MONSTER MASH-UP: THE SEQUEL (iPod shuffle challenge!)

This worked out awesomely last year, so let's do it again! You remember the deal: you're scoring the trailers for several upcoming horror movies, so put your iPod or MP3 player of choice on shuffle and post the first song you hit for each trailer. That song is the centerpiece of the trailer, and you should write a few lines about how it'd fit the trailer or where it kicks in. Does it make it a comedy? Does it make it a teen movie? A freaky foreign flick? Follow the link to last year's challenge for bitchin' examples.

Here're the new trailer concepts:

1) Haunted House
2) Mad Scientist
3) The Devil!
4) Creepy Aliens
5) SEQUEL! (Choose one of your movies from last year and score its sequel trailer. Pick the movie first, then hit shuffle - no cheats! If you didn't participate last year, your trailer topic is...MUMMY!)

Reminder: You might want to skip the orchestral stuff to avoid being too on the nose and go with mainly pop music.

A defense of hipsterism

I found this on urban dictionary of all places, but it's a really smart and well written short essay on hipsterism and it's virtues. Thought I'd share.

Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. The greatest concentrations of hipsters can be found living in the Williamsburg, Wicker Park, and Mission District neighborhoods of major cosmopolitan centers such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco respectively. Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind,it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too "edgy" for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. The "effortless cool" urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic. Despite misconceptions based on their aesthetic tastes, hipsters tend to be well educated and often have liberal arts degrees, or degrees in maths and sciences, which also require certain creative analytical thinking abilities. Consequently many hipsters tend to have jobs in the music, art, and fashion industries. It is a myth that most hipsters are unemployed and live off of their parent's trust funds.

Hipsters shun mainstream societal conventions that apply to dating preferences and traditional "rules" of physical attraction. It is part of the hipster central dogma not to be influenced by mainsream advertising and media, which tends to only promote ethnocentric ideals of beauty. The concepts of androgyny and feminism have influenced hipster culture, where hipster men are often as thin as the women they date. The muscular and athletic all-American male ideal is not seen as attractive by confident and culturally-empowered hipster women who instead view them as symbols of male oppression, sexism, and misogyny. Likewise, culturally-vapid sorority-type girls with fake blond hair, overly tanned skin, and "Britney Spears tube-tops" are not seen as attractive by cultured hipster males who instead see them as symbols of female insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of cultural intelligence and independent thinking. Hipsters are also very racially open-minded, and the greatest number of interracial couples in any urban environment are typically found within the hipster subculture.

Although hipsters are technically conformists within their own subculture, in comparison to the much larger mainstream mass, they are pioneers and leaders of the latest cultural trends and ideals. For example, the surge of jeans made to look old and worn (i.e. "distressed"), that have become prevalent at stores such as The Gap, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Hollister, were originally paraded by hipsters who shopped in thrift stores years before such clothing items were mass produced and sold to the mainstream consumer. The true irony here is that many of the detractors of hipster culture are in fact unknowingly following a path that hipsters have carved out years before them. This phenomena also applies to music as well, as many bands have become successful and known to mainstream audiences only because hipsters first found and listened to them as early-adopters of new culture. Once certain concepts of fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new and improved.

Because of the rise of various online photo-blog and social networking sites, insights into urban hipster culture is reaching sheltered suburban audiences at an exponential rate. Cultural "norms" have been deconstructed by hipster culture as a whole. Hipsterism is often dismissed as just an image thing by some, but the culture as a whole is effecting changes in society, leading to feelings of insecurity and resentment in people who are no longer a part of the cultural ruling class. For example, a lot of anti-hipster sentiment evidently comes from culturally-clueless suburban frat boy types who feel that the more sensitive, intelligent, and culturally aware hipster ideal threatens their insecure sense of masculinity. Anti-hipster sentiment often comes from people who simply can't keep up with social change and are envious of those who can.

by Trey Parasuco

There's a Rep for That

Mean spirited, biased, intentionally incediary... sure. Oh, it's also funny... kinda.

Halloween Music Meme (participation is MANDATORY!)

MONSTER MASH-UP - Alright, here’s the deal: you're scoring the trailers for several upcoming horror movies, so put your iPod or MP3 player of choice on shuffle and post the first song you hit for each trailer. That song is the centerpiece of the trailer, and these are the featured monsters:


1) Vampire
2) Werewolf
3) Zombie
4) Slasher
5) Creature from the Black Lagoon (I say it's time for a comeback)

You might want to skip the orchestral stuff to avoid being too on the nose, but the important thing is to then offer up a few lines for each movie explaining how the music fits the trailer. Is it a creepy fit? Does it turn the movie comedic? My test-run will be in the comments.

Music Meme Time

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people (or not) and include me. Try not to repeat a song title. It's harder than you think.

Pick Your Artist: Weezer

Are you male or female: The Greatest Man That Ever Lived

Describe yourself: The World Has Turned And Left Me Here

How do you feel about yourself: The Good Life

Describe your current boy/girl situation: Susanne

Describe where you currently live: El Scorcho

If you could go anywhere you wanted to go: Beverly Hills

Your favorite form of transportation: Dreamin'

Your best friend(s) is(are): We Are All on Drugs

Your favorite color is: Possibilities

Favorite time of day: Peace

If your life were a TV show, what would it be called: Keep Fishin'

What is life to you: Freak Me Out

What is the best advice you have to give: Take Control

Thought for the Day: Death and Destruction

How I would like to die: Say It Ain't So

My soul's present condition: Island in the Sun

As some of you may know, I fear technology.

But this is still a cool demo of where the future might be leading us...

Morph Concept Phone:

Death by Steve McQueen

Q: What does next year have in store for you?

Friend of a Friend - Foo Fighters: I got nothin'

Q: What does your love life look like next year?

Nude - Radiohead: I suppose that would make it easier

Q: What do you say when life gets hard?

Copenhagen - Robert Earl Keen: Cuz that there's jus' how Ah roll, y'all

Q: Song that reminds you of good times?

Walk - Pantera: Strangely enough, that's entirely true. I have no idea how many pounds of marijuana I must have smoked to this song in high school.

Q: What do you think when you get up in the morning?

Captain Shiner - Primus: Black eyes or just being a complete freak? You decide

Q: What song will you dance to at your wedding?

Janie's Got a Gun - Aerosmith: Sexual abuse AND murder? My second wedding may be the most and/or least awesome wedding ever!

Q: Song that reminds you of your first kiss?

Leper Messiah - Metallica: Nothing says "I love you" like a diseased Jesus!

Q: Your favourite saying?

Never Been to Spain - Three Dog Night: It's especially weird because I have been to Spain, but that's still what I say

Q: Favourite place?

Get on the Good Foot - James Brown: Sure, but I hate being on the bad foot

Q: Most Missed Memory?

Dazed and Confused - Led Zeppelin: I think that means I don't remember my missed memory

Q: What song describes your best friend?

Tiny Dancer - Elton John: That describes one friend, but not my best friend. My best friend is a 6'3" clumsy guy

Q: What song describes your ex?

Lady Madonna - The Beatles: Madonna is not my ex, but Paul McCartney is

Q: Where would you go on a first date?

O Kazakhstan - Erran Baron Cohen: Now that's a shitty date, but they do have superior potasium

Q: Drug of choice?

Becoming a Geisha - John Williams and Yo-Yo Ma: You should try it... always makes me feel pretty

Q: What song describes yourself?

Los Bastardos - Primus: Hey, ipod... Fuck you hombre

Q: What is the thing you like doing most?

Adia - Sarah McLachlan: I really like not shaving my armpits?

Q: The song that best describes the president?

Always on my Mind (live) - Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson: Actually not so much these days

Q: Where will you be in 10 years?

Right Side of the Bed - Atreyu: That's encouraging

Q: Your love life right now?

Die by the Sword - Slayer: Well the sword is clearly a phallic symbol, but I've never killed anybody.

Q: What is your state of mind like at the moment?

Plateau - Nirvana: Uh, sure, whatever, man

Q: How will you die?

Steve McQueen - Sheryl Crow: Death by Steve McQueen? Well, if you gotta go, it's a pretty cool way

Alright, let's keep Randy's meme going. Instruction reminder...

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4. Post the results here in a new post or in the comments.

Now I may try this again without movie and video game soundtracks figured in, but the first run through includes everything I've got...

Q: What does next year have in store for you?

"Malagueña" by Brian Setzer - Literal translation of Malagueña: "a Spanish woman from Málaga in Spain." And we're off to a good start! Unless she's a hideous old crone of a peasant, in which case I will cast her out.

Q: What does your love life look like next year?

"Wunderkind" by Alanis Morissette (from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe soundtrack) - Let's see, a wunderkind is a child prodigee. Oh, dude...that's fucked up.

Q: What do you say when life gets hard?

"Cabaret" by Liza Minelli - Where better to drown my sorrows than at a German burlesque club?

Q: Song that reminds you of good times?

"When My Baby Left Me" by Junior Wells - What? She was a total B and the day I escaped her leash was a great one.

Q: What do you think when you get up in the morning?

"Mambo, Pt. 2" by Machito - It's time...

To...

DANCE!!

Q: What song will you dance to at your wedding?

"Rocket 88" by His Delta Cats & Jackie Brenston - This is a kick-ass, boogie-woogie blues number. This wedding's gonna swing, cats.

Q: Song that reminds you of your first kiss?

"The Vikings (Dancing on the Oars)" from the movie The Vikings - Shut up, I was drunk.

Q: Your favourite saying?

"You're Not Here" by Melissa Williamson (Silent Hill 3 Soundtrack) - The problem, of course, is that no one's ever around to hear my favorite saying.

Q: Favourite place?

"Main Viewing Screen" from a collection of classic Star Trek sound effects - Yeah, I am kind of a Trek dork. Of course I like hangin' out on the bridge.

Q: Most Missed Memory?

"Not Long for this World" by Kelly Willis - I sure do miss the days when I was terminally ill!

Q: What song describes your best friend?

"Escape" by Bernard Herrmann (soundtrack to the original Day the Earth Stood Still) - What can I say, the dude loves Journey's seventh album, and seeing as how it gave us "Don't Stop Believing", "Who's Crying Now" and "Open Arms", who can blame him?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_(Journey_album)

Q: What song describes your ex?

"Evil Ways" by Cal Tjader & Carmen McRae - Kinda self-explanatory, right?

Q: Where would you go on a first date?

"Na Herese Ke Naglentas" by Daniel Fox - It's an album of violin music from the Middle East. I don't know why the ladies are avoiding me. It'd be just the two of us, a bottle of wine, and the sounds of gunfire and car bombs as the sun sets over Baghdad.

Q: Drug of choice?

"Layla" by Eric Clapton - Me and Clapton BOTH want George Harrison's wife. He wants to sleep with her, I want to snort her, but still...it's a connection.

Q: What song describes yourself?

"Sharn: City of Towers" from the Eberron Soundtrack - True story: not two days ago one of the customers at the store told me, "Dude, you're such a city of towers." I was, like, "No way." And he was all, "You so are."

After a bit of self-reflection, I realize it's true.

Q: What is the thing you like doing most?

"If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by the Asylum Street Spankers - Judging people in the End Times, that's what Dave loves! Unfortunately my favorite thing can really only happen once. I might need a new hobby.

Q: The song that best describes the president?

"Grand Master Mika" from the Final Fantasy X soundtrack - It's a cooler-sounding title than President, that's for sure.

Q: Where will you be in 10 years?

"Claudette" by Roy Orbison - Hey, this Claudette babe sounds pretty okay! But wait, do parents even name girls Claudette any more? Maybe this is a Monkey's Paw kind of thing, and Claudette is gonna be the name of the human internment camp when Skynet takes over! OMG that not make no sense, but still is very scary!!

Q: Your love life right now?

"Is This Love" by Bob Marley - Yeah, I've never been Mr. Confidence.

Q: What is your state of mind like at the moment?

"Start the Fire" by No Doubt - Oh, did I mention my pyromania?

Q: How will you die?

"Strut C - Dining Hall" from the Metal Gear Solid 2 soundtrack - Very specific, I know. My suspicion is that Strut C is a location somewhere inside Prison Camp Claudette. DAMN YOU, SKYNET. DAMN YOU TO HELL.

First Blog Meme of 2009

OK, it's 2009 and it's time for a new iPod/iTunes/MP3 whatever meme. Here's the instructions:

Here are the instructions:

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4. Post the results here in a new post or in the comments.

Q: What does next year have in store for you?

Mellowship Slinky in B Major by Red Hot Chili Peppers - Apparently, I'll be doing a lot of acid

Q: What does your love life look like next year?

Hava Nagilia from the Snatch soundtrack - So my love life is... Jewish?

Q: What do you say when life gets hard?

Your Time is Gonna Come by Led Zeppelin - Either I'm an optimist, or this is what I say to my enemies

Q: Song that reminds you of good times?

Mammal by They Might Be Giants - Because my good times are apparently exceptionally lame

Q: What do you think when you get up in the morning?

Opening the Hymnal/Babies by Happy Hollow - Because I'm a hymn-lovin' atheist, apparently

Q: What song will you dance to at your wedding?

Money for Nothing by Dire Straits - So I guess if I ever get married again, I'm marrying rich!

Q: Song that reminds you of your first kiss?

Chemistry by Information Society - Uh, that wasn't my first kiss, that was somebody else's, I think

Q: Your favourite saying?

Hats Off to (Roy) Harper by Led Zeppelin - What can I say, I just love Roy Harper... can't stop talking about him

Q: Favourite place?

The Hologram/Binary Sunset by London Symphony Orchestra - So my favorite place is either Tatooine or, more generally, a galaxy far, far away. OK.

Q: Most Missed Memory?

We Are Winning - Flobots - Wow, that's just depressing... I miss winning?

Q: What song describes your best friend?

Holden on Affleck from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back - And I quote "Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms." I don't know what this says about my best friend.

Q: What song describes your ex?

Lisa's Sax from The Simpsons - I don't even know what this means

Q: Where would you go on a first date?

A Drop of Nelson's Blood from Rogues Gallery (pirate song album) - So... on a murder spree?

Q: Drug of choice?

The Ballad of Grace Darling by The Shifty Sailors - Another pirate song? So my drug of choice is... grog?

Q: What song describes yourself?

Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? by Revolting Cocks - Really, iPod?

Q: What is the thing you like doing most?

Caught by the Fuzz by Supergrass - What I like most, apparently, is breaking the law and getting caught

Q: The song that best describes the president?

Mr. E's Beautiful Blues by The Eels - I got nothing.

Q: Where will you be in 10 years?

Old Love by Eric Clapton - So I'll be old, and in love? Oh, iPod, you're so kind!

Q: Your love life right now?

Outsmarted by the Hives - Yep, that's pretty much what married life is like, if you marry the right woman.

Q: What is your state of mind like at the moment?

Different Tomorrow by The Broadside Beat - Well, it's true, at any rate.

Q: How will you die?

Rapture, Maria, No Exit - Blondie Remix - If I interpret this correctly, the Rapture will come, the Virgin Mary will show up and I will never die. Take that, bitches!

It's Calling You, Nick

Transformers iPod Dock

More Ipod meme... PLUS STATS!

How many songs total: 3783
How many hours or days of music: 10.8 days (Dave averaged 392.86 songs/day, Cindy 383.54 songs/day, D3 350.28 songs/day, Randy 127.25 songs/day... Randy must have some freaky long songs)
Most recently played: "Taxman" by Stevie Ray Vaughan
Most played: I very rarely choose a song, so it's really just random, so 4 way tie actually "I Bought You" by Tsunami Bomb, "3 Weeks, She Sleeps" by Blue October, "A Day in the Life" by The Beatles, and "Stairway to Heaven" by Dolly Parton (that's right, Dolly Mother Fuckin' Parton, bitches)
Most recently added: "We're No Here" by Mogwai (a weird little instrumental piece with heavy guitars that I grabbed after hearing it on Dave's iPod at work)

Sort by song title:
First Song: "A-Tisket A-Tasket" by Ella Fitzgerald
Last Song: "99 Ways to Die" by Megadeth (now that's a metal song title)

Sort by time:
Shortest Song: I also had tons of short clips like Dave, but my shortest "song" is 5-PieceChicken Dinner by the Beastie Boys (0:23) If you don't know what it is, you should take a listen.
Longest Song: "Battle Sequence I" by John Williams on the X-Wing vs Tie-Fighter soundtrack (27:22)

Sort by album:
First album: "About Time" by Pennywise (partially downloaded album) first full album is "American IV: The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash
Last album: "777: Luciferi" by Danzig (partial album) First full album is "20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection - The Best of James Brown" by... James Brown

First song that comes up on Shuffle: "Anthracite" by Cymande (name/title sound metal... but it's more of jazz instrumental track)

Search the following and state how many songs come up:

Death - 19 (Cindy 1 death per 132 songs, Randy 1/139, Dave 1/165, D3 1/199) Cindy is the deadliest and I'm the least dead?
Life - 39
Love - 195 (D3 1 love per 19 songs, Cindy 1/22, Dave 1/25, Randy 1/25) I'm the most loving, and Rany & Dave tie for least loving
Hate - 48 (D3 1 hate per 79 songs, Cindy 1/132, Randy 1/197, Dave 1/241) I'm the most hateful, and Dave is pretty mellow
You - 438
Sex - 24 (Randy 1 sex per 127 songs, D3 1/158, Cindy 1/303, Dave 1/1238) Randy is the pervy-est and Dave is the WAY most celibate

iPod meme continued...

How many songs total: 9900
How many hours or days of music: 25.2 days (weird; more songs than Randy, but running notably fewer days; Randy, do you have the full "Ring of the Nibelung" or some shit on there?)
Most recently played: "Want Ad Blues" / John Lee Hooker
Most played: "Velvet Guitar" / Alejandro Escovedo (unexpected, but I really do love this song)
Most recently added: "Don't Stay Away" / Phillis Dillon (downloaded just this afternoon after I heard it on KUT; falls into the rock steady genre, a precursor to reggae)

Sort by song title:
First Song: "A.M. Radio" / Everclear
Last Song: "99.9F°" / Suzanne Vega (we're twins, Randy!)

Sort by time:
Shortest Song: I've got assloads of short video game riffs and weird things (the shortest is the Transformers transforming sound at (:02), but the shortest thing that could fairly be called a song is "The Dick Van Dyke Show Theme Song" (no shit) at (:17)
Longest Song: "Logical Regression" by DJ Scam clocks in at (44:19) This is something I got in a music exchange with some dudes at Bendis's board. It's a megamix of 60s music interspersed with the audio of commercials, political speeches and other flavor sounds of the era. It's kinda cool.

Sort by album:
First album: "A2G EP" by Blackalicious (partially downloaded album; first full album is "Abbey Road")
Last album: "80s Hits Stripped" by Various (accoustic 80s pop by the original artists; I only downloaded a few songs from the album, but I kinda dig it). Since that's partial album, the last full album I've got is "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" by Bernard Herrmann (awesome)
First song that comes up on Shuffle: "Wish I Could (Hideaway)" / Creedence Clearwater Revival (not a particular favorite)

Search the following and state how many songs come up:

Death - 61
Life - 96
Love - 397
Hate - 41
You - 707
Sex - 8

iPod Meme

OK, time for another music meme. Use your iPod or your iTunes, whichever you've got. I'm using my iTunes.

How many songs total: 6,108
How many hours or days of music: 48 days
Most recently played: "Tossed" by Frank Black
Most played: "Funny Little Feeling" by Rock and Roll Soldiers (86 times)*
Most recently added: "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers**

Sort by song title:
First Song: "The Abduction And The Final Battle At The Gallows" by Michael Kamen from the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soundtrack***
Last Song: "99.9f" by Suzanne Vega

Sort by time:
Shortest Song: "Who's Knocking On The Wall?" by They Might Be Giants (:04)
Longest Song: "The Hot Fuzz Suite" by David Arnold (23:11)****

Sort by album:
First album: "Achtung Baby" by U2
Last album: "99.9 F" by Suzanne Vega
First song that comes up on Shuffle: "Sex Machine Attacks" by Graeme Revell on From Dusk Til Dawn Soundtrack

Search the following and state how many songs come up:

Death - 44
Life - 100
Love - 240
Hate - 31 (Although 18 are due to the word "Whatever")
You - 531
Sex - 48

*Weird choice, though I do like this song... got it on the iTunes free sampler when I first signed up

**Blame Rock Band

***Gaming music - Don't you judge me! ;)

****Appears to be the entire score from Hot Fuzz. Weird.