Some New Tunes To Consume

Seems like lately (you know, the past decade or so) its been rare to
come across new AND good music. So I just thought i would share a few
items of interest (well, my interest anyway).

I picked up and album a couple days ago by a band called MadLove. I
just kind of happened upon them. So far i am really digging the music
a lot! The vocals take a little getting used to, for me at least.
Mostly female vocals that vaguely remind me of Bjork and something
else i cant quite put my brain finger on. She can really belt it out
and gets some seriously clear notes (unlike Bjork who i find to be
mostly unintelligible).

All in all, so far its one of those albums for me that i have been
listening to straight for 2 days in a row. So, its pretty good. I
find it very challenging musically, it makes me think "Oh! thats
neat! i wish i had thought of that!".

So here is a link to their iTunes page..

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/white-with-foam/id324526609

Check out tracks 3 and 8 for sure, those are the ones i am the most
stuck on.

---

Next up is The Company Band. Basically its one of those rock super
groups. Fronted by Clutch's Neil Fallon you cant really go wrong here
(unless it was him doing show-tunes, which may have its own humorous
value). Anyway, this album kicks you in the face, in that wonderful
Rock & Roll way. They put out a 4 song EP last year - http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sign-here-here-here/id272048155
- that really hammers out the idea of the band really well. Pick it
up and give it a listen. Now, if you want the real deal. I suggest
you grab up the full length album that came out last month - http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-company-band/id333396596
- it is well worth the listen if you value rock music.

---

Thats about it for now. However, i am eagerly awaiting the arrival of
the latest Dillinger Escape Plan album titled Option Paralysis with an
apparent release date of March 23. I got a feeling its gonna be some
really heavy shit. If you haven't heard them before, i would suggest
- http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ire-works/id265229827 - first
followed by - http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/miss-machine/id65885064
- to get you started and up to date with the bands current line up.

I suppose that is all for now.

jonathan.

Voice Mail Stupidity

So, when I got my first iPhone I was happy about the fact that my voicemail message did not have the "To page this person... Or leave a message... Blah blah blah..." automated crap play after my "personal message". We all know how to use voicemail I think.

Anyway when I got my new iPhone 3GS for some reason that dumb ass robot started spewing that message after my outgoing jargon. Suddenly people don't leave me voicemail as often as before! I don't blame them, I hang up on that robot too.

So, with out any more bitching:

CLICK! (or tap)

Do your part.

- Jonathan (via iPhone)

Sometimes...

...I find myself kind of just staring blankly into the distance.
...I don't get out of bed for about an hour after i wake up.
...I eat McDonald's even though i dislike it with a passion.
...I play my guitar and sing, when nobody is watching.
...I eat peanut M&M's on pizza.
...I don't have much to say.
...I have too much to say.
...I write completely pointless blogs.

(also, I got the newest Clutch album today. I will write more about
it once i digest it a bit).

- Jonathan (via netbook)
1-888-316-9205

Dead or Drunk?

Thought i found a dead man today, like you know, an actual dead guy.
Turned out he was just so "tired" from a day of heavy drinking that he
only appeared dead. I was just about to dial 911 when he finally
started moving a little bit. I would checked his pulse if it hadnt
been for that growling/barking dog that seemed to be protecting his
practically lifeless body.

That is all.

- Jonathan (via netbook)
1-888-316-9205

Digital Convergence

So, as i sit here typing this on my ultra-portable with my iPhone
sitting next to me, i think...

We are getting so ridiculously connected to each other, knowing at all
times where someone is, what they are doing, what they are eating. I
personally use these things for fun (Twitter, etc...). Some people
rely on them in their day to day. There are even more professional
level web apps for "status updates" these days (LinkedIn).

Anyway, i am not really going anywhere with this. I was just thinking
you know, if its like this now, what will it be like in another ten
years? Will we even bother to speak out loud in say 30 years? Or
will all communication be done thru some sort of psychicnet (or does
Psychnet sound better?).

What ever, this blog post was weak to begin with.. I will revisit
this one when i can simply stream my thoughts directly into your (the
reader's) brain.

- Jonathan (via netbook)

Warmer Weather

I just wanted to say that I am so happy the weather is finally warming
up. Maybe this will sound crazy, but I can't wait until I break a
sweat. I'm not meant for this cold ass climate! Makes my bones hurt.

I guess that's about all.

- Jonathan (via iPhone)

Life on Mars

So, one of the things i like to spend (waste) my time on is quality (if that exists) television. Most people who know me however, know that I do not watch TV on TV. I have an app called TVDemon (which is a whole other blog post/website/sourceforge project in itself). It downloads the shows i like and transcodes them into iPod and iPhone compatible files. Then I simply watch them on a TV or my iPhone when i get a chance (sans commercials of course).

Among the shows you would expect a geek like myself to watch (Heroes, Lost, Supernatural, etc...) I was directed to a show called Life on Mars by my cousin (also known as The Relapse King). Its a cop show that takes place in 1973 he says.. Only, the main character (Sam Tyler) is from 2008. Cool, I like time travel, I like the 70's... Oh boy, is that show out there?! yes.

I can tell from watching it that the writers/producers did not stop for one second to think about what people would think of this show. They wrote it for themselves.. Wrote something great and truly creative (yes, i do know there was a UK version prior as well, but it aint like this). It is so bizarre and out of the box, its nuts.

Anyway, long story short.. The show got canceled. I watched the series finale this evening and i gotta say... It was fantastic! Easily one of the best endings to any TV show ever. So, watch the show, its worth your time.

Also, I'll be honest.. The ending of the show? I didnt even see it coming... not for a second.

Pots & Pans and Music Man

Not much to say lately. I have been writing and recording some new

music. Doing a kind of acoustic theme thing. Using pots and pans as

well as other assorted items for percussion. I can't seem to find my

harmonica and I wish I had a banjo too.

I guess that's about all.

Oh... Please winter, end already!! I'm so tired of being cold.

- Jonathan (via iPhone)

Im gud wif words

It's that time again. Time for me to rattle off some words from the depths of my mind. Hey, maybe I'll get deep and introspective? Perhaps I'll stick to lighter faire and drop some article i found on Digg on this bitch.

Then again, maybe I will just lose interest in writing anything at all? It could also be that i end up writing a few paragraphs about what it could be about and never really come up with anything that has anything to do with the title of this post.

Oh, and I am thinking about getting into doing some hip hop.

Facebook Status Murder

Alright, so this one is an extreme case, but...

Wife murdered for Facebook status

http://digg.com/world_news/Wife_murdered_for_Facebook_status

We are getting to a point where the so called "social networking"
sites are becoming a nearly tangible piece of our lives. People
getting mad about things said on "MySpace". Hey, I'm guilty of it.
Most of us are by this juncture. It's just, well, people think that
just because it's "the Internet" that it doesn't matter as much,
internal censors don't kick in and people say some horribly ignorant
things.

Obviously the man in the article was quite disturbed. I'm just saying,
if you wouldn't say something to someone's face, don't say it to the
Internet.

- Jonathan (via iPhone)

The Jack Line

Once upon a time,

There was The Jack Line...

I had this wacky idea a few years ago while playing with the band Jack Mystery.  I thought, wouldnt it be funny/awkward and totally different to have a dedicated phone line for people to call and leave messages on?  Well, i spent a little free time on it and came up with a rather geeky PSTN - VOIP method of doing just that.  I simply got a free Washington State phone number and had the calls forwarded to a free GizmoProject account, then the messages were sent to a Gmail account and after all that, I had a script set up on the actual Jack Mystery website (no longer publicly accessible) to search the Gmail inbox RSS feed and automagically post the voicemails to the Jack Line portion of our website.

I know, genius.

Anyway, so i was suddenly reminded of it today and have decided to post a few.

most of them are completely ridiculous:

Entire State of Texas

KY

Love Open The...

Rusty

While we were actually playing live

One and Two

"You Guys Are Good" super enthusiastic huh?

and last but certainly not least...

Flat Tire

Flat Tire is my absolute favorite we ever got, and we got a hell of a lot more than these!

Anyway, I have been thinking about doing something similar to this recently.  More in the direction of letting people vent/bitch to the internet.  I mean, thats mostly what we use blogs, twitter, myspace and all for right?

-jonathan

Constructive

I think I'd like to do something constructive, but what? Music has
been tough to produce up here in frozen tundra land. Can't really do
any video stuff, didn't bring any of that gear with me at all.

I have been writing a decent amount, most of it simple personal rants
and the random bits of prose.

Maybe I'll build a flying machine!

- Jonathan (via iPhone)

Who Wants Some?

Thats right, who wants some? Come on, you know you want to put Uncle
Ralph's Brownie in your mouth.

The Power of Flight

Sure, unassisted human flight sounds great, but let's think about this
for just a moment.

What about the wind? Bugs? Birds? Planes? Missle Defense Systems?

I mean, it's currently 32 degrees out at sea level with plenty of
cloud cover. We are talking a cold fucking flight people! I can see
it now, flying along at a breakneck speeds, practically becoming a
human Popsicle. Sounds great!

Ok, ok... So yeah, sure. You can wear some sort of suit to protect you
from the elements. A mask, helmet. What ever... For me though, that
would indeed take a lot of the fun out of it.

Though I suppose I could head down Mexico way and cruise those skies.

Now teleportation... That'd be sweet.

- Jonathan (via iPhone)

Id, ego, and super-ego

I think my Id is showing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego,_and_super-ego#Id

- Jonathan (via iPhone)

Honey Bunches of Let Down

I love the cereal Honey Bunches of Oats. I have often thought to
myself that the same cereal minus the flakes would be fantastic.

Well, I'm not sure when it happened, but it did. They call it "Just
Bunches".

I just ate some and I have to say, I'm disappointed. It just didn't
taste right. Made me feel really thirsty, cereal normally doesn't do
that, does it?

What did I learn?

Sometimes fantasies are best left at that. Fantasies.

- Jonathan (via iPhone)