Hey, Hey. Holy Mackerel.

No doubt about it, it's going to be an interesting October...CUBBIES WIN THE NL CENTRAL DIVISION!

I don't know what the hell happened in Florida, but that doesn't matter now. While the NL Central may be considered the weakest division in baseball, it doesn't make this any less sweet. I'm excited and apprehensive at the same time. All I can say is...come Wednesday...LET'S GET SOME RUNS! GO CUBS!

This and the Mountain Dew Slurpee I had during the last couple of innings of the Brewers game, were perfect way to end another crappy week. I'll get back in the game after the weekend and post up w/ some good stuff. Taking the kids for their first trip to Brookfield Zoo tomorrow, so go outside and play. Peace!

THE CULT

'Born Into This'

I blogged about the announcement of a new Cult single and eventual album back at the beginning of August and kind of laid my fandom out on the table in the process. To be truly objective about said album, after having such a long-standing love affair w/ the band no matter what line-up the core nucleus of Ian Astbury/Billy Duffy surrounded themselves with, is pretty much near impossible. Then I remembered, aside from the fact that hardly anybody reads this anyway, I pretty much only review stuff on here I actually like anyway (w/ a few exceptions)...so, true believers, prepare for the fan-boy deluge to follow.

Anybody who witnessed the sordid history of the band firsthand, knows that The Cult, while never really re-inventing, seemed to ever-so-slightly evolve in both image and sound from album to album. Starting out as a kind-of post-punk goth-rock outfit, w/ the release of 'Electric' they added an dirty-sounding AC/DC vibe to go along w/ the Doors-influenced psychedelic leanings from albums previous. By the late-80's/early-90's via 'Sonic Temple' and 'Ceremony', they amped things up to Zeppelin proportions and went from 120 Minutes to Headbanger's Ball. Then, grunge came into vogue and influenced a dark, slow-moving self-titled release and, shortly thereafter, an 8 year hiatus. It's uber heavy, feedback laced, plodding Atlantic Records 'comeback release' ('Beyond Good & Evil') was cut off at the knees when the label abandoned the band a few months into promoting it.

History lesson...over. Cut to 6 years later, after Ian has left his doppleganging of Jim Morrision for a quasi-Doors reunion to 're-focus on his own musical legacy' and the Cult re-form for a tour and record a collection of tunes that Astbury has called a 'real, true Cult record.' 'Born Into This' is pretty much exactly that. While it's sound is probably most akin to the stripped-down rock of 'Electric' w/ shades of both the post-punk of 'Love' and bombast of 'Sonic Temple' color the edges. Really, the band revels in all the best parts of their history for what may be their best release since the heydays of 1988 - 1990.

As much as a fan as I am, I wouldn't lie if it stunk or was even so-so...but it's really a killer listen from the tribal baseline to riff onslaught of the lead-off title track to the defiant Stones meets AC/DC finish of 'Sound of Destruction'. The only possible dip in the road, would be an abrupt rock stoppage by way of Ian ditching Morrision for Johnny Cash on the stripped-down ballad 'Holy Mountain'...not bad, but I dig the classic Cult power-ballad of 'Tiger in the Sun' more. 'Citizens' and 'I Assassin' are also vintage Cult tracks any fan would love and the rest of the disc follows suit.

While Duffy's playing is a little more restrained and Astbury's voice not quite at the heights it used to be, they still got it. Listening to this made me feel the same way I did when I listened to them in High School...except i've gotten laid a lot more and have a mortgage. The album actually drops on 2-Oct and both iTunes and stores will have versions w/ some bonus demo/unreleased tracks to boot. I posted the link to check out the hip-shaking first single 'Dirty Little Rockstar', so check out something a little more introspective in the sample area. 'C'MON NOW YOU SINNERS!'

Save the Cheerleader, Update Your Blog...

My hope for a less crazy day at work than a majority of last week didn't really pan out, but the day was salvaged by coming home to see the boys actually coloring for the first time w/ Mommy and the season premiere of NBC's 'Heroes'! The boys ability to stay with the lines or even stay on the paper could use a little more practice, but the return of my favorite show was perfect.

Unlike my other 'must-see' show, ABC's 'LOST' (yes, i'm still a fan), 'Heroes' did a great job cinching up most of the plotlines from Season 1 prior to the finale. While this season's storylines are a result of what happened last time around, they are brand new stories that start 4 months later after the end of Season 1 and will also introduce some new charachters to keep things fresh.

Tonight's episode did great job setting up the intrigue that kept me coming back week after week last time. The whole 'Hiro in ancient Japan' thing looks a little shaky, but it could pay off in answering some questions about the origins of that mysterious symbol that seems to also be a forewarning to 'heroes' of old that they are to be eradicated. Whatever, it all looks good.

I'd still say that you'd probably get more enjoyment out of it if you've watched it from the start, but luckily they released the Season 1 DVD not too long ago if you need to catch up. You can also rest easy that you could probably be 50% the comic/sci-fi geek I am and still enjoy it...go to NBC.com and watch last night's episode and see. As 'LOST' isn't back on until 2008, the only other show I kind of have to watch is 'The Office'...it still brought the funny after two seasons, so i'm hoping for another.

I'm crossing my fingers, but I hope to have time tomorrow to post up w/ an album review that i've been dying to do since a few months back, so keep your eyes open. 'This is where it all begins...'

Professor, What's Another Word for Pirate Treasure?

That's what it is.

MOBIUS BAND

'Heaven'

A mobius band is a geometrical term for a 'non-orientable surface that cannot be embedded in a plane.' Mobius Band, who's upcoming release 'Heaven' has been enjoying some prime time in my headphones, are equally as impossible to compartmentalize into one particular sound or genre. A predominantly electro-pop sound occasionally lapses into brief moments of slight touches of alt-country and big helpings of indie rock, forming one cohesive collection of insanely catchy tunes.

Comparisons could easily be made to Postal Service's brand of glitchy electronics, sliced-and-diced strings, crunchy/distorted beats and sparkling synths...except this album features glitchy electronics, sliced-and-diced strings, crunchy/distorted beats, sparkling synths AND GUITAR. Definitely a lot less twee and each track has enough energy to move seamlessly into the other.

There are plenty of the bleeps, blips and enough sonic tchotchkes thrown about to make things interesting, but from the nearly rocking 'Secret Language' to the bouncy 'Friends Like These' to the driving crescendo of 'Black Spot'...shows a band who knows how to craft a true pop song. Actually, I think the band has found a perfect blend of the the electronic and pop rock, w/ only a few tracks bordering on one overshadowing the other. Another album I can listen to from start to finish.

The official in-store release date for the physical album is 2-Oct, but you can actually buy the 'e-version' today via iTunes. Take my favorite track for a test-drive in the sample area and see what you think. *blip*

Don't Tase Me, Bro!

I'm sorry. I know this video has been all over the place the past few days, but between the fact this braniac totally brought the whole course of events on himself and the week i've had...i've enjoyed numerous viewings since it hit the web.

I love how some people want to turn this into a freedom of speech thing or police brutality thing, but you're staging a sit-in for a guy who lets his boxers ride up above his cargo shorts and says 'bro'. Put the hackey-sack, String Cheese Incident bootleg and water bong down for a sec and think about what happened.

If he would have just gone up, asked his questions about voter fraud, impeaching Bush and what frat Kerry was in, let the Senator answer in his best teacher from the Charlie Brown cartoon voice and then shuffled his Tevas back to his seat...none of this would have happened. He had numerous opportunities to avoid every stage of the treatment he got from being forcefully escorted away from the podium to being wrestled to the ground to being cuffed and then, eventually, tazed (bro).

This is guy is a fourth-year student and U of F must be providing a humdinger of a quality education. At EIU, it only took me a few bar raids for underage drinking to realize as a Freshman that when the fuzz asks you to do something you don't talk back...let alone physically resist them.

That said, I thank Andrew Meyer for making this crappy week more enjoyable or, at least, a little funnier. BTW, shelf-life on the phrase 'don't taze me, bro' being funny before it's done to death is next Tuesday...use it while you can. I have some great new music i'm going to try and review tomorrow, but if I don't get to it...'don't taze me, bro.'

Okay, better make that Monday.

Oh No, There Goes Tokyo...

...and New York, Melbourne, Paris (where's Bowie and Jagger when you need them?) and even a trailer somewhere in Arizona. I caught another gem via my cable company's free on demand movie section over the weekend. If I were to have seen 'Godzilla: Final Wars' as a 13 year old, my guess is that I would have declared it the greatest movie ever made and ever to be made. I mean, I enjoyed the hell out of it in my thirties!

Really though, what's not to love though?! A flying battleship armed to the teeth w/ lasers/missles/a giant drill, city-leveling battle royales featuring a virtual 'who's who' of Japanese cinema monsters (Rodan, Mothra, Ghidorah, etc.) and outrageous mutant versus alien kung-fu throwdowns worthy of a Stephen Chow flick. Only gratuitous nudity or a free pony every time you watch it could have made it better.

Released in 2004, it supposedly boasts the biggest budget ever for any film in the Godzilla franchise...and you can tell. However, unlike the awful 1998 US summer blockbuster, the pure fantasy and silliness that made the long string of classic Godzilla films so much fun isn't sacrificed for megaton-FX. In fact, the 1998 US (what our friends abroad refer to as 'Zilla' sans the 'God') version is quickly disposed off by the real deal post haste...

Awesome. I'll spare you the detailed plot summary (wiki it), but the whole thing is a blast. If you've got the Comcast, look for it and if not, Netflix this bad boy.

Damn.

Hey there, kids. We've had a sick kid at home and somebody put something in the water at work...things have been apeshit crazy w/ new projects and i've been too busy to post up. I will remedy that shortly and hope to get back on track w/ stuff that nobody will really read but me anyway. Peace!

FOO FIGHTERS

'Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace'

The Foo Fighters are an interesting animal...not really heavy metal/hard rock, but not quite true alt/indie rock either. I think that's why i've considered myself an admirer since their S/T debut and pretty big fan upon the release of the classic 'The Colour & The Shape'. They've always sort of 'bridged a gap' between those two genres I love and have gone on to rise above both to become a true ROCK band w/ no hyphen preceding it.

Working w/ Gil Norton (Pixies) for the first time since 'Colour', 'Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace' doesn't quite recapture that paring's magic...but may be their most solid output in it's entirety since. Really though, they're a different band than they were then and this album is filled w/ tunes that can fill the very stadiums the band finds itself playing to nowadays.

Case in point, the lead off single, 'The Pretender', I posted the vid to a while back...a tune which has since grown on me to a point of really digging it. The big sounding arena-friendly rock continues on my personal favorites 'Erase Replace', 'Long Road to Ruin' and 'Cheer Up Boys (Your Makeup Is Running)'...you can almost feel the breeze from the Pete Townshend-esque guitar windmills.

The surprise track for me is 'Summers End'...a classic rock radio throwback that sounds like the Eagles on steroids. Not at all earth-shattering, but a perfect roll-the-windows down and head down the highway track. There are a couple of forays into the more acoustic jams that Dave has seemed to become fond of and, while not my favorites, I actually find myself not skipping past.

Bottom line, as I stated earlier, this the first Foo album in a long while I can honestly say I enjoy in it's entirety. No 2-3 killer tracks w/ varying degrees of no more or less than decent music peppered around them. This is a great album. A great album that via a pre-order from iTunes, gets you early access to show tickets and a bonus track...worth every penny. Check out a track in the sample area prior to the album's release on 25-Sep and then pre-order that bitch!

BAND OF HORSES

'Cease to Begin'

Another band I didn't catch the first time around, Band of Horses sophomore release, 'Cease to Begin', seems to be one of the most eagerly-awaited indie-kid new releases of 2007. The band really won a lot of folks over w/ the 'Neil Young/Crazy Horse meets Big Star' sound that was the hallmark of their 2006 debut, 'Everything All the Time' and justifiably so. Said album was the perfect mix of big, lush sounding indie-rock w/ moments of melancholy alt-folk...you could here everything from the aforementioned influences w/ some Beach Boys, Byrds and even late-era Hüsker Dü thrown in for good measure.

Upon first listen, I was really impressed w/ how beautiful sounding the album was, but that was w/out the frame of reference of their previous release. While the overall sound is still amazing, this album is sparse, plodding and a little less rocking in totality. Now, my favorite tracks 'Ode to LRC', 'No One's Gonna Love You', 'Marry Song', and 'Is There A Ghost' are strong enough to keep the praise lauded on them intact...they just don't make for an entire 'four-star' album (if I actually had an official rating scale). It's almost a 50/50 split on tracks that are fantastic and just okay.

Still worth checking out for yourself once it's released on 8-Oct, but in the meantime, try out a track in the sample area and go ahead and purchase their debut already available on iTunes and the like.

Master Control in the House!

Per the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, seems that things are in the works to bring a 'Tron' sequel to the screen. Boy howdy did I love that freaking movie and loved the arcade game even more. We used to play the one outside of the College Hills Mall Woolworth's, next to the talking Coke machine...the whole set-up was very futurisitc. Per the article, it seems said game was so popular that it earned more than the movie. It was pretty badass, I think I only played the Temple of Doom arcade masterpiece that was right across the way at the Gold Mine more.

Anyhow, i'm intrigued to see how today's technology will help or hinder an update of a film, that was seen as a leap in FX back in the day...

Seems the director, Joseph Kosinski, is also involved in a re-make of 'Logan's Run'...which i'm not really too geeked about. Maybe I was just too young to get into it, but I remember it being kind of boring. Hmmmm...

Nope. Still looks kind of boring. The script is being worked on by some of the LOST guys though, so who knows? Guess we'll have to wait and see. Outside of that, i've got a bunch of new music i'm listening to and deciding if it's worth reviewing...you know your Uncle EL really only likes to pimp stuff versus knock on it. Stay tuned, true believers!

Video (Music Awards) Killed the Radio Star

There was a time, not so long ago, where my calendar year began w/ the airing of the MTV Video Music Awards. I could spend hours upon hours the next day discussing the performances, awards and overall cultural relevance of the entire event w/ anybody else tht would listen. It was my Academy, Emmy and Grammy awards all rolled into one and even when I later came in a little outside of the MTV demographic...I still watched, almost as a matter of principle.

Then, last night, the 2007 VMA's aired on MTV and I had absolutely no clue it was even on. I mean, I knew that it was set to happen sometime around now...I just didn't care. Really, even when I realized it I was missing it...I didn't even feel compelled enough to turn the channel button down one click from Vh1's 'Rock of Love'. As the evening wore on, however, a little bit of regret started to sink in...I thought maybe I had missed out something and went to MTV.com to make sure.

After viewing a handful of clips and can summarize the whole televised event w/ this:

Seriously. Outside of a non-televised fight that broke out between Tommy Lee and Kid Rock...the ballyhooed performance by Britney is a pretty accurate summation of what the VMA's have become: plastic, uninspired and lacking in any shred of controversy or surprise whatsoever.

Don't get me wrong, people are talking about it alright...just talking about how bad that performance and everything that followed was. A far cry from frenching Madonna or a python and an overall celebration of the fall from grace of a network that used to tell us all what was culturally relevant.

I guess while all this was going on, there were little satellite festivities in other suites at the Palms Resort & Casino where it was held. Of note was the room being 'curated' by the Foo Fighters where jams w/ Motorohead and Cee-Lo took place and, of course, never aired.

You can see the whole lukewarm enchilada at MTV.COM, including the interesting stuff that didn't make it to air. Personally, I agree w/ Justin Timberlake (WTF?!) who not once, but twice while receiving awards suggested that MTV: 'PLAY MORE VIDEOS!'

I am...IRONMAN

Whoo! Official teaser trailer released for John Favreau-directed 'Iron Man' flick coming out in the Summer of 2008. If you saw the raw footage they trotted out at this year's Comic-Con, it's really nothing that new. Still not sure about Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and word is that the Mandarin will NOT be the main bad guy in this (instead it's Jeff Bridges as The War Monger), but I think I like what I see in the preview.

Like I said earlier, i'm hoping for a much better flick than Marvel's big offering this past Summer in the third Spidey movie and this is a good start.Not up on YouTube yet, but you can check it out HERE in the meantime.

Wack, Wack, WACK!

I don't know which is more wack...the fact i've been too damn busy to post up w/ anything cool today OR this:

'King of Hip Hop'?! If I was black i'd say 'N**GA PLEASE'...without the asterisks even. Also note, that we're heading out of town tomorrow to visit relatives over the weekend and I don't know if i'll get around to serving up any useless crap until next week. Go outside and play. Peace.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Well, most of the time they do and, via the big Apple iDog and iPony show and coffee clutch today, it is most definitely the case for your Uncle EL.

I've been kind of casually saving some cash over the past year or so to finally upgrade my 2nd gen 20GB iPod to the most recent 30GB model. On my birthday, I finally had enough scratch/gift cards to go pick it up...but instead, I decided to wait a little while to see if they announced any new upgrades for the holiday buying season.

Lo and behold, w/ the introduction of the new touchscreen iPod (AKA the iPhone you can't make calls on)...they also announced the current 30GB would go away and there would be two 'classic' models in 80GB and 160GB. The rub is that the new 80GB is the same freaking price as the 30GB currently available at retail. I almost triple my storage space and this new version's dimensions make my current model look like a brick. Color display, better battery life and video/photo viewing as well. HELL YEAH! Thanks, Steve!

They also introduced the aforementioned touch/wide screened phoneless iPhone (iPod Touch)...really slick looking, but only 16GB of storage and you'll still have to carry your cell. Oh, it also has Wi-Fi that will be integrated w/ Starbucks...so you can purchase music playing over the stereo. Whoopee. I'll stick w/ my Venti No-Sweet Iced Coffee, thanks.

A new Nano w/ a wider display and new colors for the Shuffle were unveiled as well and they smacked the early adapters and Apple-heads upside the head by announcing they are dropping the price of the current iPhone by $200. Suckers! You can get the full DL of everything in more detail at Apple's website.

KANYE WEST

'Graduation'

*sigh* After being lured in and actually taking the hipster bait of Akira-inspired videos, Superflat album covers, Daft Punk samples, Peter/Bjorn & John mash-ups and, well, Zach Galifianakis...once I actually heard Kanye West's 'Graduation', I felt the same letdown that came w/ his past two releases. The hype-induced hangover made me feel like some wet-behind-the-ears college frosh waking up next to somebody I really had no desire to sleep with, er, listen to in the first place.

It's as I said before, I like the ethos of Kanye. I like that he doesn't follow the norm in how he carries himself amongst his contemporaries. I like that he attempts to do something different and more creative than the other hip-hop artists you actually hear on the radio. That said, aside from a few tracks here and there, i've never actually really liked his music all that much.

I shouldn't have been surprised when I had the same reaction to this release, but I really wanted to enjoy it. Things started out solid enough w/ the plaintive intro 'Good Morning' (great rhymes) and the synth-laden dancefloor burner 'Champion' and the hot-as-shit 'Stronger' that roped me into the whole damn thing. I get lost until 'Can't Tell Me Nothing' which is an enjoyable anthemic slow jam in a 'Jesus Walks Part 2' sort-of way. I lose interest again until the sunny-sounding, R&B bumper 'Glory' and the slightly-above-okay ode to remembering where you came from (Chi-town Represent!) duet w/ Chris Martin, 'Homecoming'.

Even the 5-6 tracks I actually dug, were more of an 'enjoyed on first listen but will likely never go back to' sort of way. I can honestly say the likelihood of me going back for seconds on this are slim to none...listening to too many Kanye tracks is like eating too may skittles, the sugary production makes me queasy. As rough as that review may come off, I do hope that he keeps trying to keep the hip-hop landscape interesting... because I really don't give a fuck about another 50 Cent album (cash in the 401K, Mushmouth).

Check out the leadoff track in the sample area and if you likey, buy the album when it drops next Tuesday.

Furthermore...

...as this is supposed to be a blog predominantly based around music, i'll post the following for the hat-trick:

I know that 99% of the self-respecting hipsters out there wouldn't admit to digging his music, but I can't help it. Call it a guilty pleasure, but (especially in tandem w/ the accompanying videos) most of his stuff tickles the chin of my inner-headbanger and horror/sci-fi enthusiast. Once in a while, I just want to rawk...sue me.

Speaking of...

...Rob Zombie, my buddy Kev also clued me into an animated film based on one of his comic books that will see the light of day at some point on DVD.

'The Haunted World of El Superbeasto' follows the adventures of the crime-fighting secret agent El Superbeasto (Tom Papa), a retired luchadore who has more interest in strippers than adventure, but still manages to get involved with murdering super-intelligent gorillas, Liverpudlian zombies, and Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti), a manic depressive mad scientist with a penchant for finding the perfect woman. Joining El Superbeasto on his escapades is his sister, Suzie X (Sherri Moon Zombie), a sexy, sultry super-spy adventurer, and her sidekick, a 10-foot tall robot named Marvin (Brian Posehn), an avid fan of Barry Manilow and Michael Bolton.

"It's a beautiful-looking movie," Zombie said in a radio interview "All these animators from studios like Disney came to work on it, and [they're thrilled because] they get to work on something filthy. It's probably rated XXX now, but we'll have to cut it back to an R."

Sweet. Luchadores, monsters, robots, mad scientists, sexiness, sultriness...where do I sign up? No actual release date as of yet, but they've got a website up HERE where you can see a little more of some of the characters and (for now) little else. Looks like the short-lived comic book series that inspired it was released in it's entirety as a graphic novel back in May from IMAGE COMICS. I'll have to check that out as well and keep my eye out for a trailer once it's available.

AMBFAD, @ the Movies

As I geeked in earlier posts, my buddy Kev and I went to check out Rob Zombie's take on 'Halloween' on opening night last Friday. Considering that I don't actually got out to the movies that often, when I do get out to the movies they aren't usually horror movies (Mrs. Famous hates them), I hadn't gone to a movie w/ Kev in a bazillion years, in our High School/College years we rented 3/4 of the entire Horror section in Hometown Video AND the original film is still one of my favorites of all time...I had kind of built the whole experience up quite bit in me head.

Luckily, this modern spin on a classic was in no way disappointing and worth every penny of admission price. Not a true 're-make', the film includes a huge section of back story on Michael Myers we never saw in the original...an 'origins' piece as they'd call it the comic book world. This front half of the film was every bit as disturbing, intense, creepy and frightening as it could and should have been. Said section was also the stronger part of the film, but the new take on the fateful night in Haddonfield, IL was creepy good too.

It was a telling sign that the crowd seemed to be set for standard, schlocky horror movie fare...only to have the catcalls and laughter turn to dead silence after the first 10 minutes. If you've seen his previous two films, it is the same dark, gritty 'straight-outta-1970' aesthetic applied here that seals the deal. Not as scary or good as the original...but a great time in and of itself.

As a bonus, I think Kev and I were the only two people in the theatre who recognized the cavalcade of horror B-movie all-stars that Zombie leverages in the film...Clint Howard, Sybil Danning, Udo Kier, Richard Lynch and more all turn up on film.

Bottom line...Rob done good and, as one could challenge, resurrected the story from the shitty franchise it became after 'Halloween II'. Let's hope Hollywood doesn't use this as an opportunity to re-make all the sequels as well...that would be truly scary.