Records

I finally took the time to do an inventory of my records. Not sure why I'm posting it here since no one reads this shit but if you know anyone that has records, or wants records, please pass it along.

And I know no one cares, but it took me a while to get this shit together so i'm fucking posting it.

Vinyl List

A ridiculous day of football

ridiculously awesome.

Come see graf orlock with me

Merry Fucking Christmas


Merry Christmas to all. Sorry about the video quality. Shhhhhh, what's that???? I think I hear reindeer on the roof. !!!insert generic tapdancing on grave joke here!!!

Merry Christmas!!

Dock Ellis 1945-2008

RIP kid.
12 Seasons. 138 Wins 119 Losses. ERA 3.46. World Series ring-1971.

Everyone knows what Dock Ellis was most famous for:
Throwing a no-hitter on June 12, 1970 on LSD against the Padres.
Snopes Verification

Here's a couple lesser known facts:
-He beaned Reggie Jackson in the face in an apparent retaliation for a monstrous home run in the 1971 All Star Game. Jackson was carried off the field on a strecher and claims part of his face was numb for four (4) years.
-Attempting to hit every member of the Cinci Reds lineup to prove a point to teammates in 1974. Prior to the the game he went on record saying, "We gonna get down. We gonna do the do. I'm going to hit these motherfuckers!"
-Was maced by a Riverfront Security guard in 1972 in an argument while carrying a half-empty bottle of wine. Ellis displayed his world series ring but apparently this wasn't enough for the guard who claimed he didn't recognize Dock.
-In the minors, a fan was taunting him with racial slurs, Ellis went into the stands, and tried to hit him with a bat.

The guy had some balls.

Best Albums of 2008

When I was trying to organize this list I began to realize that after the first few the order doesn't really matter. If you want to hear anything please let me know. Most of these are uploaded anyway but there's no reason to post links that no one clicks. This link includes a song from each album listed.

And I'm going to do an order anyway... and count up.

1. Torche - Meanderthal

Hands down the best album that came out this year. Melodic and crushing at the same time and Kurt Ballou did a fantastic job recording it. They're also one of the best live bands playing right now... go and see them and you just might pass out. ;)

2. Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling

You would think a band that's been doing the post-rock thing for ten years + would get old... and bad. Shit, half the post-rock bands out there I can only stand for ten minutes. But Mogwai continue to forge ahead in a genre flooded with mediocrity. Their sixth studio release isn't their best, but it's certainly one of the best of the year.

3. Gridlink - Amber Gray

Jon Chang managed to put out an album that stacks up with Discordance Axis' "The Inalienable Dreamless". The riffs are better, the sound is better, and I think it actually might be faster. 11 songs in 12 minutes that most of you will hate. But listen to it anyway... it's only 12 minutes for christ's sake.

4. Able Baker Fox - Voices

In 2002, The Casket Lottery and Small Brown Bike did a collaboration "split" ep that caught a lot of attention and was absolutely fantastic. Especially the cover of David Bowie and Queen's "Under Pressure". Well it only took six years but Voices takes the best of both bands and puts it into one album. If you liked either of these bands and haven't heard this you are missing out. I'm definitely looking forward to future releases (hopefully).

5. 5ive - Hesperus

For some reason I thought these two dudes had given up and then out of nowhere comes a new record. I don't know if anything will top their self-titled for me but this is a close second. The production is 1000x better and instead of the building, looping, thickening songs they had on the self-titled this one gets to the point a lot faster. A really nice progression.

6. U.S. Christmas - Eat The Low Dogs

Another band that has been tagged with the Neurosis/Isis comparison (and this time I don't get it). These dudes from the hills of North Carolina deliver some rocking psychedelic metal that isn't exactly uplifting. But it does flow very well and some of the delay-induced guitar riffs are enough to hypnotize you. I've also heard the live shows are a mess... in a good way.

7. These Arms Are Snakes - Tail Swallower And Dove

What makes less sense, the band name or the album name? I can't decide. But no matter how artsy we get, the fact is these dudes put out one hell of an album... again. Which I wasn't saying after the first listen but it grew on me quick. And I'm pretty sure the song "Cavity Carousel" could have been written by Madonna.

8. Made Out Of Babies - The Ruiner

Not only is Julie Christmas really hot, but she has one of the creepiest/best voices ever. Couple that with awesome song writing and good production and you have this beast.

9. Misery Index - Traitors

I used to hate on this band way to much. Probably because they ripped their name from one of the best albums ever. But after I listened to this album and saw them play my opinion has changed. They managed to put out one of the best death metal releases of the year and also put on one of the best shows i've seen.

10. Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull

With their sixth studio release Earth moved away from the droning doom of their early days to a much more clean and composed, "western" sound. It's slow and actually quite relaxing to listen to. This is as accessible as this band gets... for now.

Lots of good music came out this year and other than those 10 I suggest checking out:

Disfear - Live The Storm (swedish d-beat awesomeness.)
Bongripper/Winters In Osaka - Meat Ditch (chicago noise/doom)
Russian Circles - Station (post-rock that's actually good)
Boris - Smile (these japs rock)
Melvins - Nude With Boots (not as good as 'a senile animal' but still rocking)
Git Some - Cosmic Rock (half of planes mistaken for stars)
Meshuggah - Obzen (this album is insane)
Gods and Queens - s/t (philly rock)
M83 - Saturdays = Youth (is it 1985?)
A Silver Mt. Zion - 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons (13th/1st song rules)

And here is a link for some more songs.

Again, if you want to hear anything let me know. Overall it was a pretty good year for music, and a pretty shitty year for everything else. In 2009 I'm looking forward to the new Mastodon, maybe a new Cave In record, about a million other releases, graf orlock and metallica shows in january, jackson hole, 30, and overall self destruction.

Keelhaul/Backwoods Payback/Jail - Johnny Brenda's 12/10

I was going to write a review for this show but describing live music makes you sound like an asshole. Keelhaul ripped it up, Backwoods Payback still rules and the dude from Jail hates everything.

Sam and I drank a few Kenzingers and I had a wicked bangover the next day.

Expect a new Keelhaul album in '09.

Keelhaul


Backwoods Payback


No horrible pictures of Jail but that dude definitely hates everything.

Santa's Gmail Hacked!!!

click it to enlarge

Phil Anselmo

Dude is so fucked/awesome.

"wool and...... and penis do not go together."

West Conshohocken Wildlife

All these photos were taken from my job site. This photo was forwarded to a Penn State professor who studies wetland habitat. he said that it is the red swap crayfish and is native to lands much farther south. Yet, here it is in Beautiful West Conshohocken, PA.

Big ass snapping turtle. Estimated at 20+ lbs. He'll take your finger off at the knuckle.

Non venemous water snake, was found hiding in our portable dam. It was cold so he really wasn't moving really fast. That is not me holding it.

This 17-inch brown trout was found in less than 6 inches of water. Larger ones have been seen upstream. Again hard to believe stuff like this is around in a stream that averages about 1-foot depth.

This red tailed hawk is commonly seen watching over things. One day he must have killed a possum because he dropped the head in the work area. I had a photo of the head but can't find it right now.

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start

and nothing is #1...

1. You Landed So Gracefully
2. I Know You'll Find Out That I'm A Geek
3. My Argument Precedes Me
4. As Usual
5. Help Me Fix My Bike
6. Is That A Terrible Thing To Say?
7. See You In A Month
8. Time Wastes No Time
9. Muscle, When Will I See It?
10. By Surprise

I listened to this album today for the first time in a very long time. You should listen to it as well. Even if you hate contra... and I think we are missing a select in there.

dl

Juan Montoya Leaves Torche

Dude ripped and I'm sad to see him go. Torche is currently touring in Europe and getting ready for the ATP festival. Here is what Steve Brooks had to say:

"We havent made a real announcement about it yet but we will. Juan is no longer playing with us due to lots of personal reasons. We'll be a three piece for a while. Did it two nights in a row and we think it was excellent. Sorry if anyone's bummed out. We're not.

Thanks! "

I don't think this band can work as a three piece but I do think they can find a good replacement. But... Juan ripped and I hope he takes care of his shit. Adios Muchacho!

disorganized fun

Dude throws down on keys. Ya h3rd

ronald jenkees



Check out this DL of his that includes an awesome version of Pachelbel's Cannon in D Major.

JUGGERNAUT

I had to post something so I didn't have to look at that fucking picture of axl rose every time i came to the page. Christ.

Cave In playing an oldie. This is an old video but god damn it rules.

17 years later....

And this piece of shit finally gets finished. I haven't even listened to it yet but I imagine it sucks after hearing half of the first song.

streaming here

This will probably get taken down soon, so if you want it let me know

Today Is The Day Covering Metallica

This fucking rules.

Nothing Else Matters

Enjoy Everything

I saw this video a while ago on another blog. Worth watching if you need to smile.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

MONEY FOR NOTHING - Dire Straits

Last night at Duffers the wonderful riff by Mark Knopfler was heard on the Juke Box amongst some really terrible country songs. I said "we should play that" to Jon (making reference to the duo known as sixby). Jon intelligently responded, "Do you know how hard that shit is?"

I can't begin to play this, but I think Jon can. This one has the tabs embedded into the video. Here's how hard that shit is.



And after a bunch of practice, shred like this dude.

Mastodon Box Set

If you have $240 that you want to get rid of...

Seems a little overpriced.... and this is coming from the guy that bought the ISIS box set.

burn your money here

Stream Cleanup in the Jerz

I removed the videos for a reason I don't feel like getting into.

Looks like the gates to hell

The link to the story is here.

St John USVI 2008

This is my first youtube published video. This is also my first contribution to jon's Bastardizer Blog. IMovie has a "share" feature that makes it really easy to send stuff you make stright to youtube. This video is a slideshow of photos taken on vacation this past August. Attendees: Me (todd) Jackie, her parents and my parents. The first song is "The world is spinning" by The Disco Biscuits and the second song (well, piece of a song) is "In the morning of the magicians" by The Flaming Lips. I hope i didn't waste your time.

My Voting Experience...

Today Is The Day news...

Steve Austin has just completed the film version of his album Axis Of Eden. Over the past 3 years, Austin worked with director David Hall to produce a film that will be shown above the band, so that the performance and the movie interact. No word on when this will be available for purchase but here is what to expect:

"Within a six-month period, Eve Edwards loses her six year old daughter to cancer, and her husband is brutally murdered by an axe-wielding transsexual. In the throes of great personal tragedy, she turns to sex, drugs and cannibalism to help ease her pain. In no time she finds herself at the bottom of an ugly downward spiral"

Should be quite an uplifting show.

Here are the dates. Touring with WEEDEATER and BLACK COBRA:

Nov 1 2008 9:00P
Drunken Unicorn w/ Black Cobra Atlanta, Georgia
Nov 2 2008 8:00P
The Soapbox Laundro lounge Wilmington, North Carolina
Nov 3 2008 6:00P
Alley Katz Richmond, Virginia
Nov 4 2008 8:00P
Sonar Baltimore, Maryland
Nov 5 2008 8:00P
Knitting Factory w/ Love 666 New york, New York
Nov 6 2008 8:00P
Millcreek Tavern Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov 8 2008 8:00P
The Blue Moon Toronto, Ontario
Nov 9 2008 8:00P
Les Foufounes Electriques Montreal, Quebec
Nov 10 2008 8:00P
Club Hell Providence, Rhode Island
Nov 11 2008 9:00P
31st St Pub Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nov 12 2008 8:00P
Bug Jar Rochester, New York
Nov 13 2008 8:00P
Grog Shop Cleveland, Ohio
Nov 14 2008 9:00P
Mac’s Bar Lansing, Michigan
Nov 15 2008 9:00P
Turf Club St Paul, Minnesota
Nov 16 2008 9:00P
The Metal Shaker Chicago, Illinois
Nov 17 2008 8:00P
The End with Zoroaster Nashville, Tennessee
Nov 18 2008 7:00P
Fubar St Louis, Missouri
Nov 19 2008 8:00P
Downtown Music Little Rock, Arkansas
Nov 20 2008 7:00P
The Marquee Tulsa, Oklahoma
Nov 21 2008 8:00P
Reno’s Chop Shop w/ Zoroaster, Trampskirts & Admirals Club Dallas, Texas
Nov 22 2008 7:00P
Red 7 with Zoroaster Austin, Texas

DL

EDIT* - Here is an interview with Steve. I've made it about halfway through and I'm going to bed but so far it's fantastic. Read it here

Bongripper / Winters In Osaka - MEATDITCH (2008)

This is a collaboration between two of the best doom/noise bands in Chicago right now. Self released on a 3" cd that 90% of us can't listen to due to it not playing in most cd players. 1 song, 20 minutes. Drone, Noise, Doom and Riffs. Oh and conga drums as well.

DL

MASTODON album news

"Atlanta-based heavy rock masters MASTODON have confirmed details behind their upcoming Reprise Records album scheduled for release in early 2009.
The seven-song strong, 50 minute tour de force entitled CRACK THE SKYE, was recorded at Southern Track Studios in Atlanta and produced/mixed by Brendan O’Brien (Rage Against The Machine, Springsteen, Pearl Jam, AC/DC, etc.). CRACK THE SKYE follows their massively acclaimed 2006 epic BLOOD MOUNTAIN, which was voted the #9 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s “Top 50 Album’s of 2007” and the #1 album of The Year in Decibel Magazine. Greater accolades were bestowed upon them last year when MASTODON were named “Best Metal Band” in Rolling Stone Magazine’s Annual poll, and “Best Band On The Planet” by the UK’s Kerrang! Magazine.

Tracklisting for CRACK THE SKYE is as follows:

1. Oblivion
2. Divinations
3. Quintessence
4. The Czar
(I) Usurper
(II) Escape
(III) Martyr
(IV) Spiral
5. Ghost of Karelia
6. Crack The Skye
7. The Last Baron

As with each of their previous releases, the packaging for the new album will be as bold and breathtaking and the music contained within. Multiple packaging formats are expected. Details to be revealed in the near future. Until then, MASTODON has been asked to support label-mates Metallica in Europe this coming Summer 2009. Confirmed dates are as follows:

June 14 Hartwall Arena Helsinki, FIN
June 15 Hartwall Arena Helsinki, FIN
June 17 Spektrum Oslo, NOR
June 22 Datch Forum Milan, ITA
June 24 Palalottomatica Rome, ITA
July 13 Palacio de Deportes Madrid, Spain
July 16 Hallenstadion Zurich, SWITZ
July 20 Copenhagen Forum Copenhagen, DEN
July 22 Copenhagen Forum Copenhagen, DEN
July 23 Copenhagen Forum Copenhagen, DEN
July 27 Copenhagen Forum Copenhagen, DEN
Additional dates to be announced

As previously announced MASTODON are about to begin an extensive tour of the UK and Europe between October 27 through December 7. Additional details on CRACK THE SKYE to be unveiled soon."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm really looking forward to this. It's either going to be great or horrible.

In the meantime, listen to Leviathan and dream about whales.

DL

Good News, Bad News, Good News, Bad News...

1. I just read that Led Zeppelin is going to be doing a full US tour!! ...WITHOUT ROBERT PLANT. Oh, and the singer from Alter Bridge will be taking his place? Now, I've never heard Alter Bridge but I just listened to 19 seconds of one of their songs on myspace and I wanted to blow my brains out.

WTF. If this happens I will not be in attendance.

2. SLEEP is playing a fucking show!!!!! ....... in England. Fuck. Sleep is going to play at the next ATP festival which will take place May 8 - 10, 2009. They will play the classic album Holy Mountain in it's entirety and also selections from the hour long masterpiece Dopesmoker.

I've never been to England and this would be a damn good reason to go. Even though they will probably announce multiple US dates after they see that ATP $$$. Who's in?

WORLD PHUCKING CHAMPIONS

This is unreal and I still don't think it's sunken in yet. Nobody deserved it more than these dudes, and this city. See you at the parade!

CHUPACABRA

Graf Orlock - Destination Time : Yesterday (Level Plane - 2006)

probably the best band ever. sound clips from various awesome movies mixed with riffs. and the lyrics are taken directly from the films.

example:

song - 50 year storm

lyrics:

Do you know what this is? Two keys of uncut crystal meth. What is this shit? That shit's crystal meth. You think I like this haircut? My wife wants me to stay at the Ramada. Utah, meet Deatz, Deatz, Utah. Fort fucking Lauderdale. Why be a servant of the law when you can be its master? Dipshit. Utah, will someone please tell me how they're supposed to rob Tarzana city national on August second? Warchild's splintered battle cry, oh shit nice tattoo. War, war, war warchild







01. Tactical Destruction
02. 50 Year Storm
03. Not Economically Viable
04. Improvement Society
05. Dutch And The Demon
06. Prove It
07. Massacre! / Main Title
08. Captives Of The Thuggre
09. Rotten Kid
10. Hauser
11. Personal Stuff
12. Panic At The Galleria
13. Border Crossing
14. Marmot
15. A Chat With The Pentagon
16. Bonus Track

THOSE RICH FUCKS

Minus The Bear - Acoustics

Only available at their shows on the current tour. features one new song, one off of highly refined pirates, one from menos el oso, and the rest from planet of ice. i hope to NOT procrastinate this year and get tickets to see these dudes again.

these songs transferred over much better than i thought they would.

1. Guns & Ammo (new track)
2. We Are Not a Football Team (from the album, Highly Refined Pirates)
3. Burying Luck (from the album, Planet of Ice)
4. Knights (from the album, Planet of Ice)
5. Pachuca Sunrise (from the album, Menos El Oso)
6. Throwin' Shapes (from the album, Planet of Ice)
7. Ice Monster (from the album, Planet of Ice)

MENOS EL ELECTRICIDAD