It's a been a long couple of weeks, kids.

So here's a completely random playlist that I've been listening to tonight:

1. Far Away, Cut Copy
2. Daniel, Bat For Lashes
3. A Question of Time, Depeche Mode
4. At The Back of the Shell, The Kills
5. Motorcycle, Love and Rockets
6. Bizarre Love Triangle, New Order
7. Where Is My Mind?, the Pixies
8. Dancing Choose, TV On The Radio
9. A Girl Like Me, The Desert Sessions
10. There Is Nobody, Yoav
11. You Don't Know What Love Is, The White Stripes
12. I Might Be Wrong, Radiohead
13. Vagina Mine, Puscifer
14. The Government, Saul Williams

OMG KITTEH DOES NOT APPROVE!


Clearly, I should stop mixing caffeine and Malibu rum.

Sunshine, Butterflies, and Caffeine

"Just Can't Get Enough" just came on my iPod, and now I feel like the quirky main character in a sitcom, like I should be skipping around my living room wearing a flower pot on my head or something. You know-- the single girl who's so kooky that it's actually endearing, who has a comically low-paying job and is always getting into scrapes.

It's amazing what a day off, sunlight, and temperatures in excess of 60 degrees can do for my state of mind.

Depeche Mode's new album came out Tuesday and although you won't fall for it on first listen, it grows on you exceptionally well. The only two songs that I'm not a fan of are "Spacewalker" (think NASA elevator music) and "Jezebel" (Oh, Marty, why? Why would you put a song that sounds like it should be in a made-for-TV movie from Lifetime circa 1991 on this album? I know you got to sing lead on it, but-- Man!). I also spent about two days listening solely to Gary Numan's The Pleasure Principle on repeat, and god! I'm kind of pissed that I let it sit on Kristin's CD rack for almost a year before finally getting around to it. His cover of "On Broadway" makes me ridiculously happy, and "Films" is even better than that.

TV On The Radio's Dear Science is excellent. I've been looking for "fun" music to fill the void that the Red Hot Chili Peppers left when they totally killed everything that was good and original about their music (see: Stadium Arcadium), and I think this will do nicely.

Currently, I'm also downloading Grizzly Bear's Yellow House, which I expect to blow me away since what I've heard so far has been really, really impressive. I really dragged my feet about listening to this band, but I'm glad that I finally did.

That's all for right now. I really need to get in the shower and then get some yard work done.

It's been a weird week at work (power outages, firings, lots and lots of call-offs, ten days in a row with no time off, massive overtime, etc.), and as a result, I'm sort of stressed out, tired, and in a weird mood. Also, I am, at this point, running solely on caffeine and nerves, so this blog may or may not be comprehensible to anyone else.

Anyway, here's a quick list of what I've been listening to lately, for anyone who cares.

1. Golden Age, TV On The Radio
2. Kids With Guns, Gorillaz
3. He Hit Me, Grizzly Bear
4. The Mission, Puscifer
5. Policy of Truth, Depeche Mode
6. Many Things In This For You (Meet Your Master Remix), NIN
7. Sex Bomb, Spinnerette
8. City Noise, Scarling
9. Electioneering, Radiohead
10. Destroy Everything You Touch, Ladytron
11. Crying, TV On The Radio
12. The Government, Saul Williams
13. Nine Million Rainy Days, The Jesus and Mary Chain

Yes, I've started listening to The Jesus and Mary Chain, god help me. Throw in some Bauhaus and clove cigarettes, and I'll be too Goth to function. (Yep, that's a Mean Girls reference. Sue me.) And yes, I've obviously spent MORE MONEY at Amazon, my latest purchase being TV On The Radio's Dear Science, which is excellent.

And yeah, I totally shouldn't have had that extra shot of espresso added to my Venti Macchiato at Starbucks this morning-- or that last Diet Pepsi, either. Hmm.

I spend too much money on music. The end.

Seriously. I should be getting frequent flier miles or something from Amazon, given the amount of music I download. I've got about six and a half gigabytes on my hard drive currently, and that's not counting about half the CDs on my rack. Given, a lot of those are music that I don't really listen to anymore (Hey, by the way, if anyone out there's looking to purchase Matchbox 20's or the Red Hot Chili Peppers' discographies, let me know. Everything except By The Way is up for grabs, since Stadium Arcadium aka RHCP's Great Big Cash-In Pretentious Double Album pissed me off so badly.)

And, as I've already implied, the library is growing rapidly. In fact, as I am typing this, I am also downloading Spinnerette's newest single, "Sex Bomb". I have already downloaded all of Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago (depressing but excellent), and a song by Grizzly Bear, whom I had studiously avoided listening to until today (also excellent). Last Friday, I actually went out and bought Annie Lennox's new greatest hits comp, which is great, and in the past week, I've added Belong's October Language and Modest Mouse's The Lonesome Crowded West to my collection as well. And let's not forget about Depeche Mode's Playing the Angel.

It's seriously not my fault this time, though. Damn blip.fm and me for getting a blip.fm account, and damn everybody on that site for putting up interesting music. Also, damn Treznor for getting a blip.fm account and putting up a bunch of neat music.

Also, for those of you who might be interested, I've added a last.fm widget to my blog that shows my most recent listens. It's a bit Big Brother-y, but interesting technology nonetheless.

Anyway, that's about all for right now. My poor neglected blog-baby.

VACATION. That is all.

So this is my fourth day of vacation, and up til now, I've accomplished pretty much nothing of consequence-- I mean, unless you consider Twitter and listening to Depeche Mode leaks "consequential". (Yeah, by the way, if "Corrupt" is any indication, Sounds of the Universe is going to kiss some serious ass, so I will definitely be downloading that when it comes out. Also, I'm beginning to think I have a bit of an older-man complex, since I've been thinking dirty, dirty thoughts about Dave Gahan. Seriously, though, listen to this . . .



. . . and then tell me you're not having improper thoughts. That's what I thought.)

Wow, that's gotta be a new record for me: Longest Parenthetical Statement Ever. Plus there was a video embedded in the middle of all that!

In other news-- Kristin's car has broken down (AGAIN) so I am (ONCE MORE) serving as her primary transit system. Today, however, she at least found a friend to take her to and from band class, which is in Dowagiac (a 20-25 minute drive), and in all hopes, Dad will be over to take a look at Warchild sometime today. It certainly needs to be up and running by Thursday or Friday, or else that kills either my plans to go see Mom or Kristin's chances of getting to work all weekend.

Survey says that Kristin getting to work to collect a paycheck is more important than any trips to up see ma mere, though Mom would probably disagree about that at this point.

The good news is, I am still more relaxed than I ever thought possible, even considering an impending "dinner out with the ol' coworkers" tonight. I'm hoping for an early evening, in all truth-- and NO WORK CHATTER. (Like that's gonna happen.)

Well, that's all I have to report for now. Later!

The New Regime, "Coup"

Confession time: I didn't actually have high-speed internet until last June, so I was a bit late in getting into the whole downloading music thing. Once I got into, though, I never got out: Probably half my iTunes library consists of songs that I've downloaded from the internet, and the last time I actually bought a physical CD was when NIN's The Slip came out in May of last year.

I was reminded last night, during a trip to the mall, why it is that I download instead of buying physical CDs: A, there's a nearly-infinite selection of music available for download via retailers like Amazon, and B, downloading an album is usually about $3-$5 cheaper than buying the same album from a brick-and-mortar store. FYE, the store in which I was browsing, had a very limited selection, and the average price of a CD was $15.99. Ouch! It's no wonder that the big labels are hurting!

And wow, that introduction turned out to be a lot longer than I had originally intended. You're probably looking at the title of this right now and going, WTF? Is this a review or another long-winded rant about the decline of the music industry, which has already been done to death by smarter people than you? No, really, this is supposed to be a review. That long-ass intro was supposed to be a short paragraph saying how my preference for downloading music rather than buying it has led me to discover artists who offer digital releases of their albums but not neccessarily physical copies of them, such as New Regime (I hate Myspace, but this is the only website for the group), Ilan Rubin's project, who just released his debut album, Coup, via iTunes and Amazon.

Rubin, a 20-year-old drummer from LA who has worked with Lostprophets and is currently the touring drummer for Nine Inch Nails (you just knew this would circle back there somehow, didn't you?), wrote all the songs and recorded all the vocals and instrumentation for Coup himself, during Lostprophets' hiatus-- no small feat, considering that the album features a dizzying array of different styles and influences.

Clearly informed by artists like Queen and the Beatles, Coup is a diverse, ambitious effort. Opening track "The Collapse" begins with a piano-and-drum stomp that quickly leads into a "Bohemian Rhapsody"-style lamentation on "what you've become", while a few tracks later, "Haunt My Mind" employs some nifty electronics and a spare piano line in its intro. "The Credit 'We' Deserve" is an airy, acoustic-guitar-driven jaunt that features Rubin harmonizing with himself (yeah!) and a well-crafted, Beatles-esque melody.

Sometimes Rubin gets a little too ambitious-- too many tracks follow the same formula of "quiet intro, then explode into rock god bombast, fuck yeah!"-- and his singing is a little dodgy, especially when he's trying to channel Muse frontman Matt Bellamy (who, if you ask me, usually vacillates between channeling Freddie Mercury and Thom Yorke, so I don't know what that means), but these problems are easy to overlook. A more noticeable flaw in Coup is its overwrought lyrics, but after all, Rubin is only 20 FREAKIN' YEARS OLD, so "melodramatic" is the name of his game.

Overall, however, Coup is a solid effort from a talented up-and-comer which anyone who enjoys Queen and/or Muse should check out.

Essential tracks: "All These Changes", "The Credit 'We' Deserve", "Haunt My Mind"

Rating: LLLL (out of a possible five Ls)

Bromance ahoy!

Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor sure knows how to keep the fans connected: Not only did Reznor launch a redesigned nin.com back in August 2008-- complete with discussion forums, chatrooms, member profiles, and a remix section-- but he also signed up with social-networking site Twitter and has been putting out videos from the band's recent Australian tour. The videos, shot by the group's art director, Rob Sheridan, from onstage with the band, are a brilliant way to capture the intensity and energy of a NIN show, especially the last of the series: a performance of the classic "Wish", with guests Dillinger Escape Plan.

DEP covered the song for their 2006 EP Plagiarism (along with Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You"-- fun trivia fact), and the two bands met up in Sydney, prompting an, uh, enamored Reznor to post in his Twitter account: "Inter-band NIN/Dillinger Escape Plan Sydney Harbour Bridge climb bromance last night. Actually quite fun!" Oh, that TR, ever the romantic. (Uh, BROmantic?)

By the way, I am going to use the term "bromance" as many times as possible in this blog, because hey, it's just fun to say.

Anway, bromance or not, it's a great performance. Not only can you practically see the testosterone emanating in great big waves from the stage, but in the last 45 or 30 seconds of the video, you can witness Reznor (who, by the way, is fast approaching the age of 44) take a really impressive dive into a drum kit. You have to give the guy props for that: I'm only 24, and I'm not sure I could get back up that quickly after tangling with a bass drum. Watch:



Other things I love about this video?

1. The reaction from Ilan Rubin, NIN's 20-year-old drummer, who seems to be unsure as to whether he should be more concerned about his boss or his bass drum;
2. The fact that Sheridan hasn't taken an elbow, guitar, or fist to the face yet, given that there are so many angry, muscular, black-clad rock guys onstage;
   
3. That DEP frontman Greg Puciato and TR could be twins (awww, matching black t-shirts!);
   
4. TR's introduction of DEP as a "poor man's Coldplay".
   

I also think that perhaps Treznor should start looking for endorsement deals with pain reliever manufacturers. Think about it: "Hi, I'm Trent Reznor, and I have to tell ya, sometimes after a long day of beating up my guitarist and diving into drumkits, my back hurts like a mofo. Aside from a fifth of Jose Cuervo, nothing works on my gig-related pain like Tylenol Rapid-Release Geltabs!" Gold, baby. Gold.

Anyway, you can view the rest of Sheridan's video from Down Under, or have a look at this one in true HD, at NIN's official website.

Nine Inch Nails will be touring North America this spring and early summer with co-headliners Jane's Addiction; tourdates and ticket sales info can also be found at www.nin.com. Catch them if you can, because it's sure to be an explosive show-- plus, Reznor has said that after this tour, he's "making NIN go away for a while".

And just because I can and because I think it's funny. . . .

Woohoo, first official IDLWTIG music review!

Dear Lord help me; I'm listening to Britney Spears and actually sort of liking it. A friend of mine made me a copy of her latest album after I brought up a news story about la Brit sharing rehearsal space with NIN, and I must say, I am eternally grateful to her. Don't get me wrong; pop is still pop, and la Brit's little-girl voice gets grating at times. However, with Circus, Spears seems to be out to prove that she's not just the next has-been psych-ward case, and she's lined up a set of expertly-crafted, adventurous club bangers to accomplish that feat.

The album kicks off with the one-two punch of “Womanizer” and “Circus”, two dancey, single-worthy tracks which provide a jarring contrast to “Out From Under”, a Max Martin-penned ballad that could hold its own in a grudge match against any pop song currently on the radio (and which would actually demolish the latest entries from Beyonce and the Killers, if you ask me). “Kill the Lights” is yet another “Brit vs. the paparazzi” journal entry, albeit one that documents the battle with bitchy tongue-in-cheek humor and impeccable beats, while “Unusual You” seems to channel Depeche Mode, with its blippy synths and keyboard line. “Blur”, produced by Timbaland acolyte Danja, is a woozy account of the morning after-- a subject on which la Brit is undoubtedly an expert.

There are two or three duds-- notably, “Mmm Papi”, which is just creepy, and “My Baby”, whose melody and lyrics are so cloying and trite that you'll probably end up with tooth-decay after too many listens-- and the last third of the album is fairly forgettable, save for “Leather and Lace”, which is a fun romp through every musical style of the 80s; however, Circus is plainly the work of a pop goddess who is finally back at the top of her game.

Essential tracks: “Unusual You”, “Circus”, “Kill the Lights”

Rating: LLLL (out of a possible five Ls)

"Why the hell are you listening to John Mayer?"

My sister actually asked me this question soon after I woke her up this morning; my response was something along the lines of "I realize I woke you up at the ungodly hour of ten a.m., but that doesn't give you the right to invoke that name in my house!"

I should mention that there are a few music artists whose names you don't mention unless you want to see me go from Normal Bitch Mode to Super Hella Flaming Bitch in about .008 seconds: John Mayer is one; Bono is another. And actually, those two are pretty much it; pretty much anyone else is at least up for discussion

But I digress. The point is, I was not (nor would I ever be caught dead) listening to John Mayer. I was, in fact, listening to Yoav, an Israeli-South American musician who-- get this-- makes acoustic electronica. Seriously. Every sound in his songs is either vocals or produced by a guitar. It's very cool stuff . . . not to mention, the closest I will be venturing to pretentious hipster coffee-house music. Anyway, his album Charmed and Strange is available on both iTunes and Amazon, plus he does have a Myspace page, so you should check out his stuff (especially "Adore Adore" and "There Is No One") if you get the chance. He entered my radar after Modwheelmood remixed a couple of songs (though I still haven't managed to locater those tracks) and I finally decided to download him after somebody on Echoing The Sound linked to a video for "Club Thing".

Anyway, again, some cool music for you to check out. I probably won't put up anymore blogs this week, since I work all weekend and will be occupied with completing my sister's move into my place as well. So-- Have a good weekend, everybody!

Okay, it's time to stop making shitty covers of "Enjoy The Silence"

I'm sick today so instead of cleaning my house (which is what I should be doing), I find myself parked in front of the computer with a box of tissues, a bag of cough drops, and a bottle of water, trolling YouTube for videos. I started out looking for Depeche Mode's creepy video for their new single, "Wrong"-- which has, by the way, been irrevocably lodged in my brain for the past two days-- and ended up searching for videos of "Enjoy The Silence". I still haven't found the original video, but I did find plenty of covers. Bad covers.

Seriously, what is it about this song that makes shitty goth bands want to record their own horrible remakes of it? Isn't that what karaoke is for? I mean, sure, I love NIN's "Discipline", but you won't find me in a studio, recording my own "re-interpretation" of it, and why? Because 1) it's unnecessary, as I could never hope to capture the brilliance of the original, and 2) I'm pretty sure TR would hunt me down and threaten to rip my cunt off if I tried to. (Though maybe not, since Maroon 5 still hasn't been punished for their "acoustic" performance of "Closer".)

Perhaps it's the lack of consequences that makes crappy bands so bold about putting their inane takes on "Enjoy the Silence" out there-- after all, when was the last time you ever heard Martin Gore threaten to rip somebody's cunt off? At any rate, the crappy covers are out in full force. Behold, the guilty:

• BREAKING BENJAMIN is responsible for this atrocity; keep in mind that this group has a history of ruining great songs (Tool's "Sober" and NIN's "Hurt") and therefore deserve no mercy.
• Euro cheese-metal outfit LACUNA COIL covered the song for their 2006 album Karmacode. The fact that Cristina Scabbia is totally hot still doesn't excuse how cheesy and ridiculous their version is.
  
• As if I didn't already hate HIM enough, they offer THIS version of the song. The accompanying fan-made slide-show doesn't make me like it any more. As a matter of fact, I managed to listen through all the way to the other two covers (to make sure they entirely sucked, of course) but only made it through til the 1:35 mark on this one.
  
• At this point, you might be asking yourself, "So, how would one go about stripping a song like 'Enjoy the Silence' of all its inherent sexiness and making it suitable for play in, oh, elevators and supermarkets?" The answer to that would be to let KEANE (aka, the British precursors to The Fray) loose with a tambourine and keyboard.
  
• IT DIES TODAY (the name and the lead singer's Danzig hair both scream OMG WE'RE SO GOFFIK!, but they're actually just more cheap pseudo-metal) offer their take on the classic. As the band name would suggest, yes, it sucks.
  

Mike Shinoda's remix isn't technically a cover, but it does suck, so I'm including it here for your listening, uh, pleasure. Considering that Shinoda is a member of Linkin Park, it really shouldn't come as a surprise that his remix tries to recast the song as a nu-metal freakout; what is surprising is the number of people who seem to like it. (On a separate but related note: People who comment on YouTube videos are mostly wankers.)

Of all of these, I think I'm most offended by Keane's version, since they've managed to water down a great song and make it into what is essentially mall muzak. Of course, it's my opinion that both Keane and the Fray should be put onto a space shuttle and blasted into orbit around Jupiter, but I think their cover actually justifies that sentiment.

By the way, I did finally find the video for "Wrong", but not on YouTube. Here's a link if you want to see it; with its use of the rewind-narrative and multiple car crashes, the creepy clip reminds me slightly of NIN's video for "Deep"-- except better and without a stupid plot that attempts to tie-in with a movie, TR's dubious acting "skills" ("I'mma make a withdrawal!"), and inexplicable green goo.

Also, if you're looking for a really good Depeche Mode remake, Modwheelmood covered "Home" at a gig in 2006, and I know there's a soundboard recording of it floating around on YouTube somewhere.

I'm going to go take more cold medicine now, so this will be all for today!