New Review

An album that I find highly remarkable. Heck, I gave it my highest TIG rating ever, a 9.7!

LCD Soundsystem -Sound of Silver

That's all for now! Machine time all weekend! Woo!

New TIG review

Here's a new one ...

Albert Hammond, Jr. - Yours to Keep
Hammond is the guitarist (well, one of them) from the Strokes and also the son of the guy who wrote "To All The Girls I've Loved Before". Now that's pedigree!

Imaginary Update!

Haven't really had too much to say lately ... Just too darn busy.

However, a few peripheral bits ...

(1) The new Three Imaginary Girls site is up! Why is this exciting. I now have a daily column on TIG called iPod Roulette, which some of you might find startlingly similar to "Shuffle of the Day". Well, it is, dammit! I'm currently re-running a few SOTD to get up to speed, but look for it to be much more lively and regular than SOTD ever was. Someday soon I'll have a music blog on the website too and maybe even (gasp!) a mailbag. (And I have a bio on the TIG site too.)

(2) I also have 2 new TIG reviews:
The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Matt & Kim - Matt & Kim

And for those of you who enjoy it, my current iPod top 10
10 The Ave - Blue Scholars
9 Yeah Oh Yeah (Live) - Tullycraft
8 Decapitated - The Faintest Ideas
7 Paragraphs Relentless - Dalek
6 I Hate Scotland - Ballboy
5 Rachel Says - Campaign for Real Time
4 Scenic World - Beirut
3 Made of Steam - Dengue Fever
2 The Prayer - Bloc Party
1 Did I Step On Your Trumpet? - Danielson

All the excitement of Erik's purchases

Well, I was in Berkeley yesterday and spent too much at Amoeba, as usual. "What did Erik purchase?" you ask. Good question.

Blue Scholars - Blue Scholars: For a mere $5! And its better than I imagined, especially "The Ave", which is, surprisingly, about the Ave in Seattle.
Common Market - Common Market: Another fine Seattle hip-hop act for a mere $5!
Palace Music - Lost Blues & Other Songs: I have this on LP, but wanted a copy to put on my iPod, and for $7, who could say no? Not I!
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver: I have yet to even scratch the surface of this one.
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank: Again, haven't really absorbed it, but it seems more splintered than previous Mouse albums. We'll see ...

Top 10

Another week gone to the gods of Column Chemistry. Ah well.
And now I'm out of the available Battlestar Galactica on DVD. Bah!

Oh well. At least its sunny and 80 here in California.

The current iPod Top 10
10 Decapitated - the Faintest Ideas
9 I Hate Scotland - Ballboy
8 This Sentence will Ruin/Save Your Life - Born Ruffians
7 Scenic World - Beirut
6 Rut! - B for Brontosaurus
5 Rachel Says - Campaign for Real Time
4 Paragraphs Relentless - Dalek
3 Made of Steam - Dengue Fever
2 Did I Step On Your Trumpet? - Danielson
1 The Prayer - Bloc Party

Failure is just sucess rounded down, my friend...

Brilliant!

And to look no further that Endtimes are here, or at least that indie rock is no more...(from Pitchfork.)
The Arcade Fire's second album Neon Bible claimed the No. 2 spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts this week, stomping all over new LPs from Daughtry, Relient K and Robin Thicke. According to Billboard, the album sold 92,000 copies this week; only Notorious B.I.G.'s Greatest Hits sold more. That album, which was released ten years after the rapper's death, sold 99,000 copies. This position is miles ahead of Funeral's chart ranking, which peaked at #131.

Oh my lordy.

AstroPOP!

My TIG podcast/article is up! Listen/read the March 2007 AstroPOP. Enjoy songs by Amon Tobin, B for Brontosaurus, Born Ruffians, Campaign for Real Time and more.

That's it. Headache. Busy. Spreadsheets. Woo.

This week went by lickity-split and more work needs to be done! Ack! I had a conversation today with one of the grad students here about consulting vs. academia and the allure of consulting, which came down to consulting being a job where your job is your job, whereas academia your job is your life and lifestyle. Ah well ...

Some sad(dish) music news today:
Brad Delp, the lead singer for the band Boston, was found dead Friday in his home in southern New Hampshire. He was 55.
Not sure why I care other than that "More Than a Feeling" was a gateway drug for me to start listening to 70's hard rock/metal.

Fantasy baseball season starts full swing this week for me, with 4 drafts in 10 days. Woo! We can all continue to enjoy my mancrush on Grady Sizemore.

And here is my current iPod top 10. Enjoy!
10 I Hate Scotland - Ballboy
9 The Sons of Cain - Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
8 This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life - Born Ruffians
7 Scenic World - Beirut
6 Paragraphs Relentless - Dalek
5 Rachel Says - Campaign for Real Time
4 Rut! - B for Brontosaurus
3 Made of Steam - Dengue Fever
2 Did I Step On Your Trumpet? - Danielson
1 The Prayer - Bloc Party

BP 2007

I got the 602-page Baseball Prospectus 2007 today. Now, if only I could sequester myself with it for the next week. Ah well. I'm sure its got some gems in there and I'll report of them as soon as I get a chance to start reading it. Then again, I've been reading BP 2006 for the last year and I'm still not bored with it so who knows...

Oh yes, and speaking of being a baseball nerd, I'm pretty close to getting XM satellite radio so I can listen to the Red Sox. Now they're on WRKO instead of WEEI (oh boy, I get to trade Dennis & Callahan ads for Rush Limbaugh ads). And I have to say, so far, I am not a big fan of the new Sox broadcaster Glenn Gaffney ... I much prefered good ol' Jerry Trupiano. Bah!

Long week

It was a long week. Heck, all the weeks seem long these day. Ah well, busy busy busy.

Anyway, here is my current iPod Top 10

10 This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life - Born Ruffians
9 Esther's - Amon Tobin
8 The Sons of Cain - Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
7 Scenic World - Beirut
6 Paragraphs Relentless - Dalek
5 Rachel Says - Campaign for Real-Time
4 Rut! - B for Brontosaurus
3 Made of Steam - Dengue Fever
2 Did I Step On Your Trumpet? - Danielson
1 The Prayer - Bloc Party

Speed...

Having never done any illicit drugs, I have no ideas, but ...

If people stay up ALL NIGHT, talking - non-stop for 8 hours (midnight to 8AM) - very loudly, quickly and over each other - does that imply they're on speed? Or maybe they're just giant a**holes.

I hate people today.

SxSW

If any of you are in Austin for SxSW, here are two reviews for bands playing the TIG/Magic Marker Records Showcase...

The Faintest Ideas - What Goes Up Must Calm Down
The Manhattan Love Suicides - The Manhattan Love Suicides

Oh yeah, and today is the first official game of spring training for the Red Sox! Woo!

Wowzers

A few things today:

(1) I think last quarter was my "practice quarter". Or maybe "spring training quarter". Now, I'm really busy.
(2) The Boston Sports Media has jumped the shark. Just look at the transcript of the press conference today with Manny's agents. Honestly, someone asked Manny is 34 now. Do you think itís time for him to be more accountable instead of being babied like a 12-year-old? and Do you think since he is your meal ticket, you should try to help him grow up?. This is bordering on insanity. Total insanity. This isn't journalism, this is agenda-driven Sports-Talk-Radio garbage. Manny arrived at camp EARLY instead of LATE and they still act like he's just run over a busful of nuns and orphans. No wonder Manny wants to leave ... personally, I don't care what Manny does as long as he continues to hit .300, drive in over 120 runs and hit 30+ HRs. It's that simple, and I know what many, if not most, Sox fans would agree. It's only the blowhards at WEEI that care otherwise.

That's it!

Patrick Stewart loves nudity!

Now if that doesn't get your attention ...

Anyway, not much to say except that this clip is brilliant and explains my snappy title for today's post. Enjoy!

iPod Top 10 & another damn show to watch

So, I've somehow been sucked into watching Battlestar Galactica, the revived Sci-Fi Channel series that started back up a few years ago. I was honestly surprised how much I liked it (even if the general plot reminded me of the Macross Saga of Robotech and the effects were very Firefly.) We'll see how it goes, but it seems to have it all there: cool ships, mass destrucion, fun characters, etc. However, where are the robotic teddybears? Thats what I ask you folks? Where are the robotic teddybears?!

Here is my current iPod top 10. Enjoy!
10 Between the Moon & the Ocean - the Bon Savants
9 This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life - Born Ruffians
8 Esther's - Amon Tobin
7 The Sons of Cain - Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
6 Rachel Says - Campaign for Real-Time
5 Scenic World - Beirut
4 Did I Step On Your Trumpet? - Danielson
3 The Prayer - Bloc Party
2 Rut! - B for Brontosaurus
1 Made of Steam - Dengue Fever

2007 Simulations and Predictions

Is it that time of year again?

I've run 160 simulations of the 2007 MLB season on Baseball Mogul and my predictions are out.

And who is my 2007 World Series Pick? The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim! Woo!

Some comments for your enjoyment:
- The Red Sox finish second in the AL East behind Toronto ... but miss the playoffs again
- Three teams have no Post Season appearances - Tampa and Chicago (AL) (all AL teams ...)
- The team with the great "Standard Deviation" Award? Pittsburgh, who finish below 5th place 61% of the time, yet still has 6% Post Season appearance (plus one WS win!)
- Most wide open division? NL West with 4 teams at >10% chance of winning the division (sorry Colorado).
- Least wide open? NL East ... Mets all the way.
- Kansas City wins the AL Central! (Well, once).
- Most out of the blue WS wins? Washington, Pittsburgh and Texas. Go figure.

Enjoy!

Another new review

Another day, another review of a follow-up album:

Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City

Busy busy!

Two new posts

Two new reviews, two new disappointments. Well, a bit of a disappointment for one, a bigger disappointment for the other.

Enjoy!

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder

Chained to the bitch mistress again

Ah yes, another fine 3 day span with the MC-ICP-MS.

And a reward for anyone who can tell me what a "Bagnold Tube" is. Or a "Fluidisation Rig". Bah!

That's that

1 week until pitchers & catchers report. Woo!

My current iPod top 10
10 Rachel Says - Campaign for Real Time
9 Between the Moon & the Ocean - Bon Savants
8 The Prayer - Bloc Party
7 The Sons of Cain - Ted Leo/Pharmacists
6 Did I Step On Your Trumpet? - Danielson
5 Scenic World - Beirut
4 Bloodstone - Amon Tobin
3 This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life - Born Ruffians
2 Made of Steam - Dengue Fever
1 Rut! - B for Brontosaurus