LEGO Advent Calendar 2010 - Day 23

This was a fun build. Liked the tree, and was able to add a song that fit nicely.

Don't Quit Your Day Job

The Justice League of America as a 70's punk band. Nicely done.

Rap Gone Country, Part I

New Linkin Park Video

Here's the new Linkin Park/Transformers mashup of a video. It's kind of cool.

Linkin Park – “New Divide”

Music to Carry Me Away

Six years ago (doesn't feel like that long ago) I spent a lot of time burning CDs - this was all pre-iTunes craze - of the music I'd accumulated during my time in Iowa City (college - round 1). Flipping through the binders of music I have sitting on my shelf this afternoon I'm finding all sorts of good stuff. At least, I remember it being good stuff, years ago.

None of this music - all at least 3+ years old - is on my computer, the iPods, or in any type of rotation. Hasn't been for ages. I think over the next few months I'll dig in. I'll play albums not played in years, upload some tracks to the iPods for workouts, save some music to the hard drives for posterity (only the good stuff). I'm sure there's a small fortune of music there (my credit card debt would attest to that), a small wealth of tunes to carry me through the summer.

Today: A burned mix of songs from Days of the New and Live.

I Find Things

So I wanted to listen to a CD (rodrigo y gabriela) today while at work. I searched my shelves of CDs - at least I was pretty sure I knew this CD to still have a case and not be filed away in one of 8 cases of CDs I rarely play. I found the CD and opened it up to find the disc missing.

If you know me, you know this isn't uncommon. I misplace things, like CDs, and have a hell of a time finding them again. They are often in with another CD, hiding in a different case. And when you have hundreds, literally, of CDs, that becomes a problem.

So - disappointed - I decide on another CD ( The Black Parade). I open it up to check and make sure the disc is there...and I find the missing CD I was looking for. First other case I opened and there it was.

Pretty amazing way to start the day.

Green Grass and New Music

It was nice to see the green grass returning. We've had a lot of rain here in the Midwest over the past couple of days, and it's starting to show. The first highlights of green have returned.

It looks good on ya, Iowa.
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Picked up the new Papa Roach - Metamorphosis - and the reissue of Ten by Pearl Jam. I'm glad I noticed that the $11.99, 2-disc version of Ten had the remix disc I thought was only available with the Deluxe Edition ($27.99). I never get around to watching the DVDs that come with those Deluxe Editions anyway.

Was contemplating the purchase of Coheed and Cambria's huge live CD and DVD box set ($79.99), but there were no copies left at Best Buy, and like I just mentioned: I don't get around to the DVDs, so what's the point?

New Music Purchased - Mar. 10

This was a big week for music for me. A lot of great sounding tunes to keep me rockin'. (It also depleted my reserve of Best Buy gift cards - but rest assured, I still have Amazon gift cards to keep me in the music.)

Scream for $2.99

Chris Cornell's new album, Scream, is available at Amazon.com today for $2.99. That's a heck of a deal. It even comes with an exclusive bonus track. (The deal may only last the day, I'm not sure, so act fast.) Supposedly the album is a bit of a departure for Cornell - has a more produced, R&B sound to it. "Experimental" is the word being tossed around by critics. Sometimes you can get burned by albums like this. At least with a price of $2.99, if you don't enjoy the album it's not like you are out much. And if you do enjoy it, it is a fantastic deal.

(This is the second week in a row I've picked up an album I wasn't sure about for a very good price through Amazon's very slick, and very affordable digital download store. Bravo, Amazon.)

Rocco De Luca & The Burden on Leno - UPDATED

Rocco De Luca & The Burden will be performing on The Tonight Show this evening. I love this band. They have a new CD out tomorrow that I will be picking up. I've been waiting for a new album from them since the moment I finished listening to their debut the first time.

I'll be running the DVR for this as I'll either be at the gym or asleep by the time they come on. I'll put a link to the episode and performance up here tomorrow.
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UPDATED: Here's the promised link. If you want to skip to the performance, select Chapter 6 of the episode.

New Music

Picked up some new CD's today at Best Buy. I felt like treating myself, and I was getting tired of the mix I've been listening to for hours (literally) at the gym.

Picked up Erin McCarley's Love, Save the Empty, the soundtrack/score to Slumdog Millionaire, and Travelogue: Blues Traveler Classics by Blues Traveler. Listened to tracks from all three while working out tonight and am very happy with my purchases. All three are worth a spin and can keep you entertained and rockin' for hours.

New Red

I was just telling to my brother the other night about how I tend to be oblivious when bands I already follow put out new CDs. I get anxious for new finds, but somehow - someway - lose track of my old standbys.

Red Jumpsuit Apparatus has a new CD, Lonely Road, debuting this Tuesday. I noticed this in the Best Buy ad for this week and jumped on over to their website. There they had a couple of neat packages in promotion of pre-ordering the new disc. If I was back a to my less-than-thrifty self, I'd have taken advantage of the pre-order (there were some nifty bonuses). Instead, I'll use my remaining Best Buy Rewards Zone certificate and pick up the CD after my dentist appointment tomorrow for $5.

I'll spin it this week and let you know what I think of it soon.

Best Buy Rewards Certificates = New Music

I'm so broke that I've actually gone out of my way to not spend any money that isn't completely necessary (i.e. paying bills).

However, I did have a couple of Rewards Zone certificates at Best Buy burning a hole in my wallet, so I picked up the new Hoobastank album, For(N)ever. I haven't played it enough yet to know what I really think. It does sound very similar to their other albums - which I do enjoy - but I'm not sure I hear any stand out tracks yet. However, I may have only listened to each song 2 or 3 times, and I was hardly paying attention at that time.

I'll let you know if anything jumps out at me. Still, it is always nice to get new music. I love having something playing in the background.

Spring Awakening

I went and saw the Tony award-winning musical, Spring Awakening, this afternoon at the Des Moines Civic Center. This was the second time in less than a year that I have enjoyed this musical. I first saw the show on Broadway in New York City over the summer, and thought it fantastic. The cast was great, the songs catchy, and the story had just the right mix of humor and tragedy to appeal to my tastes.

The national tour performance that I watched today was just about as great as my first experience with the show. The two main characters (Moritz and Melchoir) were played by the same actors from the Broadway show, and they were by far, the strongest singers in the cast. It's not that the others were bad - they were quite good, including the leading girl (Wendla) - but they just weren't as exciting in their supporting roles as the cast I saw in New York.

Still, this is one of my favorite musicals, and I'd happily see it again if I'm ever near another performance.

Inauguration 2009

I'm not normally one who follows politics, or has any interest in watching "news-related" programming on TV. Today I did watch an hour - the important hour - of the Presidential Inauguration.

I don't believe I've ever heard Barack Obama speak (like I mentioned, I don't follow politics at all). He's a great public speaker, so much better than his predecessor. I was inspired by his speech (but then again, I'm easily inspired by well-crafted writing presented powerfully). It was hopeful and didn't ignore the problems we face as a country.

He mentioned a passage (from the bible?) about "giving up childish things" that sort of hit home for me. Do I focus too much of my attention on entertainment - something some would classify as childish and unnecessary - instead of more enlightened pursuits and practices? Could I be doing more with my time - and money - to help others and thereby myself?

Big questions for a entertainment pirate to ponder while nursing a worsening cold at bedtime on an extremely busy and stressing week.

I will say that I also enjoyed tremendously the performance by Yo Yo Ma, Itzak Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Gabriela Montero, of an arrangement by John Williams titled, "Air and Simple Gifts." The original poem, "Praise Song for the Day," read by author/poet Elizabeth Alexander, was also very good.

"Shiny Toy Gun" Video

As I was getting around for work this morning, I was happily surprised to come across Honeyhoney's music video for "Shiny Toy Gun" on VH1. This has been a top 5 song for me ever since I bought the album last year. There's something extremely catchy about this track.

The music video - a silent movie era western and vaudeville act - is directed by Keifer Sutherland. It's entertaining and fits well with the song. Sutherland even has a brief little cameo as an unhappy poker player.


Little Toy Gun - honeyhoney

I'm pleased to have yet another reason to write about Honeyhoney - one of my favorite bands of 2008.

The Twenty-Second Day of Christmas: The ELE

So Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog ended not at all how I expected.

It was, however, still amazing.

I have a feeling that I'll be listening to the songs non-stop for quite some time. "My Eyes" has to be my favorite song, but "My Freeze Ray" is pretty good, too.

So yeah, I didn't do much today. It's vacation and I didn't feel like cleaning. I almost didn't even go out to the mailbox today, but I'm glad I did, otherwise I'd have left my Horrible DVD sitting out there in the cold.

Now, I just need to work on my application to the Evil League of Evil...

The Nineteenth Day of Christmas: Wrapping

Work ended up closing today due to what I suppose are icy conditions outside, but not before I'd already showered and dressed at 5 AM. No big deal, really. It gave me time to finish up a project I was working on, watch this week's episode of Top Chef, and wrap some Christmas presents.

I'd been putting off the wrapping until I had some free time (i.e. vacation). So, I popped in the score to Twilight (some Carter Burwell always makes me think of snow - probably because I first really noticed his work in the movie Fargo) and am now in the process of wrapping.

I'll wrap until it's time to brave the ice and get a hair cut and catch a matinee of Yes Man.

The Sixteenth Day of Christmas: Dr. Horrible

I am so glad I stumbled upon this wonderful little piece of news today: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog comes to DVD, exclusively through Amazon.com, this Friday.

I started watching this 3 part web musical this summer. As (bad) luck would have it, the thing started the same time as RAGBRAI, and I was only able to catch the first two - wonderful - parts. I've been waiting for the DVD release since I first heard mention of the musical. It is written by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly - television series in my top five of all-time.

Needless to say, I've already order the CD, and pre-ordered the DVD. I simply can't wait. ORDER TODAY!

(There's even a sing-along commentary track to the musical...how genius, and awesome, and totally worth the price - $9.99 - of the DVD.)

Mucho Music

I've been listening to a lot of music lately. It must just be the mix of great CD purchases and my mood - Christmas time always makes me feel the music.

The two CD's I've been listening to constantly are Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak and The Hotel Cafe presents Winter Songs, a Christmas CD sold at Target (and online), featuring quite a few outstanding new and traditional holiday tracks by female singers. Both CD's are excellent and couldn't be more highly recommended. "Love Lockdown," "Paranoid," and "Robocop" are the three repeated tracks on 808s I can't listen to enough. "Winter Song," "The Heartache Can Wait," "Maybe Next Year (The X-Mas Song)," and "Frosty the Snowman" are some of my new holiday must-plays.

In fact, it was "Winter Song," that led to some happy connections. Earlier this week I managed to catch the neat - cute - little animated music video for the song. It was just what I needed; it started my day off with a smile. Then a couple of nights ago I caught a live performance of the song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson on The Tonight Show (such a tiny little guitar). Again, it was just fantastic. So great in fact, that I had to rush out and pick up Ingrid's CD, Be OK.

It is that CD - Be Ok - which I'm listening to at this minute. And it is great singer-songwriter, piano/guitar, fun music.

That is not to say that all in music land has been grand. Two recent recommendations disappointed me. It's not that Break Up the Concrete by The Pretenders and The '59 Sound by The Gaslight Anthem are bad CD's - they are good, but just not as good as I expected from the recommendations. It happens. I'm just glad that I'm not without music that makes me happy.

Oh, and Paramore has a new CD/DVD, The Final RIOT!, out now, which is also quite good.

(Did I ever go link crazy in this post?...still, the links to the music video and The Tonight Show appearance are worth the click.)