Spring is coming

Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and Fulham got their first away win of the season.

They may no longer be Fulhamerica (Clint Dempsey’s the only Yank left on the roster), but I still like to follow the Cottagers. And Dempsey’s having a career year. No goals in this one, but he was involved in the buildup to all of them.

Graphic Information

In yet another victory for geek culture, comics have now become mainstream enough that the New York Times has added three different bestseller lists for “graphic books” — hardcover, softcover, and manga. I haven’t decided yet whether this is a good or a bad thing, or maybe just one more sign that America is always about 20 years behind Japan in everything pop culture.

Latrocious videe-i-e-i-e-i-o

Apparently, the music video isn’t completely dead. Here’s a couple good ones I’ve spotted lately.



Lots to love here from Company of Thieves. Jangly indie pop that takes me back to my college days, Genevieve Schatz belting out the chorus like Björk fronting R.E.M., and a video homage to the opening sequence of Rushmore put this one on my radar. Good stuff. Link from /Film.



Andrew Bird is a genius, plain and simple. I saw him for the third time last Thursday at the Ogden Theater. It’s amazing to watch one guy play guitar, violin, xylophone, whistle and sing all in the course of one song, and do it all incredibly well. You can’t quite get the full effect in this live video for “Fitz & Dizzyspells,” from his latest album, Noble Beast, but the addition of the marching band makes up for it. Link from Stereogum.



And in case you don’t get the reference in the title, Three Times One Minus One’s gonna make it a'ight...

The Ultimate Mashup

AT-AT vs. boombox. ‘Nuff said.

Faithfully

OK, this is cool. Somebody took the “motion comics” version of Watchmen, made available online around the time all the hype started for the movie, and recreated, panel-by-panel, each shot from the Watchmen teaser trailer, making sure everybody who sees this realizes exactly how faithful Zack Snyder’s film is staying to the comic. Some of the early reviews I’ve read say too faithful, but as a devoted fan of the original work, I find that hard to believe. Besides, if you’re going to take on the task of adapting such a groundbreaking piece of graphic fiction, why mess with perfection?

Teaser Trailer:


Motion comics version:

The Expendables

News broke today that Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined Sylvester Stallone’s latest project, adding even more star power to a cast that’s shaping up to be insane... both literally and figuratively. I’ll let /Film explain:

The cast now includes Mickey Rourke, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren, Forest Whitaker, Eric Roberts and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film tells the story about an “expendable” team, hired to do jobs that no one else can or will. The team is sent to infiltrate a South American country to overthrow the ruthless dictator and liberate the country.

Wow. I’m surprised they didn’t consider re-titling this “Where Egos Dare.” (Thank you, I’ll be here all week.) I wonder who gets the biggest trailer on that set? If Jean-Claude Van Damme hadn’t turned Stallone down, this could have been an 80’s action movie fan’s wet dream. As it stands, it’s still pretty close. Obviously, we’re very likely talking massive train wreck, but there’s no way the inevitable bad reviews will stop me from seeing this movie.

Pop Tart

It seems a little strange, but my favorite new music at the moment is Lily Allen’s “It’s Not Me, It’s You”. Girly pop isn’t exactly my usual genre of choice, but Allen isn’t exactly Hannah Montana either. Instead of the usual overproduced fluff from the latest American Idol cast-off, Allen’s new album is full of frank discussions of sex and relationship drama, set to some pretty catchy beats—a little spicier than your average fare. Listen to the lyrics of “The Fear” (here performed live on Jay Leno), and you’ll discover she’s actually skewering the tabloids (who have been pretty brutal to her in Britain) and the whole crop of celebutants they worship/stalk. It’s nice to know somebody can still do pop music with a bite.

Kingdom of Rust

Doves just rolled out a video for the title track to their new one, out April 6. Me gusta.

Déjà Vu All Over Again

2-nil, again. And the hits just keep on coming...

Awards Shows Suck

I haven't watched or cared about the Grammys, um, pretty much ever, and I know plenty of people who feel the same way. So clearly the folks running the show knew what they were doing when they booked Radiohead... with the USC marching band. Made me watch.

An Open Letter to Denver Concertgoers

Dear Denver,

Since 90% of you seem to need this, here’s today’s lesson in concert etiquette: Shut The Hell Up. If you’re there to see the band, take an Adderall and close your mouth for 90 minutes so you can enjoy the music. If you’re not there to see the band, why are you there? Is it really worth spending $40 + service fees just so you can drink $7 Coors Lights in plastic cups and act like an annoying douchebag? Next time you feel the need to shout over music while drinking shitty beer, there’s about 300 bars in this city with a jukebox and no cover. Try one out. Hell, try them all out. Just don’t stand next to me at the next show I go to and shout drunken bullshit in some girl’s ear all night. She doesn’t think you’re funny, and neither do I. Cheers.

Nothing Better

1. Never Gonna Change… Drive-By Truckers
2. Naked As We Came… Iron & Wine
3. Nails In My Feet… Crowded House
4. Neal's Lament… Michael Andrews
5. Narcolepsy… Third Eye Blind
6. Never Tear Us Apart… INXS
7. Needle In The Hay… Elliott Smith
8. Nightingale Song… Toad the Wet Sprocket
9. Nightswimming… You Say Party! We Say Die!
10. No One Is To Blame… Howard Jones
11. N.M.I.… Sean Watkins
12. Nothing Better [Styrofoam Remix]… The Postal Service
13. New Slang… The Shins
14. No Room to Bleed… Ben Lee
15. Nightblindness… David Gray
16. Not A Job… Elbow
17. Not California… Hem
18. Nothing Left To Lose… Mat Kearney
19. Notice… Gomez
20. Night Walk… Belle & Sebastian
21. New Shoes… Paolo Nutini

How do you say "unstoppable" en Espanol?

Ladies and gentlemen, Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina). If you don’t know his name yet, file it away for the World Cup in 2010. Watching him carve his way through opposing defenses is a thing of beauty.

My Life in Video Game Controllers

Cool Infographics had this little nugget of joy this morning. This is just begging to be made into a t-shirt.

Missing Link

1. Main Title… J.J. Abrams
2. Mercy Kiss… Abandoned Pools
3. My Own Worst Enemy… Lit
4. My Name Is Jonas… Weezer
5. My Sharona… The Knack
6. Man On The Moon… Sugar
7. Mary Jane’s Last Dance… Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
8. Mansion On The Hill… Neil Young & Crazy Horse
9. Making Memories… Rush
10. Massive Nights… The Hold Steady
11. Murray… Pete Yorn
12. Murdered By A Big Bomb… The Upwelling
13. Modern Way… Kaiser Chiefs
14. Moonage Daydream (live)… David Bowie
15. Me And Mia… Ted Leo / Pharmacists
16. Muscle Museum… Muse
17. My Coco… Stellastarr*
18. Motorcycle Drive By… Third Eye Blind
19. Missing Link… Dinosaur Jr & Del tha Funky Homosapien
20. Magic Power… Triumph

The Movies of 2008

Great editing. Thanks to /film for the heads up.