Beowulf - Westminster & 5th CD Review

Beowulf have, believe it or not, been around since the early 80’s. They were one of the original Venice Beach, California punk/hardcore bands who, according to some, helped define the scene. Truth be told, though, no one really remembers any of the Venice Beach bands from the 80’s outside of Suicidal Tendencies. More than two decades after the release of their first album, and more than a decade since their last studio album, Beowulf have put together Westminster & 5th, a throwback to the Venice scene of ages past.

Throwback is the definitely the most obvious and appropriate way to classify this album. It feels like it was actually released 20 years ago. The album cover is probably the most basic cover to grace a CD’s front in years. The recording quality is relatively murky, with everything feeling like it was recorded directly onto a four-track in someone’s garage and then burned to a CD. Almost all of the songs are in the 2-3 minute length range and tend to re-use the same hardcore punk riffs over and over. Heck, even the font used throughout the liner notes is a script that I haven’t seen actively used since 1996. This album simply feels old.

Don't get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a release hearkening back to genres past. Lord knows we need another metalcore band about as much as Rosie O’Donnell needs another cheeseburger, but there isn’t anything on Westminster & 5th that will keep your interest longer than a minute or two. 16 tracks of repetitive skate punk is hard to stomach, especially when the songs are as boring as these.

Usually skate punks bands would at least have interesting, spirited, or funny lyrics to make up for the lack of variation in the musical structures of their genre, but in Beowulf’s case you get songs about NASCAR, beer, hillbillies, hick love songs, loving God, driving cars, getting drunk, and auctions. It’s amazing, really, that they could cover so much backwater hick territory on only one album.

Some credit should be given to the members of Beowulf for giving it a shot more than a decade after their last proper release, especially considering the amount of trauma that the death of their bassist had previously caused the band. Still, this album is far from memorable and will only have the tiniest amount of interest from anyone outside of skate punk diehards and Beowulf’s few remaining fans.

Thumbs are Useful

I bet you take your thumbs for granted. I know I do. You know how I realized this? I sprained my thumb pretty decently on Tuesday during my ultimate frisbee game. Right now pretty much half of the inside of my palm, my entire thumb, and the outside of my thumb area is black, blue, swollen, and sore. Moving my thumb (in the limited amount of range that the spraining allows) doesn't hurt at all. It's putting any pressure on it that really doesn't feel so nice.

I didn't think it would be a big deal, but even little stuff like typing this post is different with a thumb out of commission. Pounding down on the space bar or using my thumb for the usual keyboard shortcuts I'm used to isn't going so hot, mostly because I have a very firm keyboard. It's hard to adjust your typing pattern to accommodate the lack of use of a thumb.

Going to the bathroom is fun. Undoing buttons is a horrible pain in the ass. Attempting to put on pants doesn't work so well. Grabbing a can of pop or a glass has to be done with the other hand. I had to switch the hand I eat with. Thankfully it's not my throwing hand so I can still play in my ultimate game tonight... although catching things is going to be a bitch, isn't it?

Anyways, the moral of the story is don't injure your thumb. It really blows.

Actually Interesting to Watch

Monday night I stayed in town after work so Kristi and I could go see Knocked Up (great movie by the way). On our way back to her apartment we stopped by a local gas station to grab some ice cream to help offset the ungodly hot weather outside. Deciding on the new (at least to me) Ben & Jerry's flavor Half Baked, which is chocolate and vanilla ice cream mixed together with cookie dough and brownies and slathered in fat calories, we checked out and got ready to walk home when a man hurriedly pushed his wife and daughter into the gas station.

He told us to stay inside as there was a fight outside. Being a guy, I was curious and as I looked out the window, sure enough there were two kids tossing punches, grabbing shirts, rolling around on the ground, and pretty much looking like they've never been in a fight before.

These two kids were probably 16-18 years old, pretty scrawny, and appeared to be not really trying while they were fighting, but I think that again comes back to this looking like their first fighting experience. Eventually one kid got enough half assed punches and slaps in on the other to come out as the "winner" of the bout.

It was at this time the "loser" came walking into the gas station all in a huff. He went to the back of the store, still fuming, and grabbed what appeared to be a broom handle or something resembling it and walked back outside with purpose in his stride.

It was this moment in time where I realized there was probably no danger for outsiders in this fight. Initially I didn't know if knives or guns or any other stupid fight accessory would be pulled out, but since the kid had to come into the store to find something to use to take the fight to the next level, I figured everyone else was probably pretty safe.

As we left we didn't get to see the rest of the fight, but in under 30 seconds after having left the gas station, the kid who grabbed the broom handle came running back around from the other side of the building holding a bottle of what appeared to be Mountain Dew up in the air, all the while proclaiming how awesome he was.

For me, this whole situation was really very quite amusing. It's not often I get to see petty little fights such as this. Seeing real everyday people fight is so much different than watching boxing or ultimate fighting in that, well, it's just funny. Most people don't, by nature, know how to fight, which is probably a good thing... because if they did the fight would have been over so much quicker.

Black Light Burns - Cruel Melody CD Review

Let’s face it, we all listened to Limp Bizkit back in their heyday. You couldn’t avoid them. Looking back, 99% of us now realize what a mistake it was for anyone to have ever signed that band to a record contract. The one bright spot in the band, however, was Wes Borland. He was a guitarist who seemed to have some decent chops, but was stuck in a band that wouldn’t let him really flex his muscle, so when Borland moved on from Bizkit-land, he really went out on a limb with his first solo project Big Dumb Face, which dabbled in genres from all over the map. Considering how all over BDF was, Borland again didn't seem to be finding a realm to call his own. Later, he tried to give Limp Bizkit another chance, which didn’t work out (who didn't see that coming), and then tried a stint at playing guitar with the nearly talentless From First to Last. He simply couldn't seem to find a place to fit in, and he has now again tried to come into his own with Black Light Burns. Unlike his past endeavors, this time he seems to have found a focus for his talents and a band to feel at home in.

Black Light Burns, basically, sound like a mix of early Nine Inch Nails styled industrial, Marilyn Manson, and a strong focus on guitars. It would seem that this mix surfaced from the combination of Borland (the rock oriented member of the group) and bandmates Danny Lohner and Josh Freese (both previously being involved with both Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle). This mix, for the most part, actually works, whereas some other bands who have tried their hands at it (Filter or Ungod era Stabbing Westward) have not been able to mesh the two together seamlessly.

The album has a very unfortunate start by putting the worst track of the album out front. “Mesopotamia” would be hard pressed to even make it on to a b-sides of b-sides Marilyn Manson album. It’s repetitive, lacks maturity, and doesn’t show the band really doing what they do best — alternating between the electronically subdued and the progressively guitar heavy sounds they create. “Animal”, the next track, shows the band putting a little more thought into what they’re doing, but still seems a lot like an update of something Trent Reznor would have written for Petty Hate Machine.

It’s not until you get into the middle of the album that it really starts a true flow, with some extremely mellow passages to offset and accentuate the heavier moments. Throughout songs such as “Cruel Melody”, “The Mark”, and “Stop a Bullet”, it feels more like an actual group effort instead of seeming like the band was writing around Borland’s guitar lines. The final three tracks of the album see the entire group pulling back from the aggressive side of things to put together about 20 minutes of ambient, down-tempo, and depression inducing sounds, which is the complete opposite end of the spectrum that the album started on. This change over the course of the album showcases the range of the band and what they are capable of creating.

This isn’t the same Wes Borland that was miscast as a member of Limp Bizkit and his other endeavors. This is Borland surrounded by competent and talented musicians who are able to bring just as much to the table. Industrial is a genre that isn’t often tackled today, especially guitar oriented industrial, but Black Light Burns jumped right in, surprising us all with a very solid debut in Cruel Melody.

I Watched Some More Movies

Yep, here are some more movies I saw recently. Complete review thread here.

Stranger than Fiction (7.5/10): I was expecting this to be more of a comedy (it does have Will Farrell in it after all), but it was most definitely a drama with some comedic elements thrown in. As a drama, it was quite interesting and held some very strong, emotional moments, but the story faltered every now and again, failing to keep me totally interested. Most of the funny moments aren't necessarily laugh-out-loud as they are slight chuckle funny. Still, Emma Thompson and Will Farrell were great in their respective roles. It's just too bad Queen Latifa had to be in it at all.

Ocean's 13 (8/10): Ocean's 11 was a quick paced, totally fun, guessing game, heist film that kept me entertained all the way through. Ocean's 12 bored me to tears and, ultimately, pissed me off when the ending was revealed. Ocean's 13 is extremely close to 11 in feel, dialogue, and fun. In fact, I would even go out on a limb and say that 13 was only slightly inferior to 11, simply because it lacks a little in originality being a sequel and all. The cast, again, was phenomenal. Pitt, Clooney, Damon, Cheadle--they're all great. Definitely a must see movie.

2 Days in the Valley (7/10): I had interest in seeing this since it starred James Spader, Jeff Daniels, an early Teri Hatcher, and Charlize Theron's first movie roll. I didn't know what it was really about, however. Turns out it was one of those "multiple plot lines converge as the movie goes on" type of films. The complete lack of any connecting fiber between stories at the beginning of the movie did leave me feeling a little cold and having some of the finer plot elements (such as character motivation, backstory, etc.) glossed over didn't help. It was still entertaining enough, however.

Saw III (6.5/10): The first two Saw movies were horror guilty pleasures for me. The third? Not so much. The first 15 minutes of the movie, I kid you not, have next to nothing to do with the overall plot of the movie. They're gory scenes just for gore's sake. The main plot line of the movie seemed to lack the urgency of the first two and the main torturee was a character you had no like for whatsoever. I felt no connection and didn't care if he lived, died, or whatever else. The ending, which tied everything together, was mildly interesting, but overall this was the weakest of the three Saw movies. It shouldn't be too hard to make the fourth one better.

The Email You

"Hey there, kiddo. Been a while since we've been in touch, eh?"

It was that statement, spoken to me over the phone by one of my co-workers, that made me re-examine the "contact" I had with people that I work with. What really made me ponder the notion of communication wasn't that I'd actually been out of contact with my co-worker, but the fact that she'd start a phone conversation like this when I communicated with her daily, sometimes multiple times a day.

I asked for an explanation because, oddly, I'd just been emailing her most of the morning. I didn't understand how we could have been "out of touch". Her response was something I had never thought about--"We haven't talked in a while. Yeah, we email, but that's not real. I'm talking with the fake you."

What's crazy, is I find myself agreeing with her. You're never really you when you're emailing (or texting or instant messaging or, heck, blogging). Every email I send, I end in "Thanks," or something similar. How often are my conversations that way? I know that's kind of stretching in looking for differences as salutations and closing and other such conventions are standard in written communication, but when you get beyond that, email communication is completely different and, the more I really think about it, can't substitute for actually talking to someone.

With email, you gather your thoughts, put them down into a well formed (at least I hope so, but I question how much thought kids put into emails nowadays) communique, and send them to the recipient. The recipient then reads the email, decides upon what his/her response should be, and returns a well thought out communique.

Looking at it in that light, it almost feels like you're communicating with a machine or responding to essay questions that are a part of a never ending exam. There is such little interaction that is spontaneous, emotional, or organic that I sometimes find myself craving for just a quick call with anyone or a chance to talk with someone in the office here, even though no one I work with is based here.

My co-worker is right. Simply emailing back and forth isn't "keeping in touch". It's sending coordinated updates. True communication, in the form of being "in touch", is 100% interactive and takes place simultaneously between two or more people. This is something email, text messaging, or any other form of non-verbal communication will ever be able to accomplish.

So pick up the phone and call someone every now and again. I know it might seem daunting, as I know I sometimes don't take the time to actually call people, but it's light years better than an email.

Makes My Stomach Churn

In an internet conversation I was involved in, the topic of cats and flame wars came up together so I figured it would be funny to add to the conversation a cat throwing a fireball or something of that nature. I'm sure by now, with the whole LOLCATS fad going around, that someone would have made a picture I could use. So I consulted the Google.

When I searched for pictures of said criteria above, I was horrified when a bunch of news articles were returned talking about how a cat, set on fire, was used as a molotov cocktail of sorts in an attempt to set a house on fire. I'm stunned and a little sick to my stomach. Who does this type of stuff? And where can I find them? So I can set them on fire and throw them at a building. The human race sucks.

Waiting for a Miracle - Self Titled CD Review

Waiting for a Miracle are an emo band at heart. The heartfelt vocals bring to mind many late 90’s emo bands. The song structures follow the well established emo template. The angsty lyrics fit in perfectly with the appropriate amount of whining and pining. So what keeps Waiting for a Miracle from being a complete cookie-cutter copy of a copy? Well, I don’t really know…

For all intents and purposes, these guys should be a decidedly average band in a horribly outplayed genre that fell from its glory days a few years ago, yet you’ll find them infectious and endearing, much like a lost dog you can’t help but enjoy spending time, with no matter how normal and blasé the beast is. There are little things that break from the mold, such as the occasional double bass roll, intricate guitar passage, or breakdown, but those moments don’t so much set the band apart as much as they remind you of other bands, albeit with small changes to their staple sounds.

For an emo band, oddly, you'll find there are some decidedly metalcore elements to the band. As mentioned before, there are a few pseudo-breakdowns thrown in throughout the record, but they are the tamest breakdowns I have ever heard, not because they are bad, but because of the way they are employed. Instead of bringing them to the forefront of the mix, they are pushed into the back and used as accentuating elements for the lead guitar and vocals. You have to give credit to Ken Susi of Unearth for having enough restraint to keep the breakdowns and heavy guitar elements in the background because this band could have easily been turned into a terrible metalcore band without too much trouble, which is the absolute last thing anyone needs right now.

They didn’t end up being a terrible metalcore band, thankfully, but instead turned out to be a metalcore influenced emo band. It’s very interesting to see the different metalcore staples being used in a totally different way to spice up some pretty standard emo tracks. For example, listen to some of the guitar sweeps in “They Call Me ‘One Time’” and notice how easily they could be used in a metal track. Or how about the breakdowns and bass drum progression on “End this Tonight”? Crank those elements up a little and you’d have kids hardcore dancing in seconds.

I know it’s not something many people might think about, but if you ever did wonder what Jimmy Eat World or The Receiving End of Sirens might sound like if they grew up on metalcore, Waiting for a Miracle will clear things up. It’s great to hear a band using heavy elements with enough restraint to keep them from being just another boring bandwagon jumper.

My Stock Picks

A while back I started a fantasy stock market account with Motley Fool's CAPS service. It's free and I thought it would be fun to see how some of my picks would do if I were to invest real money. With my fantasy picks, I was a little more daring that I normally would be with my real money.

However, I wondered how I'd fare against everyone else in the CAPS fantasy game if I listed what I am actually invested in, so that's what you see above -- my actual, real world investments. Obviously I'm invested in some heavier than others, but you can't tell that from the fantasy CAPS game. I don't think I'm faring too bad... except for stupid Xcel Energy. They need a good kick in the pants.

I Found My Bowl!

It's very rare that I take a lunch break at work and even more rare that I go eat out for lunch. Instead I bring in ramen, easy mac, soups, leftovers, popcorn, and other assorted things that can be made in a microwave and eaten quickly. I have too much crap to get done at work to blow an entire hour going out to grab food.

Since I almost always eat in my office, I have a set of silverware and a nice, big, multipurpose bowl in one of my drawers, along with a nice assortment of food. This bowl worked great for soup, easy mac, holding popcorn, chips, or anything else I could think of. It even worked for microwaving and holding left overs I might bring in.

Well, about 3 months ago I left this bowl in the shared kitchen sink to let the soap soak the easy mac off since I let it crust on while being a part of a marathon teleconference call. I totally forgot about it and didn't remember it until a few work days later. I had no need to use it since I worked at home one day and took another day off. When I did remember and rushed to find my favorite bowl, it was gone.

Sadly, I lived bowl-less for a few weeks and then broke down and bought a replacement. I couldn't replace bowl-y, but I needed some way to eat things that required the microwave. The memory of bowl-y lived on with me, however.

Today, I needed a mug to make some mocha coffee mix crap that I had sitting in my cube in order to get my afternoon caffeine fix, and remembering I took mine home to wash, I had to scour the kitchen to find a mug. In the process, I discovered bowl-y! He was hidden in a cupboard that I'd not ever been in before. So now I have two bowls!

But what do I do now that bowl-y is back? Even though I loved bowl-y and he'll always have a place in my heart, I've moved on and formed a tight relationship with bowl-io. It's going to be a rough lunch time for the next few weeks as I adjust and try to keep my emotions under control.

Ahh... bowls. I'm really struggling for stuff to write about, aren't I? *Sigh*