Updates & Bullshit

Greetings. It's Sunday. The day of rest. The day of worship. The day of recovery.

I have returned from the latest Schwagstock event smelling of river funk, smoke, and a handful of other various stenches from sources unknown. All in good fun, my skeptical friends. The scenery was quite magnificent. If ever in need of a new, exciting place to camp, be sure to check out Camp Zoe just outside of Salem, MO. Beautiful country, folks.

On to the beef I say...

Hunter Thompson was put to final rest this past weekend. His ashes were blended inside a colorful array of fireworks and shot from a cannon at his renowned Owl Farm Saturday evening. There were an assorted mix of friends, fans, celebrities, and paparazzi on hand to attend the affair. It was also reported that Johnny Depp covered the tab, which is never cheap when it comes to a Hunter Thompson extravaganza.


Six Feet Under came to an end last weekend as well with a tear jerking 75 min. grand finale. It you missed it, I'm sure the network will air it several times over the next week or so. It will definitely leave an impression on HBO viewers, and I know it will leave an irreplaceable void in my Sunday night TV schedule. Not sure what Alan Ball has on the backburner (if anything) but I look forward to his next adventure. If you missed the bus, you can rent or purchase the previous four seasons on DVD. Check out your local DVD/video store for availability. While you're there, check out American Beauty. More excellent Alan Ball material.

Fighting Illini football begins in approximately 10 days. They will take on Rutgers on Sept. 3rd for their 2006 season home opener. Kickoff is set for 11am, and ESPN2 will cover the game. Despite the recent controversy, Illinois fans are anxious to get this year underway under new head coach, Ron Zook. It will be interesting to see what changes he has implemented to the Illinois football program not to mention game time results. Zook was brought to Illinois in effort to turn the tides & put Illinois football back on the radar. We shall see if the new coach is up to the challenge.

The 2006 NFL season kicks off Thursday, Sept. 8th so fantasy fans get your teams assembled & set for opening day. AND....hockey is back on so get set for a fresh season of hockey in October.

That is all...

Where My Bitches At?

What's crack-lackin' in internetland? There's not much in the way of new & exciting news or at least worth sharing. So I've assembled another exciting edition of...

What's In Your CD Wallet?

That's right. What's spinning in your ride, boom box, or God forbid IPod? Let's see what's under my skirt shall we? DJ, spin that funky shizznasty.


UNKLE - Psyence Fiction

• Appeared at Coachella this past spring. Not bad but a little dreary & drowsy at times. Good for macking, relaxing, and sulking.

Grandaddy - Sophtware Slump

• Not a bad album. I give it a with potential.

Idlewild - Hope Is Important

• Just picked this up & like what I hear so far.

Massive Attack - Mezzanine

• Yet another recent addition to my collection. Another good selection for macking & other various activities that don't require operating heavy machinery.

Pulp - We Love Life

• My very 1st Pulp album. It's progress, folks. Decent album overall.

Watashi Wa - The Love of Life

• Not bad. A bit more uplifting than my usual gloomy selections. It teeters on the edge of the pop genre, but it's worth giving a spin.

Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary

• I like. Moody & fueled by depression yet does not cause excessive drowsiness.

Guided By Voices - Do the Collapse

• I quite like this album. The track 'Teenage FBI' is also featured on the latest EA Sport NCAA 2006 music playlist.

Badly Drawn Boy - Have you Fed the Fish?

• Great album. I recommend checking this one out.

Dismemberment Plan - Change

• Had slightly higher expectations from this group. This particular album is so-so, but it also has potential to grow on me.

Green Day - Nimrod

• Everyone should come to love & appreciate Green Day. Great group of guys, and their music is generally uplifting with a sprinkle of anarchy & anti-conformity. Although this is not my favorite Green Day album, it does contain one of my favorites "Redundant".
  

The Killers - Hot Fuss

• The f%$king album of the Summer! I have spun the paint off this disc. Love this band & this album.

Grateful Dead - Skeletons from the Closet (Best of)

• Not a huge Dead fan, but I can appreciate their contribution to music & society. This is a nice compilation to own if you wish to graze the surface of the colossal Grateful Dead catalogue.

Paul McCartney - all the best!

• Nice collection of some of his greatest works outside of the Beatles. It's Paul McCartney for f*ck's sake.

Daryl Hall / John Oates - The Very Best of

• Go ahead laugh, pretentious f*cks. Nice collection of the old classics.
  

The Who - My Generation

• Another nice collection of classics.
  

NIN - With Teeth

• Impressed with this album. Even though the lyrics still ooze of anger & depression, the album still grooves. It is rumored that the last NIN release (The Fragile) increased the suicide rate between 18-35 year olds by at least 1%. Kidding, of course, but it was a rough 2 CD set to absorb.

Green Day - American Idiot

• Yes...another Green Day album. I was hesitant about this release at first but have grown to enjoy the majority of the tracks.

Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E.

• This is their best album, in my opinion.

Supertramp - Classics Vol. 9

• I'm chocked full of compilation albums. Another decent release to own if you appreciate Supertramp. This has a handful of great classics with a variety of other tracks.

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (4 Disc Box Set.... the one with the crop circles)

• If you appreciate Zeppelin & more Zeppelin, then this is the box set for you. Buy it, borrow it, burn it....do whatever you have to do to acquire this 4-disc set. It is phenomenal.

Supergrass - I Should Coco

• Decent group. Good album to have if you are partial to this group.

Blur - Leisure

• Is it possible for Blur to make a bad album? This is a personal favorite of mine, but I recommend checking out other early releases such as Modern Life Is Rubbish & Parklife. Also great albums.

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend

• Yet another compilation of hits but a must to own if you enjoy peace & happiness in Marley-vision.

Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness

• 2-disc set released in the mid-90s. Not a bad set as it produced a handful of hits for the Pumpkins. Not their best but a quintessential release to own for the Pumpkins lover.
  

Built To Spill - Keep It Like A Secret

• The band of a thousand releases. This album isn't bad, but they have a throng of other selections to check out. I recommend doing so.
  

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - The Best of

• Another good compilation to have if you appreciate the artist.
  

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

• By far, the best Beastie album ever released. Taxi driver, I'm the eggman.
  

Sublime - 40oz. to Freedom

• The best of the Sublime catalogue. Don't waste time & resources with the self-titled, overplayed release. This release is the one to own. Robbin' the Hood is also worth checking out.
  

Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

• One of many great albums from quite possibly one of the greatest groups of all time. Not as high on the lovable scale as say Revolver, Rubber Soul, or perhaps the White Album, but it gets plenty of love.

That's all from the this side of the freakbow. Stay tuned next time for a heated post & tirade involving NCAA bullshit, mascots, history, and tradition.

Music News & Other Useless Information

Let's talk music, shall we? I have some exciting news to report as well as a handful of other music-related oddities.

First and foremost, I need to apologize to my beloved Pet Shop Boys for not acknowledging their recent performance and participation with Live 8. The information I obtained failed to mention that they would be performing in Moscow. Either that or I'm blind, but I'll blame the media...or lackthereof. As you may have witnessed, the coverage of Live 8 was a little less than shall we say acceptable. F*ck, even the President was even pissed that Pink Floyd's televised set was cut. Hopefully, Bob 'Pinky' Geldolf and co. will release a DVD or perhaps PPV of the entire concert so viewers get the opportunity to see more than 2 minutes of each set. As the Dead Kennedy's once said, MTV....get off the air. You suck.

Sit down for this next announcement for it is a doozy. There are rumors circulating that the will reunite and return to the music scene. Billy Corgan recently placed a full-page spread in the Chicago-Tribune to confirm the rebirth of the Pumpkins. The attempts are being made to bring back the original members including D'arcy, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlain although nothing has been confirmed. Hopefully, this will evolve into absolute truth so stay tuned for further info.

will be returning to N. America for the first time since since 1982. They currently have two dates scheduled but may add additional shows in 2006. Paul Rodgers, formerly of Bad Company, will be filling in for the late, inimitable Freddie Mercury. The pre-sale begins today for the New Jersey and L.A. shows. Save up your pennies because tickets are going for a mere $85 to $150. For more news and tour announcements visit Queen Online.

The Oddities
Fred Durst was photographed wearing a Smiths t-shirt in one of the latest publications. Sweet irony. What a toadstool. Phil Spector was recently in court on trial for murder. This picture
doesn't quite do justice to the massive afro he sported during the hearing. However, you can check out the Aug. edition of Blender for the full head of hair. Ease back on the hair products, Phil. You can also catch an informative drug use & abuse timeline in the August edition as well. Fascinating tidbits, folks. And how about Frances Bean Cobain? She turns 13 this month and still looks like her daddy. Hopefully, she can eventually escape the grip of her unstable piece of sh*t mother. My opinion....of course.

Finally, comes out one week from tomorrow. Donovan McNabb is on the cover, and the folks at EA Sport have added some new features including QB vision control, QB precision placement, Superstar mode (similar to NCAA 2006's Race for the Heisman play mode), & enhanced broadcast presentation. Get your copy reserved now.

Until we meet again...