Fuck Yeah Dan Harmon

"I remember doing that as a kid, I’d sit in the mirror and practice freeze frames and stuff. I’d be walking down the hall in my home and every once in a while I’d do a punchline and hold as though there was credits frozen over me, because I was growing up in a world where I was understanding that that was the height of coolness, that that’s how good, awesome, clean people were presented."

(via)

My Gap Feels Weird

This week I got to see Superchunk which I've been wanting to do since the first time I saw Guided By Voices when I was like, 11 or 12. Basically a lifelong dream realized. I think it's amazing that Superchunk aren't thrown around as much as Jawbreaker or Lifetime when people talk about influences on pop punk bands of today. That's all, haha.

The indie rock line in the sand

Folks, what is all this confusion about what is indie anymore? It has always been easy for me to know what indie is. It is a little more than punk, a little less than rock. It's that simple.







It is self-conscious of its aspirations. It would love to "rock" like rock but is worried about the attention that rocking could bring.

The Califonia Gurls video is more outrageous/hilarious/subversive/amazing than anything Lady Gaga has done

I am sick of this Lady Gaga is a serious artiste shit. Sure, the gal knows how to work the industry... if every other pop star had spent like, 5 years working in the industry before deciding to play it, it would be the same thing. I know her videos are supposed to be like high-concept/high-art/high-fashion or whatever too but like, all that shit is lost on me. I shop at the Gap.

Yeah, no, I'm way more blown away by Katy Perry's turn as an Oompa Loompa-style imp that has recently discovered her sexuality. In one scene, she is laying nude on a purple cloud, with shiny purple hair, and after mouthing the line "Sun-kissed skin/so hot we'll melt your popsicle," she covers her teeth with her tongue and looks knowingly at the camera. Like, "come on, I've never been much for subtlety." The plot of the video is just thrown away (i.e. Snoop Dogg appears to be her (literal?) "sugar daddy" and is seen dancing with her and the other Calif. gurls, but then Snoop is the target of a whipped-breast-cream attack that leaves his gummi bear minions incapacitated

Katy Perry's deliberate movements and wide eyes at the beginning of the vid, like while the viewer and also Perry are growing accustomed to this edible wonderland, are kind of charming.

A dress of bubbles? Fuck a dress of bubbles. Calif gurls has Perry donning a dress of that sticky paper candy (that skeeves me out, but still.)

I dunno, I guess what I'm saying is, I'm glad this video has almost 9.5 million views as of tonight.

Lyrics of "The Battle of Hampton Roads" changed so they fit my current situation

So I'm going back to Kennett Square. I do believe they've had enough of me.

So now I leave Philly my tail is between my legs/
After deep calms of pain we're drunk to the drags/
And now im heading south on 95 again/
And I'm as intellectually/financially poor as I've ever been.

Made up stupid nonsense words humans become attached to and use ad nauseam

I am pro-"meep"-ban. I fucking hate shit like "meep," some stupid onomatopoeia or idiom or colloquialism that enters the lexicon at the bottom of the popu-pyriamid, with like, band geeks or videogame nerds and then rises, meme-like, to the top, until a school principal gets to the point where they must institute a ban on the word. This isn't a first amendment issue. It's merely a ban on fucking nonsense. If I had any power, I also would not hesitate to stomp this shit out like a foot to cigarette butt for the sake of myself and my staff. SEE ALSO: FAIL AS NOUN

Story about "meep" ban: http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO129435/

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Primitive Burger King Gods

My best friend Christian is back in town! Christian goes to B.U. and the type of bro (as in best guy friend) that no matter how long it's been since you've been together last, you pick up right where you left off. You probably need something like that in your life, I think. Anyway, we've been breaking in my new abode with CASES OF PBR and FORTIES. Seriously, it's been a lot of fun. We went to a free screening of "Get Him to the Greek" last night (it's definitely a TBS: Very Funny. Partying-like-a-rock-star-humor rarely fails to amuse. Same goes for Britishisms like "jeffrey.") and dined at Burger King. Christian and I are pretty serious about fast food. So we're feasting on chicken sandwiches and "steak-house" burgers when, after easily ignored songs like "Bring Me a Higher Love" and a Carrie Underwood hit, this song came on and ruined my day with information. Goddammit. I love this song but hearing it at a BK on a rainy night at 10 o'clock? Whilst stuffing your face with sat. fat and processed meat? I HAD TO RESIST URGES TO CONTEMPLATE MY MORTALITY IN ORDER THAT I COULD ORDER SECONDS. It was some kind of music/fast food culture clash. I don't want to hear P.R.G. while I'm eating a burger under fluorescent lights. I don't really want to hear anything at all except the chewing noises that grimly connect us to the cattle we were putting into our mouths.

I WRAPPED UP COMMUNITY FOR A TV AND A GIRL

Thanks Kristen for letting me do that.

By far the show I was most fond of this season, or maybe any season ever (1), was NBC’s underdog/fanart-stimulator/Soup -host-vehicle/Channel 101-mastermind-masterminded/community-college-set Community. In 09-10, while most people were getting too-involved with the conclusion of Lost (2), I was trying to figure out how to make .gif files so I could join in all the fun people were having with the Community ensemble on Tumblr and Livejournal (3). Speaking really broadly: I liked the show a lot and I think it worked on a whole lot of levels.

(More specific now!) The show sometimes gave me butterflies and I think its first season excelled because it featured: a great ensemble led by a fairly-recognizable anti-Seacrest who is able to make my DAD laugh; an exaggerated but accurate portrayal of a few aspects of college that haven’t yet been beaten into a desk (classroom puns!); inter-character chemistry that became a shipper’s dream; fans that (I think probably) mostly experienced and expressed love for the show on the web; the Dan Harmon that listened to those fans; and Alison Brie.

A laundry list of stray observations that are related to most of the laundry-listed reasons above, written both now and over the course of the season:

READ THE REST OF THE POST AT KRISTEN'S BLOG, A TV AND A GIRL

Lavis Bloke

I get to see Lavis Blake tonight who are "taking Philly by storm." I will probably heckle something like "What the fucks is your name a reference to?"(edit: to a homeless woman that squatted in the abandoned house next door. I see a trend! Omar, Lavis Blake... someone needs to start a band about "Spare some change for cup of coffee" Liacouras guy.)

I was really bummed when they took their old songs off their site in favor of some more Philly math-lite. It seemed weirdly self-conscious of them. This is another case of me reading way too far into the activity of a local band but, come on, it was kind of drastic. And though the guitars got noodly and open tuned, I've determined this isn't a turn for the worse. LB's place, now, (no longer outliers which, even though I know very little about the band past their Myspace page, I will declare them,) is somewhere between Spraynard's posi-stoke and Algernon's elated emoturity.

Dag Nasty-informed lyrics and annunciation in "On The Road" (which for some reason, conjures images of Fozzybear:) "We live and learn respect." "We live in library stacks" which is even better. Share some motifs with the 'nard dogs: "As the sun goes down/across those hills." Kyle, the singer, is seriously great. His shuddering vocal on "Era of Hopeful Monsters" gives me the chills.

Summer To-Do List, v.1.0

Cover awesome songs with one or more bands. 4 Non Blonde's "What's Up," Piebald's "King of the Road" with lyrics changed to be about my friends, "Roadrunner" with Kennett-related lyrics, "No Fun," etc.

Convince Failed Attempts at Facial Hair to play a full band set somewhere.

If Fest Chester actually happens, redefine frontman while leading a group of confused and susceptible musicians to local, single show infamy.

Have meaningful experiences while listening to: An Emo Diaries comp, Orange Rhyming Dictionary, This is Happening, another Spraynard all-nighter, etc.

Cook more, cook better.

Make my way to East Fairmount Park or equivalent around sunset any evening I can.

Fight loneliness with loud music, books, writing and, duh, other peeps.

Best Shit I've heard this year so far

With the impending release of This is Happening, I thought it'd be OK if I listed the best shit I've heard so far this year:

This is Happening
the Monitor
Transference
the Brutalist Bricks
Cut and Paste
That untitled Teenage Softies E.P.
The Skin Cells
Romance is Boring

All of these records are really really good. 2010 >2009