Heidi Klum is better than Tylenol

Better than Tylenol

I just wanted to let you know the fact that I'm blogging is all out of love for ya'll right now, because my fucking ear is fucking killing me. Another reason why I hate this town: after trying to get into two ear, nose and throat specialists (who of course, rudely rejected me and were filled for the next two weeks) I found myself at the ghetto ass walk-in clinic, where I had to pay cash before my visit ($45) only to have a doctor take 3 seconds to look in my ear and tell me nothing was wrong, go home and take some Tylenol. Which leads me to where I am, wincing in pain every 45 seconds or so due to the stabbing pain that keeps occuring deep inside my right ear, despite the Tylenol. Fantastic. The only thing that is keeping me from blowing my brains out to end the pain is that picture of Heidi Klum.

Actually I can't really concentrate on anything right now, which is a better reason why I'm blogging.


Sports
I watched the first half of the Steelers-Colts game last night. That was a mistake. The Colts are amazing. If they don't win the Super Bowl, something is wrong with this league.

How about this strip club on wheels ordeal? Almost makes me wanna become a Bucs fan!

News

The "truth" behind everyone's favorite program, Seasame Street.

Man, the Nature Boy has really let himself go.

Listen to Wallace Stevens' "The Snow Man."

Hollywood

Oh no they didn't! Dogma 2.

Top ten porn movies based on latest blockbusters.

Here's what you missed by not watching Laguna Beach.

Music

Iron and Wine and Calexico on NPR tomorrow.

More from NPR: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

Featured Album: Beta Band Heros to Zeros (2004) Pitchfork review: 6.9

I've never listened to Beta Band, but I was watching High Fidelity last week and the movie references them, so why not.

From Pitchfork: It's been said that any truly great song can remain just as recognizable and distinctive when broken down to its most basic structure and played on a solo instrument. If this is to be taken as an accurate gauge of musical value, then the Beta Band might be the worst fucking band in history. On their debut, The Three EPs, the Scottish foursome turned the periphery of songwriting into the main attraction, applying multilayered production and serpentine song structures to chords and melodies that repeated to the point of self-nullification. The group's second, self-titled album took this approach even further, as what seemed at first like petty musical asides were developed into the record's most striking and fully realized moments. These records' effects were world-class icing on cardboard cupcakes, using the traditional foundations of strong songwriting as a placeholder before smothering them in sweetness.

A steady diet of icing, however, can only last so long. The Beta Band's last record, 2001's Hot Shots II, showed the band grappling with a lack of ideas for the first time. The songs themselves were every bit as drony and repetitive as those on the first two records, but lacked the fascinating production tricks and odd instrumentation of their best work. Indeed, the un-structure that made the first two Beta Band records so captivating seemed to have evolved into a structure of its own.

On their fourth album, Heroes to Zeros, that structure is further solidified, to decidedly mixed results. "Assessment", the album's first single, toys with the kind of playful dynamics that made The Three EPs such a dense listen. In true Beta Band fashion, the heart and soul of "Assessment" is little more than the interplay between two similar guitar parts, and one fantastic drum fill. A few minutes into the song, a simple bassline rises to prominence before quickly and elegantly segueing back into a chorus. It's a nice diversion, but one can't shake the feeling that The Beta Band of yore could have turned it into an epic. The more disjointed final section of "Assessment" is similarly frustrating-- several great ideas are explored, but the band moves between them with an abandon uncharacteristic to even their most slapdash work...

Read the rest of the Pitchfork review...

01 - assessment.mp3
02 - space.mp3
03 - lion thief.mp3
04 - easy.mp3
05 - wonderful.mp3
06 - troubles.mp3
07 - out-side.mp3
08 - space beatle.mp3
09 - rhododendrom.mp3
10 - liquid bird.mp3
11 - simple.mp3
12 - pure for.mp3

You can pick up the whole disc at Against the Grain.

Well, time to watch fat people cry!

Who wants a quickie?

I don't have time to post right now, but I'll be back tonight with a larger more in depth post when my ear stops hurting and I don't have any more meetings.

For now, all I want to say is that you can either follow the link below to go get the brand new Darkness cd which came out today, or you can go buy it. Up to you.

http://www.jonnygoth.com/downloads/

See you later kiddies.

Update: Link dead! Hope you got it well the gettin' was good.

Off Today

Have to run up to Bellwood to spend some time with the future in-laws and root for da Steelers...I'll be back tomorrow.

Aesop Rock - "Freeze"

Steak, Eggs, and Football

Happy football day, folks. I celebrated the fact that football is on for a good 6-9 hrs today by eating the shit out of some steak and eggs. I hope they air the Packers-Eagles game that I was supposed to go to today. Sigh.

Also, I started Jamie Martin because I lost Bulger, and Jamie freaking Martin leaves the game with an injury after throwing for like 14 fucking yards. You have got to be kidding me.

I watched Dawn of the Dead last night (the newer one, followed by You've Got Mail, I'm such a lush). What a crazy movie. I prefer movies like Shaun of the Dead, but hey, you can't beat a good gore fest once in awhile.

Is it just me or has the blogging frequency of a lot of blogs dropped off as of late? I wonder why. Somehow I manage to post most everyday despite the fact that I'm trying to graduate with my Masters degree and move back to Wisconsin in some 20 or so days. That's probably not a good thing, but oh well, gotta have a hobby.

That "What would you do for love?" diamond commercial that is all over the television this holiday season is such bullshit. Diamonds are bullshit, my girlfriend even thinks so (which is a huge reason why she's a keeper!). Nothing says "materialism" like a signifier of economic and social status like a rock on a woman's finger. It says, "look, I'm richer than you and obviously more loved because I have a giant fucking stone on my finger." What is the poor sap working the 12 hr. shift just to make ends meat for his family supposed to feel upon seeing commercials like that? That he's not a good husband because he can't afford to buy his wife a $1500 diamond necklace for Christmas? Yeah, some Christmas spirit. I have no problem with a ring as a gift, but keep it simple, or better yet, get a stone that's actually rare, like a sapphire, ruby or emerald to prove you're not just another sucker. Better yet, be a better husband and you won't have to worry about buying her anything that proves you love her. End of rant.

Feingold tells the Chicago Tribune that the US is due for a Cheesehead president. Yea boy, you've got my vote.

An administrative note: I've added the del.icio.us play tagger so now you can click on the blue arrow and listen to the songs right on the website, a sort of preview before you download if you're not sure you want the song. It may not be as eye pleasing, but I hope this makes your downloading choices easier.

So...what exactly do SI.com photographers do again?

Music

Matt over at YANP has John Mayer covering Radiohead's "Kid A." Yes, you heard me. Go check out the blasphemous effort.

And make sure and check out Chad because he's been giving me some kind words as of late, and he runs a great blog to boot. Fo' sho', homey. Like I said, anyone that is a daily reader and wants a shout out for their blog just let me know.

Featured Album: Gang of Four Entertainment [1979] Pitchfork rating: 9.5!

I had never heard of Gang of Four before reading Jeffery Nealon and Susan Serals Giroux's The Theory Toolbox for a Bibliographic Methods class. Nealon and Giroux open their theoretical text by quoting, and then deconstructing, Gang of Four's song "Why Theory?" Rarely am I ever introduced to a punk band via a theory text, so I was glad when Against the Grain posted the Gang of Four Entertainment disc recently. Thankfully, Pitchfork also has a review of the highly-touted disc:

Gang of Four were a pop band. Their funk was no less stark or forbidding than, say, the more astringent Timbaland productions. They certainly weren't as twitchy, speedy, or noisy as James Brown at his most energized. Their great innovation-- Andy Gill's morse code guitar, as if playing a riff for more than a few bars caused him physical pain-- is post-punk's most ripped-off idea after badly played disco drums. They had attitude, energy, the big beat, skilled players funneling their virtuosity into the necessary notes, a handy way with a catch phrase, and sweaty live performances. Sounds like pop to me.

They formed in 1977 as part of a scene surrounding Leeds University's fine arts department that also included the Mekons and the Au Pairs. They were art students who named themselves after the Maoists that ran China until the leader's death in 1976. But they bonded over pub rockers Dr. Feelgood and 70s British blues band Free, exactly the sort of dinosaur hard rock post-punk was supposed to have purged in its own Cultural Revolution. The seeming contradiction, at least in terms of the Good Music Society the music press was constructing at the time, might have explained their sound, which critic Simon Reynolds described as a "checked and inhibited hard rock: cock rock [with] the cock lopped off." Andy Gill kept his guitar chilly, without the blanket of fuzz provided by effects pedals and the agreeable tone of valve amps. Blues riffs do crop up, but it's almost as if Gill is playing against his technique, scattering them like fishes in a pond with a scrabble of notes. He rarely engages in anything like a solo, the ejaculation part of cock rock.

Gill's playing approaches rock drama through dynamics. On "Return the Gift" he's a shrill S-O-S pattern underneath the weight of Dave Allen's bass on the choruses, a flinty, almost Derek Bailey-like anti-solo. On "(Love Like) Anthrax", he sounds like he's trying to split concrete with a garden spade on a congested street. The guitars on "Natural's Not In It" are actually kind of sexy, in an uncomfortable frottage sort of way. The band says they were trying to get Allen to play a "quarter of the notes he was actually capable of playing," which must be a pretty alarming number given his busyness on tracks like "Damaged Goods". The bass is the only fluid part of Go4's sound, and even that's more croaky than bubbling. On "Ether" there's no bassline to speak of, just big bullfrog gulps as the guitar clangs, bell-like, and a sinister high-noon melodica whistles in the distance. Drummer Hugo Burnham played funk beats and disco snare crashes but with all the reverb stripped off so that they splashed like alcohol. He's the band's secret weapon, and stuff like the hard snare crack that sounds like a handclap on "Not Great Men" is often what makes a song.

When they all locked in, as on "I Found That Essence Rare", the effect is like stuffing 10 pounds of funk into a five-pound bag. Emotionally, however, Entertainment! is a brick. Like a black hole, no romanticism escapes it. Hints of black humor (especially in the artwork) creep into their aesthetic without overwhelming it. Relationships are reduced to "contract[s] in our mutual interest." Jon King often sings in the first person, implicating himself before anyone else: "I can't work/ I can't achieve"; "how can I sit and eat my tea with all that blood flowing from the television?" Out of one speaker, Gill drones the production details of the love song like a bored copywriter on "Anthrax", concluding "we just don't think what goes on between two people should be shrouded in mystery." Out of the other speaker, King moans that he "feel[s] like a beetle on its back/ And there's no way for me to get up."

Hardly head over heels, Go4 continually recast "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as a death grip dragging you under. Go4 interrogated everything, including the band itself, with the kind of rigor only middle-class white art students can afford. But then they were a very English band, very much of a moment where being politically active precluded any sort of irony. (And besides, Bush/Blair may be as scary as Reagan/Thatcher, but Bloc Party aren't scrapping with Nazis at every other show.) Not for nothing was the band that really took their sound into the mainstream the Red Hot Chili Peppers, hardly models of good Marxist propriety. Even the recent, more stylistically faithful post-punk revival bands wouldn't poo-poo a love song. It would have been interesting to imagine Gang of Four as not just a pop band but as proper pop stars, because they would have been the driest pop stars ever. But instead, they refused to change a lyric the BBC found offensive for a planned "Top of the Pops" appearance, which effectively sunk their chart hopes.

By the time they were ready to insert tongue-in-ass, no one wanted to hear their too slick take on what constituted "pop." Sometimes the people really do want it raw. Though they once might have looked askance at becoming an institution (of sorts), at least you can once again easily buy one of the great rock albums, now expanded with eight additional tracks. Anyone who says it's played out is a douchebag who deserves his Medium Medium records and willful obscurity. And that's one thing that I don't want to catch.

1. Ether
2. Natural's Not In It
3. Not Great Men
4. Damaged Goods
5. Return the Gift
6. Guns Before Butter
7. I Found that Essence Rare
8. Glass
9. Contract
10. At Home He's A Tourist
11. 5-45
12. Anthrax
13. Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time (Bonus Tracks)
14. He'd Send in the Army (Bonus Tracks)
15. It's Her Factory (Bonus Tracks)
16. Armalite Rifle (Bonus Tracks)
17. Guns Before Butter (Alternate Version) (Bonus Tracks)
18. Contract (Alternate Version) (Bonus Tracks)
19. Blood Free (Live) (Bonus Tracks)
20. Sweet Jane (Live) (Bonus Tracks)

Black Friday, bitches

Well it's Black Friday. I myself did not participate in any Black Friday superspree, unless you count the chopped beef and mini-Milky Way bars I bought at Martin's today.

I've also been amazingly productive these two days, as my posts and first finished term paper show, unless you count last night, when I got drunk by myself and watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Hey, it was better than the Cavs-Pacers game. Two more papers in two weeks, I can make it happen. I also managed to apply to UW-Milwaukee today (finally), so that's done with.

Sports

Not much happening in sports today except for the Wisconsin Badgers closing out their football season against the Hawaiin Rainbow Warriors tonight. Should be a nice game and a Capital One Bowl bid likely awaits the Badgers if they don't blow it.

Big game coming up Monday night for the Steelers. I hope the beat the Colts, I really do. Why? Because I never have Willie Parker and not Peyton Manning on my fantasy team. That's the only reason, really. And hey, can it get any worse for the Eagles?

Jamie Martin is my new fantasy QB. God help us all.

Education

Rating doctoral programs from Inside Higher Ed.

The LA Times looks at turning academia into a cafeteria.

The New Yorker's Christopher Buckley writes a college entrance essay.

Games, not books, are teaching kids to think.

So turkey doesn't make you sleepy? Must have been those 14 beers.

Hollywood

Paris Hilton believed that Santa Claus existed until she was 17. Why do I find that kind of hot?

The top 5 mullet films. Yep.

Let's be friends, Mrs. Cox-Arqwhatever. Look if you like hot women in bikinis.

Laguna Beach's Lo hits the bong. That's like, totally sweet, man.

David Cross discusses the death of Arrested Development.

Kaylee Defer, the 19 yr old girl who plays a 16 yr old girl on The War at Home, likes showing off her nipple.

Music

You can get a bunch of The Darkness at Ryan's place.

Some Travis, the B-Sides:
"Just the Faces change"
"Killer Queen"
"Village Man"

Reverend Horton Heat - "Run Rudolph Run"

Hot Topic "OMG I'm Sooo Punk" Album of the Day: My Chemical Romance Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge


Twenty-plus years after the Misfits terrorized New Jersey, their Garden State descendants My Chemical Romance embrace the goth-punk revival in style. Sweet Revenge has the same shout-along choruses, speedy drums and horror themes that fueled Glenn Danzig's old outfit, but it also adds cool metal licks and a sneaky sense of humor (see the thrash-cabaret hybrid "You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison"). And thanks to frontman Gerard Way's endearing warble, standout tracks such as "Helena" and "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" come off as more emotion-driven than shock rock. In any case, Revenge is a hell of a good time. - Rolling Stone

1. Helena
2. Give 'Em Hell, Kid
3. To The End
4. You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison
5. I'm Not Okay (I Promise)
6. The Ghost Of You
7. The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You
8. Interlude
9. Thank You For The Venom
10. Hang 'Em High
11. It's Not A Fashion Statement, It's A Deathwish
12. Cemetery Drive
13. I Never Told You What I Do For A Living

Turkey and Yuengling

I wasn't supposed to post today. But then again, I also wasn't supposed to spend Thanksgiving alone. Yet, thanks to icy roads and bald tires, I am doing just that. I don't really know what to say on days like these, these holidays of solitude. So I'll let my favorite poet James Wright say some words instead:

"Outside Fargo, North Dakota"


Along the sprawled body of the derailed Great Northern freight car,
I strike a match slowly and lift it slowly.
No wind. Beyond town, three heavy white horses
Wade all the way to their shoulders
In a silo shadow.

Suddenly the freight car lurches.
The door slams back, a man with a flashlight
Calls me good evening.
I nod as I write good evening, lonely
And sick for home.

Luckily, I've got some deli turkey slices, a 12 pack of Yuengling, some Charlie Brown and football to keep me company this Thanksgiving.

"Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio"

In the Shreve High football stadium,
I think of Polacks nursing long beers in Tiltonsville,
And gray faces of Negroes in the blast furnace at Benwood,
And the ruptured night watchman of Wheeling Steel,
Dreaming of heroes.

All the proud fathers are ashamed to go home.
Their women cluck like starved pullets,
Dying for love.

Therefore,
Their sons grow suicidally beautiful
At the beginning of October,
And gallop terribly against each other's bodies.

I hope you all enjoy your holiday, wherever you are.

Iron and Wine with Calexico - "Wild Horses" (Rolling Stones cover)

Fuse Thanksgiving Extravaganza Nov. 24-28th

65 songs available for download for the next four days. Go here to get the rest.

All files are in .zip format because that's the way Fuse posted 'em, yo.

Alkaline Trio - Wash Away
Anthony and the Johnsons - You are my Sister
Armor for Sleep - The Truth About Heaven
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Ain't No Easy Way
Circa Survive - Act Appalled
Eisley - Golly Sandra
Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To
Funeral for a Friend - Recovery
Hawthorne Heights - Silver Bullet (Acoustic)
HIM - Wings of a Butterfly
I AM The Avalanche - I Took a Beating
Metric - Monster Hospital
Pennywise - Knocked Down
Straylight Run - Hands in the Sky
The Strokes - Juicebox
Sugarcult - Memory (Live)
Tom Vek - I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes
Youth Group - Skeleton Jar

Hump Day Thank Fest

As Turkey day is fast approaching and the Goose will not be in town to blog whatever happens with the Turducket this year, I figured I'd go ahead and give my thanks a little early.

I'm thankful that I've got a home to go to for Thanksgiving, as my "home" is a good 13 hrs and one expensive plane ticket away in Wisconsin. Since I'm not going to Philly, I'll be at my somewhere-down-the-road family's home in Bellwood with my lovely girlfriend. I hope all my friends and family back home in WI and here in PA whom I will not be able to see this holiday but to whom I give great thanks enjoy their turkey and football as well.

Speaking of my lovely girlfriend, I have to give her thanks because life in Pennsylvania wouldn't have been the same without her. Nor would the rest of my life. She's a beautiful girl with a beautiful heart and you can't beat that any which way. Yes, I'm sucking up.

There are alot of other beautiful women whom I also have to give thanks because they keep me in awe, my eyesight focused and my ego in check. So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thanks, wow thanks, and yeah, thank you too.

Thanks to The Torture Garden, who first linked me and got me noticed in the blogosphere. And thanks to all of you who inspire me to do better: Kevin, Ryans, Chris, Dodge, Peter, Mallie, C, Chad, Jules, Samantha and the countless others.

Thanks to authors like Michael Berube, Chuck Palahniuk, and James Wright; musicians like Radiohead, Pearl Jam, RHCP, Bear vs. Shark, Ted Leo, CYHSY and Muse that keep me sane. Thanks to Victorias Secret commercials, Mountain Dew, Men's Health, broadband internet porn, my lizard Sid, Chocolate chip ice cream, French Vanilla cappuccinos from Sheetz and Taco Bell for keeping me firmly entrenched in my middle-class American way of life; and thanks to Fight Club, Foucault, my friends, Gary Snyder, Charles Bukowski, the Daily Show, Toni Morrison and Michael Vella for making me realize that whatever I listed outside of my family and friends aren't really important at all.

On with the post...

Sports:

Giants Stadium sets aside prayer spaces. Too little, too late?

Entertainment:

Is it just me or was the opening to last night's My Name Is Earl the funniest shit you've ever seen? And how about the CYHSY song playing in the background of the BBQ party from The Office? Someone's done their research.

I only caught one performance from last night's American Music Awards, and it was Lindsay Lohan's "Daughter to Father" or whatever it's called crap fest (see picture at top) that I wish I had just clicked off, but much like R. Kelly's performance of Trapped in a Closet or a trainwreck, I just couldn't turn away.

Speaking of R.Kelly, I guess he won an award right after that, but wasn't there to pick it up for some reason. HAHAHA, because he's a pederass.
Music

Featured Band: Bound Stems

Photo by Liz Parrott for Flameshovel Records

Almost every night some Bound Stems get together for something or other. A lot of times it's for practice, but sometimes it's for a barbecue with a lot of friendly friends around. A lot of times it's at the studio and songs are underway. Sounds unfurling in the background: El train, northwest bound; cicadas; a stick gnawed by a puppy; now a chorus of cicadas; sidewalk conversations; giant whirring air conditioning stacks; airplanes approaching O'Hare; window fans whirring and dripping; fat car tires; and the polite beep of a car in the mouth of an alley. More on this later.

Bound Stems started making music together in late 2002, but they were already up in each other's business. Bobby Gallivan (guitar, vocals, lyrics), Dan Radzicki (bass, keys, vocals) and Dan Fleury (guitar) played basketball on the same team in high school. When they met Evan Sult (drums, tapes), they'd been playing together for a long while. He'd been in Harvey Danger in Seattle, but just moved to Chicago. Bobby's a high school history teacher. Fleury's a financial whiz kid. Radz is a lab scientist (no shit). Evan's an art director at a comic book publisher. Czech that out. Another voice that graced both the studio and the stage with Bound Stems for a while is Kate Gross. Newest member Janie Porche sings harmony and plays an SP606, an acoustic guitar, a keyboard or two and an electric guitar called Sweet Tones...

More about Bound Stems here...

Bound Stems - "Wake Up, Ma and Pa are Gone"
Bound Stems - "My Kingdom for a Trundle Bed"

Featured Band 2: Moonshine Sway

I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's Milwaukee toes by posting about Moonshine Sway.

Moonshine Sway was formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the winter of 2002. Hell-bent, buzzed-up, and a bit frayed from the road, Moonshine Sway’s vintage blend of cow punk nestles the finer elements of old-time country, punk, and alternative rock into a forceful package of dirty, bleeding guitars, thumping bass, explosive drums, and ragged vocals that are worn thin from liquor and long nights. Moonshine Sway’s songs employ a patient march between bars and lonely streets, cities and towns, and heartbreak and helplessness. In between the riffs and lines, lays the labor of life and the highway—a seemingly endless stream of guilt and dead-drunk remission that hangs in the smoke tails of tiny barrooms.

Pabst and cheap whiskey remain the drinks of choice as they soil each song with a familiar and pleasing tone of longing—one that never, fortunately, seems to find a home. The balance of twang and gruff-driven power ferments a blend of music too country for punk, yet too punk for country. Unreeling a genre rooted in the middle-west labors of Uncle Tupelo, Slobberbone and the Bottlerockets, Moonshine Sway is driven by the punching bass of Bob Berry while gaining its ferocity from the wicked guitar of Chris Dorch. Tom Vollman’s rhythm playing and throaty vocals round-out the sound giving it an off-kilter flow as dark and twisted as the Mississippi’s flooded back waters. Each song paints a clouded picture through both lyrics and rhythm, often times leading to the sweet surrender of dejection—a dejection so soft that one doesn’t seem to mind sharing in the restless abandon as each sober night bleeds into the next.

Moonshine Sway - "Chelsea"
Moonshine Sway - "1000 Miles"
Moonshine Sway - "Faultline"

Featured Concert: Local H Live @ Otto's in Dekalb, IL 2004
Local H - "High Fivin MF"
Local H - "Hands on the Bible"
Local H - "Bound for the Floor"
Local H - "Auf Wiedersehen" (Cheap Trick Cover)

Bonus song: My Morning Jacket- "What a Wonderful Man" @ Open Dir

Say Hello Mrs. Johnson

Hello Mrs. Johnson

Man o' man is it starting to get cold out here in Pennsylvania. 34 but feels like 25.

I had to turn down my much anticipated Thanksgiving trip to Philly to see the Packers-Eagles game this weekend because if I go I probably won't graduate. Having to write 3 20-page papers in 11 days was just too big of a hurdle for me to jump this time, especially with the semester I've had. Thank god I'm getting out.

Two administrative things to take care of before I jump into my post. First, I know there's a lot of you (or at least 3 of you) that link me on your site, and I've done my best over the months to link you as well. But if you are one of the few brave souls that does link to Veritas Lux Mea and you notice that you aren't on my blogroll, please let me know so that I can give thanks and add you.

Secondly, I'm still trying to find a place to host some music, besides rapidshare or anything like that. If you have any ideas (key word: free) that I might use, please let me know because I'm not up to par with the technology aspect of music blogging.

Sports

I could go on and on about last night's Packers game but serisouly what's the point? If the defense is going to give up a game deciding catch that late in the game it doesn't really matter what Favre does or doesn't do because they won't win a game. People seem to be concerned with rectifying the Packers passing or running game through the draft, but are we forgetting how terrible their cornerbacks have been these past years? I agree with Ryan that Bush would look great in a Packer uniform; what would look even better is the Packers trading Bush for a quality cornerback or two.

And Daphne is the name of that Bengals cheerleader that Chad Johnson fake proposed to for a touchdown celebration (see picture at top of page). Classic. Personally, I would have gone with Amber.

Entertainment

Oprah is coming to the Late Show with David Letterman. At last, CBS.

Oprah Winfrey, whose renown as a television host, producer and publisher has made her one of the most recognized and admired public figures worldwide, will make her first appearance on the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, Thursday, December 1st. Ms. Winfrey, who appeared twice in the 1980s on NBC's "Late Night with David Letterman," has never been a guest on CBS's LATE SHOW. Ms. Winfrey will make her LATE SHOW appearance the same night as the red-carpet premiere for the Broadway musical "The Color Purple," which she is producing. The theatrical production is based on the Alice Walker novel, which also yielded the 1985 film of the same title, for which Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress.

Penn Jillete believes there is no God.

Education

Hey you! Stop listening to your professor and read this instead.
More from Slate: The Death of Literary Theory. If you want my opinion on this, read my term papers I haven't yet started.
Last but not least: Baudrillard on Tour, from the New Yorker.

Music Featured Album: Ted Leo Hearts of Oak (Pitchfork Review: 8.3)

Leafing through The Complete Pitchfork Works of Rob Mitchum, Year One, I've noticed that the prime recipient of my venomous ire has been the insidious "Return of Rock!" movement spawned by those over-enthusiastic Brits. Chock-full of worthless style-first bands, the whole phenomenon has left me cold from the get-go-- partially because my definition of rock isn't entirely confined to the Nuggets box. It's not that I don't like rock; I just prefer it to be motivated more by passion than retro fetishism.
Exhibit A: My love for Ted Leo, the man who perhaps most embodies any kind of Jesus act rock 'n' roll still has left in it. He's one of the few guitar slingers I'll still go to bat for, and not just because he hails from the same city-district in which I make my residence. Shunning standard-issue hipster influences like the Velvets and The Stooges in favor of didn't-know-they-were-supposed-to-be-good bands like Thin Lizzy and Dexys Midnight Runners, Leo wields his two specialty instruments-- manic guitar and maniac voice-- with unbridled enthusiasm. Note the lack of studied posturing. So, naturally, I've been thrilled this year to see one of my favorite incredibly short people enthused over in the pages of Spin and Alternative Press for his new record, Hearts of Oak-- almost as thrilled as I am to write about him personally. But my critical duties compel me to point out that Hearts of Oak is a few steps off the pace of Leo's previous album, The Tyranny of Distance, an album so good it makes me want to commit that ultimate indie sin and preach that if Everyone Had Heard It, It Would've Been a Nationwide Top 10 for Sure. Freeing Leo's sound from the punk constraints of his former band, Chisel, and the experimental dub leanings of his pretty much unlistenable debut Rx/Pharmacists, Tyranny was, put simply, thee rock album of 2001, Strokes and Stripes be damned...

Read the rest of the Pitchfork review...

1. Building Skycrapers In The Basement
2. Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone
3. I'm A Ghost
4. The High Party
5. Hearts Of Oak
6. The Ballad Of The Sin Eater
7. Dead Voices
8. The Anointed One
9. Bridges, Squares
10. Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead
11. 2nd Ave, 11 AM

12. First To Finish, Last to Start

13. The Crane Takes Flight

Bonus: The Eagles Club in Milwaukee, WI will feature Bayside on Nov. 26th. Check them out if you're in the area.

Bayside - "Devotion and Desire"

Fat Wreck Records Bonus: Epoxies - "Radiation"

Dentists are assholes

Lindsay Lohan thinks she's flexible, too

Crazy weekend had with the lady friend and the Philly boys this weekend. I'm getting too old for that stuff though.

Big game tonight for the Pack. While I was getting a filling today my dentist was bitching to me about how "Brett Favre has gotten a free pass from the media this year." That's bullshit. What's worse is that he then proceeded to bring up Tommy Maddox, as if Tommy Maddox should even be considered in the same f'ing sentence as a future Hall of Famer such as Favre. He's had a bad year, yeah, but look at what's he's playing with. What's Tommy Maddox playing with? Oh yea, a Superbowl caliber team.

And how about some novocaine, asshole? You trying to pinch your pennies or what? Fucking dentists are assholes (that excludes Ryan).

Sports

The Majik Man lives on.

So long, Eagles season. That Thanksgiving Eagles-Packers game I'm going to in Philly just got a lot more interesting. Not that it matters who wins (go Packers).

Politiks

Activists alarmed by the truth behind the new snowman t-shirt.

Literature/Media

McSweeney's "Models of Conflict in Literature, which I think justify beeping the horn while driving even if my girlfriend doesn't"

NY Times interview with Jean Baudrillard.

From Slate: Beavis, Butthead and Beckett.

Hollywood

What my girlfriend is not getting for Christmas, as seen on Christina Aguilera's ring finger.

And what I am not getting for Christmas.

The rest of those Lohan pictures.

Music

Head over to You Ain't No Picasso to grab the Rogue Wave cover of Nirvana's "On a Plain."

Summer may be over, but that doesn't mean you can't find some good summer night songs over at TMWSIY* where Peter features a group called The Lovemakers. Head on over and take a listen, it's worth your time.


Special request:

For Countrygrrl, who wanted to hear: Less than Jake - "Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer"

Make sure you stop by and check out her site too, Blue Skies.


Not-really-featured artist of the day:

B-Lite: White, blind rapper who likes Satan?

Check it out for yourself. Here's a sample: B-Lite: "Hallelujah"

Featured Album: Mountain Goats 9 Black Poppies

The Mountain Goats' Shrimper tapes have their obscure charms, but there is something to be said for accessibility too, and Nine Black Poppies offers both. This nine-song mini-album has a few home recordings, starting with the opening track, "Cubs in Five" (which could be the Extra Glenns except it's Peter Hughes, not Franklin Bruno, joining in on the chorus), and the obligatory Casio song, "Pure Money." The real standouts are the studio cuts, performed with simple guitar and bass, well recorded but not bright and sterile like the Beautiful Rat Sunset EP. Of these, "I Know You've Come to Take My Toys Away," "Chanson du Bon Chose," and "Stars Fell on Alabama" are among the Mountain Goats' most pop-oriented and appealing efforts ever. The closer, "Lonesome Surprise," is a cover of a Refrigerator song with phoned-in duet vocals by Allen Callaci. Nine Black Poppies, by maintaining a high level of quality and touching upon most permutations of the Mountain Goats' sound, rates among the best of their releases and serves as an excellent introduction- Greg Adams, All Music Guide

Mountain Goats - "Cubs in Five"
Mountain Goats - "Cheshire County"
Mountain Goats - "Pure Money"
Mountain Goats - "Nine Black Poppies"
Mountain Goats - "Stars Fell on Alabama"

Featured Album 2: Bjork The Music from Drawing Restraint 9 (2005)

Drawing Restraint 9 is a film by Matthew Barnaby that Bjork provided the soundtrack for (end of sentence preposition!).

It is an apt pairing. Refusing to choose between pop pleasure and restless experimentation, Björk's musical vision weds technology and emotion, countering gut-level expression with an insistence upon formal modernity and innovation.

Similarly poised, and celebrated, within the world of contemporary art as Björk is within her own field, Matthew Barney is a visual artist whose ambitious, rigorous multimedia work encodes esoteric meanings while providing lushly immediate aesthetic rewards. Best known for The Cremaster Cycle, the sprawling sequence of five films made over ten years which was the subject of a recent Guggenheim retrospective, Matthew Barney's work is multimedia in execution but singularly focused in conception: tightly unified fusions of sculpture, performance, architecture, set design, music, computer generated effects and prosthetics, Barney's films deploy the full range of cinematic resources in the service of a hermetic vision rich with densely layered networks of meaning drawn from mythology, history, sports, music, and biology.

The basis of Barney's approach is an operative tension between sculpture and film: the lingering attention to sensuous detail and richly organized aesthetics lends each character, costume, artifact, set, and architectural location within his work the frozen timelessness of sculpture-- yet these components are subjected to vigorous processes of radical rupture and change as the films unfold.

Check out more about the film here.

01 - Gratitude
02 - Pearl
03 - Ambergris March
04 - Bath
05 - Hunter Vessel
06 - Shimenawa
07 - Vessel Shimenawa
08 - Storm
09 - Holographic Entrypoint
10 - Cetacea
11 - Antarctic Return

Sunday Shortie

Wally Szczerbiak provides some great basketball pictures. See above. I mean, c'mon Wally, it's almost as if you're trying to get into these compromising positions. Case in point.

Penn State wrapped up the Big Ten yesterday. Can't complain, they're a great team.

How sweet is this?

Not much else to say today other than I've got a big matchup with MJ in the fantasy football league, so here's some music to get you in the holiday mood.

Blink 182 - "I Won't Be Home for Xmas"
Descendents - "Xmas Vacation"
The Vandals - "Oi to the World"
Ramones - "Merry Christma" (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)
Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "Christmas Time"
Homegrown - "Christmas Crush"
The Damned - "There Ain't No Santa Claus"
The Vandals - "Christmas Time for My Penis"

Saturday is for Hangovers

Jennifer Anniston is flexible

Wow, someone's got a hangover this morning. Went out boozin' last night with the gf and some boys from Philly. A bartender tried to shaft us by charging us $18 for six beers, which I can't rememeber ever paying at said establishment. I told my buddy I think he overcharged us and turns out another bartender told us the beers were only $2 each, not $3. Needless to say, I was a little dissapointed with the bartender, but he's usually a dick anyways, so what are you going to do.


So Jessica looks good blonde. Obvisously. But what's with the half naked Asian dude, Jess?

Some links

Zathura as a Flickskinny. Great stuff.

Taylor from Laguna Beach has a Myspace account. Supposedly.

Watch the new Darkness video, "One Way Ticket to Hell."

Music

So where is a good place to host some songs since savefile seems to suck ass all the time now?

Featured Artist: Muse

Growing up in the quiet English town of Devon, dreaming of being in a loud, rambunctious rock band probably isn't the norm. But for the three members of Muse, it was their dream since the tender age of 13 when they formed (ahem) Gothic Plague. A few years and name changes later, the trio chose the name Muse and settled into their current quiet-loud-quiet style of music. In 1997, Muse released a self-titled EP which was followed by the Muscle Museum a year later. "Muscle Museum" was highly touted in the British press and the buzz over Muse was officially on. The trio signed to Madonna's Maverick Records after playing a music industry show in New York and released Showbiz in 1999. Origin of Symmetry followed in 2001 and the band enjoyed some radio success with the single "Hyper Music" but still wasn't able to break through in America the way their idols Radiohead and Nirvana had. Absolution was released in 2004.


A bunch of Muse

Muse - "Stockholm Syndrome"
Muse - "Unintended"
Muse - "Hate this and I'll Love You"
Muse - "Time is Running Out"
Muse - "Sunburn"
Muse - "Sing for Absolution"
Muse - "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist"

Featured Album: Vandals Fear of a Punk Planet

Fear of a Punk Planet is possibly the definitive Vandals release. There are the covers of corny pop songs ("Summer Lovin'" from the Grease soundtrack and the Beach Boys' "Kokomo") played at maximum velocity and with sneering, snotty vocals. There are the supremely silly lyrics ("Join Us for Pong," "The Day Farrah Fawcett Died"). There are the amped-up, speedy songs. What puts the Vandals over is, believe it or not, the musicianship. Unlike most other punk outfits, the band, especially ace drummer Josh Freese, is tight and focused. They even attempt Iron Maiden-style metal on "Small Wonder" and pull it off. Even if the constant juvenile humor grates after a while, the Vandals are still more composed and entertaining than most. Fear of a Punk Planet may be just a well-played punk album, but for gloriously un-PC punk fun, it's difficult to do better. ~ Victor W. Valdivia, All Music Guide


# Anti
# Girls Turn 18 Every Day
# Hey Homes!
# Join Us For Pong
# Kill My Tenant
# Phone Machine
# Pizza Tran
# Small Wonder
# Summer Lovin'
# Teenage Idol
# The Day Farrah Fawcett Died
# The Rog

Bonus album: Surfjan Stevens - Hark! Songs for Christmas Vol. 1 (zip file)

Bad Religion/Pennywise Concert

Here are the photos I promised from the Bad Religion/Pennywise/Anti-Flag/Murphy's Law concert.

Murphy's Law opened the show with a kick ass set. Their lead singer Jimmy was jumping in the crowd and my friend Chris even got to request a song when Jimmy thrust the mike in his face. A great party band to get the show going. Unfortunately they only played like 20 minutes.



Anti-Flag came out next and being a Pittsburgh band, they drew a pretty big crowd, mostly Hot Topic psudeo punk teens. They did have cool mohawks at least. Our gang watched this set with crossed arms and a slightly sick feeling in our stomachs, like if we were at a Simple Plan show.

Anti-Flag - "Watch the Right"

Pennywise followed them up with a much better show, full of lots of energy and a stomp some ass attitude. Just their set along was enough to make me a Pennywise fan.

Pennywise - "Rise Up"
Pennywise - "Now I Know"
Pennywise - "God Save the USA"
Pennywise - "Punch Drunk"
Pennywise - "Holiday in the Sun"

As expected, Bad Religion closed the show and as expected, they were tight and played a fantastic set. They were obviously showing their age a little, but put on one hell of a rock show nonetheless. I wasn't able to get very good pictures from this set because as the concert went on we got pushed further and further back. Not that being 5'3 helps at a rock concert.

Bad Religion - "American Jesus"

My only gripe about the show was the venue. It was some shitty ice arena outside of Pittsburgh and all they did was cover the ice with a thin rug, which of course got kicked up as the night went on, leaving many people actually standing on bare ice. I think my feet were frozen after 30 minutes, and it was freezing in there. That and the old woman smoking dope in the wheelchair who kept ramming into my ankles, or the errant beer thrown by someone behind me which just so happened to land on my shoulders made it kind of crappy, but thankfully the bands rocked out and I got my $20 worth.

I would def. recommend seeing Murphy's Law, Pennywise or Bad Religion in concert. I guess you can go see Anti-Flag too if you're into that sort of thing.

Back to the Lesson at Hand

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. FINALLY.

With the proverbial academic monkey off my back for a little while, I can get back to the important things in life: giving you free music and pictures of hotties doing beer bongs. Can it get much better than that?

I want to thank everyone who waited out the week with me. You're a bunch of troopers no doubt. I'm really looking forward to partying this weekend away with the lady friends and some crazy mofos from Philly. Shit just might get out of hand. Like, tight pants, natty light and 80's karoake out of hand. We'll see.

So much to catch up on...where to start...why not sports.

The Milwaukee Bucks are continuing to surprise me with their great play so far this season. At 5-2, let's just hope they can keep it up until I move back and can catch a game. T.J. Ford's been tossing assists left and right for me in the fantasy realm as well.

And in the debacle that has become my fantasy football season, I just might have the worst luck ever. Seriously, if you join my team, you're going to get hurt, as J. Shockey has recently proved. Welcome to the team J. Shocks. Infirmary is to your left.

The Think Links

Obesity, epidemic or myth? If you want the answer, go to fucking Ponderosa and look around. Serisouly. It's like Fatass Convention with meatloaf.

What it really takes to be a professor, from the Wall Street Journal. The sad thing is that this isn't even half of it.

Judith Butler on...Islam?

Romeo and Juliet...presented in emoticons (thanks to LHB)

Hollywood

Poor old Borat. Who knew Kazakhstan was such a stickler?

Ryan Seacrest has a man-crush on Anderson Cooper.

Speaking of man crushes, who was recently voted the People's Sexiest Man Alive? You bet your ass he was. That a boy Matthew.

Music

Last weekend when I was in Pittsburgh for the Bad Religion concert we watched the G.G. Allin movie "Hated" after we'd been drinking for a good 3 hrs. The movie is directed by Todd Phillips, who also directed Old School. This movie is nothing like that. It was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen, watching GG eat his own shit and cut himself on stage. But man was it eye opening. Now that's what I call punk rock. Or insanity. You choose.

Make sure you get in Dodge's Hives DVD contest. I know I will with the luck I've had with blog contests as it appears I've managed to claim another victory in the blog contest world, this time by taking 2nd place in Ryan's Supergrass contest.

Previously, I've won a CD from Chris at Gorrilla vs. Bear and a SourceVictoria CD from Kevin in another contest. That puts me at 3 for 4 in blog contests. Hey, at least something's been going right for me lately.

Speaking of SourceVictoria, Kevin sent me their new track and its pretty tight. And speaking of Kevin, he posted a track by a band called Tokyo Electron that I think is pretty rad, called "Darkside." Grab it here and head over to his site for the rest on Tokyo Electron if you likey.

I'm trying to get into jazz and I'm wondering what my fellow bloggers think would be a couple of good jazz cd's to ask for for Xmas. I mean, should I get the "classic" albums by Miles Davis, Coltrane and Gillespie and such or are there other albums that are just as good? If you're into jazz, give me a couple recommendations.

Featured CD: Lagwagon Resolve

There's probably not a lot of die-hard Lagwagon fans out there but this new album by them is worth a listen.

The tragic suicide of original LAGWAGON drummer Derrick Plourde in the spring of 2005 tossed much of the punk rock establishment into shock and sadness. It also lit a magical fire that culminated in LAGWAGON's most inspired and finest musical release in nearly a decade. That Resolve was written, recorded, and in stores in a little more than six months is a testament to the power of an abundance of compassion and understanding. Special albums like these do not come around too often.

The juxtaposition between Resolve and LAGWAGON's previous effort, 2003's Blaze is dramatic. Whereas Blaze festered with a feeling that there wasn't too much left in LAGWAGON's collective gas tank, Resolve is so emphatic, so personal, and so emotionally compelling, that you have to feel conflicted about how the death of a person could result in such a wonderful slab of music. With lyrics that painfully discuss so many of the factors that may have led to Derrick's death, and the effects thereafter on the band, and others that he had touched, it genuinely feels weird to "rock out" to Resolve. Musically, Resolve is a glorious feast of melodicore speed and dexterity. The songwriting is compact and anxious - close to the band's speedy classic Hoss, but with a largely gray pale looming overhead. Sinewy guitar lines buzzsaw their way through the album while the reliable spirit of galloping drums help make you feel the rush of adrenaline. A song like the 90 second "Rager" comes out of left-field with its furious demeanor and peptic opening line, "Proceeds, who's in? Who wants a piece of him? Comrade, artist. A taste for evidence." Other tracks like "Sad Astronaut" (this title made me want to bawl my eyes out) or the manic "Runs In The Family" are vintage LAGWAGON, where melody and fast beats gracefully carve through the air.

My first time reading through Resolve's lyric book was a test in composure. I can't even imagine how many teary eyes were drained while recording this release and putting the words into print. Bands say they are inspired by certain life-changing events all the time, but they tend to leave it up to the listener's imagination to figure out the pieces. Not so with Resolve. The cathartic release surrounding this album is positively suffocating. Only on the final track, the cautiously titled "Days of New," does the mood of Resolve open enough to compliment Joey Cape's seemingly heart-warming ending. It may still feel strange to enjoy an album so steeped in difficult times, but Resolve crawls into your head from the instant you hit play. Resolve is a milestone for the band, and a classy tribute to a lost member of the family. - PastePunk.com

01 Heartbreaking Music
02 Automatic
03 Resolve
04 Virus
05 Runs In The Family
06 The Contortionist
07 Sad Astronaut
08 Rager
09 The Worst
10 Creepy
11 Infectious
12 Days Of New

Coming Soon

Veritas Lux Mea returns tomorrow.



In the meantime, make sure to wear your mittens and boots, because it's coooooold outside.


Beatie Boys - So What'cha Want

Humpin' along

Still no time to really post, but I am getting a leg up (just like the girl above!) on my work and should be back to full force on Friday.

See Peter and Kevin, I haven't forgotten about you boys.

Jack Johnson - "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing"

On Haitus

Veritas Lux Mea is on haitus for the next couple of days due to educational, financial and health things that need my full attention. I will resume posting later this week, probably on Friday. Sorry for the extended abscence, but never fear I will return. Kinda like this.

See you later this week with a full wrapup and photos of the Bad Religion/Pennywise concert that I attended Saturday.

In the meantime, make sure you check out all my friends in the sidebar and listen to some Morrissey.

Fiesta fiesta! We like to party!

What happens in Cozumel, stays in Cozumel

Well I had started writing up a post but then firefox went apeshit on me and stopped working so no post for you!

All's well though because tonight's the big EGO (English Graduate Organization) Pub Crawl, starting at 6 pm @ Cozumel. Be there or be square. But seriously, be there, because we know where you live.

Later gators.

Who wants some Goblin Cock?

Last night was the Victoria's Secret fashion show. I missed out, but thankfully IDon'tLikeYouInThatWay (who is a female, by the way) keeps me caught up. Oh yeah, and you can catch it on ABC Dec. 6th.

Think before drinking: one Starbucks grande coffee = Seven Red Bull enery drinks.
In related news, I could drink 198 cans of Mountain Dew before dying. My record of 8 in one day looks pretty weak now.

Bogurting a link my friend Mike posted on our message board, here's a review of Milwaukee's urban legends, part one and part two. The story about the Pabst Brewery is great (and true!). And just so you call know, I've never said "Bubbler" in my life.

New Sundance Cinemas Circuit to launch in Madison, WI. Hilldale Mall, here comes Michael Moore.

How books can be badges -- and beacons too.

Music

I've heard the new Darkness track. It's fantastic. But I'm not going to tell you where you can find it. Unless you just go read Stereogum.

Family Guy's "FCC Song", great.

Featured Album: White Stripes Live

I don't think this is an actual album, but just a shitload of live White Stripes. If you don't know who the White Stripes are, well, I can't help you out, because you're far beyond my powers. But if you must, here's an Onion AV Club interview with them.

01_Dead_Leaves
02_Blue_Orchid
03_I_Think_I_Smell Rat
04_Lets_Shake_Hands
05_The_Nurse
06_Hotel_Yorba
07_Jolene.mp3
08_Ball_and_Biscuit
09_My_Doorbell
10_Cannon_Broken
11_Passive_Manipulation
12_The_Same_Boy_You
13_The_Hardest_Butto
14_We're_Going_To_Be Friends
15_Little_Ghost
16_Death_Letter_Pass
17_I_Just_Dont_Know What to do With Myself
18_Screwdriver
19_Seven_Nation_Army

Note: these are all from the same directory, so grab 'em fast.

Featured Band: Goblin Cock


My friend Nate posted about these guys on our message board and I was meaning to post on them awhile back but thought, "nah....". However, today is the day, ma frienz, that Veritas Lux Mea brings to you Goblin Cock. Not only is Goblin Cock probably one of the best names ever for a band, but they have pretty kick ass stage names as well:

Lord Phallus - guitar and voice
Bane Ass-Pounder - guitar
King Sith - bass
Braindeath - drums
Loki Sinjuggler - keyboards

Spin recently profiled Goblin Cock, just in time for Halloween:

Irony may be indie rock's opiate of choice these days, but Goblin Cock isn't toking. The band dispenses with that smack and gets high on silliness with an album of metal-flavored rock that non-metal enthusiasts can enjoy with aplomb. The cover of Goblin Cock's debut CD Bagged and Boarded makes it clear that the band is being entirely literal: The cover depicts an angry goblin king, sitting atop his throne while flaunting an equally angry member with a giant Prince Albert dangling from its tip. They don't mean "Goblin Cock" ironically. They mean an actual goblin with his actual cock.

Bagged and Boarded will still appeal to fans of alterna-pop, in large part because Goblin Cock's lead singer, Lord Phallus (known outside the 'Cock as Rob Crow), is also a guitarist and vocalist for Pinback. The prolific Crow is also the mastermind behind such bands as Thingy and the Heavy Vegetables (Crow has a knack for obscure and textured band names). The other members of Goblin Cock are known as Bane Ass-Pounder, King Sith, Braindeath, and Loki Sinjuggler. It sounds more like a gathering of your local Dungeons & Dragons club than a rock band.

Goblin Cock will appeal to the pagan next door: Their liner notes are written in runes and there is a mystical feel to many of the songs on Bagged and Boarded. The slow, plodding guitar riffs and references to fantastical creatures in the lyrics make the album feel like an hour-long séance. And that séance involves Sesame Street: The highlight of Bagged is certainly "The Revenge of Snufalufagus." "You'll pay for what you've done," Lord Phallus sings, sounding quite a bit like Chris Cornell from his Soundgarden days. "Write your will / 'Cause Snuffy's coming." It's unclear why Snufalufagus is so pissed off. Maybe he's angry that no one on Sesame Street besides Big Bird can see him. Regardless, Phallus successfully makes you scared of a giant, elephantine Muppet, and fearing puppets is definitely an irony-free endeavor.

There are no tour dates currently scheduled for Goblin Cock, but the band plans to tour eventually to support the release of Bagged and Boarded, which comes out tomorrow on Absolutely Kosher. -- Jessica Grose, SPIN.

Goblin Cock - "Stumped"
Goblin Cock - "Childproof"

Veritas Lux Mea is easy on the eyes

Thanks to everyone who's been chipping in about the layout. I'm sorry to see the Badger red go, as are Peter and Kevin, but if I manage to keep a couple readers tuned in by going a little easy on the eyes then consider it done. I'll definently have to break out the Big Red again for a big game though.

In response to an email, as far as the "baby" or "powder" blue being a signifier of my comfort level with homosexuality...I think you may have lost me on that one Deegan. Unless of course you are trying to say that baby blue is a "gay color." Then in which I think you (and Colin Farrell) may have bigger issues.

On to the show!

It looks as though my genre paper for tonight isn't quite up-to-par with my Medieval Women's Lit professor's idea of what my "close reading" of the text should accomplish, and that, in fact, "I don't really know how to close read, at least, that's what this paper shows." That makes sense because I've only written like 8 or so papers in which I close read texts. Maybe I should have just followed Harvard's explanation of how to do a close reading instead of trying to think on my own.

Hump Day Links:

French claim Paris riots "more cultured" than American riots. I claim French fries less cultured than its American nationalist American fries.

Earl and The Office were both new last night and fan-tastic. You can't beat a better night of television. Plus, it gives me a weekly chance to hear this song: Janes Addiction - "Been Caught Stealing"

Reservoir Dogs is the greatest Independent film ever, according to Empire.

My dad would be all over this: the Steven Segal mp3 webpage. Yes, of him singing. Yes, you have to.

Stereogum has the new White Stripes video, complete with Conan O' Brien. Directed by Michel Gondry. Freaky and fun.

Featured Album: Mike Doughty Haughty Melodic


After leaving the avant-garde band Soul Coughing, Mike Doughty toured across the country playing stripped-down solo acoustic gigs at small clubs. Haughty Melodic is his first full-length album as a solo artist.

The record, from Dave Matthews' ATO label, is highly produced -- the sign of a deliberative recording process. While they may not be as expansive and far-ranging as the music of Soul Coughing, Doughty's songs have been praised for pairing his clever, often ironic lyrics with focused songwriting. -- NPR.

01 Looking At The World From the Bottom of a Well
02 Unsingable Name
03 Madeline and Nine
04 Busting Up A Starbucks
05 White Lexus
06 American Car
07 Tremendous Brunettes
08 i hear the bells
09 Sunken-Eyed Girl
10 Grey Ghost
11 His Truth Is Marching on
12 Your Misfortune

Mike's blog

Adapt or Die

Well, thanks to a concerned Veritas Lux Mea reader, I have once again changed the layout colors so as to try and appease my fellow readers and bloggers. Personally I didn't have an eyesight problem with the red/black using Firefox, but apparently it was too much for some, as Major Deegan wrote in:

dude! i hurt squinting to read black on dark red.
and the medium grey blue links are no better. sorry, but you might
loose a certain number of readers just for that fact (and thousands of
newly created blogs every minute.)
-major deegan

I hope the new color scheme is more pleasant on your and everyone else's eyes, and be sure to let me know if this new layout works/doesn't work/gives you nightchills in the future. Thanks.

Low - "Nowhere Man" off the Beatle's tribute album, Rubber Soul, a beautiful track, a must-have.

Sha-Sha-Shakira

After a rough weekend I rebounded nicely yesterday, finishing a Medieval Women's Lit paper and getting in some solid reading on the theory text we are currently using, Theory, (Post) Modernity, Opposition, by Mas'ud Zavarzadeh and Donald Morton. If you're a giant nerd like me, it's a great book on Postmodernism and how we should really be using theory both in and out of the classroom.

I also managed to stave off Ryan in our fantasy league last night despite Peyton's huge night. 30 points is a pretty big deficit, but he pulled it to 10 by the end of the night. It wasn't enough to dethrone me however and I remain atop the league with my 8-1 record. PS. It doesn't hurt that I have Shaun Alexander, Warrick Dunn and Clinton Portis.

It looks like Chuck Batch will get the start against Cleveland this weekend. Poor Steelers. They should still win.

Play Risk on Google Maps. Crazy.

Music

Epitaph Records has a new website. To celebrate, here's some Epitaph downloads:
Dangerdoom - "Sofa King"
Youthgroup - "Shadowland"
HorrorPops - "Where You Can't Follow"
Matchbook Romance - "Monsters"
Solomon Burke - "None of Us Are Free"
Tom Waits - "Another Man's Vine"

And a featured Epitaph band: Motion City Soundtrack

The way it works, everyone likes the first record better. You're a music fan, presumably, so you probably understand the idea here that, when placed in historical context, a band's initial statement to the world is often seen as its most lasting. Motion City Soundtrack began in Minneapolis in 1999. Two years ago, they released their first album, I Am The Movie, crawled inside a van for seemingly the end of eternity and shot a video with their friends back home for "The Future Freaks Me Out," a loud and instantly enjoyable anthem that has become such an undeniable apex at the band's live shows that it is no longer sung by singer/guitarist Justin Pierre as much as it is sung back at him.

But as ubiquitous as it became, the song perfectly captured Motion City's allure. Irresistible and unhinged, "The Future Freaks Me Out" was a reference point for what was to come with Commit This To Memory, ironic considering they wrote the song in mere hours and it almost didn't even make it onto their debut. "Two weeks before we went in, [guitarist Joshua Cain] played the part and I sang those words and that's what came out," Pierre says now in amazement. "It was completely random. But that's how we work. It's funny when there's talk about how this record could 'make or break us.'" He laughs. "This band has always gone on its gut instinct."

Motion City Soundtrack - "The Future Freaks Me Out"

Stream more MCS at their Myspace website or at the Epitaph Records new site.

Featured Album: Shakira Fijacion Oral

Yea, this album is in Spanish. But it's hot. And it's Shakira. Throw it on next time you're cooking to kick it up a notch or salsa dancing with the lady friend.

Shakira - "En Tus Pupilas"
Shakira - "Obtener Un Si"
Shakira - "Dia De Enero"
Shakira - "No"
Shakira - "La Tortura"

Blogging my way back you, babe

The secret to the Denver Bronco's running game

Ma frien Matt pointed me to this story about two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders who were reportedly arrested at a Tampa nightclub after an incident that began with the two girls having sex. Cheerleaders having sex? With each other? Man I love the NFL.

The Charlotte Observer initially reported that a police report indicated Kristen Owen, 22 and Angela Keathley, 26, were arrested after an incident at Banana Joe's in the city's Channelside district. One cheerleader was charged with battery, the other with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. According to the Observer, the police report claims the two cheerleaders were having sex with each other in a stall at the bar when other patrons got angry they were taking so long in the bathroom. Then one of the cheerleaders and another person started arguing and the cheerleader hit that person in the face, according to the report. Aye, but here's the rub:

However, according to a report by Charlotte's WCNC-TV, police have since questioned the identity of one of the cheerleaders, saying another woman may have tried to dupe them by using Owen's drivers license. Police said they have opened an investigation into the identity issue, and a Tampa TV report indicated that police now think that the woman who identified herself as Owen is in fact another Panthers cheerleader, Renee Thomas.

So yesterday the link to the Carolina Panthers Cheerleading website was working, and I looked up those two girls and yep, they were smoking hot. Interestingly enough, today the link is down...hmm...can you say conspiracy!

Humor

Covering Teen Wolf: One Coach's Guide from McSweeney's. I wonder who'd win in a one-on-one between Teen Wolf and Lebron?

Lit

The New York times reports on Literary Darwinism.
Billy Collins on poetry: "The central theme of poetry is death."

Poem of the week: James Wright's "A Finch Sitting Out a Windstorm"

I had a pretty shitty weekend, but this poem really made me change my outlook on it. James Wright is my favorite poet, and this is a good reason why.

Solemnly irritated by the turn
The cold air steals,
He puffs out his most fragile feathers,
His breast down,
And refuses to move.
If I were he,
I would not clamp my claws so stubbornly around
The skinny branch.
I would not keep my tiny glitter
Fixed over my beak, or return
The glare of the wind.
Too many
Maytime snowfalls have taught me
The wisdom of hopelessness.
But the damned fool
Squats there as if he owned
The earth, bought and paid for.
Oh, I could advise him plenty
About his wings.
Give up, drift,
Get out.
But his face is as battered
As Carmen Basilio's.
He never listens
To me.

Christopher Walken reading Poe's "The Raven"

Featued Album: Radiohead's The Bends

Fans of Radiohead's 1993 single "Creep" basically divided into two camps: those who loved it as a dynamic slice of self-loathing rock & roll, and those who just enjoyed the skrakunk-skrakunk guitar distortion before every chorus. On their later albums, Radiohead would throw their lot in with the skrakunk-skrakunk crowd, pushing the boundaries of sonic experimentation. But for one record, they demonstrated how good they could be when they stuck to guitar rock.

Singer Thom Yorke explored the expressive power of moaning, while guitarist Jonny Greenwood proved equally gifted with restrained strumming and electric flare-gun solos. When critics describe bands such as Coldplay as sounding like Radiohead, they usually mean that they sound like Radiohead's brilliant second album. The title of The Bends refers to decompression sickness, when deep-sea divers come up too quickly -- a comment on the band's sudden fame. The lyrics are filled with Yorke's unhappiness rendered as health metaphors: He makes himself a cripple who can't climb the stairs in "Bones," and with "My Iron Lung," he immobilizes himself even more completely and complains, "This is our new song/Just like the last one/A total waste of time."

The record is filled with lovely ballads, full of longing, jealousy and critiques of consumer culture. But the best is the last: "Street Spirit (Fade Out)." Over chiming guitar arpeggios, Yorke sings a hymn to his own claustrophobia and insignificance, making them sound like exalted states of being. When he intones, "Cracked eggs, dead birds scream as they fight for life," he finds solace in the vowels, transforming them into a melody of hope. By the end of the song, with harmonies swirling around, the beauty has touched even him: The final words on an emotional, bleak album are "Immerse your soul in love." - Rolling Stone, 2003

1. Planet Telex
2. The Bends
3. High & Dry
4. Fake Plastic Trees
5. Bones
6. (Nice Dream)
7. Just (You Do It To Yourself)
8. My Iron Lung
9. Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was
10. Black Star
11. Sulk
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Bonus songs:
Pretty Girls Make Graves - "Speakers Push the Air"
LCD Soundsytem - "Too Much Love"
Queen - "Killer Queen" Live
Mike Doughty - "Tremendous Brunettes"

Who stole my phone?

Penn State 35, Wisconsin 14.

Yesterday was not a very good day for me.

First, I watch my Badgers get their asses handed to them by Penn State. Michael Robinson is so good it's sick. Tamba Hali was unstoppable.

So we go out to the bar to drink away the loss and someone steals my cell phone of the bar. I know someone stole it because they sent an old text message I had saved to Chris hours later.

So now I have no phone, no Wisconsin win to cheer me up, and I'm probably going to lose this week in my pay league once again. Sigh.

Weezer - "Take Control" BBC Sessions
Harvey Danger - "Authenticity"

Oh yeah, and if you stole my phone, give it back.

Go Blow a Nittany Lion

This weekend Veritas Lux Mea coins the Wisconsin vs. Pennsylvania Weekend.

As a result, I will only post on two things this weekend. Today, on the Badgers - Penn State game, and Sunday, on the Packers-Steelers game. If this displeases you, well, you know where you can stick it. Of course, I will still provide you with the usual assortment of music and what not, but this weekend it's all football all the time otherwise.

So....before I get into the Wisconsin-Penn State matchup, you have to see these two links:

• What Would Tyler Durden Do reminds me that yesterday was my man-crush Matthew McConaughey's 36th birthday. Happy birthday, Matt. Nice toothbrush.
• Just Jared has pictures and quotes from Sasha Cohen as Borat hosting the MTV Europe Awards. Man, I would have given anything to see that.

Pleasantries aside, on to the matchup!

Game time: 3:30 pm ET in State College, PA.

#14 Wisconsin (8-1, 5-1)
Offense 42 398.8 211.9 186.9
Defense 27 426.0 249.6 176.4

#10 Penn State (8-1, 5-1)
Offense 36 428.2 212.1 216.1
Defense 16 296.6 192.9 103.7


Game notes:
The Badgers rank 97th of 117 Division I-A teams, giving up 426 yards a game.
Wisconsin holds a 7-3 series advantage against Penn State and has won four of the last five meetings.
The Badgers topped the Nittany Lions 16-3 in Madison last season, and have won their last two games at Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lions average 216.1 yards on the ground, while the Badgers are at 186.9.


Total Yards
WISC 413.1 / 43rd
PSU 436.4 / 31st
Passing Yards
WISC 226.2 / 72nd
PSU 220.3 / 77th
Rushing Yards
WISC 186.9 / 29th
PSU 216.1 / 15th
Points Scored
WISC 39.7 / 7th
PSU 35.7 / 17th
Individual Leaders
Wisconsin Passing
Stocco 61.0% 1858 YDS 15 TD, 7 INT
Penn State Passing
Robinson 52.7% 1754 YDS 13 TD 7 INT
Wisconsin Rushing
Calhoun-1218 YDS, 4.8/carry, 19TD's
Penn State Rushing
Hunt- 807 YDS, 6.2/carry, 3TD's
Robinson- 570 YDS, 4.9/carry, 10TD's
Wisconsin Receiving
Williams- 37 rec, 630 YDS, 17.0/ave, 4TD
Orr- 29 rec, 456 YDS, 15.7/ave, 6TD
Penn State Receiving
Butler- 27 rec, 507 YDS, 18.8/ave, 6TD
Williams- 22 rec, 289 YDS, 13.1/ave, 1TD

Game links:

• Game preview from Yahoo Sports.
• Game preview from ESPN.
• Game preview from UWBadgers.com.
• Last dance at Beaver Stadium for seniors.
• UW defense preps for Robinson.
• Versatile Calhoun sparks Badger's attack.
• GoPSU Sports reports White Out declared for Wisconsin game.

Other Badger-related news


The Women's Soccer Team advanced to the Big Ten Championship Sunday against Michigan with a 2-1 win over Michigan State Friday.

Prediction: Badgers 27, Penn State 24 in OT.

Music

Featured Album: Frog Eyes The Golden River [2003]

I just heard these guys for the first time this morning eating my Fiber One cereal and man, they're pretty crazy. Definently an "out of the box" band. According to a Pitchfork review, "This album seems to exist in a world apart from our own. From Melanie Campbell's insistent, simple, and often strangely cartoonish drumming to Carey Mercer's fantastical lyrics and overwrought delivery, The Golden River taps directly into your imagination, short-circuiting any traditional notions of what should constitute "sincere" and "emotional" music. These songs are the lost soundtracks to those frantic, epic dreams that you can never remember in their entirety, but stay with you for the rest of your life..."

You can read the rest of the Pitchfork review, which by the way was a solid 9.1, here...

01 One in Six Children Will Flee in Boats
02 time reveals its plan at poinsoned falls
03 masticated outboa..
04 miasma gardens
05 a latex ice age
06 orbis magnus
07 time destroys its plan at the reactionary table
08 soldiers crash gathering in sparrow hills.
09 world's greatest concertos
10 picture framing the gigantic men who fought in steamboats.
11 the secret map flees from plurality

Bonus: Frog Eyes - "The Oscillators Hum" from 2004's The Folded Palm.

Who Wears Short Shorts?

Thank God for Friday and thank God for short shorts. Hot damn.

Off to the library today to try and work on a 10 pager for next Wednesday. Fat chance that is going to happen. Trying to see Jarhead this weekend but of course its not playing in town, so we'd have to go 30 miles to see it, which we might. Jake G was on Conan last night and it was pretty funny, but then again, what's not funny on Conan? And don't you dare say the screaching racoon with a jetpack.

Sports

* Bad news for my fantasy quarterback, as Tennessean.com reports McNair's sack pain lingers. Yeah, that's the actual headline. Unless they change it before you read it.
* Joe Pa jumped on the I'm-a-moron-wagon, just in time to lose to Wisconsin this weekend, despite the fact that they have a white quarterback.
* In the latest Packers love saga: Brett won't leave Sherman. Sigh.
* There are no words to describe this picture. Really.
* Bill Simmons thinks that the Bucks could land as high as the No. 5 seed when all is said and done this season. Here's why:

First, I don't care if the Hornets needed to sell tickets in Oklahoma City -- if I were an NBA GM, I would have protested that trade. There are 35 to 40 guys in the league like Mason and only eight solid centers like Magloire. That's outrageous. Second, the Bucks were already a potential playoff team with my brother Bobby and T.J. Ford's improbable comeback, and that was before they settled the Redd-Simmons-Mason logjam and added a borderline All-Star center. Third, Magloire removes the pressure from Bogut (who looked decent in the preseason), who can now develop at his own pace. And fourth, on the heels of GM Larry Harris' legendary freeze on camera during the NBA lottery, I'm rooting for any scenario that could potentially lead to his being handed an NBA championship trophy by David Stern.

(That's right, from the man who gave you the 2005 Chicago Bears Playoff Bandwagon, I give you ... the 2006 Milwaukee Bucks Playoff Bandwagon! And I'll go this far: They could possibly climb to as high as No. 5. You're looking at this year's Chicago. Just wait.)

Politics/Art

* I wonder if my Postdmodern Film teacher realizes that Star Wars is the greatest postmodern art film ever, according to Slate.
* Michael Berube takes a look inside the Bush approval rating.
* Do genetics play into how you vote? Style Weekly examines.
* This says it all, as usual.
* Pitchfork examines questionable content and the T-shirt driven economy.

Hollywood

* Listen to Mitch Hurwitz, creator of one of the best shows on television, Arrested Development, on NPR.
* It must suck to be Colin Farrell.
* Those twins from Full House are all grown up. Oh wait, who did you think I was talking about?
* 50 random facts about Chuck Norris. Awesome example: "Chuck Norris had his own version of Punk'd. Only in his version, he would walk around and roundhouse kick people in the throats."
* Why David Hasselhoff should be your only idol.
* Leto signed on to play Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27.

Featured Artist: Bravo Silva

New York duo Bravo Silva makes pop rock music that is at once extremely listenable and sonically complex. The songs of Henry Silva and Joel Bravo take a crash course through 80s radio rock melody, singer/songwriter verse, and 70s prog rock theatrics. Lush and textured soundscapes call to mind the arrangements of Blonde Redhead and 10cc, and pop-oriented melodies draw from The Outfield and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Bravo Silva recently finished recording their self-titled debut, produced by Malachi DeLorenzo and soon to be released by Streak Music and Banter Records. For their live sets they are joined by M Wolf (drums), Daniel Gower (synths), and Ian Everall (bass).

Past New York shows include engagements at the Knitting Factory Main Space, Pianos (w/ Trick and the Heartstrings), The Delancey (w/Aqui), Rothko (the Vicious NYC Party w/ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), Sin-E (w/ the End of the World), and the Brooklyn Lyceum.

Stream three songs from Bravo Silva at the website.

Bravo Silva - "I Can't Say Goodbye"

Featured Album: Various Artists: REM Tribute Album Surprise Your Pig

R.E.M. has a catalog of great, distinct songs that would be hard to tackle without seeming second rate compared to the originals. That is why this compilation of covers is so interesting, because the bands twist and shape these songs into their own unique renditions that often only have a passing resemblance to the source. The album covers their entire career up to that point, which leaves off at 1991's classic Out of Time.

Although some are basically feedback drenched versions of the originals, several tracks are vastly different. The most striking is Vic Chestnutt's take on "It's the End of the World as We Know It," an endless repetition of the first lyric of the song set to a hypnotic acoustic backdrop. Other interesting highlights include Just Say Now's hardcore remake of "Radio Free Europe" and Jawbox's depressing post-punk take of "Low." Many of the songs do not come near to the quality of the originals, but this is definitely a testament to the songwriting skills of Michael Stipe's crew. This would serve well as an introduction to R.E.M. for those who may be too cynical to listen to it on their own, but fans of the band may feel disappointed by how far these covers stray from the originals. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide

1. Radio Free Europe - Just Say No
2. 1,000,000 - Band of Susans
3. Stumble - Gumball
4. We Walk - Steel Pole Bath Tub
5. Talk About the Passion - Samson & the Philistines
6. Pretty Persuasion - Jawbreaker
7. (Don't Go Back to) Rockville - J-Church
8. Feeling Gravity's Pull - Phleg Camp
9. Can't Get There from Here - Mr. T Experience
10. Good Advices - Flor De Mal
11. Bandwagon - Punchline
12. I Believe - When People Were Shorter and Lived Near Water
13. It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - Vic Chesnutt
14. Get Up - King Missle
15. Losing My Religion - Tesco Vee's Hate Police
16. Low - Jawbox
17. Shiny Happy People - Mitch Easter

Two Thumbs Up for Borat

Another busy day today. Hopefully gonna get the green light from Doc to start working out again, not that I'll have much time with all the impending deadlines coming up.


Sports

• Ali G, comedian and guest poster on Veritas Lux Mea, interviews Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. Hilarious. Sasha Cohen will be hosting the MTV Europe Awards next.
  
• How 'bout those Milwaukee Bucks, folks? I told you they were hot. Last night they once again posted triple digits, this time against the New Jersey Nets in front of a sellout NJ crowd. Bogut ripped off 17 rebounds and 10 points while Michael Redd scored 41, 37 coming in the second half. Mo Williams and TJ Ford did their part, knocking down 23 points and 21 points respectively.
• The Packers suddenly have a chance this weekend (maybe?) now that Big Ben is down for the count for a couple weeks after having knee surgery. I seriously doubt the ability of Chuck Batch in the passing game, but the Steelers probably could run the ball every single play and still come away with a win unless the Packers put together some sort of run defense.
• In related news, the Packers hate cell phones.
• NY Times takes a look at prayer in football
  

NFL Cheerleaders + Halloween = The Best Holiday Ever

Humor

ALTERNATE ENDINGS TO FAMOUS LITERARY WORKS AS WRITTEN BY A 115-YEAR-OLD WITH A GRUDGE.
BY PAUL KRUMHOLZ

My favorite:

Rip Van Winkle
BY WASHINGTON IRVING

After retreating to the woods on a hunting trip, Rip Van Winkle drinks a mysterious potion and falls asleep for 20 years, during which the American Revolution passes him by. When he awakens, he finds that his friend Dan, who can be a real asshole sometimes, has written "Balls" on his forehead. Then Dan tells everyone at school about it.

More from McSweeney's...

Music

The track listing has been unveiled for Bad Religion's long awaited live DVD, Live at the Palladium finally has an official release date. Early reports had the DVD released in January 2006, but the date from Epitaph's official page for the DVD now has the date set for February 20th, 2006 in Europe and February 21st in North America.

The label, owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz, also revealed some more information about the disc. Besides the promised live footage shot over two nights at the Hollywood Palladium, the disc will include rare content such as an acoustic piano version of "Cease," in-depth interviews with all current band members discussing the band¹s formation, evolution and career.

Also featured is never-before-seen live footage from the New Wave Theatre from the 1981-1983 lineup of the influential punk pioneers. The disc is expected to include a 5.1 Dolby Digital Mix as well. An earlier live disc, Along The Way which documented the band's 1989 Suffer tour was issued on VHS in 1992

The band is on tour now in support of their recent full length, The Empire Strikes First. - via Punknews.org.
Bad Religion - "You"

Featued Band: Mad Caddies

Meet the Mad Caddies

Mad Caddies - "Villains"
Mad Caddies - "Something's Wrong at the Playground"
Mad Caddies - "Mary Melodies"
Mad Caddies - "Macho Nachos"


Music Links:

• You have to see the picture WI Ryan has up on his blog today from the Shins performance at Vegoose. Classic.
• Possibly one of my favorite posts ever. Thanks Chad.
• In honor of Ryan's new contest, which you all need to get in on, check out the band (er, guy) Toothfairy, who gets linked by Largehearted Boy today and profiled by Dodge. If that's not enough, you can check out Matt's post on Toothfairy as well.
  

Bonus tracks:
Animal Collective - "Grass"
Tom Waits - "Earth Died Screaming"
Eagles - "Desperado"

I Love The Office

Ah, good ol' Hump Day once again. Busy next two days for me though: Workshop tonight 5-6 then class til 9 and bar afterwards, and another workshop on an Edward Said (Sigh-eed) scholar tomorrow followed by class and a discussion with said Said scholar. Neato.


Tuesday night from 9-10 pm ET is arguably the best hour of television all week long. My Name is Earl and The Office are probably the two funniest shows I've seen in a long time (next to Arrested Development, which suffers by getting moved to Monday Night).

Last night Earl wasn't anything to write home about, but it was it's usual funny stuff as always. However, last night's The Office might have been one of the best episodes I've ever seen. The guy that plays Dwight Schrute is so ridiculously funny I sometimes want to piss myself. And you can cut the sexual tension between Jim (John Krasinski) and uber-cutie Pam (Jenna Fischer). Serisously, are they ever going to hook up? Lead by Steve Farrel, the Office is a can't miss. Ryan from the show has a blog. Also, Dwight's Blog is f'ing great. You have to check this out.

An excerpt: "I like to keep my water boiling all the time. That is the essence of my male power. And why I'm so good at sales. And why I'm so intense. Also, I study Karate so that I can injure people HARD if they wish me and mine harm. I want to be able to destroy them. I want to be able to kick them in the neck or throat if they come after me. Which is just a matter of time. It's also good cardio."

Too cute!

Sports

NBA

Normally Veritas Lux Mea doesn't give a notice to the Kobe Bryant sex scandal league that is the NBA but hot damn the Milwaukee Bucks looked good last night. Growing up in Wisconsin, I'm used to the Bucks getting blown out, but last night they put a show on against Philly and AI in the season-opener. Michael Redd, TJ Ford and Bogut just might make the Bucks a decent team this year.

NFL

Roethlesburger is uncertain for the Steeler's game against Green Bay this weekend with a bum knee. Big Ben not playing is realistically the only chance the Packers have this weekend, because we all remember what happened with Tommy Gun under center.

The 700 Club wonders about the latest TO injury.

Lit

John Updike profiles the new Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel "Memories of my Melancholy Whores" for the New Yorker

Music

Stream the 9 minute uncensored video of Green Day's "Jesus of Suburbia" at their website

Featured Band: Canasta

My friend Triple J turned me on to the band Canasta recently after they opened up for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in Madison recently.

Chicago's Canasta came together in early 2002 when three members of the short-lived Langoliers joined forces with three friends to create a new, more ambitious sound. Since then, the six-piece band has holed up in attics and basements, augmenting the standard rock set-up with piano, violin, keyboard and trombone to craft a winning set of tuneful, majestic chamber pop. Canasta songs are nothing if not eclectic. At a typical show, you'll hear everything from bouncy, horn-driven ditties to epic, sweeping anthems to slow, country-tinged narratives to instrumental post-rock. But what's constant is an emphasis on unforgettable melody, dramatic dynamics and meticulous orchestration that has won them comparisons to Belle & Sebastian, The Decemberists, The Delgados, The Sea and Cake and Yo La Tengo. And they're just getting started.

More on Canasta...

Canasta - "Slow Down Chicago"
Canasta - "Imposters"
Canasta - "Shadow Cat"
Canasta - "Just a Star"
Canasta - "Two if by Sea"
Canasta - "Chance at Greatness"
Canasta - "Seeing Other People" (Belle and Sebastian cover)

More Canasta downloads

Upcoming show:
Friday, November 18th, 2005 @ Subterranean (Chicago, IL)
We Were Set Up CD Release Show w/ Headlights (Polyvinyl), Palaxy Tracks (Peek-A-Boo), plus special guest musicians!
Presented by WLUW
Show - 9:30 PM / Canasta - 11:30 PM / $10 / 21+

Bonus songs:
Calexico - "Black Heart"
Halloween, Alaska - "State Trooper"
Wolf Parade - "I'll Believe in Anything"

Tuesdays are for Book Sales

Working the English Graduate Organization bake and book sale today from 11-1 so I had to post a little early.

Politiks + Lit

• A background on Judge Sam Alito, Bush's new Supreme Court nominee.
• Recent NY Times article on "Unearthing books embedded in pop culture"
• More from NY Times: Recent Nobel Prize in Literature winner Harold Pinter and why he hated the US
• Wanna be a teacher? Skip grad school:

"In effect, most American graduate schools prepare students for jobs that they will never have and fail to prepare them--even conveying disdain--for the jobs that they will most likely have. No area of American higher education is more in need of reform, and none is less likely to receive it. As our chief means of forming college teachers, graduate education could hardly be more dysfunctional if we had set out to make it that way."

Humor

• "The Legend of Me", by Jack Handey, for McSweeney's
• The Style Guy reviews the Worst College Halloween Costumes
  

Celebrity Halloween Costumes: The Naughty, the Nice, and the Scary

The Naughty: Paris is a Slutty Bunny

The Nice: The Duff Sisters are Old-School

The Scary: Al Roker is Robin

Music

Featured Band(s): Bad Religion, Pennywise, Anti-Flag, and Murphy's Law

I'm featuring all four of these bands today because I am going to see them Nov. 12th in Pittsburgh. Kick ass. Wanna go? Buy a ticket.

Bad Religion


Bad Religion has always seen music as a force for social change. On their latest CD entitled The Empire Strikes First, punk's most important active band takes its weightiest stance yet on the dual themes of religion and politics.

Clearly condemning the Bush administration's doctrine of preemptive war, and questioning religion's increasing and ever-frightening role in American politics, Bad Religion's message proves to be more salient today than ever before and it's conveyed with the fierce musical attack that has helped define the band, and the genre, for two decades.


Bad Religion - "Let Them Eat War"
Bad Religion - "Sinister Rogue"
Bad Religion - "American Jesus"
Bad Religion - "Anestesia"
Bad Religion - "Suffer"

Random fact: Lead singer Greg Gaffin has a Ph.D in Zoology from Cornell.

More about Bad Religion here...

Pennywise

Resting on laurels has never been an option for the men of Southern California’s punk rock powerhouse Pennywise. With The Fuse – an amazing, incendiary album from its first snare drum crack to its last molten guitar line – the legendary Hermosa Beach foursome plays with more tenacity and vigor than ever.

“We made a conscious effort to just go in and plug in and play and not over-analyze things as much as we have in the past,” frontman Jim Lindberg says of the band’s eighth studio set. “We made The Fuse in half the time of the last record and having that mindset going into it made us put more energy into our performances and gave the album more immediacy.”

Pennywise - "God Save the USA"
Pennywise - "Waiting"
Pennywise - "Yesterdays"
Pennywise - "Knocked Down"
Pennywise - "Disconnect"

More about Pennywise here...

Anti-Flag (Pittsburgh's own!)


For the real story on Anti-Flag you have to go way back to 1988. At that time, Pat could hardly play drums and I was even worse at guitar. But the fact remained that we were the only punk rockers in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania (the town where we grew up) and when faced with either hanging out at the mall, getting fucked out of our minds on drugs, or attempting to play punk rock, we went straight for the punk rock! By 1989 we were playing just well enough to have a band, which we named Anti-Flag. However that band didn't look anything like the Anti-Flag of today...

Anti-Flag - "Antithetic to the Cure"
Anti-Flag - "Protest Song"
Anti-Flag - "Angry, Young and Poor"
Anti-Flag - "Watch the Right"

More about Anti-Flag here...

Murphy's Law


Since the mid-1980s, for many rebellious kids, experiencing a Murphy's Law show has been a rite of passage. The guys in Murphy's Law always put on more than a live show & their performances are big parties where everyone's invited. A mainstay of the NYC scene for years, extensive touring has secured Murphy's Law as a perennial favorite of hardcore fans everywhere.

Over the course of their career, Murphy's Law have recorded five classic full-length albums of angst-ridden punk songs: "Murphy's Law" (1986), "Back With A Bong" (1989), "Best of Times" (1991), "Dedicated" (1996), which was produced by Daniel Rey and "The Party's Over" (2002). Countless singles and covers have been recorded throughout the bands carreer which are listed on their website

Murphy's Law have been touring Japan, Australia, Europe and the U.S for years despite record label support, thus proving themselves to be one of the hardest working bands out there as well as the hardest rocking. Known for their great live shows and party ethics, Murphy's Law is a true relic in the New York Hard Core scene. Let the party begin again!

Stream two Murphy's Law songs at Jagermusic.com

Bonus links: Just in time for your trip to the coffee shop, Chris has some live Iron and Wine pics and review, and Peter posts his November mix.
Bonus song: Wilco - "Don't Fear the Reaper" via Chromewaves