Loading ...MyLifeBits, Cocaine, Spindle, Pizza, Tree Man, Record Reviews
By Evan ~ April 15th, 2008. Filed under: world news.
Since I neglected to write of my weekly world news entries on Saturday, here is a belated update. If you’re not interested in my reactions to headlines from around the globe, you can skip this entry and move on to the next one. Or, might I suggest making a donation to this website (see that “DONATE” button at the top-left corner of the page?) with the time you would have spent reading my drivel? Your taxes are due at midnight, and if you haven’t finished your return yet, maybe you can somehow write-off your donation! Or, if you feel like getting something in return for your donation, why not bid on one of my charity* eBay auctions.
*the charity is my dwindling bank account.
And now, the news!
I wrote about MyLifeBits in February of 2007, stating that Microsoft was trying to discover a way in which we could all walk around with a terabyte of storage in our phones, computers and other portable devices. The opportunity to record every inter-personal communication (verbal and digital) and every sound we hear, as well as photograph all the images we see, was maybe ten years away from becoming a reality. MyLifeBits is now considered to be a nine-year project, and Microsoft project developer Gordon Bell is well on his way to figuring out how we can remember everything we’ve ever done, seen, saw, or said in what he refers to as a “surrogate brain”. It’s all very exciting, even if Microsoft is solely responsible for researching and developing MyLifeBits. If I can someday look back and say, “Yeah, I remember that,” about even minute details of my life, I’d be immensely happy. [story]
“There is a good chance you’re carrying cocaine,” the article begins. According to a UMass Dartmouth professor, 67% of dollar bills collected for a study contained trace amounts of cocaine. This, of course, is not the first study of its kind. A study from the ’90s determined that one third of money samples taken from banks in Chicago and the Federal Reserve of Chicago contained trace amounts of coke. I don’t know what’s more fucked up, that a huge percentage of our pocket money contains traces of coke, or that all those dollar bills had to suffer through listening parties where the music included Rumors or Running On Empty on repeat. Ugh. [story]
It will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine. On second though, I can’t afford it. [story]
Forbes Magazine has published their list of the best pizzerias in America. I haven’t eaten at either Lombardi’s in New York or Mozza here in L.A., but I could rattle off a ton of places that serve quality pies back east…out here, not so much. John’s in New York is great. Massa on Sunset makes a phenomenal Chicago-style pizza, and that place on Hollywood and Cahuenga serves the closest thing to a New York style I’ve had out here. You tell me, who serves the best pizza in your city? [story]
“Tree man” wants to get married. Eh? Ladies? His best qualities are his long, luxurious hair, a newfound addiction to SuDoku and — OH MY GOD HE HAS FUCKING WARTS THAT LOOK LIKE TREE BARK ALL OVER HIS BODY!!!! [story]
New Music:
Dead Child – Wasp Riot – If you have even a tiny metal skeleton in your closet, Dead Child will allow you to comfortably fly your freak flag high and mighty. Featuring Todd Cook (Shipping News, Slint v2.0) and Dave Pajo (Papa M, Slint v1.0, Tortoise, etc.) along with Michael McMahan (The For Carnation, Slint v2.0) Tony Bailey and Dahm, Dead Child create fantastically heavy metal that is without pretension and devoid of posturing. It seems like most moderns bands with metal influences are doing their thing entirely tongue-in-cheek. They’re “ironic” metal bands. Bearded indie dudes trying to look and act and sound hard. Dead Child are not ashamed that they sound like Motorhead with Bruce Dickinson caterwauling all over the place. Plus, it was produced and engineered by Brad “Everything album I touch turns to gold” Wood. That certainly doesn’t hurt the overall sound of the album. About the track “Wasp Riot”, Dave Pajo writes: “This is probably our strangest song in that the main riff is more akin to ESG than SOD. In my mind, I wanted a bitter, repetitive groove to give the illusion of stability. This would make the middle section seem lower, deeper and more reckless. This song is as incongruous and misshapen as Leatherface’s mask.” Enjoy it. For a full review of the band’s first full-length Attack, read the article Pajo penned for the Louisville Eccentric Observer. God I fucking miss Louisville. Attack is now available at music retailers everywhere courtesy of Touch & Go. Or, you can use this link to buy the album.
The Drift – If Wishes Were Like Horses – Is The Drift’s Memory Drawings the best album of 2008? That appears to be the debate raging across a number of popular “Post-rock”-related Internet messageboards for the past several weeks. I have to admit, it is definitely an early favorite of mine. The best way to describe this San Francisco band’s sound would be to tell you imagine Sketches Of Spain-era Miles Davis mixed with the best music composed by Ennio Morricone. The band’s fusion of experimental rock and jazz is perfect, and this recording really is stunning in every way imaginable. Colorful, intricate and intense for the duration, Memory Drawings completely took me by surprise. Danny Grody (Tarentel) and Co. have created something truly inspiring and remarkable that I hope achieves the level of acclaim that it deserves. Memory Drawings is now available at music retailers everywhere courtesy of Temporary Residence. Or, you can use this link to buy the album.
