I haven't been excited about a compilation album since Epitaph put out Punk O Rama 3 in 1998. I actually haven't been too excited about new albums in quite some time. But last month, a comp called " War Child Presents: Hereos" came out, and it is just amazing.
First of all, War Child is an amazing charity. They work with children affected in war torn countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda, etc. Quite the noble cause, so I didn't mind shelling out a few bucks to buy it. So, since I have nothing else going on, I offer you brief commentary on the first 8 tracks.
1. Beck covering Bob Dylan's "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat." - I know it's a crime to not really like Bob Dylan, but for some reason I just never got into him. I missed the boat with him. And I feel like he has too much of an extensive library to even attempt to jump on board at this point in my life. I have however, always liked Beck, even though he is a Scientologist. This is a Dylan song that I vaguely knew, but to me it just felt like a decent Beck song.
2.The Kooks covering The Kinks "Victoria"- The Kooks covering The Kinks... Say that 5 times fast! LOL! Seriously though, I just recently (within the past 9 months) got into The Kinks. I also like The Kooks a great deal. I actually saw them on their first U.S tour. On this track, they stay true to the reggae-ish sound of The Kinks, but also add their own touch. It's BritPop at it's finest.
3. The Hold Steady covering Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City"- Let me preface this by saying that I do not like Bruce Springsteen. I never have, and this whole thing with him only selling his albums at Wal-Mart makes me dislike him even more. But I do like The Hold Steady, as does almost every other twenty something jaded scenester I know. THS does a really good job making this song their own (I think.. I've never heard the Boss' version). But if I didn't know that it was a cover, I could totally see this track being on one of their own albums.
4. Hot Chip covering Joy Divisions "Transmission"- I've never heard Hot Chip before this. They were always one of those bands that I knew someone who was into them, but never really checked them out myself. Same thing with Joy Division. I was a big fan of New Order though. Good song none the less.
5. Lily Allen and Mick Jones covering The Clash "Straight to Hell"- Well this was just a real treat. Here we have my future wife, Ms Lily Allen, collaborating with Mick Jones, guitarist of one of my favorite bands of all time, The Clash. Straight To Hell is an amazing song, and Lily (who happens to be Joe Strummer's goddaughter) does an amazing job covering it.
6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs covering The Ramones "Sheena is a Punk Rocker"- The Ramones are in my top 10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I'm basically indifferent about. I don't hate them, don't particularly like them, they are just whatever. And thats how I feel about this version of good Ramones song. They didn't butcher the song, but they could have done better.
7. Franz Ferndinand covering Blondie's "Call Me" - I'm not a Franz fanz. I'm not really a Blondie fan either. But I do know they have better songs than "Call Me." But FF decided to be like any cover band playing the Long Island nightclub cicuit, and chose that one. It's a live version and I don't like it. Modest Mouse would have done a better job.
8. Duffy covering Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die"- "Live and Let Die" is one of the few Paul McCartney songs that I dig. There are only a handful of Beatles solo members songs that I like. I can't think of the name, but Ringo Starr had a song about smoking a ton of weed that I always liked. But anyway. I only know that one song by Duffy that they play on WFUV every once in a while. I know she gets a load of press, but I don't like her much. This song is a little slow for my taste, but not the worst thing I've ever heard either.
So that's the first half. I'll finish the other 8 songs at another point.
I was sitting down earlier, eating a delicious veggie burger, when a commercial came on for KFC. They were advertising the famous KFC Bowls, or whatever they are called. Now, I have about a million different problems with KFC, but this advert really irked me for some reason. First of all, the famous bowl, made up of layers of mashed potatoes, corn, FrankenChicken, gravy, and 3 types of cheese, looks disgusting. Not to mention like an instant heart attack. And for the low price of I think it was 2.59, you get that and what looked like to be about 40 gallons of soda. After the commercial was over, I literally looked at my veggie burger and side of more vegetables, and had a real sense of elitism. It's quite a confusing sensation.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Hero Doh
Last week, I was working in a supermarket out east. I was minding my own business, you know, doing my work. Doing what I do. Making the money. I digress.
So I was working, and I notice this kid come down the aisle. A toddler - couldn't have been more than 3 years old. He was walking with his father, but his father was pretty old. I actually thought it was his grandfather at first. The young boy was holding onto a really cool Play-Doh set. I was staring at it and thinking "man I wish I had some Play-Doh right now. I hate my job. I wish I worked in a Play-Doh factory." In the midst of my daydream involving me working in some sort of clay wonderland, the little dude's box fell, and out spilled 10 little cases of Play-Doh. "Evannnn, what did you do?" said the old man. "I spilled the Play-Doh daddy" replied Evan (the little kid). Me being the nice guy I am, I helped Evan pick up his Play-Doh and put it back into his box. Evan and his dad moved along, I went back to the excruciating minutia of the tasks at hand.
About 3 minutes later, I see Evan again. Just walking down the aisle, with his Play-Doh, but not his Grand-Dad. He was wandering around solo, so I was like "Hey buddy where's your grandpa?" But all he said was "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" So I'm all like "It's cool dude, we'll find Daddy." I walk around the entire store with this kid, looking for the old man. I finally spot him in the bread aisle, just doing his shopping. I don't think he knew that his son was missing. So I bring him over, and this was his reaction: " Oh he usually meets me in the car."
Now, I am all about having a sense of humor. But in a situation like that, you would think a parent/guardian would be in a complete frenzy. I'm in supermarkets all day, I've seen mothers completely wig the hell out when their kid wanders like 6 feet from them. But not this old man. I was quite confused to be honest.
So, am I a hero? Nah. I just want to work in a Play-Doh factory.
So I was working, and I notice this kid come down the aisle. A toddler - couldn't have been more than 3 years old. He was walking with his father, but his father was pretty old. I actually thought it was his grandfather at first. The young boy was holding onto a really cool Play-Doh set. I was staring at it and thinking "man I wish I had some Play-Doh right now. I hate my job. I wish I worked in a Play-Doh factory." In the midst of my daydream involving me working in some sort of clay wonderland, the little dude's box fell, and out spilled 10 little cases of Play-Doh. "Evannnn, what did you do?" said the old man. "I spilled the Play-Doh daddy" replied Evan (the little kid). Me being the nice guy I am, I helped Evan pick up his Play-Doh and put it back into his box. Evan and his dad moved along, I went back to the excruciating minutia of the tasks at hand.
About 3 minutes later, I see Evan again. Just walking down the aisle, with his Play-Doh, but not his Grand-Dad. He was wandering around solo, so I was like "Hey buddy where's your grandpa?" But all he said was "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" So I'm all like "It's cool dude, we'll find Daddy." I walk around the entire store with this kid, looking for the old man. I finally spot him in the bread aisle, just doing his shopping. I don't think he knew that his son was missing. So I bring him over, and this was his reaction: " Oh he usually meets me in the car."
Now, I am all about having a sense of humor. But in a situation like that, you would think a parent/guardian would be in a complete frenzy. I'm in supermarkets all day, I've seen mothers completely wig the hell out when their kid wanders like 6 feet from them. But not this old man. I was quite confused to be honest.
So, am I a hero? Nah. I just want to work in a Play-Doh factory.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Akward Social Situation #1033
Life is a series of awkward social situations. Here is one of them.
A few nights ago, I was doing some grocery shopping in the local grocery megastore. I was perusing the organic cereal section, minding my own business, when I heard "Seany!" Now, there are only a few people who call me Seany... my younger cousins, and most of my graduating high school class. I turned around to see someone from said high school class that I don't think I have seen since we graduated like 40 years ago. I didn't have much to say to this person in high school, and I sure as shit didn't have much to say to them standing in the organic and natural section of Stop and Shop. Never to be the rude one, I entertained this chick with a few minutes of conversation, "shot the shit" as they say, caught up a little bit, and continued on our separate ways.
Or so I thought.
You see, the organic section of Stop and Shop is in the very beginning of the store. It was my first stop amongst a few others in the store, and judging by the emptiness of my classmate's cart, she was also just beginning. What followed next was awkward meetups in each different section of the store. "Those are some good apples you got there" I said to her in the produce section. "The soy ice cream is pretty good" I suggested in the frozen section. But that was pretty much all I had to say, and I was only half way done with my shopping.
I spent the next 15 minutes peeking down aisles before I walked down them, making sure she wasn't there. I had absolutely nothing else. And it's not like I have nothing to say, I'm a pretty bright and opinionated fella. But in the supermarket setting, awkwardly shuffling our carts to avoid hitting each other, there is just not much to discuss. This is why from now on, to avoid such situations, I will be doing all of my shopping in Riverhead, 50 miles from the closest class of 2001 graduate.
A few nights ago, I was doing some grocery shopping in the local grocery megastore. I was perusing the organic cereal section, minding my own business, when I heard "Seany!" Now, there are only a few people who call me Seany... my younger cousins, and most of my graduating high school class. I turned around to see someone from said high school class that I don't think I have seen since we graduated like 40 years ago. I didn't have much to say to this person in high school, and I sure as shit didn't have much to say to them standing in the organic and natural section of Stop and Shop. Never to be the rude one, I entertained this chick with a few minutes of conversation, "shot the shit" as they say, caught up a little bit, and continued on our separate ways.
Or so I thought.
You see, the organic section of Stop and Shop is in the very beginning of the store. It was my first stop amongst a few others in the store, and judging by the emptiness of my classmate's cart, she was also just beginning. What followed next was awkward meetups in each different section of the store. "Those are some good apples you got there" I said to her in the produce section. "The soy ice cream is pretty good" I suggested in the frozen section. But that was pretty much all I had to say, and I was only half way done with my shopping.
I spent the next 15 minutes peeking down aisles before I walked down them, making sure she wasn't there. I had absolutely nothing else. And it's not like I have nothing to say, I'm a pretty bright and opinionated fella. But in the supermarket setting, awkwardly shuffling our carts to avoid hitting each other, there is just not much to discuss. This is why from now on, to avoid such situations, I will be doing all of my shopping in Riverhead, 50 miles from the closest class of 2001 graduate.
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