Locals get blog love/Predators/Hoptober
September 29, 2009
Today will be short and sweet. I mainly just wanted to point out a couple of Nashville bands/artists who got some major blog love today:
First up, You Ain’t No Picasso posted a demo of a new song by Caitlin Rose along with a short account of their interactions at Monolith. The track is “Song for Rabbits” and I suggest you nab it while you’re there. It’s a great song in 6/8 that has very little of the country twang present in most of her songs released thus far, and shows her ability to adapt her voice to just about any style and feel.
Secondly, our own Turbo Fruits got a mention and track posted over at RCRD LBL. Too bad that I’ll be in Portland, OR the weekend they come through Nashville on tour with Monotonix at Exit/In. I’m also looking forward to hearing the rest of the album. Two more free tracks can be found at their bandcamp.
I love beer. In the past 3 years or so I’ve also developed a much more discerning taste in beers as well. That’s why I’ve started brewing it myself. Rarely do I come across a beer that I really just want to tell the whole world about. But this past Saturday Megan and I hopped over to 12th South Taproom for some brews, and I decided to try New Belgium’s seasonal Hoptober. I was smitten. Since New Belgium has just recently started shipping their beer to this area I haven’t tried many of their styles, but that’s going to change. I absolutely love this beer! It’s not near as caramel-y as a normal Marzen/Oktoberfest but the malts are still very present and give it a medium body. The story here, though, is the quintuplet of hops used. Despite being a definite “hoppy” beer, Hoptoberfest only has an IBU of 40, so most would not classify it as an extremely “bitter” beer such as an IPA or Imperial Stout. The bitterness is very pleasant and sits lightly on your tongue while the aroma hops really shine through. Go grab a 6-pack- they’re at most grocery stores. But the best experience is on tap, in opinion. The smell and taste of this beer combine to basically give you a mouthgasm.
On completely different note, I’m glad to see that the Predator franchise has a new film coming down the pipe next year. Robert Rodriguez did a script for a sequel to the original Predator movie that never was used and now 15 years later, with some minor revisions, it’s finally being used. The film will be directed by Nimrod Antal. Of all the creatures/monsters I’ve seen, none will ever top The Predator. This thing has the ugliest, most terrifying face I’ve ever seen and I fucking love it. BAD. ASS. It’s pure mindless, testosterone-driven entertainment. Total guilty pleasure. And according to i09, this is just “the ‘shoot ’em up, chase and fight’ movie that belongs in the Predator franchise.” YES. I mean, just look at this thing:
Adorable, isn’t it?
Protomen/Pansy Dance/beer
September 25, 2009
So tonight is the epic CD release show for The Protomen’s Act II: The Father of Death. Epic is an understatement, actually. We’re talking a full choir, and a full string section. Not to mention the 10-15 people already in the band. The super-dedicated fanbase of this band never ceases to amaze me. They are flying in from all over the country for this show. Oh, and it’s sold out… so if you don’t have a ticket you’re SOL.
HOWEVER, if you’re still itching for something to do, and don’t have a ticket, there is something else for you to do, and it happens to be pretty close by. Little Hamilton is hosting the 2nd official “Pansy Dance” party, featuring DJ’s Kid Chicago and me (Burgers). I’ll be scooting over there right after the Protomen show’s over (around 1-ish) to DJ till the wee hours. So if you don’t have a Protomen ticket, just come, and if you do have a ticket, come over afterwards and dance the night away!
Some other random music tidbits:
Wayne Coyne is pretty crazy. And he likes to call people in other bands dicks. And he also likes naked people on bikes. So maybe he just likes the word “dick” in various usages. I saw their movie Christmas On Mars this past weekend, but I wasn’t on any kind of drugs so that must why I thought it was kinda pointless and needlessly weird. I still like the Flaming Lips though.
Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge were all in a movie about guitars called It Might Get Loud. It’s playing at the Belcourt Sept. 25th through Oct. 1st. Read the Scene’s Patrick Rodgers’ take on it here.
My first batch of home-brewed beer turned out pretty decent, in case you hadn’t seen my twitter and facebook posts about it. I’ve actually given a good chunk of it away already, but I have about 20 bottles left. It’s a pale ale, and while it’s not exactly wonderful, it’s not bad for a first batch. The hoppiness is a little off- rather than a pleasant, crisp, refreshing bitterness it has a slightly unpleasant bitterness that sort of wears out your palate by the time you finish the beer. But I’ve discovered that drinking it with a meal greatly diminishes that effect and creates an overall pleasant beer experience. I’ve got a batch of cream ale in the fermenter as we speak, and it should be ready in a few weeks. It should be a much better batch because I used filtered water to make everything.
Also, Caitlin Rose officially approves of “Steve Cross’s attempted pale ale.” I’m thinking she should be the official spokeswoman. Just watch this video on facebook. (You’ll have to login to watch it…)
POWERBRRRD debut tonight at Mercy Lounge
August 31, 2009
Hey people. I’ve been slacking lately… mainly because work/life/everything got 150% busier over the last couple of weeks. But I’m taking 5 min today to make sure you know about two awesome things.
Tonight is the official debut of POWERBRRRD, my new band. We’re playing the 8 off 8th at Mercy Lounge hosted by Ashley Spurgeon. We’re celebrating her birthday (which also happens to be the day Caligula’s birth…). It’s still Seth Graves and me, but we’ve added Brandon Jazz from the Armed Forces to the lineup. Josh is still around, but about to be a new daddy, so at the moment we’re a power trio while he focuses on family. Josh’s mojo will be added back into the mix soon enough. Our sound is really nothing like Tigers Con Queso, so wash any preconceptions you may have based on the old band. The only similarity is Seth’s voice. So please do come down to Mercy Lounge tonight. It’s FREE, and will feature other acts such as Daniel Pujole and Some Beaus (former Meemaw frontman), Denny and the Jets (members of Meemaw and JEFF), Max and the Wild Things, Electric Mayhem (Matt Friction, Dave Paulson, and some others…), and Gunslinger. A good time is guaranteed.
The other awesome thing to report is that I made a trip to All Seasons on saturday and picked up my first home brewing kit. Yesterday we did the boiling/brewing process and the fermentation has now begun. The recipe I used was for an American-style Pale Ale, so hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll have a ton of beer to give away.
My 8 off 8th tonight/Moon & 500 Days of Summer/Beer
August 3, 2009
The most important thing for you to do/know about today is my 8 off 8th tonight. It’s the 3rd one I’ve done and I sincerely hope that if you’re in the Nashville area, you’ll come out tonight and check out these great bands. The flyer was designed by the awesome Cara Charlton. Click on each band to learn more about them. The Cream also gave me a shout-out.
Dixie Whiskey
Cody Blaine & the Whole Fam Damnly
The Comfies
Joel J. Dahl
Tristen
Pineapple Explode
Overzealous
Jug Huggers
While you’re at the Cream, please do checkout my photos from the Green Day show Friday. Those haven’t lost their touch and if the rest of the show was as awesome as the first 2 songs, then I’m really sad that I couldn’t stay for the whole thing. They made those 2 songs into a 20 minute spectacle that had me running around chasing BJA quite a bit, and I loved every minute of it.
In some other local news:
Nashvillest got voted best local blog in the Toast of Music City awards. Way to go!
Some local dudes started a beer review blog a year or so ago, and while they’ve been dormant for a few months, they’re back in business. Check out the Beer School Blog. They’ll try just about any beer and give it a score. They also talk about the bar itself sometimes, so if you like beer and want to find a new beer to check out, have a look through their archives.
Speaking of beer, I’m officially going to start brewing my own beer. After I get back from my vacation next week, I plan to hit up the two places I know of in town that sell brewing ingredients, and I’m gonna give it a try. I’ve found myself getting increasingly more interested in the multitude of beer styles so as I brew, I’m also going to expand my palette and try some of the more obscure styles out there, such as a Rauchbier, Biere de Garde, or Faro.
This past weekend we managed to see both Moon and 500 Days of Summer. I thoroughly enjoyed them both. Here’s a quick blurb on each-
500 Days of Summer: 6.5 out 0f 10. By all means go see this movie. I’m no film critic but here’s my two cents… It’s really just another one of those indie-cutesy-warm-fuzzy romantic movies, with a bittersweet twist. The acting is great- Zooey Deschanel is as beautiful as ever, and is the perfect fit for her character, as is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I guess it’s a bit of guilty pleasure, because there have been many films of this variety to come out in the last few years and their target demographic is basically me. But as I said, there’s a bittersweet twist. They do a great job of really making you root for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character throughout, and the tension is finally resolved, just not in the way most movies resolve it.
Moon: 7.5 our of 10. For a directorial debut, this is one heck of a film. And visually, it’s quite remarkable considering the budget. I never though a movie with so few characters could be so great. David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones deserves some sort of award for this one. The ending seemed a bit rushed to me, and it made me wish for more of a build-up somehow, but overall it came together well. Again, I am not by any means a film critic, so these are just my humble opinions.
Now, don’t forget to come to my 8 off 8th tonight! But before you do that, feast your eyes on this awesome poster by Monkey Ink Design for the upcoming Drive By Truckers/Glossary show at Cannery Ballroom.
Today I found a smattering of random links worth posting.
Google announced that they’re going to be developing a “Google Chrome OS”… basically a whole new open-source operating system for notebooks. As a Mac user I’ve yet to experience the Google Chrome web browser (it’s not available for Mac), so I don’t really know what to expect here. (Via Yewknee)
Nashville brewers Yazoo are going to be re-locating to the Gulch neighborhood next year. The new facility will allow the company to produce 4 times as much beer, which means they’ll be able to expand distribution to several neighboring states. They’ll also have a taproom at the new location, with the same hours they have now plus the possibility of opening a full-on pub if the demand is there. I must say I’ll miss the charm of the current taproom in the old Marathon Motor Works building, but it’s good to see a local brewery doing so well. (Via Bites/Nashville Scene)
In other local news, Nashvillest has a sexy new look to their website. Go check it out. I also found some disturbing news while exploring said new look- even though GM rid itself of Hummer, the brand still exists and it was bought by a Chinese machinery manufacturing company, and thus the Hummer executives need a new HQ. Unfortunately it looks like Franklin could be it. Honestly though, they’d fit right in, what with Nissan HQ there and the GM plant just down the road in Spring Hill. Why won’t these things just die? More at the Tennessean article.
Science is getting closer and closer to making invisibility possible. A new breakthrough in metamaterial technology may soon allow one to see through solid steel, or even become invisible. Furthermore, one could make one object look like another. The example they use is making a cup look like a spoon. The cup is sitting there, but when you look at it through a layer of the special metamaterial, you would see a spoon. One of the biggest applications that I can see with this technology would be in spaceships. The scientists behind this research say that it would be possible to make an otherwise opaque material transparent. This would eliminate the need for traditional windows on a spaceship- you could just install one of these devices made of metamaterials on a solid aluminum (or other metal) hull, which is much safer than cutting a hole in the hull to install a glass window, which is much more susceptible to the inevitable impacts from micro-meteors and other space junk. (Via NewScientist)
It’s pretty obvious that hydrogen is fuel of the future. It’s the most abundant element in the universe, and when it’s burned the only byproduct is pure water. Even though it’s abundant, it’s still hard to make here on earth. Up until now the best way was through electrolysis of water, but that’s very expensive, so unfortunately most of it today is made from fossil fuels, which kind of defeats the whole purpose (to get away from fossil fuels!). But that may be changing. Researchers at Ohio University found a way to make it from urea, which is the main compound in urine. Crazy eh? It’s not the most practical idea, but it could be made practical eventually… (Via EcoGeek)
I came across this intriguing blog called Movies in Frames via Kottke.org today. It has a plethora of various movies that the contributors have summed up (or at least attempted to sum up) in 4 frames. Some are not very effective, but some are. More visually-oriented films such as Heima, Little Miss Sunshine, and Darjeeling Limited work well. The one you see above is Stand By Me, which reminds me that I need to see this movie agian.
Tonight is the night! The Camera Obscura show is finally happening. To my knowledge, they’ve never played Nashville before, and it’s LOOOONG overdue. I can’t wait. If you like melancholy yet catchy twee pop… or if you like Scottish accents… by all means come to this show! You won’t regret it. Their show a couple years ago at the 40 Watt in Athens was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Mercy is no 40 Watt (sorry Drew/Bruton), but this is probably the best venue for them to play in town. They’ve also been tweeting about Nashville since they arrived yesterday. Follow them.
The Opryland Hotel started a new summer weekly event last year Friday nights called “Poolapalooza” featuring local bands, the Cascades pool, and a good bar. It went over pretty well from what I’ve heard (I never attended one), and I certainly hope Megan & I can make it out to one this summer. Check Nashvillest or the Gaylord Website for the full lineup/dates. Each event is free, 21+ all-ages (thx to Morgan for catching my error), and starts at 7pm. That means you can get wet, drink some margaritas, hear some rock, and be done in time to hit up another show later in the evening!
Nashville Cream reports that 3 local fashion designers are finalists to be on the show Project Runway. As with most posts on there, there’s plenty of bickering in the comments. But it just wouldn’t be the Cream without them. I know Shea and Amanda, but I don’t know Shannon at all. What I do know is that everyone I’ve met involved with Local Honey and the local fashion scene is super-nice and very down-to-earth. I sincerely hope to see one of them on the show soon!
Oh yeah… Meg White married Jackson Smith and “little” Jack Lawrence married Jo McCaughey in a double-wedding in Jack White’s backyard on Friday. Obviously Jack & Jo didn’t immediately embark on their honeymoon because we saw him at Fido on Monday.
My only science-y bit today is to tell you to go sign the petition on the website for Space Exploration Day. This is an attempt to get the government to recognize July 20th as National Space Exploration Day. This July 20th will mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. I whole-heartedly agree that this should be an officially-recognized holiday. Supposedly it will be on same level as Flag Day.
Today I leave you with this hilarious little cartoon found at dontstaylong’s tumblr.
GMDesk/fat cats
March 25, 2009
Today is a slow day for whatever reason. The most interesting thing I’ve come across (I actually first came across it yesterday at Yewknee) is the new application called GMDesk. It’s a standalone app that displays all your google stuff in one place, outside of your web browser.
GMDesk is an application that lets you run Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Maps as a stand-alone application to do all your mail handling, calendar event reading etc with. No need to open it up in a web browser, or have it clutter your workspace.
I will be giving it a try in the next week or so.
Apparently a really drunk dude tried to buy beer in the nude last night. He just “didn’t realize it would come to this.” Via Nashvillest.
Oddee has 8 of the most bizarre body manipulations. WARNING: These are pretty intense and not for anyone with a weak stomach.
Finally… fat cat attempts to get through door flap.
steve cross loves music and science 