Tuesdays with Morrie

I spent my Saturday evening reading "Tuesday with Morrie". I highly recommend this book to anyone. The book is a very humane story which entails the last days of a professor and his last lecture - on life.

A quote that I liked a lot is:
"Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you".

I plan on writing about the novel more in-depth in the future but liked to write a little something now about it.

Mitch Albom: A Man with Great Heart

Mitch Albom has an impressive repertoire of talents – from sport writing to writing novels to being proficient in piano.

He has his own website for his fans. The homepage has links that splits to three different aspects of Mitch’s life: His books, philanthropy work, and to his sport blogs. This organizational allows people to discover not only Mitch’s interests, but also who he is as an individual.

I have decided to research more about to Mitch because many things he is interested in I can relate to. I love the fact that his novels strongly revolve around the theme of living life to it’s fullest and having a positive impact on others lives. His dedication to charity work (he founded four different charities in the Detroit, Michigan region where he currently resides) impresses me hugely. He has the amazing opportunity to be able to help  others and is doing so in the fullest. Furthermore, sports is a huge passion of mine so It will be interesting reading his sports blogs, analyzing specific patterns in his journalism.

I plan to read the novel “Tuesdays with Morrie” in order to get a greater grasp of his novelist abilities. Plus, the concept of the book interests me the most. Being able to continue to live life positively and make an impact when staring death in the face.

Two sport blogs of his that I came across and interested me. One, talks of how timeouts in college basketball dulls the action at the end of games (here) and the other discusses how last year even though the Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Maverics in the finals it seems most of the media was focusing on Miami’s inability to win rather than the Maverics great victory (here).

I am excited to research more on Albom. Expect more blog posts about him soon!

Jeremy Lin!

(People.com)

I'm not a huge basketball fan, but what Jeremy Lin has been doing on the New York Knicks is amazing! A lot of the Knicks games are not televised here due to the school not having the MSG network, but watching what he can do in the televised Knicks / Lakers game was exciting to watch. He came out of, what seems like, no where to have one of the best five games starting as a point guard in league history! It'll be interesting how he meshes with Amare, and, especially, Carmello but he should be fun to watch for all Knicks fans for years to come.

Library Observation

Here I am. Chilling in the library. Attempting to procrastinate is becoming a chore. Deep down I know it’s most likely an inevitability in many aspects of schoolwork for me. I’m not a huge fan of the library. Too much going on in my provincial vision going on to get me fully concentrated on the task in front of me. Give me my quiet dorm room to this any day!

Well anyway. The kid to the left of me is biting his pen cap, a habit that I generally participate in when I’m nervous (my pen cap though… not his).  He has something that looks like a scientific textbook plopped on his desk. I’d be biting my pen cap definitely if I was looking at a scientific textbook! I’m trying to avoid taking science courses by any means necessary (saving it for senior year, even then taking the easiest one available).

The girl on my right is twirling her hair. It’s rather distraction. I fear that if she twirls her hair any faster that she’ll fly away. My hair was never long enough to twirl. I could only assume that it’s done by girls because they’re nervous (or trying to act cute for guys). I’m going to go out on a limb here and say its due to whatever she’s typing on her keyboard making her nervous and not me with my sweatpants and hoody acting shady by looking around the library.

Someone walked into one of the group study rooms by himself. He is wearing a suit. This guy thinks he’s too good to sit in the normal area with the common folk! You can take your elitist attitude and enjoy that study room. This guy must think he’s god’s gift, that he has the right…. Oh never mind other people are joining him.

By the corner there are two lovebirds sitting on the couch together. Save room for the Holy Ghost! Just kidding. The guy looks pretty miserable by the expression on his face. Most likely the girl dragged him here.

My friend is joining me in the library, he’s the type of person doesn’t understand the quiet sanctuary that the library provides to many. I constantly find myself having to remind him that this is a library; I hate doing it because I use to be one of those people. It just seems inconsiderate to me to be loud when people come here to escape the noisiness of dorms and such.

Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 00's: #7

Taking Back Sunday-Tell All Your Friends (2002)

Genre: Alt. Rock, Post-hardcore, Emo

Label: Victory Records

Producer: Sal Villanueva

For those who don’t know, Taking Back Sunday is a band from Long Island who recently re-formed their “original line-up” that they has in their debut album Tell All Your Friends. Released in 2002, Tell All Your Friends still remains a fan favorite. Personally, it is my favorite Taking Back Sunday album. What set the album apart from other’s in their scene of music are the passionate vocals from the lead vocalist Adam Lazarra and backing vocals from John Nolan.  For me, the two vocalist tandem of Adam and Nolan rivals that of the popular Tom Delonge and Mark Hoppus combination in blink-182. They compliment each other perfectly and it really makes it unique. I have yet to hear a duo work so well together in a hardcore band (Underoath comes very close).

            Tell All Your Friends kicks off with the frantic track “You Know How I Do”. The song sets the tone an amazing fast pace of the album perfectly. Adam Lazarra

roars:

“So sick, so sick of being tired
And oh so tired of being sick
We’re both such magnifacent liars
So crush me baby, I’m all ears…”

 the lyrics on this album are really standout. They help make each of the ten tracks on the album memorable. The song also gives you a taste of the back-and-forth vocal delivery of Adam and John, which consists throughout the album:

“We won’t stand for hazy eyes anymore,”

 are sung repeatedly by Adam and John tacking turns to make the chorus of the track. It should be noted here that I am a huge fan of layered lyrics. What I mean by layered lyrics is one vocalist sings one thing, while the other sings something else. When done right it sounds epic. If you’re a fan of this than you are in luck, it’s done throughout the album. The next song in titled “Bike Scene”. The song shows off Adam’s killer vocals with a pretty breakdown sung by John Nolan, accompanied by his sister’s, Michelle Nolan, talented vocals singing in the background. The song then explodes to an emotion closure where Adam and John sings back-and-forth:

 “I didn’t want it to mean that much to me.”           

            Next up is one  of the album’s two stand-out tracks, “Cute without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team).” The track drips emotion and has impressive lyrics. The song is a tale about a girl who takes advantage of a guy and basically ruins his life. At the breakdown John Nolan sings: 

 “Hoping for the best just hoping nothing happens
A thousand clever lines unread on clever napkins
I will never ask if you don’t ever tell me
I know you well enough to know you never loved me,”

 with Adam singing in the background,

 “Why can’t I feel anything
from anyone other than you?”

 It adds up to one of the most impressive sections of the album. You definitely feel the emotion coming out of both of them. The song ends with Adam singing:

 “I stay wrecked and jealous for this,
for this simple reason
I just need to keep you in mind
as something larger than life!”

 As the song reaches it’s climax right at it’s end. Following up is the song “There’s No “I” in Team” which is a song that responds to the band’s Brand new song “Seventy Times Seven.” Basically it addresses the falling out of John Nolan and Brand New lead vocalist Jesse Lacy. Very cool song with back-and-forth vocals.

             The album rolls on with the beautiful song “Great Romances of the 20^th Centenary.” John Nolan sings:

 

 “You always come close but this never comes easy,”

 the line is simple but probably is one that everyone can relates to. The song is always a fun one to listen to. A little later is the song “Timberwolves at New Jersey”. The song sounds really raw and comes across as very genuine. The chorus goes: 

“Literate and stylish (literate and Stylish)
Kissable and quiet (kissable and quiet)
Well that’s what girls dreams are made of…”

 It’s a fun song to sing along to. The other stand-out track, and my personal favorite, is “You’re So Last Summer.” It is a really fun and catchy song. The lyrics are also amazing. The best line off the entire album is:

“the truth, is you could slit my throat
And with my one last gasping breath
I’d apologize for bleeding on your shirt,”

sings Lazarra. The song is about someone who genuinely cares about the girl but it just gets lost in translation along the way. The ending erupts to Adam:

 “If I’m just bad news, then you’re a liar,”

 the song is just amazing. I always find myself listening to it.

 This 34 minutes-or-so album of pure energy and emotion will leave you wanting to listen to it again and again. Some tracks are not the best or sound like they could have been done better (“The Blue Channel” and “Head Club”) but overall it’s amazing. One of, if not the most, energetic album I have ever heard. They have recorded one album since getting together, a self-titled “Taking Back Sunday”.  It is not as memorable as Tell All Your Friends and they’ve moved more towards alt. rock rather than hardcore, but I am hopeful that they are on the threshold of making their best album yet.

Standout tracks:

“You Know How I Do”

“Cute without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team).”*

“Great Romances of the 20^th Centenary.”

“You’re So Last Summer.”*

Listen to it from start to finish.

Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 00's: # 8

Kanye West- Late Registration (2005)

Genre: Hip hop

Label: Roc-a-Fella, Def Jam

Producer: Kanye West, Jon Brion,  ect.

What separates Kanye West from his contemporaries is that he has an incredible drive for being the best.  The best compliment I think an artist can be given is that they’re art has consistent quality. That means, for instance, director / screenwriter Christopher Nolan is gifted enough to write scripts and direct movies that seem to always captivates it’s audience throughout the entire film. Akin to this, Kanye West has the ability to capture a listener’s attention throughout any of the albums in his catalog.

This brings me to Late Registration, which in my opinion was his best album of the last decade (maybe his whole career if he hadn’t released My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010).  The album is filled with excellent beats, witty lines, and variety that make this album a special one. What sets this apart from other albums released by Kanye West is that he teamed up with Jon Brion (a film composer) to make a hip hop album that has a very large sound by using orchestration (something he sort of moved away from with Graduation by making it more electronic but came back to with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy). Kanye’s sophomore album was certainly not a sophomore slump. He created an album with great artists featured and awesome songs.

The album starts out with an amusing skit by Bernie Mac (R.I.P.) who reprises his role as an “old teacher” like he was in Kanye’s debut album “The College Dropout”.  This rolls into “Heard ‘Em Say”, which features Adam Levine of Maroon 5. Kanye raps about how life is hard and nothing is ever promised:

“And I heard ‘em say, nothin ever promised tomorrow today.”

Adam Levine sounds amazing on the track. It basically uses a snip-it from the Maroon 5 song “Nothing Lasts Forever” which is a beautiful break-up song. It is probably one of my favorite songs by Maroon 5 too. Next up is “Touch The Sky”, featuring and pretty much introducing Lupe Fiasco to the world.  They both sounds great on the track with the background horns beat making it a winner. This goes into the most successful single off the album, “Gold Digger.” This amusing and incredibly catchy song is really fun to listen to. Jamie Fox’s vocals emulating Ray Charles in the background make the track and it’s beat very memorable.

            The album slows down with the song “Drive Slow” (featuring Paul Wall and GLC). Its head bumping beat and amazing flow by all three rappers make this song so great. The song is also really fun to drive around to:

“My cars like the movies my cars like the crib
 
I got more TV’s in here then where I live,”

 raps Kanye West. To sum it up, it’s just a laid-back and fun track to listen to especially when driving. The song “Roses” is dedicated to Kanye West grandmother’s death. It is a very passionate and soulful song. Following is the song “Bring Me Down” (feat. Brandy) where Kanye West addresses his frustration and how human nature is people trying to “bring down” people who are rising up. Brandy’s vocals are very beautiful and the song as a whole has a lot of emotion.

            A little later the song “Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)” (feat. Jay Z) comes on. The song kicks off sampling the James Bond theme song for the movie Diamonds are Forever:

“Diamonds are forever
They won’t leave in the night
I’ve no fear that they might
Desert me,”

hooking the listener in. Both Kanye and Jay Z raps passionately about the “blood diamond” conflicts that occur in Africa. There are many witty lines, such as:

 “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man
Let me handle my business, damn!”

 Jay Z and Kanye West sound great when they’re on the same track together (“Hate” off of Jay Z’s Blueprint 3 is the exception) and “Watch the Throne” was a great collab album.

            “We Major” (Feat. Nas & Really Doe) comes next. It’s a cool sounding, almost 7 and a half minute, jam and it’s really cool to hear Nas and Kanye West on the same track. The song “Hey Mama” is a passionate ode from Kanye West to his mother. She had a huge impact on his life and music career so one could only imagine what Kanye West felt like when she abruptly died in 2007. It is a very beautiful song. The album closes with “Gone” (Feat. Consequence & Cam’Ron), which is a fun track with a cool beat. It’s kind of a let down compared to the rest of the album though.

Overall, Kanye West accomplished his goal by making a better album than his debut album. From fame (“Touch the Sky”), to drug addiction (“Crack Music” ft. The Game and “Addiction”), to family (“Roses” and “Hey Mama”), to diamond conflict (“Diamonds from Sierra Leone”), to celebration (“Celebration”), the lyrical content is one of the most varied from a hip hop album that I ever heard.  Kanye also uses elements of humor by incorporating 4 skit tracks which combine to make an amusing story regarding college frat life.For all of Kanye West’s flaws he is a genius when it comes to making good music. His latest album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one of the best albums I have ever heard. Late Registration is an excellent album that has top-notch production and passion.

 Standout Tracks:

“Heard Em’ Say” (ft. Adam Levine)

“Touch the Sky” (ft. Lupe Fiasco)

“Gold Digger” (ft. Jamie Foxx)

“Drive Slow” (ft. Paul Wall and GLC)

“Bring Me Down” (ft. Brady)

“Diamonds from Sierra Leone” (remix ft. Jay Z)

“Hey Mama”

Don't mess with a panda!

This was added on to a blog post by Jason Tate. I enjoyed it haha

Jason Tate: Absolutepunk

Jason Tate is the founder of the music website AbsolutePunk.net. Originating as a site that focused solely on the band blink-182, the site covers all kinds of music from indie-rock to hip hop.

I respect him a lot for creating an excellent music community. Through his site I had discovered some of my favorite bands (Say Anything, The Format, ect.). It has become a favorite website of mine that I seem to go on to multiple times a day.

I believe his blog (Jason Tate's blog) is so entertaining to me because we have similar musical tastes. As stated in a previous blog entry, he'd often gets advanced copies of albums and shares his thoughts on it on his blog. He recently advocated SOPA not passing by writing out against it and changing his websites original design to raise awareness.

Jason has a segment on his site called Thursday Discussion, which he uses as a forum to discuss music. Two recent entries that had an impact on me were The Best Drive-Thru Records Albums  and Favorite albums from 2001-2003 blog posts. The early 2000's was an exciting time for punk/pop rock bands, and both articles highlight this.

For more on Jason Tate, check his profile out on his site here.

Three Things That Stopped Me in My Tracks This Week

1/25 -
I intended to quickly check my email when I noticed I received a message from a member of my class’s student government asking me to participate in this years Dance with Heart event. My first reaction was that I was flattered someone thought to ask me if I’d like to do it. I’ve been trying taking advantage of fun opportunities when presented to me so I decided to participate! I have learned choreography in the past when I was in the musicals in high school, how hard could it be?

1/29 –
Mass last Sunday was one of the most enlightening masses I have ever attended. The mass was in honor of those who were martyrs defending the poor during the El Salvador civil war. The civil war ravaged the country, leaving the majority of its citizens in horrible living conditions. When one of the student volunteers whom went to help read a heart-felt letter of her experience there and what she has learned it was deeply touching to me. 

1/30 –
When I received the email from the school about the sexual assault that took place off campus it sickened me. The main reason I originally joined the Delta Tau Delta chapter at SHU is due to their local philanthropy of date rape and sexual abuse awareness. The fact that we are no longer affiliated this semester (we are fighting hard to come back next semester) and that we won’t have our philanthropy week this semester made me upset to think about.

Overall, this week was eventful to say the least. I found out today that my dance partner for Dance with Heart is Professor Gannon. I heard good things about her. The mass was an eye-opening experience. Lastly, the email I received on Monday makes me eager for the fraternity to be back on campus so we can promote our philanthropy more so than ever before!

State of the Union 2012

I set aside time this afternoon to watch President Obama's State of the Union Address having been unable to watch it live. There were a lot of ideas that I thought were genuinely great, however I don't believe them to be fiscally responsible at this time in the country.

I would consider myself leaning right on the political spectrum. When the Obama bandwagon started up in 2008, with the majority of my high school jumping on-board, I was able to resist. Yes, Obama's policies helped prevent the country from sliding further into recession, but at what cost? Yes, starting up new agencies and providing healthcare for all citizens sounds great and efficient, but is it fiscally responsible? 

The points of his speech that resonated most with me are:

1. Offering tax breaks for multinational companies, even bigger tax breaks for high tech companies, and tax breaks for those located in economically hard it areas.
2. Greater support of US's domestic energy solutions.
3. Creating a task force to monitor trade violations.
4. Increase in border protection.
5. I agree with the implementation of "Baffett's law" (30% tax rate for those making over 1 million dollars).
6. Maintain a strong military budget, while significantly cutting spending, in order to allocate the money in infrastructure, ect..
   
   What I questioned:
   
   

   1. Continue pressure on Iran's nuclear missile program sounds great, but the State of the Union Address gives the President a global stage in which he could of reprimanded the country for continued defiance to the global community and support of terrorism.
   2. Forcing Americans to graduate high school is not the responsibility of the government, no moral and logical repercussion possible for individuals who refuse.
   3. Where is all the money coming from?! Taxing the rich more will help, however other than cutting business restrictions the President's plan will more so raise short-term debt to dangerous heights.
      

Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 00's: # 9

Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)

Genre: Indie rock, Baroque pop, Art rock

Label: Merge

Producer: Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is a Canadian band that combines beautiful orchestrations, vocals, and lyrics to make amazing albums. Funeral is a beautiful album:  Arcade Fire deservingly won “best album of the year” for their album The Suburbs at the 2011 Grammy Awards. I could argue, however, that Funeral is the better album in my opinion. As cliché as it sounds, listening to this album is similar to going on an adventure. The opening track “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” draws you in with it’s catchy string arrangement. The song’s whirly orchestration and earnest vocals from lead vocalist Win Butler sets the tone for the rest of the album.  The next track, “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)” is a loud, catchy, and fun track. It is here where you first here Régine Chassagne, the other vocalist in Arcade Fire, and the wonderful harmonies that occur when she sings with Win Butler. The lyrics get a little whacky here:

“Our mother should have just named you Laika!
It’s for your own good
It’s for the neighborhood,”

Butler sings passionately, with the assistance of Chassagne. The album flows on eventually to “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”, which music and vocal delivery makes it an infectiously catchy song that makes your head nod along.

The song “Wake Up” is the standout track for me. The catchy, yet very simple guitar riff, sing-a-long-ability of the lyrics, and the vocals of Win Butler makes the song a huge win (see what I did there ;]). The song is somber and the lyrics are haunting:

“If the children don’t grow up,

our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.

We’re just a million little godscausin’ rain storms, turnin’ every good thing to rust,”

the lyrics are amazing and very powerful. The music than shifts to bubbly and becomes more upbeat, which contradicts the words being sung:

 “With my lightnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am goin’ to be
when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand.”

It is a great song with a lot of heart. I recommend to anyone who is even slightly interested to listen to it.

The song following is entitled “Haiti”, which is sung by Chassagne. She switches between English and French making a song that sounds very pretty. It’s a very laid-back song. Next up is “Rebellion (Lies)” which is catchy with a bumping beat. The lyrical content is that of paranoia:

 “Hidin’ from your brothers
underneath the covers,
come on hide your lovers
underneath the covers.”

 Lastly, but certainly not least, is the amazing closer song for the album: “In The Backseat.” The song consists of the beautiful vocals of Chassagne. The song is about death, growth, and change. Chassagne sings passionately:

“Alice died, in the night,
I’ve been learning to drive.
My whole life,
I’ve been learning.”

 The line “I’ve been learning to drive” is such a great line. The weight and metaphor for life that is contained within it makes it a very powerful. The album winds down with Chassagne letting out a cry of emotion and the orchestra playing the album off. The song will definitely resonate with any listener. The orchestration throughout the album makes it something more than ordinary; rather it makes it an experience. A great amount of maturity is shown in Funeral, which is interesting because it is Arcade Fire’s first album. It is such an amazingly human album.

Standout tracks:

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

Neighborhood #2 (Laika)

Wake Up*

In the Backseat*

America's Broken Education System (Video)

   
       It is well aware to the majority of the American public that the country's education system is broken. America could have boasted in the past on having the greatest education system in the world, however times have changed. The country is not even top ten ranking in reading, math, and science testing scores anymore ( Check it out here! ).
     I had come across this video even before taking the course on education and found it to be very interesting. I happen to agree that the country is stuck on an old system that could easily become obsolete and replaced by a more efficient system. Last semester I had taken a course called "The Human Journey: The Individual and Society Education and the American Dream" which enlightened me on just how the education system had become. It helped me come to the conclusion that there are 2 obstacles preventing a fixture of the public education system.
     The first being the irresponsible spending of the people in Washington. The stimulus package provided a great short-term boost to the sharp decline in the country, however the long-term solutions were not adressed enough. I.E. even more money should be given for education and research.
    The second is the teachers union in this country. Practically all attempts of change would be squashed by them. They do not want teachers to be held accountable. They operate as the interest of the whole, which unfortunately includes some pretty miserable educators.
   It is impossible to predict the changes that will occur in the public education system in the next 50 years, let alone a 10 years from now. If the country wants to remain prosperous the country needs to put a higher emphasis on education or else the situation will just become worse and worse.

Blogging and Stuff

What are some blogs I really liked. Why? :

http://www.absolutepunk.net/journal.php
Like displayed previously on my blog, I am a huge music fan. Absolutepunk.net is a music community site which features news of the majority of my favorite bands. The site includes a blog feature where many music enthusiasts posts their thoughts on everything from the music industry to thoughts on new music to life in general. I favorite of mine is the blog made by Jason Tate, founder and admin of the site. He has the privilege of receiving new CDs before the general public and he often shares his thoughts about it on his blog. Although never making myself a blog on the site, I tend to check the site's blog section from time to time to see if there is anything that interests me being written about.
www.twitter.com
Twitter or, like I've heard numerous professors state enthusiastically, the place where people go to blog without necessary realizing it. Perhaps there is currently not a larger melting pot of ideas on the internet than the social website. It is easy to use, fast, and a great example of freedom of speech. With the "trending" feature, it makes people on a local and global scale provide commentary on topics that garner a lot of interest at that time. I suggest everyone to get a twitter and tweet what's on there mind.
www.mlbtraderumors.com (?)
I love baseball (GO YANKEES!), and all the transactions and scouting that comes with it. The website provides a central hub for columnists and fans to discuss the latest news that's going on with baseball teams. Generally, I visit the site mostly on the offseason and during All-star Break to find news on trade and prospects. The site is definitely up there as most viewed websites for me (most likely facebook is number 1). It's an easy-to-use, resourceful site that I encourage any baseball fan to visit.
What features made a blog easy to follow? Off-putting? What features encouraged reader participation? :
The best features I believe that makes a blog easy to follow is it being neat and organized. Nothing is more off-putting to me than going to a blog and feeling to overwhelmed by clutter for me to properly enjoy ready it's content. I enjoy blogs which feature polls, so that it's readers may participate.

Do good blogs need to have a tight focus or not?  :
Not necessarily. Just as long as it's legible it's fine. Often if a blog is too tight focus it's easy to lose interest and stop following along with it's updates.

Is there a particular angle you want your blog to have? :
Just as long as it's entertaining and interesting to those who view it (wouldn't want to be boring). I'd like to keep up with my "Top 10" feature. It's been surprisingly self-reflective. Gives those viewing an insight of not just my musical taste but myself as well.
Based on your investigation, what are some key qualities and features that you want to bring into your blog? :
As stated above, continuing with the "Top 10" is important as well as maintaining a wide range of different aspects featured on my blog. Also continue being honest, honesty is extremely important to me.

Reaction: Lions for Lambs

Recently, I had watched the film Lions for Lambs in my "Writing with a Public Purpose" class. The film acts as political and social commentary in regards to America's mentality on war and pride. I personally did not find much enjoyment in the film. It attempts to confront "controversial" topics with the audience, however it came across as boring and lacking depth. The film seems to villainize the American military and political structure. I felt as if the film was trying too hard to make the audience feel outraged, which sucked almost all the enjoyment out of the film for me. The film goes as far as exploiting the death of the American soldier characters (who had died attempting to defend the United States best interest) to drill the tiring lessons into the viewers heads: war is bad and the people in power are taking advantage of it's citizens. Though they are important lessons, unfortunately they were poorly displayed in the film.

I always try to get something out of every film I watch. Sadly, in this case the film had not introduced anything new or thought-provoking to myself, as a viewer.

For those looking for an interesting political-drama providing commentary of America's foreign policy, and one which might make you think, I suggest Charlie Wilson's War. A film which explains how the CIA had helped fund the Afghan people rebel the USSR's invasion, and the troubling mistakes the American politicians made in the aftermath of the operation.

Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 00's: # 10

The Matches- Decomposer (2006)

Genre: Pop Punk, Indie Rock, Post-punk revival

Label: Epitaph

Producer(s): Numerous

The two words I would use to describe this album are: original and underrated. Decomposer is the sophomore release of the band “The Matches”. From the shrilling violin and yearning vocals from the albums opening track “Salty Eyes” you know you are listening to something special. This band commands your attention. The song “Papercut Skin” embodies the album as what it is: an exciting, musically satisfying adventure which The Matches vocalist Shawn Harris leads the way. The music is unpredictable from its breakdowns to the unique bridges that occur in their songs. The song “Sunburn v.s. the Rhinovirus” (produced by Mark Hoppus) is extremely fun. The song contains lines such as when Harris bellows:

“I’m de de decomposing
I’m de de decomposing
Below my clothes
I’m starting to decompose,”

and a zany section (I guess it would be considered the bridge ?) where it goes:

“I picked a bad day for the beach
Crowds of scarcely clad sides of meat
In spite of sunburn, I had a head cold
I blew my brains out through my nose.”

Lyrical content is often whacky, but brilliant at the same time. The album is filled with clever word-play which will certainly make you rewind in order to see if you heard the genius of it correctly. The album’s closer is “The Barbers Unhappiness”. It is certainly the most somber of the bunch of songs.  Sounding more Indie-rock than the punk / pop fused rest of the album. The ending lines of the album are:

“Do me a favor, be rational
save me the labor of the breakup call
just assume the worst
when the phone don’t ring, dismiss me to the hearse,”

a very somber ending indeed. The Matches had a very bright future when this album released. Unfortunately, they are no longer together, breaking up in 2009. Decomposer is certainly the gem in the bands catalog. Certainly, the album is a treat to anyone who has never listened to it. Just go into listening to it with an open-mind, take in all the wackiness and fun that this album has to offer.

Standout tracks:

Salty Eyes

Papercut skin

Sunburn v.s. The Rhinovirus

 Didi (My Doe Part 2)

The Barbers Unhappiness

First Post

Hey!

I'm excited to get started with this blog. The topics that I plan on discussing will range from music to sports to politics. I have begun a list entailing my Top 10 albums of 00's! I'm a huge music enthusiast so making a list will be difficult for me. At the same time, It is going to be fun going back and listening to some of my favorite albums.

   I am also a huge Yankees fan so expect a post on my thoughts regarding the Pineda / Montero trade shortly!

   Overall, blogging sounds like a lot of fun. Please feel free to comment.

Lastly,

this made me laugh: