Bruce’s epic crotch collision
February 2, 2009
So there it is. Enjoy it. The look on his face right after it is priceless. Overall, though, he rocked the house like only he could. In my opinion, one of the better superbowl halftime shows in recent history. GIF image via You Ain’t No Picasso.
The RIAA and Universal Music Group are at it again, claiming that if you’re a music reviewer and you haven’t kept track of every single promo CD you’ve ever recieved, then you’re a pirate. They won’t win the court battle, because if they do then, technically any book publisher could stick a label on their books saying “not for library lending.” When are these assholes gonna learn?
In case you haven’t heard, Flight of the Conchords are playing at the Ryman April 10th.
A new Spoon track has surfaced on Stereogum… and I have to admit it’s kinda strange. Now, I’m far from being a Spoon fanatic, so someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is the first Spoon track to involve an electronic beat. Their new album hits shelves Feb. 17th.
Old 1940’s photographs superimposed on new ones taken in exactly the same location in Russia. The text is all in Russian, but you needn’t read it. The images say it all.
Speaking of Russia, apparently they want to build their own space station. I also had no idea that the current Internation Space Station was scheduled to retire in 2015. It just seems to me that too much money has been spent on the ISS to retire it only 5-6 years after its completion.
Finally, I want to say a few things about science and religion. While I consider myself a person of faith, I don’t follow any one organized religion specifically, and I don’t beleive that we should ever look to religious texts to explain our environment and how it works. The only reliable method of explaining our environment (and by environment I mean everything from our planet to the entire universe) is SCIENCE. My favorite writer from the Daily Galaxy, Luke McKinney, posted a very well worded blurb about evolutionary theory and its unknowns. Let me say this- science and religion are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but they are completely different methods of thought. Science has even supported some of the stories in the Bible, but as Mr. McKinney so eloquently says, “Religious texts can be incredibly positive works, prescribing social support and good rules for a good life if used properly, but declaring one to be a definite depiction of reality is like calling Chicken Soup for the Soul a quantum mechanics textbook.”
Black Lips escape India/Annular eclipse photos
January 27, 2009
Credit: M.R. Taufik
Yesterday a relatively rare phenomenon occurred over parts of the Pacific Ocean, southeast Asia and Australia- an annular solar eclipse. Solar eclipses aren’t that common to begin with, but what makes it an annular solar eclipse is the fact that the moon’s occultation of the sun coincided with its furthest point from earth in its orbit. In other words, the moon’s orbit is elliptical, so it’s not always the same distance from earth. IF the point at which the moon is farthest from earth in said elliptical orbit happens to coincide with a solar eclipse, the moon’s disc doesn’t fully cover the sun, and it results in a ring of light showing around the black disc of the moon. Pretty cool, and definitely something I’d like to see before I die. For now though, we can just enjoy the photos linked to on the Universe Today post about it.
So I read the stories yesterday about everyone’s favorite Atlanta troublemakers Black Lips getting chased around India on their tour, but I decided to wait until the full story surfaced to post about it. Pitchfork is totally gay for them so I knew they’d post an update the very minute they heard anything. I was right. But the full story can be found on their label Vice’s blog. It’s an interview with the drummer… and it turns out they weren’t actually chased by the cops, and the only people really after them were their tour manager and his production company. Now they’re in Germany hanging out with King Khan, who I can’t wait to see with the Shrines at the Exit/In in March.
Speaking of rock n roll, thanks so much to everyone who came out to my 8 off 8th last night. Unfortunately my band Tigers Con Queso couldn’t play because Seth came down with a serious case of the flu earlier in the day, so it was a 7 off 8th, but it was awesome nonetheless, and people seemed to really enjoy it. Everything was on time and the last band didn’t end up getting screwed & having to play at 1am on a monday. The official door count was 157 people. I also wore this insane sweater that my mom got for my dad back in the 70’s, and apparently it’s the most amazing thing anyone has ever seen, because people were flipping out over it all night. Thanks mom! (You just have to see it to understand.)
The Nashville Cream reported yesterday that guitarist Denis Deck will be leaving How I Became the Bomb soon. The split was amicable, and Deck will continue to play with them until temporary replacement Russell Hanberry from Stories That Live can take over.
Turns out even babies know how to rock out. My mom always said she knew I’d be a drummer even before I was born because I apparently pounded the inner walls of her uterus incessantly.
My 8 off 8th tonight/Deli Party pics
January 26, 2009
Number one priority for your Monday: coming to my 8 off 8th tonight at Mercy Lounge. It’s free, and it’s a great lineup, so you have no excuse. I’m not telling you the order so that you’ll come early because you don’t know if your favorite band (out of the lineup) will be first or last or somewhere in between. The Nashville Cream was kind enough to post a blog entry about it. Also, Courtney from Left Can Dance will be DJing between bands. Click the image to make it bigger.
The Deli Party was a huge success. Home Keys got things off to a great start, I DJed for a while, then Makeup & Vanity Set and Jensen Sportag did a tag-team setlist, trading off songs, which resulted in total awesomeness. The only minor buzz-kill was that it was so hot and steamy in the basement that the speakers kept overheating (and thus cutting themselves off). Thankfully that didn’t happen during my 2 hour DJ set after MAVS & JS finished. I had a total blast, and so did the crowd. Everyone was dancing, and it got pretty full for a while, then it thinned out a little around 2:15am, and I thought it was gonna wind down from there, but then suddenly everyone came back, and it got hot & heavy again at around 2:45! People were still going strong right up to the end when I had to call it quits around 3:20. My last two songs were for fellow photographer Johnny Kingsbury, who was celebrating his birthday that night. His sister let me in on the secret that one of his favorite party songs was You Get What You Give by the 90’s one-hit-wonder New Radicals. They all went crazy. I’m DJ Burgers, and this party should be very good reason for you book me at your next throwdown. For some great photos from the party, checkout Courtney Wilder’s photoset.
Speaking of photography, photographer David Bergman made 1,474 megapixel panoramic image of Obama’s Inauguration. Seriously, click that link! It’s amazing how much you can zoom in on that image and see the details. It was done using a Gigapan imager.
Some science links for the nerds:
We’re one step closer to teleportation. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to actually teleport a human being from one place to another, but instantaneous transfer of information could eventually be possible if we’re able to build upon this discovery/breakthrough. That could be very useful when we eventually send humans to Mars, and even farther. Not having to wait for a radio signal to travel all the way back to earth would be very handy when Val Kilmer lands on Mars and says, “Holy shit! There’s all kinds of glowing algae stuff everywhere, and it suddenly made the atmosphere breathable!”
Earth is being stalked by and asteroid. It’s ok though, it won’t actually hit us. It just follows us around everywhere we go, and calls us to leave cryptic messages, and….
Awesome tshirts, and the resoultion of reality
January 22, 2009
Want to really bend your brain? Read this article on the Daily Galaxy about the resolution of reality. Are we real or are we just holograms caused by the quantum interactions at the edges of the universe? This will be fun to read, even if you aren’t that much of a science nerd, because this particular writer (Luke McKinney) has a humorous and witty way of explaining things.
REUTERS/Jason Reed
I link to this website way too often, but this one really deserves it- the Boston Globe’s Big Picture website has some fantastic imagery from Obama’s inauguration.
I tried to like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! back when every blog on the internet was drooling over them, but I just couldn’t do it. I don’t really know why everyone liked them so much… in my opinion they were just another one of those incredibly over-hyped Pitchfork bands, just like TV on the Radio, Deerhunter, and Vampire Weekend. Well, according to Stereogum, there was a rumor they were breaking up, but they’re not afterall. Just taking a hiatus while the members work on their respective side projects. I don’t really give a shit what happens to them.
The coolest shirt ever. Well maybe not EVER, but it’s right up there with my LED belt buckle. If you’ve never seen my LED belt buckle, come to the Deli party I’m DJing this sat. at 3609 Pilcher Ave. It will be in full action.
O. The President…. and Star Wars yoga
January 21, 2009
Get the destop background here.
Even the Wikipedia page has been updated. I’m still in awe of the idea of liking my president. I just have this refreshing feeling… like I’ve been working underground in a hot coal mine, getting utterly filthy for the last 8 years, and now I’ve just taken a nice cool shower and come out totally clean, rested, and refreshed. Ok, maybe that was a cheesy analogy but I don’t care. Part of that feeling is pride… which is something I haven’t felt about my country in a looooong time. A year ago, if I were to go to a foreign country I would’ve been embarassed about my country, ashamed of what we’ve done for the last 8 years. But now I think if I were to go abroad, I would definitely not feel ashamed, and I would probably even brag about how our nation came to its senses and got its head out of its ass. Keep your optimism in check, however. He’s only one man. He’s now a very powerful man, but he’s still only one man. It remains to be seen just how much good he can do. We can’t expect him to perform miracles every day. He’s probably got the hardest job in the history of this nation. Good luck, Mr. President.
Here’s the image of the inauguration captured by the GeoEye-1 satellite: (click image to make it bigger) Via Universe Today.
TN’s own Those Darlins got blogged about AGAIN by Brooklynvegan. They must be doing something right…. or they’re just too darned cute…
Bush’s last stunt
January 20, 2009
In an unprecedented move, President Bush signed his last executive order- repealing the English language. Via Andy Borowitz, via Kottke.org.
Now, go watch the Inauguration. CNN.com has a live stream, along with Hulu, and all the major networks. I hope everyone else isn’t having as hard of a time as I am getting used to the idea of actually liking the president.
Eye-gasms and frozen tongues
January 16, 2009
Total eye-gasm. In fact… multiple eye-gasms. The Boston Globe’s “Big Picture” comes through as always with another set of amazing imagery. This is a collection of images from satellites. Click the image to get to the site.
Anamalia: Mikel Uribetxeberria. Not sure what country this guy is from, but his images are amazing. These images of different animals in completely odd places make me very happy and yet uneasy at the same time… and I’m not really sure how this was pulled off technically.
In music news, Devo is playing this year’s SXSW, and Pavement is heavliy rumored to be re-uniting to play ATP NY. I’m contemplating joining my friend and bandmate Seth on an adventure to SXSW this year. I’ve been talking about it for a few years now, and now it’s time to just DO IT.
Nashvillians are stupid sometimes. Metro schools are closed today because of the cold. Come on people, because of the cold? Seriously? Apparently a lot of kids walk to school… but why can’t you just bundle the hell up? Layers, people, it’s all about layers! You people are bunch of of pansies! Via Nashvillest.
Remember that scene in A Christmas Story where the kid is dared to put his tongue on a metal lightpost and ends up with his tongue frozen to it? Well, I guess kids still actually do that.
A tutorial video from a xhardcorex kid on how to do a xone-stepx and xtwo-stepx xwall flipx. That’s sooo xhardcorex dude.
A US Airways plane taking off from LaGuardia airport in NYC had to abort and land in the Hudson river yesterday, which I’m sure you’ve seen in the news by now. Apparently it was caused by a bird flying into one of the engines. Thankfully no one was hurt. A quick youtube search for water plane landings yielded this terrifying video of a plane barely missing some buildings near a beach, then landing in the water.
Photo cliches/new Neko Case song
January 15, 2009
Photo cliches: a collection of the most common cliches in tourist photos. Included- the fake phallus, statue groping, the Lynndie England thumbs-up, snorting Coca Cola.
While we’re on the subject the phallus… might as well post a link to the Head O State Obama sex toy. You really have to read the “testimonials,” especially the one from Sarah Palin.
Ok, enough giggly sexual innuendo.
A new environmentally-minded general store is opening in the Sylvan Park neighborhood of west Nashville. That’s just around the corner from me, so I’ll probably be hitting it up pretty soon. Read all about it in that Nashvillest post. I’ll bet if it’s successful she’ll open another one in east Nashville. Those two communities seem to be the most likely locations for such a store.
Neko Case has released her newest single via free download at Brooklynvegan. For every blog that reposts this song, Neko and ANTIlabel will make a cash donation to the Best Friends Animal Society. So download it, and if you have a blog, REPOST!
Neko Case-People Got A Lotta Nerve.mp3
Here’s a really cool collection of How-To graphics and illustrations. Fun to just peruse through… if that sort of thing interests you.
And for a little science: Wired talks about the top 5 best bets for extraterrestrial life in our own solar system. The top choice might surprise you, depending on how closely you follow the latest astronomy news.
I have a theory about Microsoft’s Songsmith software. If you haven’t read this blog in a while, read the last couple of posts, which mention this new software and how awful it is. Click the links, watch the ad, hear the David Lee Roth’s Runnin’ with the Devil run through it, then come back. Ok… I think that Microsoft intentionally made the software sound so cheesy, and the ad so ridiculous and un-ironic, that people like me (and most real musicians) would want to take their dry vocal tracks and run them through it as a joke, just to see how ridiculous it would sound. Just go read the comments in the Nashville Cream post about it. See how everyone is saying, “hey run this song through it!!!” ??? You know I’m right….. Just wait. In a few months some band will re-release a whole album “Songsmith’d.” I can see it now… Metallica’s Master of Puppets… SONGSMITH’D!
Credit: USAF
Obama has asked retired USAF Maj. Gen. Scott Gration to be the new NASA administrator. As mentioned a few posts back, current administrator Michael Griffin will be stepping down on Jan. 20th, as will the rest of the Bush-appointed NASA positions. I learned this from a Space.com post today, and the info contained in that article is all I know about the guy. He’s a decorated fighter pilot, and does have some experience working with NASA, but he’s mostly an outsider. Apparently many former NASA administrators have been outsiders, though, so this is really nothing new. What NASA needs is someone with good leadership skills and who can manage an organization that large and important. He also needs to be very good at managing budgets, as NASA will likely see further budget cuts due to the economic crisis and monstrous national debt.
Vote NO on #1 and #2
January 13, 2009
This only pertains to people living in Nashville, but for heaven’s sake get out and vote NO on #1 and #2. This is the hotly debated “English Only” law that would require all Nashville goverment forms, business, etc… to be carried out in English only. I don’t have the time nor energy to go into why this is a terrible idea, so go to NashvilleForAllofUs.org and read why you should definitely vote against this law. Early voting is underway NOW and goes until this saturday the 17th. You must go to the downtown election commission office to do so. Go here to see the early voting schedule. The official election is Jan. 22nd.
Related to yesterday’s post about Microsoft Songsmith (and you’ve probably already seen/heard this, but if you haven’t, do yourself a favor)- listen to the songsmith version of “Runnin’ with the Devil” by Van Halen. They took the bare vocal track of David Lee Roth singing and ran it through songsmith. Simply amazing if you ask me. No really. Via Nashville Cream.
Pete Souza was named the official White House photographer for soon-to-be President Obama. His coverage of Obama’s senate years is apparently what landed him the job. I cannot imagine how it must feel to be tasked with documenting the most historic presidential administration in the last 100 years, if not EVER.
Thank God the Heritage Foundation reached their fundraising goal to restore the historic Franklin Theater. The downtown area of Franklin is the only thing left there that hasn’t been completely overrun by ugly, mindless, white-upper-class uniformity and gentrification. Via Nashvillest.
This week the Mercy Lounge is celebrating their 6th anniversary by have 6 nights of free live music, with 6 or more bands each night. My band Tigers Con Queso is playing tonight, along with The Privates, The Effects, The Clutters, Rae Herring, and Vermicious K’nids. Did I mention it’s FREE?
steve cross loves music and science 