Internet connoisseur?

I'm in danger of becoming someone who actually knows what they're doing on that interweb thing.  Just joined blip.fm and linked it to my twitter account.

Heh... what?

Some random thoughts...

I just downloaded the new version of iTunes (can't be arsed to remember what the actual numbers are), and I've got to say, at first look, I'm less than happy with it.  I like the new album view option.  I don't like a few other features that seemed to have changed.  Most recognizably the even worse communication with the iTunes store for retrieving album artwork.  Just bought 3 cd's today (all of which are available for purchase from the iTunes store), and only one cover art came back okay. Feh.

Apparently it is just acceptable for health insurance companies to raise your premium by almost 14% without even letting you know about it.  With per-month payments, that's quite a substantial amount of money per year they're just "taking" from me.

Bringing my anger down a notch, I'm considering following a few blogs on a regular basis.  It's something I've been considering, just did not want to waste any more daily time on the internet.  Beginning to think, who gives a shit?  It's my time, I can do what I want with it.  These blogs are:

Aquarium Drunkard - for its kick-ass music knowledge and info

Product Shop NYC - for its political leanings and slightly rare musical offerings

WarrenEllis.com - because he's a mad scientist in a comic book writer's mind

Apparently there's some place in Ohio called Huber Heights.  Must make it a point to check out this little gem once I finally decide to take that cross-country road trip I keep talking about doing.

My team Arsenal drew 1-1 to Dynamo Kiev in yesterday's Champions League match (first round of group play).  A point is a point, but they should really be able to beat the Ukrainian side, as they are the weakest in their group.

And in closing, congratulations to friends of mine, Matt and Cristina.  They've just welcomed a child into this world today.  It's a girl (we told you, Matt)!!!  Last I heard they were naming her Kendall.

Love is Noise, my friend

So, I'm not sure what to think about this new Verve record that (I believe) came out today.  I'm really digging the new single and everything else I've heard so far.  Just... can I get into an entire album of it?  That's what I'm asking myself.  

Now I loved "Bittersweet Symphony" just as much as the next guy in the mid to late nineties, but do I need to get back into that mindset ten years later?  I understand the band has progressed since their lapse into limbo the past decade, but I'm wondering if a whole album of new Verve tracks will really grab me by the balls and have me take notice of them again.  But at the same time, I don't really want them being that next "pop sensation" turned "one-off indie darling" bands.  They are entirely too talented for that.  In fact, they were better than that back then for just the opposite.  

Decisions, decisions.

Other songs/bands I'm currently into:

The Virgins - Rich Girls  

The Wombats - Let's Dance to Joy Division 

Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire

Bon Iver - Skinny Love

Bloc Party - Mercury

The Walkmen - In the New Year

Wolf Parade - Language City

MGMT - Kids; Electric Feel; Time to Pretend

Black Keys, Black Kids, Black Lips.  All kick-ass bands with kick-ass new singles.  Just wish I knew which was which.

The new Santogold song with Julian Casablancas and Pharrell.  Now that is a damn fine track.

The new Hold Steady album, Stay Positive.  Everything on it.  Just brilliant.

Digging the new Conor Oberst solo effort too.  Favorites so far include Sausalito and Moab.

That's everything I can think of at the moment.  I'm sure there's more.

Re: my last post

Holy shit, that IS cool!

Arsenal team widget

This seems pretty cool. If this works, feel free to check out all of my team's latest exploits with this little bugger.

Just spit in my beer next time, bartender.

So, went to a bar tonight, put $2.00 in the jukebox.  Gets me six songs (not one of those shitty electronic wallet suckers that give you 2 songs for a dollar).  Play some Creedence, Zeppelin, ELO.  Highly recognizable classic rock songs.  

My fifth song is The Beatles - Norwegian Wood.  Not one of their more popular songs, but I still feel like people know it when they hear it.  

Fuckin' bartender turns the song off.  

I'm a customer who pays money to hear this song, and he picks up the fuckin' remote and turns the song off.

Heard him specifically say to another customer, "Play some rock and roll, and I'll keep it on.  But I can't hear that."

My cousin and I ask him about what happened to the last song, and he comes up with this bullshit story about some songs on the jukebox just shut off and go right to the next song.  

I watched the asshole pick up a remote and intentionally turn it off.  The Beatles.  A bartender intentionally turned off the Beatles because it was not "rock and roll."  The Beatles.

You can't even imagine how much this fucking blows my mind.

Needless to say my tip was suspect.

Fuckin' asshole deserved it.  

"Your music's no good here... paying customer."  Go fuck yourself.

Last time I put money in that jukebox.

Kimbo Slice fight = laughingstock

So I caught that EliteXC mixed martial arts fight CBS aired on Saturday night in prime-time.  What an utter embarrassment.  

I'm not sure what CBS was thinking really as they clearly don't have any clue how to run an MMA fight.  They know how to hype it, but that only works when the payoff is better than all the talk.  

The first few fights only lasted a minute each, but the show had logged about an hour and a half of airtime.  There was just too much time between fights, and that dead air just bores people... myself included.  The editing as a whole was awful.  At one point in an interview with Kimbo Slice, he wishes good luck to Gina Carano, a female MMA fighter.  Only she had been in the ring and out already.

The main event was the previously mentioned YouTube street-brawling sensation Kimbo Slice versus some ogre from England named James Thompson.  It was a joke.  Neither of them could last past the first round, and had just started hanging on each other like amateur heavyweight boxers, wildly flailing a punch here and there.  It was embarrassing.  Eventually the fight was called because Thompson's cauliflower ear had been popped open by one of Slice's punches.  I think it was for the best as nothing eventful was really happening anyway.

Also, for whatever reason CBS decided to give the commentary to March Madness play-by-play man, Gus Johnson.  While I like his basketball work, he just was out of his element in MMA.  Excessive use of hyperbole.  Getting unnecessarily excited.  He just was not comfortable doing an MMA bout and it showed.

CBS dropped the ball here.  I'd much rather pay for the Ultimate Fighting pay-per-views because at least in those I know I'm getting some quality man-on-man-punching-in-the-face-jiu-jitsu-mixed-martial-arts.  And that's what we like.