The Return Of Mechasmack

During lunch today, we had an interesting conversation about women's golf which somehow led to spin-offs. We started discussing various shows and the show from which they were spun. Check out how many spin-offs All In The Family had:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_spin-offs

I had forgotten that Sheriff Lobo was a spin-off of BJ And The Bear. When's that coming out on DVD?

Well, I supposed it's not the end of an era, but the last mix in the Sunday Afternoon Series is done. I slowed down the beats a bit more than I did in Volume 7 for this one, really rooting around for some soulful, jazzy house. I was inspired by Saturday night's adventure. And I can't believe the first song was sitting there the entire time without me noticing it before. My jaw dropped when I heard the intro and then again when the vocals come in. Amazing.

So now I move on to the next mix series. All will be available on bootytronic.com. Enjoy.

Sunday Afternoon Series Volume 14

I managed to keep my mind off the Hanso Foundation most of the summer. That's a good thing because I was getting way too wrapped up in it. I felt I was setting myself up for quite a disappointment when Lost ends. But now I'm being sucked back in. The 2nd season DVD keeps taunting me on the front page of Amazon. And the 3rd season premiere is just 4 short weeks away. Tivo, don't fail me now.

TIMDOR has made it easier for us all as the Lost Experience game winds down. He's put together all 70 clips that HansoExposed.com has been releasing so you can watch it as a continuous video.

So now we know more about the Hanso Foundation and the numbers. So throw out all your old theories. I found an interesting new one:
http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?p=1158431#post1158431

OK, not all of these cartoons originated in the 80's, but the lessons to be learned are still important. Not a day goes by at the office where I'm not reminded of one.

http://cracked.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=815

I was just talking to some co-workers during lunch and I remembered that Apple was making some announcements today. One of the guys said he wants an iPod that somehow knows what he wants to hear next and will play it. I don't think this next generation of iPod will incorporate telepathy, but I am happy about 3 improvements.

1. 80 GB iPod Video - where's the 100 GB model?
2. Gapless Playback - why did this take so long? As someone who listens to lots of dj mixes, it'll be nice to not have to have it as one long mp3 file
3. Automatic Album Cover Art - this would have been nice when I ripped about 900 of my cd's a couple of years ago. But it will come in handy for new rips and music I get from Beatport and eMusic.

I don't think I'll be downloading movies anytime soon. They'd have to be significantly less than the cost of the DVD. Hopefully the new HD Tivo will be significantly less by Christmas 2007. Maybe I will have upgraded to a larger screen in the living room by then. And maybe Comcast will have finally got the CableCard thing right.

Oh yeah, one more thing...

That new iTV looks cool. I was thinking about getting a mini to hook up to the tv but this might just be the better choice - and less expensive too!

Whitney Houston - I Have Nothing

Whitney and Bobby breaking up? Say it ain't so! Anyway, there was promo for this movie on some cable channel last night and as I listened I remembered how great a song this. You can't deny that Whitney's voice was a force to be reckoned with back in the day. Maybe she can get her act together and rebuild herself and recapture some of the magic of yesterday.

Anyway, this is probably the first song I heard from Whitney that really moved me. Of course I'd heard the other hits and liked her music and was impressed by her voice blah blah yada yada. But this song really reached me and I'm not afraid to say it. Musically and lyrically, this is a great song.

Tool - Vicarious

I mortally offended someone earlier this year when I explained why I like Tool. I had no idea that I had that kind of power. Sticks and stones ain't got shit on me. Anyway, one of the reasons I like Tool is their willingness to step away from the usual 4/4 riff formula. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just appreciate that they're trying to do something different and do it well. When I listen to Tool (and A Perfect Circle for that matter) I really get the sense that a lot of thought has gone into the crafting of the songs. And their sound is really tight. Even when it gets fueled up, it sounds clean and precise.

Vicarious is the perfect opening to 10,000 Days. The buildup is very satisfying, moving at its own pace with a purpose. It hits you just the right way when it needs to and thoroughly keeps you interested for more than 7 minutes.

Gnarls Barkley - Smiley Faces

Just like Gorillaz, I was surprised to hear DJ Dangermouse and Cee-Lo on the radio. I was very interested in this project when I first heard about it and next thing you know Crazy is all over the radio. I think it even took the duo by surprise. I think I read someplace that Cee-Lo was a little peeved that his solo project has been pushed back because the label wants to promote St. Elsewhere since it has exploded.

Anyway, of course Crazy is the breakout hit of this album and I'm sure it will end up a million best of lists for 2006. But I have to admit, I didn't like any other song on this album at first listen. But I stuck with it and now there are songs that I really like. And for me the standout song on the album is Smiley Faces. I know not everyone will feel me on this, but I love how it takes a Motown type beat and brings it into space with that organ and eerie backup vocals. It's almost like a mashup. And you know how Dangermouse gets down with the mashups.

It could be that it's almost 2 am and I'm still up. What else is new, right?

Since I made the switch to Mac a few months ago, a few things keep popping up just to haunt me. For instance, every one in a while I'll hit some key combo that turns off the delete button. But I can't figure it out because it always happens when I'm typing so fast that I'm probably hitting 2 or 3 keys at once with my big fat thumbs. And this time I just did something that made the two windows I had open in TextEdit slowly separate - kind of like Expose, but just in TextEdit and slow enough to make it seem like my pooter's haunted. Time to go to bed.

Journey - Any Way You Want It

I heard this on the way to work this morning. Thanks Jack FM. Anyway, it immediately took me back. Now I was too young to really rock out to this song when it came out, but I do remember when it came out. And it still makes me think about Caddyshack.

This one is high on my chart when it comes to guitar riffs. It's good enough to make your Mom rock out. The boys were on fire with this one. Dare I say this song was the beginning of the journey they would take into the stratosphere with their next album Escape. And you know I'll get to that one soon.

in a forrest pitch-dark
glowed the tiniest spark
it burst into flame
like me
like me

my name isobel
married to myself
my love isobel
living by herself

in a heart full of dust
lives a creature called lust
it surprises and scares
like me
like me

my name isobel
married to myself
my love isobel
living by herself

when she does it she means to
moth delivers her message
unexplaind on your collar
crawling in silence
a simple excuse

Bjork - Isobel

Every once in a while, you encounter someone on the train acting like an animal. What I mean by that is they seem to be making lots of noise just to bring attention to themselves and/or establishing dominance of their space. It's like they're trying to emphasize that they don't care what you think about them. If they do intimidate you, they are proud of that fact. Out of all the things that can be annoying about traveling on the CTA, this bothers me the most because it's usually a young black male that acts this way.

I recently saw a play by Rebecca Gilman called Spinning Into Butter. It dealt with racism on a college campus. One of the characters related how she used to have the bleeding heart liberal attitude towards minorities, feeling that they have been short changed and the bad situations they may be in now are a result of the legacy of racism in this country. But over time, dealing with them and seeing them make mistakes in life, over and over, her attitude changed. She no longer felt that their hardships were due to oppression. Rather, it was their own fault. They wasted the opportunities given to them. And she went even further to state how she even felt an aversion to black people, especially black males. When she got on a train, they were the last people she would sit next to.

This part of the play really struck a chord with me. It was a raw, honest opinion that you don't hear too often these days. Taken out of context it would come across as racist. But I can truly relate. When I see these young men acting out on the train, I'm embarrased. Part of me wants to yell at them to shut up and grow up. But is it my place to do so? I shouldn't have to. And worst of all I feel like even though it's not me, it reflects on me. There is stereotypical image of black men in this country and I know I don't fit into it. But I feel like too many non-black people still see us a some monolithic race. Most of us are in jail or on welfare. We can't speak proper English. If Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson says something, then it is the official opinion of all black folks. I rejected those stereotypes back in high school and it's troubling to me that they seem have gained momentum.

All I can do is be myself. Keep it real? I've been keeping it real for 20 years. I get up in the morning and put on a suit and and go to work and banter about the weather on the elevator and generally keep to myself during the commute. That pretty much makes me invisible. But I do notice when the seat next to me is the last one filled.

I love how the media is making a big deal about Clinton's reaction to the question about the Clinton administration not doing enough to prevent 9/11, brought up by Chris Wallace during an interview on Fox News on Sunday. By some accounts, you would think that Big Willie bitch-slapped Wallace on camera and then got in his purple Caddy and drove off. If you haven't seen the video yet, you should definitely check it out. It's still available on Google. It looks like Fox had it removed from YouTube.

I think Clinton did a good job of composing himself during this interview. He was clearly agitated, but he remained focused and articulate and told the truth. He didn't try to point fingers or make up excuses. He said he tried to get Osama Bin Laden while he was in office and he regrets that he failed to do so. But he tried. Try asking G Dub a question like that and see if he can answer without hemming and hawing and smirking and making some reference to his ranch.

Elections are coming up. Time to remind people about the war on terror. Let's just blame that on Clinton. And let's drop gas prices while we're at it. I wouldn't be surprised right now if Osama is captured in a men's room in Milwaukee.

Thanks for setting the record straight Willie. Maybe if so much time and effort wasn't wasted trying to impeach you for getting a blowjob, we could have prevented some of the mess we're in now.

I can always depend on Jon Stewart for some insight on the situation:

Underworld - Cowgirl

Underworld reinvented themselves on this album. Karl Hyde and company put some dark and long beats behind the words pouring from his conscrious and created a classic. It's regarded by many as one of the best techno albums of all time. This album takes it's time, bringing you in and then lifting you up. And the height of this trip is Cowgirl. It's pure kinetic energy. The beat is defined by that synth sound that bounces and stabs. The monotone ranting of Hyde is almost hypnotic here.

I know most people are only familiar with Born Slippy, and that's only because of Trainspotting (another song I was surprised to hear on the radio). And for most people, that's probably the song that defines them. But I think Cowgirl is the definitive song for Underworld. C'mon, they named their live CD/DVD Everything, Everything.

Hopefully, all you iPodders (please don't sue me Apple) know that they give away a free song every week on iTunes. You can always delete the song if you don't like it. Why pass up on 52 free songs every year? And every once in a while you can find a Discovery Download - an artist that has been deemed buzzworthy.

Also, now that they're adding more video content, there's even free tv shows and short movies. This site has compiled a list of the current offerings:

http://www.itsfreedownloads.com/

Massive Attack - Angel

Talk about a kick-ass album opener! Having discovered Massive Attack upon the release of their second album Protection, and then eagerling purchasing Blue Lines to see where it all started, I was really excited about their third release - Mezzanine.

I didn't like it.

But I didn't dismiss it. The sound was different so it wasn't what I expected and it took me longer to get into it. And now it's my favorite album by the group. Blue Lines definitely gets props for how influential it is, but Mezzanine sets the bar.

Angel is the opening track featuring longtime collaborator Horace Andy. It's a harbinger of what's to come as its brooding bassline slowly rumbles into existence. It's all very simple at the start when Andy's vocals begin. It's sort of smooth how it almost lulls you in. You almost don't notice the stabbing guitar that building up in the background. Then it erupts. It's a hard edged sound for Massive Attack at this point. but it's a good evolution of their sound.

I recently had the opportunity to see them live. They haven't toured the states in 8 years. I was impressed how they had two drummers on stage with full drum kits. It really added to the attack of this song, accentuating the guitar and that bassline. Truly massive.

Flavor Flav is the sun
Public Enemy number one
Gotcha runnin' from the gun (pow)
Of a brain that weighs a ton
Can't face my facts that's on the shelf
Cause you want a hand out for your wealth
Eatin' welfare turkey out of the can
I can't do nuttin' for ya man

Public Enemy - Can't Do Nuttin For Ya Man