised to high heaven
Crap it's been a long time since I wrote in this blog. I guess since I'm not taking the class anymore there's really no need, but I feel inspired. This past week I got the chance to peek in on this semesters Rock/Soul/Prog class and there have been a plethora (well I say plethora) of articles having to do with my Rock gods, the Kinks, so I felt I should write. Besides I'm incredibly bored and can't find this episode of Torchwood I've been looking for. So, onto the Kinks!
As I've previously mentioned in this blog, I blame the Kinks for the present state of British rock music. When I say blame, I don't mean in a bad way. I mean, they're the reason Brit-pop existed and hence the reason my favourite band exists. And a whole bunch of other bands as well, including anyone who can claim Blur, Oasis, the Pretenders, the Jam, Pulp, Supergrass, or the Madness as an influence. Well, my view was all but confirmed in a book that recently read called The Kinks: A Very English Band. As you can guess it's a biography of the band from their very beginnings till around 2002. (Technically the band is still together, despite the fact that the Brothers Davies all but hate each other and none of the other band members know what the hell is going on.) My thesis that you can connect the Kinks to Kaiser Chiefs through Blur and the Jam can now commence!
Another one of my postulates, that Ray Davies is an incredibly bitter man, was also confirmed in none too certain terms. Not only is Mr. Davies incredibly bitter over everything ever, he's also slightly paranoid, something of a nutter, obsessed with concept albums (see the Kinks back catalogue starting with The Village Green Preservation Society), and is very controlling of all of his artistic output. If you've every wanted to read a biography of Ray Davies couched in a history of the Kinks, I would highly recommend The Kinks: A Very English Band by Neville Marten and Jeff Hudson. Heck, if you've ever wanted the full back story on the Kinks, I would suggest that book.
Now onto the articles I was talking about earlier. Both we written by Jason Heller who is a staff writer at the AV Club. The first article is Mr. Heller's perspective on the Kinks and what they mean to him. When I read it, I was absolutely thrilled to finally know that there was someone else out there who thought as highly of the band as I did. The second article is a "primer" on the Kinks and includes most of the vital tracks that anyone new to the band should listen to before diving into the full back catalogue. My only addendum would be "Dandy," "Dedicated Follower of Fashion," "Mr. Pleasant," "Starstruck," "Apeman," and "Better Things." (I had to keep adding songs as I looked at the best of albums I have. I only meant to add three originally.) Of course most intro courses focus on the band's earlier material because it's the most accessible in the Kink's back catalogue. As mentioned before, after Village Preservation Society Ray got rather obsessed with writing concept albums and rock operas and really started hating the idea of writing "hits" or "singles." If you like what you here, then maybe you can venture into the more obscure albums.
So there you have it. My update on all things Kinks. I'll be keeping an eye on the new R/S/P class and might update based on my inspiration level. Until then feel alright.

Sad (and not so Sad) Facts For 11 at Night

• I've watched 18-3 of NMTB way too many times. No one should be able to say what someone is going to say before they say it. Unless of course they're naturally psychic in which case it's fine
• I made Dean's List and have been asked to join the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. I feel I should snub the latter, just because I can
• My internet has been mostly shit all day. I really wish it wasn't
• I had one of the freakist experiences yesterday. I went to turn in my English paper and bumped into Prof. Campbell. I asked him were the seminar was in the course and basically, my blog from last semester was stumped by Prof. Campbell in front of the entire class. It was really scary
• I have one class tomorrow :)

Off to bed now. Ta

I'm Such A Nerdy Emo

So this past week has been shit for the most part. Friday night was fantabulous before I got back to my room, but was otherwise quite fantastiche. I had dinner with a bunch of upper class band geeks and tried a little rum, which is fruity good. Then I went back to my room and it all went to shit because I had to wake up at 8 the next morning thus meaning I needed to go to bed at 11, yadda yadda. My relationship with Allison has now stagnated at putting up with each other, just barely. Saturday was cool. My white sneakers broke this past week, so I went to Journeys to get another pair, which coincidentaly I spilled Diet Coke on later the same night. I ended up spending around a hour in the mall and bought two shirts and bra that doesn't fit because I couldn't remember my bra size. One of the shirts has Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty on it which is neato since she's kind of made of awesome. The other shirt has "Music is My Boyfriend" written across it, in bright yellow, and, quite coincidentally, is made by the same company that the Kaiser Chiefs use to print their shirts. I basically had the room to myself though and gourged on pizza, cheese sticks, and Dr. Pepper. It was a great night all in all, if only because I discovered how much I really love Torchwood despite it's rather obvious flaws (at least during the first season.) Had it out with Allison, which means jack-shit, but at least some of the stuff I've been thinking about this past week is off my chest. Today was uneventful except for the fact that I watched more Torchwood and found out my paper deadline has been extended till Wednesday which means I have tomorrow to write it. Very exciting. Spent most of the day in the library procrastinating and am now back in my room trying vainly to work on my NPR internship resume and cover letter. I have most of the resume done and really, really wish I didn't have to write a cover letter. Really. Currently thinking about ordering dinner and listening to Amy Winehouse. So, ta.

Fan Girl SCREAMS!!!!

I must warn you this will all sound crazy in the morning, but it will be worth it. Mind the capslock.
(The following two explosions relate to Torchwood characters, with season 2 in mind)
I LOVE IANTO JONES!!!!! He's a snarky wonder boy.
I LOVE OWEN!!!!!!!! He's a medical snarky wonder boy.
(This next bit only makes sense if you've seen Hogsfather and Love and Monsters {from DW season 2}) You know why Elton? Because you're eeeevil and crazy in the head.
And now, bon nuit.

Life? Don't Talk To Me About Life!

You know what sucks? The world. You know what makes it slightly better? Wonderfully cheesey TV shows, specifically Torchwood. True, Auntie Beeb makes it incredibly hard to find on YouTube, but if you're clever you can find it and realize how wonderfully silly the whole thing is. Kate Nash also makes the world slightly better but not as much as Torchwood.
So yesterday, in a fit of boredom, I was checking all my "shopping" sites and I found the best shirt ever. Instead of trying to describe, I'm just going to post the picture. Long time readers will instantly understand why the shirt is so awesome. However I will explain after the break.

The reason why this shirt is so awesome is because I love cheese. So a shirt that says "Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese" not only my other love of 80's rock hits will my previously mentioned love of cheese. All on one shirt! I've decided that I must have that shirt, one way or another. So yeah, that's the best shirt ever.
Last night I also decided to be a complete bitch to Allison because she ruins everything in my life and makes me feel like a horrible piece of second hand shit. It was both wonderful and horrible because now she's acting like the complete bitch she is and I'm at the wrong end of her bitchiness. It's at times like this I wish I had a point-of-view gun. Either that or a different roommate.
Well I'm off. Time to eat and watch something distracting.

Doctor Who Update

And for a minute I was excited and happy. Then life hit me and I was depressed again. Anyway, here's the skinny: The SciFi channel will start airing DW in April. How fantastiche is that? No wait really which means I won't have to download the episodes. Not that will somehow stop me, but I won't have to. So yay.

Apologies All Arounduh

Sorry for the lack of updates both past and future. I'm in a piss poor mood and will be (probably) for the rest of the week. To make up for this I'm going to post the set list from the OK Go concert I went to on Saturday. No review, yet again, but I've got a four page personal essay due tomorrow and I've only written a little bit more than a page, so you can see where my priorities are. In any event, here's the set list and I'll see you when I don't want to machete certain New Englanders.

Set List: OK Go, 9:30 Club, 2/2/08

1. So Damn Hot
2. Television, Television
3. No Sign of Life
4. Don't Ask Me
5. The Fix Is In
6. Oh Lately It's so Quiet
7. Get Over It
8. Rock 'n' Roll Suicide (w/Bonerama, Bowie cover)
9. It's a Disaster (w/Bonerama)
10. A Million Ways (w/Bonerama)
11. A Good Idea at the Time (w/Bonerama)
12. Here Come the Girls (full ensemble, Ernie K. Doe cover)
13. Invincible
14. Here It Goes Again

Encore

1. Bye Bye Baby
2. Do What You Want