A while ago, I talked about some changes I wanted to make here. To paraphrase myself: I talked about how I pretty much suck at writing about new bands and how I’d ultimately decided not to do that anymore. But I’ve been doing this little blog, for whatever reasons, for longer than I’d care to admit. I do wonder from time to time if, honestly, the sensible thing to do is to just pull the plug, but I just love geeking out about music too much – I can’t bring myself to do it. This is really my only outlet for what is, perhaps, my very favorite thing in the world. Even if I’m just babbling to myself, it gives my scattered affection a little focus.

But not really – we’ve always wanted to write about anything we liked, but that makes it impossible to pin anything down. When I finally said to myself, it’s do or die time, I knew that deciding to ‘do’ had to include narrowing myself to something I would properly enjoy writing about.

You’ll notice, perhaps, that I’ve updated the 100b header just a touch, to reflect my new focus. I eventually realized that what I love doing most is researching music stuff that has come as a surprise to me. Yes, I know that’s oddly specific – for example, my post about Mike Nesmith was fascinating to research. I started out just wanting to know what songs he’d written and discovered a whole list of achievements I’d never have guessed. My Shel Silverstein post followed the same basic path. Which made me realize that what I really love doing most is discovering those little bits that history let fall by the wayside. Sure, there are some people out there who know about them, but most of us have no idea.

I once read an article where Jack White said that, generally, the stuff that’s popular is the best stuff, that there’s usually a reason that bands end up in the bargain bin. I used to agree, and I still do think he had a basic point – popular stuff is very often popular for a reason (even Katy Perry is catchy as hell while we’re loathing her very existence). But what he (and I) weren’t thinking about was all those treasures that haven’t just been forgotten but were never noticed in the first place? Mike Nesmith made amazing albums that a few people loved, but were mostly ignored just because he was a Monkee. Those albums really don’t belong in the bargain bin, but most people don’t even know to look for them. I love looking for them.

That doesn’t mean 100b will only write about old music – sometimes I’ll want to point out an album from the more recent past that was unfairly ignored. But it does mean I will not write about anything new – for music to be considered ‘ignored’, it’d have to be at least, say, five-ish years old. Anything newer and there’s still a chance it’ll break out on its own. But even without profiling brand new bands, I hope people will stop by and find some music they didn’t know about before, that I’m able to give a little new life to something that has remained in the shadows for too long.

On that note, I’d like to briefly mention a band called The Blueskins to kick things off. You probably remember their debut album Word Of Mouth from way back in 2004 – or at least the lead single, “Change Your Mind”, which was featured in a Lynx ad in the UK. That was a pretty great album, a frantic indie-blues-rock affair, and “Change Your Mind” was a fantastic single. It felt like it was tripping over itself to be heard. But then The Blueskins kind of just stalled – they always seemed to be working on a follow-up, but instead formally broke up in 2008. Bummer.

For whatever reason, Word Of Mouth kind of went nowhere, but it deserved better. The Blueskins were definitely a band with promise – Tamboosh and I even went to see them play back then and they rocked out, even if the crowd was pretty small. It’s a shame they weren’t appreciated then, but I do see that Ryan Spendlove (Blueskins lead vocalist) released a solo album, Fables, earlier this year. I haven’t been able to hear the whole thing yet, but it sounds like it’s got good potential. A little more laid back than his previous band’s efforts, but there’s still some Blueskins wildness in there.

Get Word of Mouth at Amazon and Fables at emusic. And I do hope you’ll stick around to rediscover some forgotten music with me.

If you stop by here frequently – or, heck, even if you stop by infrequently – you may have noticed that I have a difficult time updating regularly. We used to be really good about that, with a rotating schedule that made sure we got new content up pretty damn often. But with just me left of our little team, my partners having moved on to bigger and better ventures, and a dwindling sense of why I’m actually writing this blog, it’s been tricky. Don’t get me wrong, I love 100b. But there’s something I’ve been thinking in the back of my mind for a while that I finally admitted to myself recently:

I don’t really enjoy writing about new bands that much.

Phew, I said it, what a relief – even though it’s only about 78% true. I do like finding wonderful, secret treasures that are new to me. I’ve discovered some really fantastic – and now dearly loved – bands through mails sent here, and I’d be so sad to see that go. On the other hand, any music blogger will tell you that it’s almost impossible to keep up with the mail. 100b is just a small blip in the music blogosphere, but even I can’t listen to and assess half of what comes in. I do my best to screen and I hope I’ve caught the stuff I’d want to have heard most, but there’s no way to do any better. I was, I have to admit, starting to feel burdened by the inbox – as if I never had time to write any posts because I was forever trying to keep the mail under control.

There have been some serious rewards in there, and I do enjoy getting someone’s name out that I feel deserves and needs the attention. What I really don’t enjoy, as it turns out, is the feeling that I have to get to the newest and coolest bands first or else I might as well not bother. Because, let’s face it, I’m never going to get there first. I just can’t compete, and, honestly, I don’t write that sort of newest-hippest-band post very well anyway. I either like them, in which case someone’s long since already written it better, or I don’t like them and I really can’t be bothered wasting my time on something I don’t like. It took me over five years to realize, but that whole scene is just not for me.

But I do love music, more than almost anything, and I do love writing about it. I’ve been thinking for months now about what angle I do really enjoy writing from: I thought about my favorite posts, which bands I liked writing about most, which read as most personal and enthusiastic … and I finally figured out what direction to take. It might be a while before I get there – there’s a small pile of backed up post drafts and intriguing emails to get through first – but I wanted to get the ball rolling a wee bit now.

Mostly because – new bands, pretty please listen here – if you send an email this way, and it is dated after, say, this coming weekend (June 26th), I absolutely will not write a post about it. My new focus will, by its very definition, exclude writing about new music. I do really, really wish I could do better by the hopeful new bands that pass this way, but I just can’t anymore and never really could anyway. If you send mail after this weekend-ish, I will try to read it and promote anything I think is good via Twitter. I can’t promise anything more than that and if that means you don’t want to risk your music getting lost in the interwebs, I totally understand. I hope I’ll hear about you some other way.

So there we go. I’m pretty excited about the changes I’ll be making – even if the readership is tiny or gets even tinier, I think I will enjoy writing for it more, and I expect it will show. Enthusiastic writers write enthusiastic posts, right? I hope mine will be infectious.

It’s no secret that I love Cornershop. Yeah, I say I’m a big fan of a lot of bands, and it’s always true, but this is special. Like on equal footing with how I feel about the Beatles. One of those rare, one-in-a-million bands whose music you love so much it almost makes you feel a little sick to your stomach.

Me and Cornershop go way back. In fact, I remember the day – like most people, I got into the band via “Brimful of Asha”, just as it was turning into a monster single, and it was my night out with my friends for my 18th birthday. A little silly on the bus ride home, my friends and I couldn’t stop singing the ‘on a 45′ bit of that song, it being the only part we really knew yet. It didn’t take long for me to get myself When I Was Born For The 7th Time and, as they say, I’ve never looked back. I would pledge my undying love to Cornershop’s music (erm, if I had to for some reason), so 8 pounds seems like nothing.

Cornershop is asking us, their listeners, to pledge as little as 8 pounds to get a minimum of a pre-order of the new album they’re working on with – my heart just stopped a little – Bubbley Kaur. She of the magical single “Topknot”, one of my most beloved songs of all time. In fact, this new album seems to be based around the amazing results of that recording, finally turning it into a full-length LP. For 8 pounds you’ll get yourself the album and the knowledge that you had a little part in making it happen. For more money, you’ll get more stuff, but the list of possibilities is pretty fun to look through so I’ll let you check it out yourself.

This pledging / investing-in-the-making-of-albums isn’t really brand spanking new; I’ve seen similar offers by other bands. It’s a really interesting thing going on, releasing bands from big labels who don’t seem to give much of a crap about the bands they represent nor the listeners who pay for the music. Wouldn’t you much rather give your money directly to a band you care about and have a wee hand in helping get an album made? Cornershop is the first band to do this that I do feel that strongly about, and I will definitely be making my pledge asap, – how about you? There’s only 27 days remaining so have a think about how great it will be to hear Cornershop and The Double ‘O’ Groove Of for the first time and get pledging.

Hear Tjinder and Ben tell you all about it themselves, and find out more about the pledge options over at PledgeMusic – and remind yourself how amazing this band has always been below.

‘Nuff said, really – we loves you, Tamboosh! I hope you have a wonderful birthday and, I promise, cupcakes for my best friend asap.

Happy Birthday!

I’m sure if any of you are in the UK, or tuned in to UK-based music news at all, you’ll have heard about the threatened closure of the BBC’s 6music digital radio station. I was hugely disappointed when the closure plan was announced back in March, having just recently started to get back into listening to radio. I used to listen to 6music online, a little every day, to find out what was new, but I’d gotten out of the habit and it took a couple of years to get it back.

(Which is, of course, when the proposed closure was announced. Figures.)

It’s funny that it took me so long to get back to listening to the radio, especially since aDawgg had spent most of that time trying to convince me I needed to listen to the radio more. (He’s a big radio fan and is always trying to spread the love.) But now that I think about it, I’ve been a radio listener through most of my life, and that blip without was actually pretty unusual. I remember listening to Casey Kasem present the Top 40 on Sunday mornings, and even taping favorite songs from the radio for mixes. Remember making radio mix tapes? No, probably not, actually – I bet a lot of you are too young for that. Sigh. Trust me, it was great – it took a lot of patience and sometimes you had to do recon the week before so you knew when to get ready for the real taping, but it was totally worth it when you wanted those favorite songs but had only so much allowance money to go around.

Anyway, I learned what was popular in Europe by listening to Dutch radio when I moved to Holland as a teenager. And then I listened to 6music online once I got into more alternative music during university and wanted a place to hear what was new. Not too much has changed – other than a few trusted bloggers, there’s nowhere else to easily hear new singles, find out about new releases, hear favorite tracks that – let’s face it – I’m never going to hear elsewhere. At least, I don’t know anywhere else I’m likely to hear De La Soul’s “Me Myself and I” and Dan Sartain’s new, not-yet-released single on the same show.

What a big fat bummer it would be if the 6music closure went through. I can’t even say how disappointed I would be. I think my recent return to radio listening is mainly responsible for the frenaissance I’ve been having with music in general – I’d been a dip but lately, I can’t get enough. I’ve been eating up new singles and new releases and I have to thank 6music for giving me to the chance to hear new stuff and remind me of what I’d been missing.

There’s a bunch of things we listeners can do to help out, but I’m later than late to mention this, so I’m just going to point you over to our friend Joe at Music From A Green Window who already wrote a post linking to all the different places to check out. I’ll also point you to the Save BBC 6 Music blog, with another list of places to read and write about this issue. The BBC will make their final decision about the fate of 6music on the 25th of May, so there’s still some time to get your opinion heard. And definitely, definitely take some time to listen to the station itself and remind yourself, like I did, how enjoyable good radio can be.

So, it took Twitter more than a year to batter us into submission. We did our luddite anti-next-big-thing best, but we finally broke down and joined the Twitterati.

Since we wanted to find a low impact way to keep 100b content fresh and stay more involved in blogging, micro-blogging just seemed the way to go. We should be able to more easily and quickly comment about the music submitted to us, stay on top of events, share our thoughts about music and some other stuff, and, generally, just have more fun. With Twitter so damned easy to use the barrier of sharing really should be so much lower now.

But, wait, we will still be blogging here, as well. All the things you have come to enjoy about 100b will remain as they are. The longer and more involved posts will be right here where you always found them. And they will keep on coming.

Stick around. We haven’t gone anywhere!

Credit where it’s due, the Tamboosh dug up this hilarious little tune for our aDawgg’s big day today, and she done good. These is some seriously Funky Birthday Jamz.

Happy Birthday, Dawgg!

I started 100b in secret, a little embarrassed to have my thoughts and questionable writing skills on display for all to see. But it didn’t take me long to realize that I am simply too lazy a person to be trusted with regular posting and updating. I’d only gotten through two (I think it was) posts before I asked the very mighty Tamboosh – my partner in musical crime even way back then – to join me and, together, we formed a vision of what we wanted our blog to be. It took just a bit over a year to lure aDawgg – with his mad organizational skillz and big ideas – to join us and we’ve been a team ever since.

And even after four whole years, the original vision hasn’t changed one bit. We wanted to be able to celebrate and gush about whatever crazy music we took a liking to – whether it was The White Stripes, Johnny Cash, or The Monkees. We wanted an outlet for those silly things we actually spend time thinking about. We wanted to post about things that made us laugh, even if no one else did. Above all, it had to be fun for us. If it wasn’t fun anymore, we were doing something wrong.

I think we done good. I’m proud to have created something, together with the two best friends I’ve ever had, that we all still enjoy so much after all this time. There are posts I particularly like, amazing artists I’d never have found otherwise, and I’ve been consistently entertained and educated by my fellow blog-mates.

And if just one person out there has discovered just one artist or song that they love through us, I’ll consider it all job well done.

Two weeks ago Bean and I went to see The Dodos play. They were amazing and the new songs are spectacular live. So the whole experience was wonderful; great band, great company, great venue … Except for one thing, the guy standing next to me had ehm, terrible BO. I don’t know how to put it delicately but it was very unpleasant. Bean stood on the other side and turned to me at one point and asked, does that guy smell like cat pee? He did. This brings me to the following: Concert etiquette. It’s a common subject among music bloggers, but I have specific concert moments that illustrate the need for these unwritten rules. I’m not trying to take the rawness and Rock ‘n Roll out of the concert experience, but we all pay good money to see our favorite bands, so let’s all try to do our bit to make the night fun for everyone, that includes the person standing next to you. It doesn’t take much either, sometimes it’s as small as using deodorant. So I came up with ten things I’ve learned in my years of concert going, using real-life examples. In case you were wondering, the following things have actually happened to me:

1. Cat pee guy, for real man, Axe it up a little. A must for any concertgoer, even if you’ve had your sweat glands surgically removed, it might not have took. So please, be it stick or spray, cleanse them pits.

2. Then there was the guy who decided it’d be funny to serenade his friend as loudly as he could, of course all right in front of me. I don’t mind people singing along, I encourage it even. I love when the audience participates, but the room was quiet otherwise. You know when you give that exasperated, knowing nod to your fellow bus passengers when some insane person tries to start a fight with the driver because he thinks his grocery receipt could double as a bus pass? That’s what I got from every person around me, it made me start laughing hysterically because it was so surreal. I came to see The Magic Numbers sing “Wheels On Fire” not some preppy dude who had one too many appletinis.

3. What I learned from the man who played air drums at the Black Keys concert: I’m a big fan of people playing invisible instruments, but try to keep the injuries to the people around you to a minimum.

4. To everyone who still uses flash to take pictures at concerts. All your highlighting are the pretty heads of hair in front of you, so what the dilly yo?

5. I’m reluctant to say this but it has to be said. The dry-humping couple at the festival while we were waiting for Interpol to come out. Don’t do that. Not ever. Not while humans with eyes are right there. Thank you on behalf of people.

6. Then there are the groups of people who decide that a concert would be a great place to catch up on what their buddy’s been up to since they came back from backpacking through Central Asia. Loudly. You may not care for that particular song, but others do. I’m sure your lives are oh-so-interesting, but take it outside, go to a bar, leave. Do not try to yell over the music, because you’re not the only one doing that and the only thing that should be deafening is the band on stage, not your shrieking self.

7. Support the support band. I’m sure they know that you didn’t come to see them and their awesome beat poetry act. You don’t have to like it, but do the neighborly thing and have a little respect. This is their big night too. There IS an addendum: there are support bands that are so disgustingly arrogant (and not in a good way, see the band who supported Maximo Park two years ago. Oh yeah, I’m naming names.) and practically bending backwards to kiss their own behinds, in spite of their generic sound, that you cannot help but want to bring them down a peg. Then by all means, roll your eyes and withhold your claps. That’ll teach ‘em.

8. To the super drunk / high girl who tried to clumsily and wobbly dance with the embarrassed and puzzled guy in front of me: As you were. I loved when the guy turned to me and my friend and asked whether we knew her. We did not, but that shiz was hilarious. Though I really wish she hadn’t stomped on both my feet. Twice. I would love to know how much she remembered from that night the next morning.

9. When you come in late, don’t try to push your way forward aggressively and stand in front of the people who came early to get a nice spot because they’re vertically challenged (not me, I’m tall and majestic like a giraffe … yeah that’s a lie). I feel kind of bad for the guy who forced himself on top of the step I was standing on during a Kings Of Leon concert a few years ago. We didn’t find out until after the concert that we – Bean, aDawgg and myself – had all decided to teach that fool a lesson. We triple-teamed him and we didn’t even know it. Yes, it’s crowded, yes I had a nice spot, but he was really, really rude about it and he was tall. So whenever there was clapping we “accidentally” smacked and pushed him a little bit … I also may have stood on his heel, okay heels … but I will deny that on the stand. Needless to say, we won back our territory. Hey man, it’s a jungle out there.

10. If you absolutely have to crowd-surf to get that ultimate rawk high, then fine. But I think it was at a Datsuns’ concert, immediately after a shoe hit my head, that I found out that crowd surfing is really only fun for the surfer, not the crowd. Oh and I can’t help it, but I still think it’s really, really, really funny whenever the audience decides to split like the Red Sea when someone leaps off stage … right into the void. Hee.

OK that’s all for now, but we’re going to go see Patrick Wolf next week (woohoo!), so I’ll let you know if I learn anything new …

I’m 37-years-old, have a Masters Degree in International Relations, and am an IT systems test manager. And I’ve taken up watching World Wrestling Entertainment a lot in the past few months. So much so, in fact, I simply had to purchase and record the Pay-Per-View broadcast of WWE Summer Slam! yesterday. I’m saving Summer Slam! for an evening of professional wrestling enjoyment tomorrow, when I’ve got less to do and as part of the build-up for my week off to blob on my rear in Amsterdam with the Bean and Tamboosh.

I was big fan of the, then, WWF (now, WWE) and its competitor World Championship Wrestling in the mid-to-late 1980s and early-1990s. The era of Rowdy Roddy Piper, the Iron Shiek, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Andre The Giant, and the Road Warriors, among a huge pantheon of others. But, living in The Netherlands between 1994-2005, watching wrestling wasn’t really an option (terrible cable options). Since moving to the United Kingdom in 2006, however, I’ve rediscovered the over-the-top muscle-bound soap opera that is WWE. Now, the past few months I’ve been recording huge chunks of wrestling every week and watching it while engaging in other activities. I’m talking about Raw, Smackdown, both recaps, Vintage, Afterburn. Anything that starts with WWE on the channels in the satellite sports channels. And, this time around, I’m enjoying it on a whole new level, doing reading into the business, production, history, and the lexicon of wrestling. This stuff is both fun and fascinating.

I’m not really sure I can say I’ve got a favorite wrestler. I’m still getting up to speed with all the storylines and characters. Though I know I shouldn’t – he’s almost too corny – if pressed I’d have to say I’ve been enjoying former champion John Cena in the build up to his Summer Slam! title match against Randy Orton. I asked myself why and, to be honest, I think it has to be his entrance theme, “The Time Is Now”. I’ve got a thing for grand entrance anthems and this one flips all the right switches. For those unaware, Cena performs his theme himself and I think that makes it all the better.

You can’t see me!

John Cena Site @ WWE

Has anyone else noticed the absurd use of well-endowed bikini-clad chicks in all sorts of web-based advertizing? And I don’t mean for porn or psuedo-porn sites. Or even anything remotely related to nekked people, the things nekked people do, and services and sites you could argue would benefit from a bit of skin (like fashion, I guess). I mean for services and sites completely unrelated to nekked people, the things nekked people do, or you would reasonably expect would use skin as numbskull bait.

Can you guess what is being advertized in the example displayed above (details blurred out to generate suspense)?

Payment protection insurance claims solicitors in the United Kingdom! Seriously! A firm of presumably educated legal professionals! Professionals! And I’ve seen the same type of advertizing on the sidebar of gaming sites attempting to entice me to play a massively mutliplayer online strategy game of medieval city-building. Medieval city-building! Using what boils down to boobies to advertize.

This sort of thing really does make me wonder about humanity. I mean, I’m no prude. Not at all. But, this advertizing is just painfully pathetic if it actually works. I guess the solicitors are banking on men buried in debt seeing this chick and thinking they can get some of that humanahumana if only they could get back the money they paid to service their debt. That, and women that figure they could finance a boob job with a successful claim. Seriously people! Seriously!

Here is what the rest of that ad above looks like (contact details blurred out in order not to provide free advertizing to these idiots).

Am I the only one that’s noticed this? The Raveonettes are the exact musical equivalent of classic television show “Twin Peaks”. It’s like they came from the same odd dimension (a place where it’s still the ’50s but everything is dark and sinister and just a little cheeky) but one came out as visual entertainment, the other as audio. Weird.

I’m easily moved by an epic yarn. The Natural always makes my eyes well up with man-tears when Roy Hobbs uses the Savoy Special to smash the ball into the lights and I get goosebumps watching the stylized portrayal of the doomed Spartan stand against the might of Persia in 300. So, when I say Anvil! The Story of Anvil, a low budget documentary about a band that was once on the brink of success and now traveling the backwaters of the music world, moved me and is truly epic … it means something. This is the true story of a quixotic love affair with heavy metal.

Directed and produced by former Anvil roadie, Sacha Gervasi (best known for the screenplay of Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal), The Story of Anvil portrays the 30 years of passion, struggle, and disappointment for Toronto’s Steve Kudlow and Robb Reiner in their quest for heavy metal glory. Kudlow is so entirely goofy at one point early in the documentary I actually had to ask myself if this was a mockumentary a la Spinal Tap. But, indeed, life is often more poignant and, yes, sometimes sillier than fiction.

Gervasi follows the band from 2005-2008. Along the way we witness an ill-fated European tour of poorly attended small and large venues by way of missed trains and cramped camper vans, how their music doesn’t pay the bills, a reunion with respected producer Chris Tsangarides to record their thirteenth album, This Is Thirteen, and, finally, as the relatively well attended opening act for a rock festival in Japan. The situations and interviews Gervasi films with Kudlow and Reiner, in particular, are frank and endearing and should be required viewing for any aspirational musician or band.

Proof that good things can come to those that never give up and continue to pursue their passions, it seems Gervasi may have provided the push Anvil needed to finally achieve their goals. Digging around to learn more about the band after watching the documentary, it seems the story of their travails has really launched them along the road to their dreams. Anvil have been touring to support the documentary and are even booked to open for AC/DC for two gigantic stadiums shows in Boston and New Jersey this month. And, Anvil has recorded a cover of a song by The Who (I couldn’t find which one) that will open the second season of one of my new favorite shows, The Sons Of Anarchy, and will top that by making an appearance in the season, as well.

This is a documentary for Anvil fans, lovers of heavy metal, the music industry, documentary aficionados, and, frankly, anyone that loves a good story about uphill struggles with no end in sight and the refusal to give up even when the destination seems to get further away with every step.

Anvil! I salute you!

For more about Anvil, the band, the documentary, the dream:

Official Anvil Site

AnvilSpace

Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
]]> http://onehundredb.com/2009/07/26/some-other-stuff-anvil-the-story-of-anvil/feed/ 0 aDawgg http://onehundredb.com/2009/07/23/some-other-stuff-uncle-pecos-crambone/ http://onehundredb.com/2009/07/23/some-other-stuff-uncle-pecos-crambone/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:10:29 +0000 tamboosh http://onehundredb.com/?p=1499 ]]>

I’ve said it before, but I have the worst case of arrested development I know. The other day I was telling Bean about an episode of Tom And Jerry that I really really loved. I feel for her, because talking to me must be like talking to a five-year-old sometimes. Anyway, I was never even a fan of the cartoon, but the episode called Pecos Pest is one of my all-time favorite things. The reason for that, is Jerry’s stuttering Uncle Pecos from Texas and his incredible musical talent. He visits Jerry because he is about to go on a television show to play an awesome song called “Crambone” on his gee-tar.

The voice of Uncle Pecos was provided by none other than Shug Fisher, or Shorty Kellems on the Beverly Hillbillies. How cool is that?? I thought it was wicked cool, even though I’ve never seen a single episode of the Beverly Hillbillies. Whatever your feelings about Tom & Jerry or the Beverly Hillbillies, the song is definitely worth checking out. Uncle Pecos mutters, chuckles and scats his way through it, and adds that little bit of magic that raises it from a joke to an absolute classic in my book. I especially love when he stop in the middle of performing, turns to his n-n-n-nephew and says he’s skipping the yodeling because it’s too high for him.

This is the song taken from the cartoon. I love it so much, I’m ashamed to admit, I made it my ringtone … I don’t even wanna know how lame that makes me, and I think I can actually hear you losing whatever respect you might have for me. I don’t care, I’m just happy I can enjoy it regularly.

But if you’re not as obsessed as I am, watching a video of Uncle Pecos strutting his stuff might be enough:

One of these days I’m gonna write up a post about the long list of things targeted at kids, I – technically not a kid – enjoy way, way too much. For now, I’ll start with one of my favorite, new-ish cartoons 6teen. If you like the movie Mallrats, you’re gonna love this show! It’s a Canadian cartoon about a group of sixteen-year-old friends. They hang around the lemonade stand where one of them works, and get into the zaniest adventures, but all within the confines of the mall. I think the dialogue is often brilliant and the storylines are silly and fun, yet approach teens in a respectful and utterly uncondescending way with a wicked sense of humor.

The six main characters are Jen Masterson – the sensible, studious one, Jude Lizowski – the skater dude, who in real life would totally be a pothead, Nikki Wong – the cool, cynical, Daria type, Jonesy Garcia – the macho, wannabe ladies-man who gets fired from a different job in every episode, Wyatt Williams – the arty, sensitive folk musician and Caitlin Cooke – the ditzy shopaholic, straight from the set of Clueless. My favorite characters are the supporting roles, like “Darth” the Star Wars fanatic, his girlfriend Julie the Taco Girl, and Ron the Vietnam veteran turned paranoid, bitter mall cop. At first glance, the characters and the very PC representation of every race may seem a bit banal, but during the course of the show we find there’s so much more to them, kind of like a modern day Breakfast Club. On top of all that, it looks beautiful and unlike any other cartoon I’ve ever seen. And it happens to have a ridiculously catchy theme song.

So do you guys watch The Apprentice (UK version, of course – no Donald Trump for me, thank you very much)? I started watching a few years ago when I couldn’t find anything else on TV one night. Initially, I found the tasks themselves the most interesting part – I was fascinated by the way these seemingly simple tasks were just tiny versions of ‘big business’. Of course then you start rooting for someone – or against others – and it’s all over, you’re hooked.

I’m sure it goes without saying that part of the fun of these shows is in marveling at the complete uselessness of the contestants. Seriously – who doesn’t know how to wash a car? I’ve never owned a car in my life, but even I know that you don’t rinse down the outside with the doors open! And how could you think that toga-wearing waiters at a fancy company get-together won’t just make you look like idiots?! How some of these people got to their nonsense positions (have you ever wondered what some of those job titles actually mean? It’s exhausting!) with absolutely no common sense, I’ll never understand.

Because, of course, they know all the right business buzz words/phrases. They never actually say anything, but they know just the right way to say it. (It makes you wonder how, after watching four series worth of contestants getting smacked down by Sir Alan Sugar for exactly that, these people never seem to re-think that strategy.)

Which brings me to my idea: Apprentice Bad Movie Bingo. Bad Movie Bingo is a game I came across a few months ago and which aDawgg and I enjoyed immensely. It’s basically bingo, but each square is a very cleverly observed cliche typical of really dumb movies (example: “Huge public event is ruined”). If you enjoy poking fun at crappy movies like we do, this is the game for you, and it barely costs a thing. (100b is not affiliated in any way with Bad Movie Bingo, we just like it a lot. Go buy it.)

And since the game includes an easy way to make your own bingo cards, why not make a special Apprentice version? There’s the often-repeated game-show phrases: ‘I’m in it to win it’, ‘I’m not here to make friends’, ‘That’s why I will be the next Apprentice’ (preceded by completely unproven claims of excellence). And then there’s the nonsense business words and phrases which are usually just thrown around with no context whatsoever: ‘increase revenue’, ‘build customer base’, ‘the drive to deliver’, etc.*

And my all-time most irritating business-speak phrase: ‘At the end of the day’. It has been so painfully over-used that it no longer means anything, it’s now just a filler phrase like ‘know what I mean?’. So of course that would have to be an Apprentice Bingo square. And if the same contestant says “at the end of the day” five times in one episode (highly probable)? It’s a wild card, obviously, giving you the chance to pick any square you like, so try to keep up and don’t lose count!

* I’m sorry, but impactful is not a real word.

I’ve been reading Alien Loves Predator for a few years now and I still love it. For those of you who don’t know it yet, the Alien and Predator, who are called Abe and Preston respectively, from the movies of the same name have reconciled and are now roomies in New York. I love that they deal with very mundane things like dating, friendship, annoying family members, apartment hunting. For instance, one of my favorite ones is the one where they discuss a celebrity sighting. Of course they do deal with not so everyday things like their former roommate Jesus (who also plays for the Yankees in ALP-world so you’d think he could afford a better place) and Abe’s mom’s crush on Russell Crowe. In spite of them being an Alien and a Predator, their experiences are mainly filtered through their New York-ness. It’s the Bizarro World, printed version of the mismatched-buddy movie; Abe is the dopey one and Preston is the sensible-ish one. And just when you think it can’t get any crazier Bernie Hou, creator of the comic, pushes the boundries of bizarre a little bit more. He created the ultimate illustration of the big city as a welcoming melting pot to all, even those with an exoskeleton. It’s often un-PC and silly, it even has tags called pee and poo, but it does poop jokes with charm and it always looks amazingly good.

Anyone who watches “My Name Is Earl” in the UK will recognize the creepy Tic Tac® men above; as the official sponsors of the show, the Tic Tac® men appear about 4 times throughout the show’s ads. Why do I find them creepy? I’m not really sure, they’re just freaky and oddly proportioned and I promise I’m not the only one who thinks so. I love Tic Tacs® as much as the next guy*, but those little men are just weird.

Speaking of the next guy, the really weird thing (other than how one of the brief ads has totally stolen the shirt-matching-the-walls scene from Garden State – you know you’ve noticed) is that the guy dancing in the very first of these ads (right before the show) seriously looks like Susan Sarandon. We call him ‘The Male Dancing Susan Sarandon’:

Ok, it’s hard to get a photo of the TV paused while a guy is dancing, but just pay attention next time you tune in to watch Earl and Randy get into their adventures and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

*In fact, I’m not really supposed to buy the orange ones anymore, because I always eat the whole box in about a half hour and end up with no tastebuds. Damn, they’re tasty.

Let’s face it, you’re a real geek when you play World of Warcraft. Some players are what many in the Warcraft community derisively call “mouth-breathing trolls”, an elitist pack of driven players that view this as an intense battle they must win and it doesn’t matter who gets stomped on in the process. Others are just like you and me. On the outside we might look calm and collected. But, secretly, we are, deep down, thinking about things our character wants to do and parts of the in-game world our character wants to see.

Warcraft really is a virtual world within a world and I’ve been playing since August 2007. I think I was hooked within the first 15 minutes of creating my first character. Over time I discovered more and more stuff online that helps you to get ever more involved and immersed in the game. And I’m not even on one of the role-playing servers, where participants are in-character throughout the game.

If you stick with your character and reach the maximum level, at some point you may decide you want to fight the toughest baddies (bosses) with a team of 10 or 25 other players (raiding). This is the pinnacle of the game and what many people strive to do throughout days, weeks, and very often months of playing to reach the maximum level.

If you want to succeed in your raiding you need to prepare and plan ahead for the toughest bosses. To help us prepare and plan for these end-game bosses a lot of players create videos detailing the strategies used to defeat them. Which is where a bit of music comes into Some Other Stuff this week. Some productions of these strategy videos can be quite elaborate (for homegrown videos), with opening titles and music selected to enhance the action recorded.

Here are some examples …

A 10-man team taking on the frosty blue dragon Sapphiron in the forbidding complex of quarters known as Naxxramas. Australian drum-n-bass band Pendulum beats out “Tarantula” for the soundtrack.

And this is some excellent use of the Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance” for what is, appropriately, called The Safety Dance strategy used to defeat Heigan The Unclean and the exploding ooze shooting from the floor.

Finally, when raiding guilds kill a world or server first it is a big deal for them and the Warcraft world. This is War Front on the Frostmane server killing Thaddius way back in 2006 with inspiration provided by some metal, including Alice In Chains.

See how seriously people take this stuff? This is why so many form tight virtual (and often enough real world) friendships through the playing of an immensely popular and entertaining game. And why I ended up missing my post last Friday while working on my guild’s website.

About a month ago, while watching a documentary I think was called Folk America on BBC4, I decided I’d actually follow up on something I’ve considered on and off for quite some time – learn to play the banjo. While I was still in the cooling off stage prior to ordering (the week or so from idea to actually spending duckets in order not to end up with one of those things you ask yourself why you bought), the Bean recommended I read Guitar Man for inspiration (reviewed by the Bean in 2006).

Guitar Man is the autobiographical account of music journalist Will Hodgkinson learning the guitar, with a central theme of learning to play the eccentric folk guitarist Davey Graham’s “Anji”, a blues-folk piece Hodgkinson (and apparently many others) consider especially challenging. In a nutshell, a guitar classic. I couldn’t readily find a Davey Graham’s rendition, but I did find an interpretation by another well-known guitarist, Bert Jansch, who, incidentially, is also featured in Guitar Man alongside Graham.

If you’ve never listened to “Anji” (or, in the case of the Jansch version, “Angie”), give yourself a treat. My understanding is all of that finger action is one acoustic guitar. The complex melody and rhythm must be maintained by the artist him or herself. Hence, the challenge, especially for a beginner like Hodgkinson.

And for the truly curious, here’s a recording of Hodgkinson playing “Anji” after six months of learning the guitar.

As for my own banjo adventure, well, it’s only just begun. I still need to get into the groove of regular practice. Once I do, I imagine I’ll be sharing my progress with the folks hangin’ out in 100b.