Movie and TV Characters I am like

... or at least I think I am like/I have been compared to in the past by random friends and associates.

11.

































































1.

a crash course in indie music

by The Monitors

Update: I've decided to revisit this post because I felt like I didn't give it enough attention to begin with, kinda like selling your best friend a Billy Ripken Fleer card for $75 when he doesn't know it's actually supposed to say "fuck face" on the bat. I posted links to all these bands "MySpace" sites, so if the songs I review aren't actually there (and most are), you can at least get a taste for the band itself... and who doesn't like tasting bands? Onward.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth”

If you haven’t heard about these guys, you had better put on your fleet feet and sprint to catch up to the fucking wagon. If you were a big fan of The Talking Heads, well, you’d better do the same. This band is going to fucking explode, probably the biggest underground buzz I’ve seen since Interpol, and they’re MUCH peppier; I even threw away all my razor blades. If this song doesn’t get your head nodding and your foot tapping, you’re probably just plain deaf. A dead-on driving drum beat, simple and clean rhythm guitar work, and insidious whining vocals bring this song together into a fantastic orgy of positivity. If you needed any further proof, the NBC show “The Office” featured a party scene in which this song was in the background.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/clapyourhandssayyeah

Letter Never Sent Exclusive BONUS: a review of a Clap Your Hands show! Fuckin' A!

Dreamend - "Slide Song" and “The Old House & Its Occupants”

This misty, grave-faced band from Chicago blew me away when I first heard "Slide Song" and “the Old House & Its Occupants.” I felt like I had just walked into a ghost jazz club and when the songs ended all the ghosts would hold me down and suck out my soul. Fortunately, this treat doesn’t stop with these songs. The above tracks only serves as a vocal break between tremendous movements of violently contrasting drum work that slaps and hammers your wandering imagination to follow the plunky lead guitar as it spirals its way down into the deep echoing guitarwork. The album, “…as if by ghosts,” easily wins one of my Best of 2005 awards for being a terribly intense concept album. You might be tempted to classify it in the “post-[rock]” category, but I think the band members would hang me and offer my soul to Satan if I did that. Dark Side of the Moon is nuts and gum compared to this.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/dreamend

Emperor X - “Garbage Shaft Floor-by-floor”

Smart-rock combined with punk; there’s nothing like it that you’ve ever heard. The gritty garage sound of this track combined with the incredible (yet odd) lyrical flow and off-beat drumming create one of the most rocking underground songs I’ve heard in my life. If you need to win a broomball championship game at 2am, or a kickball flipcup competition, this is the song you listen to beforehand.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/emperorxxxxx
[you can find the song on the band's website]

Giant Drag - “This Isn’t It”

Did someone say Barracuda? No, this isn’t Joan Jett, but this chick rocks just as hard and just beat up Ms. Jett in the parking lot. Don’t be fooled by the simple guitar work or harmonious lyrics (she is a woman after all), these lyrics sink deep and tell a bitter tale of love gone horribly wrong. She is not gonna take any shit, and she wrote a cool song to tell the world about it, so listen to it or else you’re next.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/giantdrag

Irving - “I Can’t Fall In Love”

Irving. Who? Never heard of ‘em. Damn right. Here’s a one-hit wonder waiting to happen, but regardless, this song is catchy as all hell. It truly reminds me of a mid-90’s I can’t put my finger on, but somehow sounds like a tribute to that song which I can’t think of. You won’t be disappointed.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/irving

Jesu - “We All Faulter”

So much cheer thus far, let’s make room for some brood metal. What’s brood metal? It’s long-winded, self-indulgent, muted guitarwork dripping with distortion and doomsday vocals. From the mind behind “Godflesh,” Jesu (I suppose Jesus is redundant since Jesu already has an “s”) tears into your soul and eats it instantaneously. Then it vomits a new one for you and makes you eat it. You’re meek, you’re small, you’re hopeless, you should’ve died when you were born. Welcome to Jesu and the horrific introspection that he inspires. Make sure you cue a ramp-up song after this one, or grab the razor blades you threw away after ditching your Interpol albums a few days ago.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/jesujesu

Books on Tape - “Grey Matters”

It’s often subliminally understood within indie rock pretentia that electronic and sample rock/dance went out about 5 years ago when Moby hit it big, and again when Fatboy Slim paid Christopher Walken to dance to a track off of “Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars.” Well, this “band” (actually a single person) is about to show you that there’s plenty of dark energy left in the flagging electronic scene. Throughout Books On Tape’s individual tracks, you’ll be passed from sinister synth rhythms to hollow beats until you finally reach the precipice from where you’re dropped headfirst onto rock-hard bass. It’s as if the Beastie Boys teamed up with the Crystal Method to beat the shit out of Fatboy Slim, and everyone took a shitload of whipits and red bull in the fray. Enjoy.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/booksontape

British Sea Power - “Carrion”

If you can’t make it past BSP’s seemingly homoerotic opener “Men Together Today,” you’re going to miss several gems, including the standout track “Carrion.” I mean holy shit does this band know how to cut through the muck surrounding catchy indie rock. The New Pornographers could take a lyrical (not to mention a wardrobe) lesson from this crew of Londoners. Not nearly as forced as a Decemberists whaler’s chanty, BSP manages to create a simple, catchy melody backed by throaty and peculiar vocals that really gives you the sensation of being shipwrecked on a beach in the 17^th century…with a rock band. “Carrion” only makes you want to listen to the rest of the oddly naval album. Check out tracks “Favours in the Beetroot Fields” and the Gregory Maguire’s Oz-inspired “Something Wicked” as a follow up.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/britishseapower

The Magnetic Fields - “I Wish I Had An Evil Twin”

Somewhere between a Weird Al song and the Crash Test Dummies, The MagFields fantasize about everything their conscience wouldn’t allow in “I Wish I had An Evil Twin.” One of the most “curious” bands around, and who performs entirely drum-free shows (which are rudely interrupted by high-fives sometimes…), decided to toe the folk rock line with their album “i.” On “i,” every song begins with an…”i.” Wee! Either way, this song is pretty cool, and it’ll get a few smiles in social situations that could eventually lead to gay sex. This brings me to another point. Folk is coming back, no matter how you classify it. Decemberists, MagFields,…. All folk. You’ll see. Like MTV News, you heard it here. First.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/themagneticfields

Mixel Pixel - “At The Arcade”

Ever wish you grew up in Bikini Valley, CA? Well, now you can revisit that bizarre fantasy I just had. Mixel Pixel writes a whiny, irreverent homage to teenage life in the Valley with “At the Arcade,” and one to just how random and superficial it is, but viewed from within a 15-year old arcade fan’s mind, tinting the whole sordid affair so that it’s not only forgivable, but humorous, and more intelligible than this run-on sentence.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/mixelpixel

Okkervil River - “Black”

Counting Crows meet The Wallflowers. This Jersey (seriously) band hits the bullseye with this track, not to mention the album. There hasn’t been an acoustically patient band this talented and focused since, well, ever? This track in particular unfurls a blood-boiling tale of abuse and jealously which will easily resonate with any male. If you don’t check out this free tune, you’ve done yourself a serious disservice.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/okkervilriver

Rogue Wave - "Endless Shovel"

You are a fool if you can’t dig this song. Psych-pop rock genius Zack Rogue (who legally changed his last name to “Rogue”) lays down unbelievably tuney (a new word!) rhythms and harmonies in this lyrically indecipherable track. The entire album culminates to this eventual release of psychokinetic refrain, and it still somehow leaves you wanting to hear it over and over again. No amount of description can do it justice. Another crystal example of a passionate song becoming unwound and ending as if you swore you wrote it in the first place.

http://www.myspace.com/roguewave

Say Hi To Your Mom - “22^nd Century”

See ya Weezer. This solo New York musician who lives with his mom (still) enjoys writing fuzzy guitar rhythms while singing warm vocals about robots, spaceships, and teenage romance promises over them. There’s nothing you won’t miss about everything else on your ipod while you’re listening to SHTYM. The ignorant youthful expectations and promises just make you want to build your own time machine and travel back to 5^th grade (to invest in Google…sigh). Fuck yeah, it’s about time.

songs... http://www.myspace.com/sayhitoyourmom
[you can find the song on the band's website, too]

Other Posts by The Monitors

Kid You'll Move Mountains

Songs That Filled Me With Abject Rage

Well, that was a mindfuck: A story of a viewing of the film "Donnie Darko"

Dewey in repose

I Want to Own an Aviary - by Count Langenhoffen

HAPPY SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

... from your friends at Letter Never Sent.

Let's go Steelers

Black Rebel Motorcyle Club - Howl

Black Rebel Motorcyle Club
Howl



Released a few months ago, but because I mentioned Howl in a previous post, thought I would throw this out there. B.R.M.C. are an underrated and undeservedly unappreciated band.

check out live footage and videos courtesy of Rolling Stone online, featuring the stylish, trippy video for "Stop," and cool live performances of "Ain't No Easy Way Out" and "Complicated Situation", among other standout tracks. (fast internet connections and easy registration required)


Previous Releases

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Take Them On, On Your Own



Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Better than the DMB: Maryland's Own O.A.R.

Yes... quite a blasphemous and crazy thing to say, don't you think?

Well, this particular Maryland kid has been saying just that for about 4 years now, and the claims of grandeur have been finally justified in the form of a mainstream breakthrough, which was inevitable.

Forming near Rockville, MD, the founding members of O.A.R. all attended Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. At OSU, they picked up the sax player that was to give them their signature sound, which, along with a raggae-dominated approach and a party-like mood to their songs and lyrics, continues to define the band to this day. The band started out as the ultimate frat band, but has evolved into a touring force with a sterling, hard-earned reputation for a kickin' live show and solid major studio releases (2 thus far).

Hard work and determination have paid off after years of blood, sweat, and tears, and these Maryland boys have conquered all the major rock hotspots in order to become successful: New York City, California, the Midwest, Boston, Philadelphia, and, of course, their own backyard in the NOVA/DC/MD corridor.

Top 11 O.A.R. Songs

1. That Was a Crazy Game of Poker
2. Black Rock
3. 52-50
4. Hey Girl (NOT any of the studio versions, only the live versions)
5. City on Down
6. Dareh Meyod
7. Trajedy in Waiting (early live version)
8. Program Director
9. Night Shift
10. Road Outside Columbus
11. Old Man Time

much more to come, including MP3's

I Am A Shoegazer

It is probably not a startling relevation, to the music bloggers that are acquainted with me, that I am a diehard fan of the music style called shoegazer. More on that style of music in a minute... What may come as a surprise (or maybe not) is that I am also a shoegazer... That is, I gaze a lot at women's shoes and I judge a lot about a woman by her selection of shoes. Ok, I am not weird or a male version of Imelda Marcos, but it has been my experience that the way a woman complements her attire with her selection of shoes pretty much reveals what kind of lady she is. Well, you tell me which lady you would like to get to know better....

Ok, Ok maybe that isn't the best example and probably proves only one thing-that D needs to get laid really, really bad...

Let's get back to the music shoegazer side of me..

They say the term shoegazer was coined by the infamous New Musical Express due to the fact that certain types of band members tended to gaze at their shoes or more appropriately their effects pedal (stomp box) while playing deep in concentration. Hence, music played while shoegazing.... Another way to think of shoegazer bands is to envision no lead guitarist but rather two distorted fuzzy rhythm guitars constantly interweaving to develop a melodic but full 'muddled' wall of sound. Also, shoegazer vocals tend to be subdued, flowing on top of the weaving intertwined guitars. The key though is underlying the distorted guitars, a smooth sense of melody is found.

The renowned labels such as 4AD and Creation were the major merchants of this sound during the early 80's. As all good things in rock music, the sound emerged from the UK. Think bands like Lush, Chapterhouse, Pale Saints, Ride, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Spacemen 3, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and you will be in the world of the shoegazer.

So, that brings me to Lab Partners (not crazy about the name) from Dayton, Ohio who released 2005's Wicked Branches on Portland's cool Reverb Records label. Not a bad effort and they do a decent job of bringing together the sound of Ride, some Chapterhouse and maybe even a little Spacemen 3. No, this is not a new sound but a sound that will please the shoegazer in all of us.. Check it out...

Blood Moon (mp3)

Burning Fields (mp3)

And here is some classic shoegazer.....

If You Want Me (mp3-Chapterhouse-Whirlpool)

Tags:music,mp3,download

Welcome

Site News

The crew at Letter Never Sent would like to welcome poker stud Shaun Poulin to the team!
Shaun is the next Daniel Negreanu in my book, and he has great taste when it comes to the ladies.

Check out his nascent site at: Glimpse Into My Head

We are also in talks to pick up Keith from Caught Up in the Craze. He would make a solid addition.

History

This is also the 100th post on the site. Yay.

Request for the D

D, any chance you have the following MP3?

Hurricane #1 - Step Into My World (one of my top 5 favorite songs of all time)

Bad People and Bad Friends...

deserve to be exposed for who they are.

Normally, I wouldn't like to give bad human beings exposure in this manner, but one of my good friends happens to be Jewish, and this site is NOT cool:

http://www.overthrow.com

Racism sucks, pure and simple. The asshole who runs the site, Bill White (from what I understand his real name), could probably use some bad exposure thrown his way.

This reminds me of those sick NAMBLA jerks from a few months ago. It's all the same: hate, and hate sucks. I like to hate the game, though, so I'm going to play it that way.

Don't mess with my friends.

Mars Volta Were At The Drive In

Ah yes, my new blogging boss Mr. FJ Delgado was so correct in pointing out the genius of The Mars Volta right here. And let us not forget where the genius of TMV were previously employed. Yes, that would be At The Drive In. Forming from the depths of the US border town of El Paso At The Drive In produced three massive rock albums between the years of 1996 and 2000. Helmed by Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals) and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (guitar), ATDI culminated their short career in the pulse pounding, driving, rythmic masterpiece known as Relationship Of Command. Like a Phoenix The Mars Volta rose from the ashes of the great ATDI, thanks to the genius of Mr. Bixler and Mr. Rodriguez. Teamed with one of the best drummers in rock Mr. Jon Theodore (as Mr. Delgado so correctly points out) , Juan Alderte (bassist), Isaiah "Ikey" Owens (keyboardist) and Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez (musician of many talents), TMV quite frankly kick some serious rock 'n roll ass....

2003's debut release for TMV - De-Loused In A Comatorium- a masterpiece inspired by a friend of the band, Julio Venegas, who committed suicide in El Paso.

right click, save target as for mp3's

Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) (mp3)

Cicatriz ESP (mp3)

And from the earlier great At The Drive In, 2000's awesome Relationship Of Command

One Armed Scissor (mp3)

Cosmonaut (mp3)

Tags:music,mp3,download

Deep Thoughts - courtesy of Chris Duhon

13. [Today] is the fifth anniversary of the huge comeback game against Maryland at Cole Field House, where you guys scored 10 points in 54 seconds to force overtime before winning. What do you remember still about it?

Duhon: The best memory, for me, is coming out of the timeout with the whole stadium on their feet, screaming "O-ver-ra-ted, o-ver-ra-ted!" The whole crowd. I'm walking with Jay [Williams], and there were two guys – Maryland fans – in the front row who get up a the same time and wave at them to be quiet and say, "It's not over yet." And Jay kind of looked at me and winked and then, 50-some seconds later, we were going into overtime.

Duke ESPN.COM Simulated Final Fourcast

Redick, Williams are a devastating Batman and Robin combo (ESPN.com)

#2 Duke and J.J. Redick demolish Virginia (Duke Basketball Report), 82-63 (Diesel, you owe me an Irish Car Bomb!)

More blogs about Duke basketball.

The Mars Volta and Jon Theodore

Sir Jon Theodore recently sent me an e-mail concerning Letter Never Sent, it went roughly as follows:

from: a badass drummer with a badass band
to: FJDelgado

hi FJDelgado,
thanks for the kind words.
nice blog dude.
thank you for being so kind.
jon
--------------------------------

The Mars Volta are an incredibly talented rock band in the spirit of Yes, the Who, Rush, and Jane's Addiction, but with a unique approach and sound. I've been following them for quite some time because their drummer, Jon Theodore, is the son of a friend of my father. Jon grew up around here (ten minutes away from me) before embarking on his trip to the West Coast and a rock band with big expectations.

Mars Volta's newest full length release, Frances the Mute, has gotten a good deal of critical praise, including a glowing four-star review from Rolling Stone, and they've already been the supporting act for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and System of a Down on major U.S. tours.

Frances also made Rolling Stone's Top 50 Records of 2005 list in the December 2005 edition - the issue with King Kong on the cover - and Spin magazine frequently refers to the Mars Volta as a leader among the younger generation of musically virtuous bands.

Jon also has a reputation as an amazing drummer; many magazines and fellow musicians consider him to be one of the very best to surface in a long time. In fact, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, himself a pretty damn good rock rhythm-section man, has called Jon Theodore the best drummer he's seen in ten years (scroll to bottom).

I've e-mailed Jon a handful of times and he seems like a down-to-earth guy, and it's definitely interesting to watch a band evolve and get glimpses of that from one of its members first-hand. While their recorded and live material may be difficult for the casual music fan - Frances the Mute is only 5 songs despite being a full-length LP - this band is without a doubt worth checking out if you enjoy concept albums and musicianship of high level.

More blogs about Jon Theodore.


The Mars Volta official website
Windows Media stream of "The Widow" here

You Know The One

You know the one. You pick it out from the store shelf with that feeling that you have hit gold. You shell out the $15 with some trepidation (cause you know it would have been cheaper by mail or the Indie kids' endorsed iTunes) and immediately upon leaving the store struggle to tear the wrapper off the fucker. You jump in the car hit the CD button and load it up. The volume is adjusted to 11 and you are enveloped in the sound of something you will always cherish. You know this doesn’t happen often so you savor every track and it is your constant play for the next week at least.

Well, the fucker I am talking about is Comet Gain’s new release ‘City Fallen Leaves’ (Kill Rock Stars). Maybe it is how I was brought up on rock ‘n roll? Growing up in the sixties and listening to my oldest brothers record collection (when he wasn’t around to catch me). The Beatles, The Kinks, The Stones – I grew up on British rock ‘n roll. Maybe that is why I am a sucker for those cockney tinged vocals, that Merseybeat sound. Turned on by Comet Gain’s excellent 2002 release ‘Realistes’ I was setup, I knew I was in for a ride with ‘City Fallen Leaves’. Taking everything that was good from those days of yore, polishing them up but leaving that sweet production feel, the Gain deliver the goods over and over. Yes, it feels, sounds like something from the past but it is even more relevant today in a sometimes over commercialized cultural wasteland of music we survive in. I love this band, I love their music and best of all I love that British (English) accent over the top of those keen guitars, pianos, organs --- I love it all.

Thank God for Comet Gain….


This one is classic Comet Gain all the way….

Bored Roar (mp3)

I will try to be happy…..

Draw A Smile Upon An Egg (mp3)

The punk got fucked by his bad luck…

The punk got fucked (mp3)

This one wavers, bends and then kicks it at the 2 minute mark..

This English Melancholy (mp3)


Tags:music,mp3,download

rock concerts (UPDATE)

The following is a non-comprehensive list of rock concerts I've attended since I was a teenager - at least the ones off the top of my head (and that I was glad I went to).

R.E.M. (4 times)
U2
Dave Matthews Band (12 times)
Weezer
Foo Fighters (3 times)
David Gray
Beastie Boys
A Perfect Circle
Black Rebel Motorcyle Club
the Rapture
the Strokes (twice)
Franz Ferdinand
the Hives
O.A.R. (5 times)
Toad the Wet Sprocket
the Wallflowers (twice)
Stone Temple Pilots (twice)
Better Than Ezra (5 times)
Burning Brides
Elliot Smith
Grant Lee Buffalo (twice)
Red Hot Chili Peppers
the Offspring
the Verve
Kings of Leon
Guster (twice)
Hot Hot Heat
Local H
We Are Scientists
Our Lady Peace (twice)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (twice)
Travis (twice)
Incubus
the Rustic Overtones (twice)
Live (5 times)
Beck
Radiohead
Pearl Jam (twice)
Sebadoh
Rage Against the Machine
the Raveonettes
the Oranges Band
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
311
Badfish
Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters
Andrew WK
Vertical Horizon
Eve6
Sons and Daughters
Green Day (twice)
Kaiser Chiefs
Sonic Youth
Buckethead
Ari Hest
the Get Up Kids
Blues Traveler

What's the best show you've ever seen, and why?

Rock & Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

Hello there..... It is with much gratitude that I accept the offer from my Maryland blogging friend FJ Delgado to contribute on his excellent blog Letter Never Sent. I have been an avid follower of Letter... ever since the day that Sir Delgado left a comment on my late blog Grey Will Fade. Anyone who has an all time best rock band list as this, is someone D will call his friend. Thanks Bro and never ever stop rockin'.

D

All tracks via yousendit and good for 7 days or so.....

Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution (mp3-AC/DC-Back In Black)

Whatever Happened To My Rock And Roll (mp3-BRMC-BRMC)

Let's Do Rock Steady (mp3-The Bodysnatchers-Two Tone Collection:A Checkered Past)

Clash City Rockers (mp3-The Clash-Live:From Here To Eternity)

I Want Rock & Roll (mp3-Frank Black & The Catholics-Pistolero)

I Love Rock 'n' Roll (mp3-The Jesus & Mary Chain-Munki)

Road To Rock & Roll (mp3-Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros-Rock Art & The X-Ray Style)

Rock & Roll (mp3-Led Zeppelin-IV)

Rock 'n' Roll Lies (mp3-Razorlight-Up All Night)

Rock 'n Roll (mp3-The Sounds-Living In America)

Life Is Killing My Rock 'n' Roll (mp3-Singapore Sling-Life Is Killing My Rock 'N' Roll)

5 Things I Learned at the Game Yesterday

1. Georgetown has a solid team, and they played a sick, sick game.

2. Duke has weaknesses, especially with a freshman point guard. The last play of the game illustrates this.

3. Georgetown girls are MUCH hotter than Duke girls.

4. Duke girls are significantly smarter than Georgetown girls. Charles Darwin said something about the relationship between brains and beauty at some point.

5. J.J. Redick is a human torch.

I've now seen, in person, both of his career high scoring games, his only dunk in regular season play ever (against Maryland), Duke's 3rd ever triple-double (Shelden Williams, against Maryland, again), and there are other records yet to fall. All in the span of a couple of months.

Pretty fucking sweet.

also...

Letter Never Sent PANDA WATCH DAY 46

We would like to welcome Intellectual Steve to the site. We are currently in talks to have rock and roll guru D join us as well, so look out for that. Screw you, Pitchfork, we're going to be better than you in 1 year.

Also, as I write this, we are approaching our 4,000 visitor! I promise to give the lucky lady (or dude) a big fat kiss for being the actual 4oooth.

A controversial post - a rumination on my access to porn

by The Monitors

First read this: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060119/D8F81BBO3.html

Basically, the Administration is going to try once again to clamp down on the dissemination of "inappropriate material," i.e. porn, using a law it can't pass. So ...

You know what? Fuck bush and fuck the administration. This is the last straw, I'm tired as shit of people trying to take away my porn. If some kid wanders onto a porn site, then he probably meant to, because the last time I accidentally stumbled on a real porn site was about a decade ago when I typed in www.whitehouse.com.

If a kid wants to find porn, he's gonna find a way to find porn, and if he doesn't want to, he won't - it's as simple as that. The lengths I've gone to at times, personally, to find porn despite a variety of complex obstacles is embarassing, but I did because I wanted to. And: reality check, teenagers have a sex drive too, so you'd better lock them in that fucking closet when they turn 13, otherwise they might just turn into yet another adult (for instance: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1995482,00.html).

And, can you really justify a child seeing a boob as inappropriate and illegal whereas the same kid can watch a TV show in which 10 people are killed, not to mention contain low-core sex scenes and constant sex banter? Hell, I can't think of a child who is actually more disturbed by seeing a surprise pair of breasts or simulated fellatio than a guy getting his head blown off. Why? Because nudity and sexuality is a cultural taboo, whereas violence is a universally social crime; ergo the child is actually smarter than the adult. A kid doesn't realize nudity and sex are bad, but still knows that violence is bad; it's as fucking simple as that. Fuck the ostensibly morally superior minority, and bring on the boobs!

All this from a guy who saw Die Hard in the theater when he was 8 years old, too.

Thank You, and 3 songs for you

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...

The time has come for me to thank everyone who has supported me with this here blog thingy over the past few months. I have made great new friends and have found a cool way to keep in touch with my old friends. I am very happy and thankful that I was able to make a goal of mine from last year come to fruition.

It has been brought to my attention that perhaps I spend a little too much time doing this. I have various other interests and goals, many of which I have stated on this very site in the form of New Year's resolutions.

The time has come for me to make good on those, since I need to be a dedicated and confident man on a mission in order to realize my dreams, as crazy as they may sound to the people I have met along the road of life up until this point in time.

A FEW MONEY SONGS

The following three tracks have been my theme songs for the past year of my life. I had the most horrible things happen to me in 2005, but I was the happiest I've ever been, thanks to a crazy little game called poker.

Download these now, if you don't already have them. If you don't have them, that just means you're either uncool, or you work too hard. Get them while you can, the links only stay active for 7 days.

Muse - Hysteria (MP3)

Nada Surf - Always Love (MP3)


the Killers - Mr. Brightside (MP3)


A LONG WAY TO GO

As Robert Frost once wrote (at least, I think it was him!), I have many miles to go before I sleep. I'm excited as I look forward to the next chapter in my young and unique journey.

I will still continue to post and make updates to the blog, but at nowhere near the frequency of the past few months. Hopefully my friends and fellow contributors can step in for me while I am gone and fill the void, if one can even call it that.

SEE YOU GUYS SOON

Stay classy, everyone. The "ride" is on a break for now, but it will resume sometime in the future, and I promise it will be better than ever.

FJDelgado

More blogs about MP3s.

Save the Orioles

also... this ESPN article on how a Pittsburgh Steelers fan LITERALLY had a heart attack after Jerome Bettis fumbled the ball in the closing seconds of the 4th quarter at the goal line in the Instant Classic game this past Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts helps explain 3 American cultural and sports phenomena:

1. guys will always love their sports and competition, and live and die by their favorite sports teams.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers fans are probably the best, proudest fans in all of football (here's to another Super Bowl Championship for them!)

3. The Indianapolis Colts suck. 0 (ZERO) Super Bowls since the franchise betrayed the city of Baltimore - one of the best sports towns in the history of the United States - and peaced out in the middle of the night in 1983. I call it the Curse of Johnny Unitas.

AC trip recap

quick shout outs to: HurricaneAndrew, ThrillHouse, StarboardGary, and Fraternity rushee CoolShaunP (aka the next Daniel Negreanu).

I had a blast playing some cards and trying to get free buffet comps at the Borgata's Buffet place. Join us next week as we start our takeoever at the Borgata's 2006 Winter Poker Open.

The Borgata

an MP3 intro to Hot Hot Heat, the Killers vs. HHH

to: all the pretty college girls
from: an Orioles and Ravens kid

MP3: Hot Hot Heat - "Talk to Me, Dance With Me"

BONUS: this song features a fucking cowbell! if Blue Oyster Cult, Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell have taught us anything, it's that EVERY song could use some more cowbell.

MP3: Hot Hot Heat - "Middle of Nowhere"

MP3: Hot Hot Heat - "Bandages" my personal fave, listen for the SICK drumming throughout the tune, as well as for the cool harmonic guitar work

MP3: Hot Hot Heat - "You Owe Me an IOU"

More blogs about MP3s.

I saw these guys live not too long ago at Sonar in Baltimore, MD. They put on an amazingly disgusting show, rocking hard and making all the college girls there quite hot and bothered.

my Letter Never Sent review of the HHH show.

let me know what you guys think... I think Hot Hot Heat are in the same group of bands as the Killers. In fact, I contend Hot Hot Heat is the college answer to the current (more popular) Kings of Rock. I would go so far as to say that HHH are R.E.M. to the Killers' U2.

the Killers vs. Hot Hot Heat

lead singer: The Edge: Killers
guitarist: edge: Hot Hot Heat
bass player: edge: Hot Hot Heat
drummer: slight edge: Hot Hot Heat

WE'RE NOT RIVALS

so sorry, Maryland fans, but Duke doesn't care, never has, never will.

Socrates would ask:

How many national championships does Maryland have? How many ACC titles? How many NPOTY? How many NBA players starting for NBA teams? Who winds up having more games broadcast on national TV, Duke, or Maryland? Which team makes corporate, capitalist America more cash money, Duke, or Maryland?

Take off your rose-colored glasses and answer the damn questions. Let's be objective here.

Win or lose tonight on national TV, Maryland is the red-headed stepchild of the ACC... just because a blind squirrel... you know how the saying goes.

Win or lose tonight, Duke will be pumped up and angry. This makes them dangerous.

Don't expect J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams to both have bad games. One of the two seniors, or both, will go off. Sean Dockery will be a key, and DeMarcus Nelson could come flying off the bench in the second half to put this sucker out of reach for good.

Expect a close game (10 points or less), or a 30-point embarrasment.

Either way... when's that UNC game again??

LET'S GO DUKE

poker pros: so HOT right now!

check out my good friend CoolHandLuke from Life of a Poker Player, pictured literally with a porn star hottie (some chick named Jenna Haze). Way to go, kid!

CoolHandLuke hanging with Jenna Haze at a "Convention" in Vegas

just got back into town...

around 5:25 pm yesterday and I was more than happy to hear the following news:

Miguel Tejada, with the help of his best friend, decides to stay in Baltimore