An Anthology of Dead Ends

I wish i would write more. But i don't think anyone reads this so it doesn't really matter.

But the main reason why i'd like to use this blog more is because of the title. Stealing this blog's name from one of Botch's albums was one of the best things I've ever done. Honestly, what is a blog other than an anthology of dead ends? This may be very self-indulgent but i actually think the title is pretty brilliant. haha

Anyway, I don't really have much else to say. Though I am planning on writing a novel right when i get out of school, which is kind of odd because i'm an engineer and i don't really read much. But for some reason, as long as i can remember, well not that long but probably since sometime in high school, i've had the desire to write a novel and recently the yearning has intensified a bit.

I think the main reason why i've wanting to do so, is because i subconsciously want to leave something behind to be remembered by. As I've grown older i've realized how insignificant life is in respect to the whole cosmos. Our lives are on average 70 years long on a planet that has less significance than a speck on a speck in an infinitely expanding universe that has been around and will continue on for billions of years. It may seem trivial, but I would love to claim a part of that speck for myself. But none of this will matter. What I'm trying to get at, is explained eloquently here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pfwY2TNehw

All we commit to in life is just an anthology of dead ends.

great days that go terribly shitty but then kinda better

So today started off pretty damn awesome with Beware of Safety on my radio show. It was really fun and I hope to do it again. By the way, this was my highest rated radio show of the quarter!

But afterwards, shit went down. I realized that my recording of the interview didn't record at all! I've done 3 interviews so far in my life and i messed up the recording 2/3 times. I was so pissed and upset.

So I went to eat lunch later and wasn't thinking about anything other than how I messed up the recording and felt like a douche. Then I went to class and after 20 minutes i thought "...um... where's my iPod?...HOLY SMOKES WHERE'S MY IPOD!?!?!". So I ran out of the class to where I ate my lunch to find my iPod but with no luck. I lost my iPod so I went back to class to cry myself to sleep.

An hour later, the dude behind me is like "dude, is this yours?" and then shafts of light entered the corner of the room.

I then had a final exam and realized i didn't have one of those blue notebooks (which is a great album btw) that you need to write essays in. Being an engineer, I'm not used to that pansy shit and totally forgot to bring one. So I had to go around the room and ask everyone if they had a spare. Luckily one guy had one, or was willing to give it up.

Now I have to write a 5 page paper and do some math homework for tomorrow.

yay!

Young Mountain

So I went to the record store Amoeba yesterday because my friend gave me a giftcard to that place. I had never gone there before because I don't usually buy music because all my money pays for gas and I usually don't have faith that a record store will carry what I'm looking for.

After much rummaging I was quite dissappointed that I couldn't find more than a handful of albums that I would love to own. But after finally reaching the miscellaneous Y's section I stumbled upon the record I went into Amoeba wishing to leave Amoeba with the most, if that makes any sense. I was really surprised to find the only copy of Yndi Halda's Enjoy Eternal Bliss they had. After all, their collection of post-rock was incredibly limited to the likes of Mogwai, Sigur Ros, and a few other major names. So it was incredibly surprising that I found a copy of a record that only had 150 prints on the first release. Though the one I found was the re-release, I was still pretty ecstatic.

Besides Yndi, I was able to find two copies of This Will Destroy You's Young Mountain in the used section. I didn't want to buy it because artists don't make any profit off used sales, but I couldn't resist. I loved that record more than anything I could find there so I bought it. But when I got home and browsed through the interweb, I felt like complete shit. I bought a used copy of Young Mountain for $6.99+tax, but I found out that Magic Bullet Records, This Will Destroy You's label, was selling it new for $8.50 with no shipping fees!! So, for less than $1.50 extra, I could have actually helped out the little band instead of putting another 7+ dollars into Amoeba's pocket. I also realized, that I was terribly terribly ripped off.

So yeah,

Dear Amoeba,
plz add post-rock to your catalog.
with love and kisses,
Armand

We Flood Empty Lakes

Todd Burns is a fucking douchebag.

Proof

The reason why Todd Burns is a fucking idiot is not because he trashed albums I love. No. It's because he is the definitive definition of "hipster". Look up "hipster" in Webster's dictionary and you will find a picture of Todd Burns.

Here is one reason why:

Of all the reviews Burns has done, he has reviewed albums by two emo bands: Envy and Circle Takes The Square (both of which are undoubtably the two most popular emo bands out today).

It's obvious from this alone that emo is not a genre he is well-informed about, yet he still decides to write reviews on them.

Hipster rule number 1: Try to show that you know about every genre out there.

Secondly, when he reviews these two bands, he does a terrible job at it.

Burns gave Envy's "Insomniac Doze", a snoozefest Mono rip-off, a 'B' and touts them as "crafting a new genre", yet failing to realize that City of Caterpillar pulled this off back in 2002 and is really the band that should be credited to "crafting a new genre" of post-rock influenced emo.

However, Burns gave CTTS's "As The Roots Undo" a 'C', claiming that CTTS couldn't figure out who they wanted to ape more: The Blood Brothers, Envy, or Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Bar having somewhat spasdic vocals, neither Blood Brothers nor CTTS should ever be compared to one another. They sound NOTHING alike. Also, how is CTTS apeing off The Blood Brothers if CTTS's first release, which is like a mini-"As The Roots Undo", was released in 2001 and The Blood Brother's "Adultery is Ripe" was only released one year before that? CTTS likely didn't even know who The Blood Brothers were when they crafted the backbone of their sound.

And again, if CTTS is apeing off anybody in their genre, it's City of Caterpillar. Not Envy. CTTS and Envy have nothing in common other than being dubbed the title "post-rock influenced emo".

Hipster rule number 2: NAMEDROP!!!

In the reviews of Yndi Halda and Laura, Burns makes the most absurd statement I've ever read in a music article, which states:

"There’s no shortage of bands shamelessly working towards filling the enormous hole that Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s demise left in the post-rock landscape. Most of them are rank amateurs. (This Will Destroy You, dreamend, the Ascent of Everest, Gifts from Enola, the Workhouse, Souvenir's Young America: pack it up and go home, dudes, Efrim will take the violins at the door."

Anyone who knows post-rock well will find this statement to be ridiculously hilarious. Has this guy even ever heard The Workhouse or Gifts From Enola? Because no one in their right mind who has heard those two bands would draw a comparison to GY!BE. That's just ridiculous.

Burns is obviously either mentally challenged or namedropping for the sake of trying to earn credibility.

Another ridiculous statement by Burnsy:

"The production is great as well—something that very often goes unremarked upon by post-rock enthusiasts. "

Umm, this man does realize "the rich history of DIY and desire to gravitate away from the overproduced rock sound" (Jordan Volz) by post-rock bands, right??

All-in-all, Todd Burns is not completely a moron. He has written some nice reviews.

However, dear Mr. Burns, please do not write reviews regarding genres that you don't know much about. - yours truly, Armand

We Watched Them Lose Our Minds

Hey there bloggy baby, long time no see. Sorry I haven't posted on you lately, I've just been too busy doing nothing. Literally, nothing.

It's remarkable how much time someone can spend in their life without doing anything productive. It's been eight days since my school started and I have yet to open a book, read notes, or do anything your average student would have accomplished already. Right now I should be reading some stuff about cultural geography cause if I'm not mistaken I have some homework due tommorrow, or doing some linear algebra or electromagnetics homework, but instead I'm posting on this silly thing that no one is going to bother reading anyway.

So I'm here to declare that starting right after I click "PUBLISH", I will turn my life around and actually have one, rather than wasting it away on the internets. Do something productive, i.e. DO MY MOTHERFUCKING HOMEWORK for once in my life. There's always time to mess around and check out new music or whatever it is, but my future has to come first; meaning work first, play second.

And hopefully my blog entries will become interesting as a result of this ;)

Finals Week!

w00t!

Your Face Is A Rape Scene

I haven't posted anything up here in a while because I really have nothing to say. I don't know how some people keep their blogs so active, but I guess it's the people like me who contaminate the blogosphere with our inactive blogs.

Anyway, I'm trying to listen only to albums released in 2006 for the rest of the year so I can make my top 100 albums of the year list on January 1. I have around 40 albums to hear in 25 days-ish so I've got a lot ahead of me, but my winter break is only two weeks away so I'll have plenty of time to do it then.

Also, 9 weeks have passed in the quarter at uni and I'm just starting to take my classes seriously and put effort into my homeworks. God help me. But at least it's better late than never.

Seacrest out!