So I'm dual-booting my iPod now. Fucking seriously! I installed Rockbox on it for the OggVorbis support. Now I can listen to all the Brian Jonestown Massacre in OggVorbis format I want (note: most of their discography is available free from their website, and they're definitely a band you should listen to; I'd recommend "Talk-Action=Shit" for a good first song).
Now I understand a normal person would just convert the files, but I'm kind of a nerd. Plus I figured converting a gig's worth of .ogg files to mp3 would take way longer than installing new firmware on my iPod, anyway.
Also worth noting: Electric Fields of the Sun got some radio play! Thanks to Miss Mess, a.k.a. Kendra for playing my song alongside a bunch of musicians that are far more talented than I am! Much appreciated!
Also, for some reason, the back of my mouth kinda tastes like ranch dressing. Which is strange because I haven't eaten ranch dressing in well over two years.
What was the best concert you saw in 2007?
I can't pick just one, so here's my top 3, in the order they happened (these are all pics you may have seen before):
Navio Forge - As We Quietly Burn a Hole Into... (I never actually thought I'd see a copy of this in person; it's pretty fucking good, by the way)
Isis - Panopticon
Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I will Beat Your Ass
Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound
Kraftwerk - The Man-Machine
Motorhead - Overkill (picture disc!)
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Circle Jerks - Group Sex (picture disc!)
Black Flag - Damaged (yes, I know I should've already owned this)
Entrance - Prayer of Death
Mammatus - s/t
Sword Heaven - Entrance (a recent favorite discovery that I found looking up the aforementioned Entrance)
Striborg - Nefaria
Orchid - Chaos is Me
And on top of all that, Justin gave me a big-ass Sunn o))) poster. Fucking wicked.
I ran into Dave at the Record Exchange. He and I geeked it up a little while, then I gave him a ride to work.
Now to write about those other records I hadn't yet.
So yeah. Like I said, I do like getting presents. Here's my haul:
A Pink Floyd sweatshirt, Circle Jerks and Buzzcocks t-shirts (from my sister, despite the fact that I've only listened to a little bit of either, but like both - perhaps it's an unintentional prompt to listen to more?), gift certificates to the Record Exchange and Best Buy (I wonder if the Record Exchange still takes their certificates...) and Moxie Java, one of those Visa gift cards, some cash from my aunt and uncle (this is going toward the new cab, a metric ass-ton of vegan candy, and some records.
Insound fucked up and sent us the wrong Beirut record. We ordered The Flying Club Cup, and got Gulag Orkestar, which I already have. I'm hoping they'll let us return it, but it's past the 30 days they allow, since my mom shops in mid-November. If they don't, I'll just see if I can trade it for something. Or hold onto it 'til it's out of print and becomes Ebay gold.
Aside from that, here's the rest of what I got:
Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version is some heavy shit. It'll massage your bowels into complete compliance with its demands (translation: this level of heaviness will make you shit your pants). So yeah, it's a shame this band went overlooked for so long.
Pink by Boris is a really interesting record. Mine came on red vinyl, with only one insert: 3 sheets of blotter paper with mildly disturbing images on them. These guys are from Japan, and you can mostly tell, just by listening to them alone. Constantly going back and forth between melodic parts and spastic thrash. They'll lure you in with the prettiness and then they'll melt your face off. And you'll fucking love it. Yes, you will.
Anyway, I'll write about the rest of my haul once I've listened to it. Two more records!
Spent most of yesterday nursing a nasty stomach bug.
I think I'm better now, but that's still my excuse for how mean-spirited and bitchy I'm going to be in this entry.
I think it's Christmas Eve today. Why yes, yes, it is.
In fewer than 48 hours, Christmas will can be over, and I'll be able to go out without having to hear any shitty Christmas songs.
I was in a Hastings the other day with my mom, and they were busting out awful "pop-punk" covers of "Deck the Halls" (complete with an intro that sounded like they ripped it from an Offspring song. Disgusting.) and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Is this what you stupid fucking Christcore kids are diggin' on these days? 'Cause if it is, I would like to kindly invite you all to slam a cock and die. Or, at least, to just quit making music and go be accountants or something. CCM is an insult to music, to rock 'n' roll, and to recorded audio in general. Nothing good has ever come from it, and if you actually like "Christian rock," you're a piece of shit. End of story.
And even if the band in question wasn't a Christian band, they're still playing "ironic" pop-punk covers. Which is also the mark of music by pieces of shit, for pieces of shit. Goldfinger fucking sucked the first time. We don't need more of them.
This sort of thing wouldn't bother me so much if it wasn't inescapable by any means other than spending the two months-ish between Halloween and Christmas as a shut-in. But, unfortunately, I kinda have to leave the house every now and then, and Christmas fills me with blinding rage, which may just be because large crowds of people (hell, I have trouble being around more than like 2 people at a time, even if I like them), yuppies, and cold weather are some of my least favorite things possible.
I do like presents, though.
Luckily, I'm more or less alright, aside from my back hurting a little bit, and all the damage was to my car, so I don't owe anyone any money. I'm a little shaken, and in kind of a shitty mood, and my back hurts a bit, but eh. Whatever.
Hit a patch of black ice at a good 15 miles an hour (if that), going into a corner, and then couldn't stop going 15 miles an hour (if that) into the concrete part of an electrical box (which was, thankfully, raised high enough that I didn't hit the box itself and knock out everyone's power for the rest of the night).
So I pulled my first major "Idaho driver" move in a long time.
Thankfully, people stopped to help me out, and let me use their phone. So massive, massive thank yous to them.
As I was leaving, another car slid on the same ice as I did into another car. My dad, who had come to help me out, went back to get his car, and there was yet another accident there (as well as some cops and a sanding truck).
Oh, and I hope you're all listening to black metal and pounding ale in honor of the winter solstice!
What fragrance/cologne do you put on when it's your night out?
Submitted by noiq.
Nothing. Ever. Cologne is for all the types of people I aspire not to be, exclusively. Frat boys wear cologne. Yuppies wear cologne. Aging businessmen wear cologne. In fact, whether I even take a shower depends entirely on where I'm going. A "night out" usually means drinking at someone's house, or a parking garage, within my circle of friends. And, well, I ain't gotta impress shit in either of those places. And on the rare occasion we actually go to bars, people are still allowed to smoke in them here, so any smell I give off is pretty well masked by the smell of cigarettes and ass. No real reason to take a shower when I'm just gonna need another when I get home.
Of course, that's probably a lot of why I'm still single.
When did you really get to make a difference for someone else?
Submitted by bodhibound.
I actually have no idea, but I hope I have at some point or another.
