The Filthy Lucre

1.27.11

3:53 pm

And now I am 30.

Still feel the same as when I was 17.

But with more sex.

A little more...

Received a plethora of amazing gifts from my best friends and family on Tuesday.

Basically, an industry standard home studio: Pro Tools, an M Box, sound dampening panels, an awesome mic (a Node, I believe) and mic stand.

I feel like a toddler that has been given a Stradivarius.

And I am terrified.

In a good way, but terrified nonetheless.

Just looking at the Pro Tools interface is...dear lord it's baffling...

I must now write and record songs for all those who presented me with this excellent stuff.

Whether they like it or not.

Had a mostly restful two days off; I purchased Dead Space 2 and finished Dead Space: Extraction, which is sort of a Dead Space 1.5, on-rails shooter that came out only for the Wii. It was added onto the PS3 version of Dead Space 2 because Sony rules and Microsoft blows children.

Or because there's more space on a Blu Ray, I'm not sure.

It's a nice little supplement to the original game.

I also started watching The West Wing again.

Oh my goodness that is prime Sorkin writing...

Speaking of which, the Oscar nominees were announced and The Social Network is everywhere.

As is True Grit, Black Swan and Inception.

I've never really been an Oscar person, but I've also never seen half of the year's best films without knowing they were, in fact, the year's best films, and one of my favorite bands doesn't usually get nominated for an Oscar.

Oh, and Reznor and Ross are totally going to win.

They're up against some classical pap from The King's Speech, some typical orchestral Zimmer stuff and...shit, I can't even remember the others.

As fitting or unfitting to that movie as that score is, it's definitely the most interesting one out there.

Very excited about their work on the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo remake.

I should watch the original soon...

Chris and I finished The Walking Dead as well.

Boy oh golly did they deviate from the comics...

Not really a cliffhanger ending, just sort of a "god damn I wish there were more episodes to watch right fucking now" ending.

I also put some more work in on Pesadilla and I am now one segment and a few credits from finishing.

Then, I start the authoring, which will hopefully not be an issue, and then...I am finished.

About two months after the trip, give or take...not too bad.

Party this weekend.

Who knows how that's going to go.

It might snow, you know...and we all know how seeing that fluffy, white stuff gently float from the sky makes us all insane with fear and grief.

POWDERED FUCKING WATER! IT'S POWDERED FUCKING WATER!!!!!

Anyway.

I'm 30.

Reflections Upon Turning 30

I have none.

Thank you.

I'm Sorry...What?

1.24.11

3:50 pm

Rumbating.

Lardamarcy.

Yakeyanmissit.

Tingsendat.

God damn are you Jamaicans unintelligible.

You're Ja-makin'-me want to throw grammar books and dictionaries at you.

Or machetes.

Anyway.

Made massive progress on Pesadilla over the weekend.

Like,  85% done.

Tried dropping some of the actual feature into the authoring program...no go, I'm going to need to pick up some DVD+R DLs for this one.

Certainly hope all y'all DVD players can handle these...

The menus are looking a bit tight, might have to compromise something there...

But, I found out I can do a shit ton of cool authoring stuff.

If it fits...

I only have the credits, some Santa Fe stuff and the Party section...then organizing everything and then...?

Yeah, that might be it.

I'm taking tomorrow and Wednesday off as it is my Birthday, so I should hopefully have things done by then.

At this point, after having seen every picture and video clip taken on this trips numerous times, I must say, next time we have to get more pictures of the people.

There are three (3) pictures of Grace, three (3) of Phil and Grace and one (1) of just Phil.

Meanwhile, there are, literally, dozens of me.

Why did God curse me with such...photogenetism?

Also, there is exactly ONE picture of the six of us.

What the fuck, people?

Are we, as individuals and as a group, less important and beautiful than New Mexico?!

I say thee NAY, mothafuckas!!!

I say thee eff that ess!!!!

EFF IT!!!

Hard.

Also, next time, we need all of us.

This decision has nothing to do with sentimentality or anything like that, I'm just getting sick of explaining every single joke that Phil and Grace weren't there for.

It gets old.

Fast.

All right.

Enough of that.

Chris was away this weekend and, when she got back, we watched The Assassination of Jesse James By The Longest Movie Title I Have Seen In Quite A While.

We were excited to get on a small "Western" kick after seeing True Grit last weekend.

Folks, The Assassination of Etc. is NOT the same type f movie as True Grit.

It's a lot less...Coen-y.

A bit too much Oscar gloss and arty shots that just went on for fucking ever.

Sam Rockwell did great and Casey Affleck did really supergreat.

Brad Pitt was using his "slightly Southern" voice and did just fine as well.

It wasn't what either of us expected, not they either of us know anything about Jesse James.

I know a little about Jesse Jane, the porn star.

I also know that her movie, The Assassination of Jesse Jane's Ass By Ten Guys, is also, not quite like True Grit.

In a few days we'll have The Proposition.

I only know that Nick Cave either wrote and/or directed that.

So we'll see.

After Chris went off to bed, I watched Greenberg, the recent Ben Stiller movie.

In a way, Stiller kind of reminds me of Crispin (Hellion) Glover as he has these two discernable sides to his acting career: the mainstream Fockers, Tropic Thunder, Something About Mary side, and the more subtle, less retarded Permanent Midnight, Flirting With Disaster side.

Greenberg is totally the latter.

It's almost shocking to see Stiller acting so well.

In the movie...nothing really happens, but the writer/director does a good job of making it an interesting nothing, yeah?

You really get to know the character Stiller plays.

At the heart of the role, he's really just a hugely socially awkward guy, but Stiller does it so well, you don't mind.

It's not the greatest film you'll ever see, but it's a new look at Ben Stiller, specifically one or two moments of really excellent acting towards the end.

Returned our cable box (I haven't turned on the TV to watch TV in about six months) and bought Patton Oswalt's book, "Zombie Spaceship Wasteland".

Still have yet to finish Garp, start the new King, Butcher or "Perdido Street Station" or obtain the Ender books.

I should be set for a while.

Tomorrow I'm picking up Dead Space 2 and happy to do so.

Like I'd mentioned, I'd sort of lost interest in the game, but after playing the demo?

Yeah, back on it.

These guys nail atmosphere like no one else.

One might say it's just Silent Hill/Resident Evil in space, but a.) that's fucking awesome, b.) when there's a good RE or SH game out again, I'll give that complaint some clout and c.) DS2 is 1080p and you can see them working the shit out of every one of those pixels.

The game looks unbelievable.

And the sound design is so damn effective...you'll hear a small noise, like someone tapping their fingernails on an empty soda can, which seems to come from the ceiling and, once you assure yourself nothing is going to explode from the air vents and cut your face off, you'll forget about it. The higher you go, the more pronounced the sound gets until, an hour later, you're facing the three-story nightmare that's been punching it's way through a huge, steel wall the whole time.

So, I'm going to be pooping a bit when I get that up and running.

What you see above are the plans for my 30th Birthday: finish Pesadilla, play some scary games and spend some time with my One and Only.

This weekend, there is party and pizza and cuppy cake and fondue and pool.

And that is good.

10:37 pm

Just (finally) finished The World According To Garp by John Irving.

And I figured out what it is I liked about A Prayer for Owen Meany (a later book of his) that made me want to go back and read Garp.

It's the fact that there is a complete story in his books, the main characters never just pop up or disappear.

He writes them from birth to death (and a bit before and after in Garp) and everything in between. Sometimes that's actually a bit of a drawback because, as I had said, the book dragged at times, but that was only because Irving was focusing on the life of the main character (in this case, T.S. Garp), making him more real.

When something is referred to, it doesn't merely feel like foreshadowing what it's first mentioned, like a device as subtle as the author calling you up and saying "Wink, wink", it just feels like something in the character's life coming up again; more cyclical than heavy-handed.

He does an excellent job of showing the humor and sadness in life too, but without really hitting you over the head with it.

Plus he isn't overly precious with his characters either, ever one is subject to something awful at times, and it feels genuinely surprising in most cases.

Overall, a good one.

I'll probably read more of his, but not for a while.

Actually, reading over the above list of potential and upcoming reading material, I forgot one: in about 7 days, I'll have a brand new P. W. Tucker to read as well.

I'll stumble through the rest of the week reading comics and then, starting February 1st, I'll jump into Phil's fourth (finished) novel, One By One, which, if Will is telling the truth is a biography of the band Foo Fighters.

Very excited about that one as, despite what Phil thinks I thought of Dark Fae or Mother, Maiden, No Crone, I do enjoy his writing immensely.

2011 is looking to be an excellent literary year for me.

As a bystander, at least.

Oh, and Phil, right around the time you get to your ninth or tenth novel this year, can I suggest you write one about me?

Not only do I think it would be an excellent opportunity for you to write about me, but I would love to, finally, be immortalized in a book.

Written by you.

So...think about it.

In return I could write you a song...

Fuck You, MTA

1.18.11

3:58 pm

First things first, I'm done with these god damn cutesy signs on the subway that keep gently yet firmly suggesting that New Yorkers stop bitching about the shitty service we've gotten over the past three years.

We pay for a service, and you are not providing the service, there is nothing wink wink laughy joke joke about that.

As for the results? Wow, I now KNOW that my train will be here in three minutes instead of guessing it will be here in three minutes.

That was worth three months a year of getting home late, thanks MTA!

If you must put up signs, tell us why, exactly, the fuck our service is fucked and what, exactly, the fuck these mysterious improvements are.

The only noticeable difference I've seen in years, aside from these thoroughly necessary "train clocks", are the new cars.

THAT is a worthwhile improvement.

The rides are smoother and it no longer sounds like demon rape when you take a train somewhere, good job, way to go.

But that was fucking years ago.

AND YOU'RE RAISING THE FARES AGAIN?!

That...oh Jesus FUCK!

I understand that I am pissing in the ocean with this, but it has just gotten to me.

The poop stars will be aligned in a few days when my train home is fucked (adding and extra 10 to 30 minutes, depending, for the next three weeks) AND I have to get a new MetroCard, at the new rate, for the first time.

And yes, I know it's only an extra $15 or whatever and I probably spend more on Starbucks or shampoo or rice pudding in a week than that, but what am I getting for my $15 a month?

Netflix, for an extra $15 a month, will give me three more discs, but the MTA?

Snarky signs telling me to stop being a whiny cunt?

I'd rather pay $14 extra a month to have some whore spit herpes onto my genitals.

And you know what the best part is?

There is not...one....single...thing I can do about this.

I suppose I could walk from Long Island City to the Upper East Side every day.

That'll show them.

Take that, MTA, you'll not get my $104 a month!

You know what $104 is to the MTA?

The tittle on one 'i' on one of their "Eat Our Shit and Smile, New York!" campaign signs.

That's further sandpaper on my scrotum; it's our money paying for these ads.

WE ARE PAYING THE MTA TO TELL US TO SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

THAT must give a few people down at HQ an irony chub or two, the sadistic anuses.

So, since I'm getting butt fucked without my permission, I've decided to help, in some small way, by adding to their excellent and helpful signs.

Tell me what you think...

Improvements don't just happen, dickface, we have to fuck you over for weeks at a time to add something unimportant that makes things just the tiniest bit better. Think of it as getting anally raped but getting a cookie afterwards. A small cookie. And an ice cube for your torn and bleeding asshole.

Improving, non-stop. Well, one stop. The full stop to the service you pay for every month. That's cool right? Never mind, I'm a just a sign, I can't answer...but I can ruin your morning. And piss in your coffee. Happy Monday! Hope you like transferring four times in a half hour!

Moving on to happier news, over the weekend, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won the Critic's Choice and Golden Globe awards for Best Musical Score for The Social Network.

Not really sure how this affects my life at all...bragging rights maybe?

Then again, Randy Neuman has also, at one time or another, won these same awards, so, there goes that...

Finally finished Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood this weekend; not sure if I like the ending, but I am sure I want that third game NOW.

I'd also like a pony.

Finished that Friday night so I had no video games to distract me from editing El Viaje de la Pesadilla all weekend.

I did have the complete Justice League and The Expendables to distract me though.

JL holds up almost as well as Batman and slightly better than Superman.

As for Expendables, I have to say, I thought it would be more over the top.

And I thought that these guys would be more heavily featured in it.

I also thought, based on the title, that more of them would have died...like, I don't know...one.

But, no, all of them made it through.

Like I had mentioned before, they all looked so ravaged by age, seamed. Even the requisite hot chick was over forty.

There were a couple fun moments, like the scene with Arnie, Sly and Bruce.

And Dolph Lungren is always scary, 57 years old or not.

The guy who plays Angel Bautista in Dexter plays a despotic general on some island nation.

Couldn't really take him seriously.

Neither him nor "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

The movie should have been bigger, more ridiculous, maybe winked at the audience a few times.

The inclusion of "The Boys Are Back In Town" over the closing credits took a lot away from a movie that didn't have much to begin with.

I hate that fucking song.

It's the exact same as having some guy in a hat walk on screen and say, while winking hugely, "Uh oh!!!  Here we go agggaaaaaain!!!!"

And I think they used it over the end of Wild Hogs in he exact same capacity.

Which was, from what I understand, the kind of movie you'd expect to have that song in, dig?

Also went to see True Grit with Chris.

Excellent movie, the Coen brothers did it again.

At one point, after Josh Brolin has been introduced and Matt Damon's character has sustained an injury to his tongue, all three actors are neigh unintelligible, it was delightfully funny.

Great casting, great screenplay, like I said, excellent movie.

The young girl in it is a fantastic actor.

See it.

Now.

After we returned home from said movie, Chris made an amazing meal and then the most delicious non-gluten, non-dairy chocolate cake I have ever eaten.

I'm not being nice here: IT TASTED LIKE REAL CAKE. GOOD, REAL CAKE.

Plus she whipped up homemade coconut cream icing.

In a nutshell: we both had boners.

Then we blazed through the first three episodes of the Walking Dead mini series.

AMC...holy shit...way to go.

They did great adapting the books, but the tone...the tone is fucking perfect.

Normally, in a zombie movie (or show, whatever), you have to deal with certain tropes: the first long distance encounter with a zombie, the first up-close encounter with a zombie, the "they don't die" moment, the "they don't die unless you destroy the brain" moment, the exposition scene, etc.

Each of these necessary evils were done with a quality I haven't seen in a while.

And the makeup is, by far, the best I have ever seen, hands down.

The camera knows it too, lingering where other zombie movies show you quick glimpses so as not to see the edge of the latex or the smear of obviously fake blood.

This is the best zombie media I've experienced since reading World War Z.

And the filmmakers' decision to add some elements not in the books is keeping me on my toes as well.

And, although I've had the ending of this series/season spoiled for me, I am happy to take the ride.

I'm already anticipating the sadness I'll feel when the sixth and final episode ends.

But it will be a satisfying sadness, like eating the last, most delicious lobster on the planet.

Or something.

Going back to Viaje, I'm not really sure how to measure this, but I think I might be about halfway done.

The menus are almost all done and the special stuff is too.

I have a few more segments to edit...but I think that's it.

Then the problem is compressing this to a size that will fit on a DVD and still be watchable.

Really worried about that...

Had a wonderful breakthrough last night when I found the perfect music to match the images and mood of our jaunt up a random hill in Tres Lomas at sunset. I had maybe four songs and none of them were fitting perfectly, almost, but not quite, then I typed 'mountain' into my iTunes and my answer popped right up.

Perfect.

The first tape has been totally imported and mostly edited in and I have maybe fifteen minutes or so of the second tape to be transferred.

Man, I hope this all comes together.

If, for some reason, I can't get this stuff on a disc, I'll just dropbox each section to Phil, Grace, Will and Diana.

I'd much rather it fit on a disc, as I've worked quite a bit on the menus and hidden stuff, but, what will happen will happen.

If I had to say, you might see this thing in February.

Maybe.

Maybe late February.

Maybe.

About to head out and pick up Little Big Planet 2 for Chris and I and Mass Effect 2 for me.

This series, according to people who own Xboxes, is the reason to own an Xbox, and they just made it for the PS3.

So, here we go.

I am promising myself to not open either until I get further with Viaje though.

DISCIPLINE.

I'm out.

7:19 pm

Back from my standard, delicious lunch.

Picked up LBP2, but not Mass Effect 2.

It isn't going anywhere and there's no way I'm going to play both games at once, plus the price is just going to decrease over time, so yes.

Also, this will get me through Viaje sooner.

Time to read some Exiles.

The Force Is Strong With This One

1.14.11

4:06 pm

So it seems as if I have become aligned with the Dark Side of the Force.

In a nutshell, there are a handful of people I actively dislike at my place of work; two of them were fired and a third one had TWO relatives die in ONE week.

Folks...I have decided to use my evil powers for good...like Spawn.

Spawn is awesome.

The comic, not the movie.

The HBO animated series as well, that was awesome.

What the hell am I talking about?

Oh yeah.

I've become a Sith.

Anyway, I didn't want people to die, I just wanted them to not be around me, or just out of earshot as they are all very loud, annoying people.

I guess what I'm getting at is...does anyone know any...redirection spells or anything? Because, things seems to be happening, yes, but not the things I want to happen.

I just want quiet, solace, not death.

Ugh, this is soooo monkey's paw.

Okay, I'm going to try and make a wish that not even the monkey's paw can screw up:

I wish that the people I dislike at my workplace had no tongues.

I think that works.

Hm...I guess we'll see.

Changing the subject.

I plan to do a lot of work on The Nightmare Journey this weekend.

Can't supply a release date yet, but it will be closer by the end of this weekend.

Might also see True Grit as well.

Oh, and finish Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood as I'm about 90% done.

Could that be all?

Could that be ALL?!

Hm.

You know, reading back over that monkey's paw wish, it seems like removing the tongues of the people I found noisy might actually be too monkey's paw, you know?

Like, I'd wish for the people to be quiet, and the monkey's paw would twist that and remove their tongues...so...I wonder what my wish twisted would be...maybe something worse, or maybe something a lot less intense...god damn I wish I had a monkey's paw.

Ah well.

If anyone I hate at my job loses a tongue, I'll let you know.

5:00 pm

Just got off the phone with Phil.

Discussed the fact that "immolate" does not, originally, have anything to do with fire, only total destruction and then we talked, at length, about his daily video blogs.

I think I might have helped a bit.

If you're reading this and aren't Phil or Will, you should check out his project at http://www.firstmillionwords.com/; basically Phil is writing 1,000,000 words this year (the equivalent of about one novel a month).

He started on January 1st (I think) and needs to write about 2,800 words a day, every day, to accomplish this.

His aim is "to expunge from my mind all of the crud that needs expunging before I can begin writing in my own true voice".

Not that he's a bad writer at all, but, his words, not mine.

It's an interesting idea and worth checking out.

So is the SNL skit starring Jon Hamm entitled "Jon Hamm's John Ham".

Go check out both.

Tabula Rza

1.10.11

7:26 pm

WELCOME BACK TO THE BINARY MOTHERFUCKAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!!!!

Anyway.

Sat down and did a bunch of work on "El Viaje de la Pesadilla" this weekend.

Stepped away from editing the main feature to work on some DVD menu stuff and some additional features.

I'm terrified this thing isn't going to fit on a disc.

Or, if it does, that the quality will be shit.

Whatever.

I suppose we'll see.

Almost half done, but I plan on grinding a bit to catch up with myself.

About 90% finished with AC: Brotherhood and suddenly things are happening so fast that bits of plot are getting left out and the game is feeling rushed; which is shitty as it's been great thus far.

Started playing a game called Amnesia last night.

Amnesia is a PC only game that's supposed to be more frightening than anything released in recent memory.

The sound is done very well, but my graphics card is a bit lacking so things either look choppy and beautiful or Wolfenstein and smooth, both resulting in shit gameplay.

I think I might have to go with the latter when I eventually start encountering enemies that can hurt me.

Actually, after about three hours of (veeery slow, cautious) playing last night, I finally encountered my first enemy that's able to kill me.

And they did.

And I was terrified.

I think the game is going to get more exciting from here on out.

Sounds can be very effective, but unless you can be harmed by the thing making the sound, it starts to get old.

That's actually a problem I have with most of the Silent Hill series (and the earlier Resident Evil games); in any one game there are only so many enemy types and they all make very specific sounds, so much so that you are able to enter a room, not see any enemies and yet still determine exactly what type of enemy is in the room and therefore ready yourself with whatever weapon is most effective against said enemy. Once they've introduced all the enemies, the ambient sound is less effective because you know it's only sound, nothing that can harm you. I haven't played enough Amnesia to know if it has the same problem, but I hope not.

Anyway, in Amnesia, you have no weapons, only tinderboxes (for lighting the lamps, torches and candles you find scattered around the gloomy castle) and a lantern, both which offer only a small respite from the darkness and are finite.

Oh, and too much time spent in the dark drives you insane.

Lot of tension in this game.

You're either holding a light which allows you to be seen by enemies or you're in the dark, losing your mind.

Other than the ability to light a lantern and carry it around with you, you can pick items up and throw them, perhaps for the purpose of distracting your unkillable adversaries, I'm not sure.

They've been doing a great job thus far, but I've only been scared once or twice, which might be a compliment based on my history with survival horror games.

There's been a slight Lovecraftian feel to the game, but not specific; merely mention of Algeria and tombs in the desert.

Graphics are a real bummer...

Will play more of that some time soon.

Sat down with Chris and watched the latest Jeunet movie, Micmacs.

It's amazing.

Buy it on Blu Ray.

Twice.

As usual, the casting is perfect, the characters are brilliant and stand out and the sets, costumes and props are incredible.

I haven't watched COLC or Delicatessen in a while, but this might be my favorite of his.

Highly, highly recommended.

I've also been watching my way thought the complete Superman Animated series from the mid to late 90's.

Doesn't hold up as well as Batman but there are some gems, specifically the first appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk.

Great episode and great casting.

Hopefully the series will get better as it goes on, after all the "here's a new villain!" and "look, Superman has heat vision, oooooh!!!" episodes are over.

The next three are a three part story where Superman teams up with Batman.

Done and done.

Was able to check out Reznor's appearance at MOMA for the Times over the weekend.

He and Atticus Ross are now working on the score for the David Fincher remake of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo".

According to him, it doesn't sound the same as the score for "The Social Network".

Also, the full length "How To Destroy Angels" album doesn't sound like the EP.

Honestly, that "news" is to real news what Twinkies are to food.

He did say that the goddamn deluxe/surround version of The Fragile is coming out some time around Spring.

I'll believe it when I pre-order the exclusive limited edition version and the redesigned tour t-shirt for $590.

Maybe.

Have an audition tomorrow morning for Athenos yogurt.

Yogurt.

*sigh*

And speaking of yogurt, Phil has started video blogging about his million word project.

Folks, I have never noticed how lush and full his eye lashes are!

That boy...whoo!

Is it all right if I come down there and sing to yoou?

I certainly hope so.

Because I've spent a lot of money on duct tape and Chapstick.

He also appears to be building a beard, as am I.

And Will, I believe.

We truly are three bearded friends.

I think it's gross how "beard" and "bread" are only one letter off.

Like, I don't want one in the other, are you nuts?

That's gross.

About halfway through The Word According To Garp by John Irving.

It has its ups and downs like he usually does but it isn't bad.

Also just started reading 100 Bullets.

If it doesn't get better, I'm going to stop.

All right.

I'm done.

A Review of Cake's 'Showroom of Compassion'

13.11

3:21 pm

 

Slightly less than a decade ago, one of my favorite bands, Cake, released the album "Pressure Chief".

Personally, I liked it as it was a Cake album. It wasn't the best Cake album and it didn't stack up to the previous four, but it was solid.

   

Seven motherfucking years later, they deigned to reach down from their geodesic smug hut/recording studio (solar and sense-of-self-importance powered, of course, no aluminum siding or feelings were hurt in the making of this record) and give us writhing, unworthy, licentious swine a new album.

It's called "Showroom of Compassion", it's 11 tracks and clocks in at about 41 minutes.

For all you Math Heads, that's:

• 1.57 new Cake songs per year
• 5.85 minutes of new Cake music per year
• 0.14 new Cake albums per year.

Give or take.

 

So.

The big question on everybody's* lips was: how the shit are Cake going to make an eleven track, forty-one minute album that's worth the seven years during which they produced NOTHING.

The simple answer is that they did not.

But.

But.

They DID manage to make an eleven track, forty-one minute album that's worth about three and a half of the seven years during which they produced nothing.

 

Much like 2001's "Comfort Eagle" marked Cake altering their tried and true Cake style of making Cake music, "Showroom of Compassion" does a little of that as well, with "more reverb" and "more piano" (so sayeth the band). Despite the presence of both "more reverb" and "more piano", it's a Cake album, pure and simple, and it's good.

Some of it.

There's a little bit of everything on "Showroom"; 'Sick of You' and 'Long Time' cover the "Cake radio single" angle while 'Bound Away' takes care of the "token waltz" and 'Federal Funding' gets filed under "snarky, over-obvious political songs". There's even an addition to the seldom replenished "instrumental" folder with 'Teenage Pregnancy'. 

Then there are a few extremes: 'Got To Move' (a song about how this person has got to move) and 'What's Now Is Now' (a song about how what's going on now...fuck you) are extremely boring songs that both seem so Cake-like as to actually borrow riffs and chord progressions from other Cake songs (whether or not this is actually the case, I'm not certain, but either way it amounts to the same) while "Easy To Crash" and "The Winter" do things other Cake songs never have. The former is a chilling reflection on how easy suicide is and the latter takes a sour look at the holidays and the winter season in general (alcohol, cigarettes and luxury goods/Christmas lights look desperate in this room/winter's light left me in the dark last night/and jingle bells are smothered in this gloom). Both songs stand out impressively and give the album that extra 0.5 reviewers should be tacking on when more reviews come out.

Another noteworthy change that Cake fans will pick up on is the final track, 'Italian Guy'. While it's not a great track, it breaks Cake's career long tradition of having final tracks that sound like final tracks. That might not really make sense, but Cake albums traditionally end with a slight downer of a song, more serious and grounded sounding whereas 'Italian Guy' is rife with playful staccato strings and floaty trumpets, leaving the listener with a sense of whimsy rather than closure, so whimsical at times that it sounds like it could have been done by They Might Be Giants in the 80's. Whatever the case, I prefer Cake's usual formula when it comes to album enders, but it is an interesting switch.

 

"Showroom of Compassion" is a good Cake album (the most back loaded in memory), better than their last.

It has more layers than one would expect from Cake, synths hiding behind and tagging along with the trademark Cake horn parts or echoing and harmonizing with the trademark Cake bass lines, making this their first album that requires some headphone listening.

It shows progress and that is terribly exciting.

But it's not worth waiting seven fucking years to hear.

Yes, I am still pissed about that.

However, I'd like to offer a solution: take less time to make albums.

Just throwing it out there, Cake.

Anyway, if you're a Cake fan, get the album, you'll like it, and you'll probably be less angry than me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* My

Flavor Packet

1.3.11

7:40 pm

There's a girl in the garden.

In the garden, there's a girl.

So much has happened in the past (period of time) that I can't even remember most of it.

Here goes: over the Christmas days, my parents and sister came to visit along with Christina's mother and sister.

We had a bunch interfamilial holiday stuff planned, all of which was to culminate on Sunday the 26th of December at our engagement party, thrown by my parents at Steamer's Landing on the Hudson River and joining, for the first time, members of my family and Christina's.

It was going to be...epic.

Then there was quite a bit of snow and that ended up being cancelled.

I was bummed for my parents, but relieved as I was god damned exhausted from the previous four days.

In the end, Chris and I went down to the restaurant and picked up the six or seven platters of food (shrimp, fruit, cheese and crackers, mini-burgers, crab salad on endive (pronounced on-DEEV, you Anglo mouth-rapists) and more and just brought them back to our place.

Our engagement party featured seven people and we were fine with that.

Christmas was a massive blow out, surpassing most of the ones that had come before it (except for when I was like 7 or 8 and got the Castle Eternia playset, that was fucking BALLS, yo) and everyone had a great time...or pretended to, but, hey, if alkies are encouraged to "fake it 'til they make it", then why can't we?

Exactly.

Other than Christmas there has been a flurry of media, as there always is with me (hidepaulhidefromithaidehidehide).

Chris and I are watching Mad Men, second time around for me, first for her and she's digging it despite the misogyny. Or she's fighting past that and chalking it up to really great research.

That show is just amazing.

I've been spending far too much time playing the new Assassin's Creed game.

Around the 22nd or so, I finished with the multiplayer, and began playing the single player.

Huge.

Huge.

Huge.

That game is so enjoyable.

Because of it, I've actually been playing my first Facebook game which serves to expand the universe of Assassin's Creed.

I do not plan to get addicted to these things as the mechanics are just awful (click here. good. now wait. now click again.), but I like the extra depth it adds, so I'm fine with that.

I went out and saw Black Swan with Lauren and Chris on Saturday and, sadly, the hype had gotten to it.

It was good, but not astonishing as I was lead to believe.

Clint Mansell did a great job with the score though, better than Moon as it had more variety.

And NatPo also did an excellent job of being alternately fragile and stabby.

Way to go, NatPo, you ain't a ho', youse a actor fo' sho'.

I still think ballet is gay as hell though.

Meaning homosexual.

Because a lot of ballet guys are gay.

Which is totally fine, but still boring as get out.

Look, they're dancing and you can see through their bodies when the light hits them.

And the girls don't have their periods because they are afraid.

Anyway.

It was a lot easier for Aronofsky to show the darker side of drugs in Requiem (also masterfully scored by Clint Mansell) than the darker side of ballet in Black Swan.

Can't wait for him to show us the darker side of Wolverine when that comes out.

Then I want him to direct a season of Glee.

Yes.

Also, that new Cake album, "Showroom of Compassion", leaked.

And I got it.

And I'm a gunna revew it.

Here's a preview: It isn't worth the seven years we've waited to hear it.

Whatelsewhatelse...?

Not sure what's happening for my 30th.

Don't have any interest in anything really.

Fondue...Fat Cat...the billiards and games parlour, not the Chip n Dale's Rescue Rangers villain.

Might try to become addicted to a drug in the new year, see how that goes.

A nice little coke habit might lose me some weight.

Or maybe smack...

Can you imagine what George Washington Diarrhea would sound like if I was doing heroin?

Holy fuck would that be awesome...

Or at least it couldn't get much worse.

It would probably make the songs longer.

I've actually been listening to the podcast Jay and Silent Bob Get Old, which is Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes talking about Mewes' problems with addiction to heroin and pills over the years.

Very interesting.

And not just because I used to like Smith's movies.

Each episode has been a candid, up front discussion of drugs and their effects.

And, the best part is that it hasn't felt preachy or after-school-special-y.

There are some very convincing cases for drug use in there, a lot of the stuff Mewes talks about it appealing.

But he also talks about the negative side so it isn't totally an ad for smack or anything.

I think it's a great way for people to stay off drugs, quite frankly.

Even though I might go on them for my music "career".

I've also been editing the New Mexico footage.

Slowly but surely.

More slowly than surely, actually, but slow progression is still progression.

Phil and Will have some podcasting ideas of their own that will hopefully come to fruition.

Will and I just need to stay on Phil or he gets...hm...not distracted exactly...more like unpsyched.

Yeah.

He gets an idea, a good one, but unless it starts getting done immediately, it seems to slip away and get less and less amazing until BAM!!! A new idea!!! This is going to be awesome!!!!

Not to worry, my friend.

It happens to all creative types from time to time.

Except me.

I write everything down and it gets done eventually.

That Anal Christmas song was literally written about five or six years ago.

And it was worth it.

I have a script for a tiny, faux commercial called Malaise Away I wrote before that.

It'll get done some time.

Got an idea for a new TMBG music video, bought a gas mask specifically for it..

It's gonna happen.

Things fall to the side, but are never forgotten.

I do understand the plight though.

Especially when you're working on something huge like a novel or a screenplay.

My stuff is usually...well...let's say esoteric.

Or at least short, so I don't have to dedicate that much of myself to it.

Not that anything I've ever done isn't 100% true to myself.

100% pure me.

Unadulterated.

In your mouth.

Face.

In your face.

What'd I say, nipple?

Well, it wouldn't be Christmas if the stores were any hooter than they hotter than they are.

Can I take something out for you?

This year looks to be all right for music.

Release-wise anyway.

Full length How To Destroy Angels album, should be interesting to see what evolution has occurred.

New Nine Inch Nails (apparently), later on, plus the deluxe Fragile and Reznor's been teasing some sort of Wave Goodbye.

Beck's about to drop something as are TMBG.

And Eels are going to be touring in 2011, most likely with a whole new line up, which would be great as I'm still not in love with the three latest by them.

Not that I need new Eels, I'd just love to see a line up like the Souljacker or Daises of the Galaxy tour.

Anyway.

I'm going to finish up Black Company.

Oh, and go watch the new Scissor Sisters video for 'Invisible Light'.

It's astounding.