My best of YouTube 2008 was one of the most groundbreaking posts in RTS history. At least, that’s what I tell myself. Why mess with a good formula? Here’s the 2009 edition, although I suppose I should get with the times and call it 2009 Best of Viral Videos. (Not to confused with the best of Vivid Video, which Graham will tackle next week).
I’m a sucker for people falling, first and foremost. Make it a public fall makes it that much better. Wear a Cougar costume just takes it over the top.
I love the mashup spoofs, especially those involving ‘90s movies.
If this lyric doesn’t make your heart melt, I don’t know what will: “Hey shorty, you really lookin’ nice. Let me take you to the movies cause I know what you like.” The best part about that lyric is that he’s on the phone when he says it. She’s lookin nice through a phone call? This video might have to be broken down in full later.
Did I mention I like the mashup spoofs yet? I promise this will be the last one. You can’t top He-Man and Queen.
The best destruction of a door to date.
Unless you play pickup basketball, you can just skip this one. If you play with me, you know which one I am.
This reminds me of South Park’s Alabama Man. That’s a compliment.
I’m not going to post one here because I can’t pick just one, but the Between Two Ferns clips on Funny or Die are hilarious.
As you can see, I’m a big fan of mascots. This one is a little more touching, and by touching, I mean, depressing, pathetic and disturbing.
I’m Ron Burgundy?
There’s times when I feel like the most immature person in the world. Then, I realize, there’s 500,000 other people out there laughing at videos like this too.
A simple fart can get 1.1 million views. Gotta love the Internet.
I’ve probably accounted for 15 of these video’s 12+ million views.
The only cool Boston Celtics fan alive. They need to put this in a time capsule.
I’m not going to lie, my face looks exactly the same when someone puts a beer and slice of pepperoni pizza in front of me.
I don’t think this means what you think it means.
I’d watch soccer more often if you could promise stuff like this would happen.
I love trying to make sense of what’s going on in this clip. Considering I’ve never seen the show makes it a little harder. The 2:45 minute is unintentional comedy gold.
The most amazing basketball shot in the history of the world.
Dumbest invention ever.
This is why I don’t dunk. Well, that and my vertical deficiencies.
I love the local news.
Chris
Where Chris muses on sports, pop culture, particle physics and whatever else is on his mind at a particular time.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Chris' favorite songs in 2009 (and not of 2009)
Before I post my top 5 bands of the decade, I’m going to take a slight detour. Since 2009 is ending, I’d like to discuss my favorite songs of the past year. These aren’t all songs that were released in 2009, rather, songs that I started listening to and added to my iTunes in 2009. Let’s discuss, or you can just skip to the playlist at the bottom. (Note that the songs are in chronological order from when they were added).
Flashing Lights by Kanye West
I’m a pretty lame white dude, if you couldn’t tell already. I’m really a niche music person, rarely extending outside of power pop, and guitar driven rock bands. (See my top 20 bands of the decade to get a feel). Every once in a while though I get sucked into some rap/hip hop. I’m always about 3 years late to the party. I knew Kanye West was big but just assumed it was more of the same gangsta rap thing that I don’t really get. Anyway, long story short, I heard a beat on a Six Feet Under commercial and thought, “what is that song? I like it.” I looked it up, found out it came from this song and downloaded it. I was sold.
West Coast by Coconut Records
I’ve spent too much time discussing this band on previous blog posts here and here. This is my favorite and will forever be associated with 2009 for me, specifically my engagement and marriage over the summer. Good times.
Dance with Somebody by Mando Diao
I actually like Mando Diao’s earlier stuff a lot better but this song is still in their wheelhouse. It’s just your basic catchy pop rock tune, but it sticks in your head in a good way, not a Lionel Richie way.
The Royal We by Silversun Pickups
I didn’t like this album half as much as their previous one. However, this song has the right amount of rock.
Idioteque by Calico Horse
I’m a sucker for cover songs. Idioteque is already a pretty chilling Radiohead song. Calico Horse makes it creepy. I could just see this song being played in the midst of some weird animal sacrifice ritual. And you can’t really find a lot of songs that fit that bill, you know?
Use Me by Pete Yorn and Kinky
We’re still in the cover song portion of the playlist. Use Me by Bill Withers is a classic. I like this version simply because it’s nothing like the original. It doesn’t compare, obviously, but at least they gave it a shot and tried to modernize it. Nothing wrong with that.
Everywhere by Vampire Weekend
I haven’t listened to enough Fleetwood Mac. There’s a decent portion of ‘70s music that I never got around too. I like “Go Your Own Way” and “Man of the World.” After hearing this cover, I’m starting to think I should go back and add some Fleetwood Mac to my repertoire. I’ll put it on my music to-do list along with about 3,000 other bands. Oh yeah, I like Vampire Weekend. Thought I should say that.
Can’t Tell Me Nothing by Kanye West
As mentioned above, I was about 3 years late to the Kanye party. I chalked “Flashing Lights” up to me randomly liking a hip hop song. But then this song stuck with me after The Hangover. I guess Kanye’s cool for a reason. Plus, I’m a pretty hard-headed guy so I can easily sing along to “you can’t tell me nuttin’.”
One Wing by Wilco
Wilco reminds me of Tim Duncan. They’re one of the best at what they do yet they’re not flash enough to garner the right amount of praise. They’re solid, dependable, respectable. They don’t take seasons, or albums, off. I’m forever excited to see what they do next even though I can pretty much guess what it’ll be.
Paradise Cove by Pete Yorn
Graham hated Pete’s last album but I don’t see it. Sure, he’s mellowed out but haven’t we all?
The Golden State by Eddie Vedder & Corin Tucker
This song sounds like Eddie is sitting in some lodge wearing a flannel shirt and signing to a group of 14-year old campers. So what? Well, I like the concept of camp. And it needs a soundtrack, and this should be it.
Can’t Say No by The Helio Sequence
I feel like there’s two types of psychedelic music. There’s the jam-band music that was inspired by The Grateful Dead, and there’s the prog-rock version made popular by Pink Floyd. I’m not a jam band guy. I do like some of the spacey, psychedelic pop. This would classify in my book.
(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To by Weezer
Weezer is a tough band for me. I feel like their first two albums were the soundtrack of my high school years. It’s hard to dump a band that carries that weight. But since Pinkerton, they’ve ebbed and flowed. I originally didn’t like this album that much but it’s grown on me with each listen. This song is classic power pop.
Keep Me In Mind by Little Joy
Good band title. This song is just a little joy. I like the lack of production. Sounds just like a couple of dudes playing in their garage.
The Grey Estates by Wolf Parade
If “This Heart’s On Fire” is a juicy hamburger, then this is the French fries.
11th Dimension by Julian Casablanca
I missed The Strokes until I heard this song. It’s the same thing.
Rough Gem by Islands
I find bands randomly. I only have 1 or 2 friends I discuss music with and both of them are out of town. So I’m essentially stuck listening to the same songs over and over again until I finally decide to find something new. I was watching a video with Jason Schwartzman and Wes Anderson walk around Borders and talking about music and movies they liked. Schwartzman said he liked this band. I listened to this song and youtube and was hooked. It’s just that simple, or that random.
Follow Me Around by Radiohead
I’m a Radiohead fan, but not a diehard. I have all of their albums, think they’ve one of the best live bands around and probably the most important band of my lifetime. I say that I’m not diehard because I don’t have the 8,000 bootlegs and B-sides. I just heard this one about a month ago. I’m sure it’s been around for years. Who cares? If you haven’t heard it, it’s still new to you.
Chris
Flashing Lights by Kanye West
I’m a pretty lame white dude, if you couldn’t tell already. I’m really a niche music person, rarely extending outside of power pop, and guitar driven rock bands. (See my top 20 bands of the decade to get a feel). Every once in a while though I get sucked into some rap/hip hop. I’m always about 3 years late to the party. I knew Kanye West was big but just assumed it was more of the same gangsta rap thing that I don’t really get. Anyway, long story short, I heard a beat on a Six Feet Under commercial and thought, “what is that song? I like it.” I looked it up, found out it came from this song and downloaded it. I was sold.
West Coast by Coconut Records
I’ve spent too much time discussing this band on previous blog posts here and here. This is my favorite and will forever be associated with 2009 for me, specifically my engagement and marriage over the summer. Good times.
Dance with Somebody by Mando Diao
I actually like Mando Diao’s earlier stuff a lot better but this song is still in their wheelhouse. It’s just your basic catchy pop rock tune, but it sticks in your head in a good way, not a Lionel Richie way.
The Royal We by Silversun Pickups
I didn’t like this album half as much as their previous one. However, this song has the right amount of rock.
Idioteque by Calico Horse
I’m a sucker for cover songs. Idioteque is already a pretty chilling Radiohead song. Calico Horse makes it creepy. I could just see this song being played in the midst of some weird animal sacrifice ritual. And you can’t really find a lot of songs that fit that bill, you know?
Use Me by Pete Yorn and Kinky
We’re still in the cover song portion of the playlist. Use Me by Bill Withers is a classic. I like this version simply because it’s nothing like the original. It doesn’t compare, obviously, but at least they gave it a shot and tried to modernize it. Nothing wrong with that.
Everywhere by Vampire Weekend
I haven’t listened to enough Fleetwood Mac. There’s a decent portion of ‘70s music that I never got around too. I like “Go Your Own Way” and “Man of the World.” After hearing this cover, I’m starting to think I should go back and add some Fleetwood Mac to my repertoire. I’ll put it on my music to-do list along with about 3,000 other bands. Oh yeah, I like Vampire Weekend. Thought I should say that.
Can’t Tell Me Nothing by Kanye West
As mentioned above, I was about 3 years late to the Kanye party. I chalked “Flashing Lights” up to me randomly liking a hip hop song. But then this song stuck with me after The Hangover. I guess Kanye’s cool for a reason. Plus, I’m a pretty hard-headed guy so I can easily sing along to “you can’t tell me nuttin’.”
One Wing by Wilco
Wilco reminds me of Tim Duncan. They’re one of the best at what they do yet they’re not flash enough to garner the right amount of praise. They’re solid, dependable, respectable. They don’t take seasons, or albums, off. I’m forever excited to see what they do next even though I can pretty much guess what it’ll be.
Paradise Cove by Pete Yorn
Graham hated Pete’s last album but I don’t see it. Sure, he’s mellowed out but haven’t we all?
The Golden State by Eddie Vedder & Corin Tucker
This song sounds like Eddie is sitting in some lodge wearing a flannel shirt and signing to a group of 14-year old campers. So what? Well, I like the concept of camp. And it needs a soundtrack, and this should be it.
Can’t Say No by The Helio Sequence
I feel like there’s two types of psychedelic music. There’s the jam-band music that was inspired by The Grateful Dead, and there’s the prog-rock version made popular by Pink Floyd. I’m not a jam band guy. I do like some of the spacey, psychedelic pop. This would classify in my book.
(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To by Weezer
Weezer is a tough band for me. I feel like their first two albums were the soundtrack of my high school years. It’s hard to dump a band that carries that weight. But since Pinkerton, they’ve ebbed and flowed. I originally didn’t like this album that much but it’s grown on me with each listen. This song is classic power pop.
Keep Me In Mind by Little Joy
Good band title. This song is just a little joy. I like the lack of production. Sounds just like a couple of dudes playing in their garage.
The Grey Estates by Wolf Parade
If “This Heart’s On Fire” is a juicy hamburger, then this is the French fries.
11th Dimension by Julian Casablanca
I missed The Strokes until I heard this song. It’s the same thing.
Rough Gem by Islands
I find bands randomly. I only have 1 or 2 friends I discuss music with and both of them are out of town. So I’m essentially stuck listening to the same songs over and over again until I finally decide to find something new. I was watching a video with Jason Schwartzman and Wes Anderson walk around Borders and talking about music and movies they liked. Schwartzman said he liked this band. I listened to this song and youtube and was hooked. It’s just that simple, or that random.
Follow Me Around by Radiohead
I’m a Radiohead fan, but not a diehard. I have all of their albums, think they’ve one of the best live bands around and probably the most important band of my lifetime. I say that I’m not diehard because I don’t have the 8,000 bootlegs and B-sides. I just heard this one about a month ago. I’m sure it’s been around for years. Who cares? If you haven’t heard it, it’s still new to you.
Chris
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Chris' Decade of Music Part 3
Picking a best of the decade list has a few gray areas because, well, time changes everything. The more I’ve heard a song, the luster comes off. It becomes like leftover pizza. Sure, it’s still pizza, but after hearing a song 1,000 times, it just isn’t’ the same. At the same time, some new music is instantly gratifying but doesn’t hold up over time. It’s like Little Caesar’s. It tastes alright given that it’s hot pizza, but tomorrow, you’ll regret it. I’m not making any sense. What I’m trying to say is that my 10th band on my best of decade list is only 10 months old to me.
10. Coconut Records
I love this band. It’s what Weezer would’ve turned into if Rivers wasn’t obsessed with rappers and heavy metal riffs. It’s clever, it’s catchy, it’s pop music at it’s finest. I can’t say that it has some earth-shattering meaning or that it’s going to change the world, but you know what, screw it, music is allowed to be fun. Bonus points for fact that this band is simply Jason Schwartzman. I can’t get enough of the guy. I like the band, I like his old band (Phantom Planet) and his puts out good movies too (Wes Anderson movies/I Heart Huckabees/etc.). I like this band and don’t care if they’ve only been on my playlist for 10 months. They crack the top 10 based on what they’ve done and my belief that they’re not Little Caesar’s. They’re deep dish Chicago-style.
9. Snowglobe
I’m not going obscure just for the sake of it. It’s a local Memphis band that I’ve constantly amazed by. It’s psychedelic pop with a touch of depth. The song “Dreamworks” seemed to sum up my life at the time. It’s rare to feel like you’re listening to a song about your life, but that’s how I felt on the cusp on 23. “You don’t know where you are going but tonight you’re gonna jump.” I thought they were talking about me, or to me, or identified with me. That counts for something. And this isn’t some highly personal band that other people can’t enjoy. They’re hipster popular here in Memphis but don’t hold it against them. They’ve got some chops.
8. The Killers
I don’t feel bad about going with The Killers when I see Graham with Coldplay in his top 10. The Killers are a band that was overhyped, overexposed and overplayed. That’s their first album in a nutshell. But go back and listen to Hot Fuss now and it holds up. It’s probably the premier dance-rock-pop album of the decade. We’ll look back on parts of the ‘00s and compare them to some of the cheesier parts of the ‘80s. I know we will. But the Killers are better than that.
7. Ben Folds
I’m going to confess that I wasn’t a big Ben Folds Five fan. I thought they had some alright songs but thought they were just as much of a shtick (piano rockers!) as anything else. I started to change my mind when The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner was released late in the ‘90s. I fully came around with Rockin’ the Suburbs (go figure, considering we named our blog after it). Ben Folds has become the mentoring voice of the aging dorky white suburban kid. He’s got 10+ years on me but I can’t help but listen to his songs and think, “I get it.” This song/video combo sums up the ‘00s for me, you know, other than terrorism, war and economic depression.
6. Beck
I dare someone to find me a better 4-year album span than Beck put up between ’98 and ’02. Mutations, Modern Vultures and Sea Change. Just listen to Modern Vultures and Sea Change and explain to me how that’s done by the same person. I’m amazed that he can go from fun neo-disco to acoustic break-up emo and pull them both off. Beck seems like one of those guys that would be successful at whatever he did, you know, so long as it was off the beaten path. I don’t listen to Guero as much as I should but like The Information and Modern Guilt. Well done Beck.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Bands of the Decade continued (Chris' 15-11)
Graham continued his countdown and let it slip that Death Cab for Cutie would be higher on his list. Then again, he let his Canadian bias get in the way already so I’m expecting to see Celine Dion ruin his credibility when he gets to the top 5. Enough about Graham’s music, he’s my bands of the decade continuance.
15. The Dandy Warhols
Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia would make my top 10 albums of the decade. It’s pop, it’s grunge, it’s mellow. It’s a roller coaster of awesomeness. They followed that up with Welcome to the Monkey House which has the uber-catchy dance-rock song “We Used to be Friends” and the tongue-in-check “The Last High.” I guess I’m slipping in my old age, but I didn’t realize The Dandys had so many albums come out this decade. I’ll have to check the others out, although I already know that Odditorium of the Warlords is fair. Bonus points for this band being in the spectacular documentary DiG! Here’s one of the best songs of the decade.
14. Badly Drawn Boy
Aka Damon Grough who plays music like he’s the British love-child of Elliott Smith and Ben Folds, minus the heroin addiction and sarcasm. Badly Drawn Boy has clever pop music that’s heavy on piano and serious enough without being depressing. He’s had 5 albums in the decade with Have You Fed the Fish being the best. Listen to this and thank me later.
13. Foo Fighters
I know Graham will have the Foos in his top 10 and most likely his top 5. I’m completely okay with this. They’re a great band. I know what I’m getting with the Foo Fighters every time they release an album. It’s going to have some hard rock songs, some catchy riffs and lyrics and one or two mellow acoustic songs. It’s a good formula that’s been working and they’re easily one of the best live bands out there. I’ve only got one problem with this band. “Everlong” is so awesome and nothing else they do comes close. They’re judged against themselves and they fail. It’s an impossible test to pass considering music doesn’t mean as much to me or carry the same importance as it did when I was in my late teens. I’m not sure if it’s the same for everyone. Regardless, 13 is as high as I could get for this band this decade. It’s still top 15 guys! Here’s my favorite Foo Fighters song of the decade from a show I was at:
12. Pete Yorn
I’m not as down on good ole’ Pete as Graham is. Then again, I haven’t listed to any of his duet album with Scarlett Johansson. All I know about Pete Yorn is this: I like him. I know that his last 2 albums aren’t as good as his first 2, but they still hold up. I really like “Paradise Cove” from his album earlier this year. There’s nothing wrong with mellowing out when you get older Graham, come on.
11. Red Hot Chili Peppers
My argument against the Foo Fighters is that they peaked with “Everlong” and every song is held to that standard. My argument for the Red Hot Chili Peppers is that they’ve progressed immensely from their early ‘90s post-punk/funk/alternative days. I can easily say that their best albums are their last three (two of them this decade).
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Decade in Music - Part 1a.

I originally proposed to Graham about 5 months ago that we get a jump on the “best of the decade” thing that’s going to happen and list our favorite new bands of the decade. Naturally, we procrastinated and I ended up deleting my original list. So what does Graham do over Thanksgiving? He proposes we do our top 20 bands of the decade. How novel.
Since Graham gave his back-story on the differences between 2000 and 2009 in his life, here’s mine. On the cusp of 2000, I was living in my first apartment, had just finished my 1st semester of college with a 4.0 and was kinda hoping YK2 turned the world into Mad Max. Now, I’m married, have 2 college degrees and still kinda wish Y2k turned the world into Mad Max.
Before I get into my top 20 bands of the decade, here’s who just missed the cut.
I really like some of these bands but if they only have 1 album that’s good, or great, I can’t call them a band of the decade. I’m sure they’ll be hurt. These bands include: Vampire Weekend, Evan Dando, Justin Clayton, Bloc Party and MGMT.
If the majority of your music in the decade was released after you died, then you missed the cut as well. I’m talking about Elliott Smith. I guess I shouldn’t say “he missed the cut,” huh?
A few bands get an incomplete cause I need to listen to them more: Earlimart, Wolf Parade and Of Montreal.
Lastly, these guys put out some good music but nothing I would put in the “amazing” category: Sam Roberts, Phantom Planet, Weezer, Mando Diao and Silversun Pickups. Weezer is one of my favorites but The Red Album is so bad that I have to penalize them.
20. The Hives
When making out this list I try and remember how good the music was one it first came out and not just how it sounds now. The Hives were the garage band du jour that I jumped on, as opposed to The White Stripes. Plus, bonus points for The Hives being one of the best live shows I’ve seen.
19. Coldplay
It’s pretty cool to dislike Coldplay these days. It’s not that hard considering Chris Martin turned out to be a nut and they push Apple more than Justin Long. But how can they not be a band of the decade? They’re absolutely huge and it’s because Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head were solid. Plus, this song still holds up. It’s even better cause it shows how nutty Chris Martin is.
18. The Flaming Lips
I really like The Flaming Lips simply because most of their early music is terrible. After loving The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi I went back and listed to their earlier stuff and was amazed at how bad it was. It’s night and day. Anyway, I’d put Yoshimi in the top 10 of the decade and At War With the Mystics is decent. Plus, The Flaming Lips did some of the best covers of the decade as well (Radiohead, Kylie Minogue, Queen).
17. Nada Surf
Easily the most underrated band of the decade. They’re on the cusp of popularity mostly because they were a one hit wonder in the ‘90s. I don’t even know what made me buy Let Go but it’s on of my favorite albums start to finish. There isn’t a weak link in there. It’s a great winter album too, pretty mellow, not too depressing. Their last album was pretty average, but The Weight is a Gift is pretty good as well.
16. Death Cab for Cutie/Postal Service
If I can’t include Ben Gibbard’s side project, Postal Service, then they wouldn’t make the cut. Death Cab is pretty good. Other than Transatlanticism, everything else seems to be pretty normal. But the Postal Service album, Give Up, is one of the best of the decade. Here’s my favorite:
I'm guessing Graham will throw out his next 5 and we'll go from there.
Monday, November 30, 2009
The Decade in Music - Part 1

10 years ago, I was making $22,000 a year as a small-town newspaper reporter while living alone in a studio apartment. In the intervening 10 years I got a job in the NBA, moved with that team to Memphis, got married, had a kid, moved to Portland, bought a house, and became an extraordinary Wii Mario Kart player.
Now that’s a decade.
With the aughts coming to an end, it’s time to look back, specifically to the music. In my triumphant return to sporadic blogging, I will spend the next few weeks counting down the 20 best artists of the decade, in increments of five at a time.
A few caveats: there will be no rap or country on this list. I don’t like either genre and I’m not throwing in Jay-Z or Keith Urban just to make it look like I have a wide array of music tastes. Also, there was a time I was much more invested in music, knew all the up-and-coming indie bands and moaned years later when they got big. But now I’m not really in a position to stay up until 3 a.m. listening to five new CDs, while dissecting the lyrics and liner notes. So this won’t exactly be the hippest list, but that’s what happens when you become old and lame.
With that out of the way, on to the list:
Honorable mentions:
These bands were in the running for this prestigious list, but ultimately got squeezed out: Weezer, Josh Ritter, U2 (only for All That You Can’t Leave Behind, and nothing since), The Decemberists, Phoenix (It took a while, but 1901 really grew on me, and Lisztomania is also very good. Nice breakout performance), Franz Ferdinand (their eponymous debut is terrific, everything since has been a desperate attempt to recapture that magic), the Shout Out Louds and Modest Mouse.
#20: MGMT
There weren’t many songs that were more fun in the decade than Time to Pretend. A hopelessly catchy danceable song skewering celebrities who become train wrecks since they have the world at their feet and don’t know what to do with it. Also, my bet is that Lindsay Lohan has no idea the song is meant to be ironic.
#19: …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
I’d caught on to these guys after hearing Relative Ways off their Source Tags and Codes album, and eagerly bought their follow up, Worlds Apart. It was a decent album with a few standouts, including a song called The Rest Will Follow. It was an enjoyable enough album, then a few weeks after its release they were on Letterman, and did The Rest Will Follow live.
And they blew the fucking roof off.
To this day this remains my favorite late night performance of all-time, especially when punctuated with Paul Shaffer's "Whoa!" at the end of the performance. And more importantly, the strength of that performance, along with their song Source Tags and Codes being used in a tremendous Friday Night Lights scene, gets them #19 on my list.
#18: Explosions in the Sky
Hey, speaking of Friday Night Lights…The preferred band of the best television show of the decade (that’s right) gets in at #18.
In 1999, when I still liked Limp Bizkit (I don’t want to talk about it), if you’d told me in 10 years I’d be digging a band doing sweeping 12-minute songs with no singing, I would have told you that’d be as likely as a pro sports team moving to Memphis.
But here they are. And really, is it even possible not to like these guys? A lot of bands write songs that are anthemic, but how many write songs that are epic? This is epic music. Every time I hear it, I feel like I can lift the nearest car. This is big music, this is music they should be using in the climactic scenes of movies. So how is it that only the producers of the Friday Night Lights movie and tv show have figured this out?
You know what, I don’t care. Check out The Birth and Death of the Day and tell me you don’t get a chill:
#17: Green Day
Talk about a career progression. They went from writing snarky two-minute punk/pop songs to writing the anthemic (there’s that word again) American Idiot album. And that was a hell of an album, especially when you consider the best song is a sprawling multi-part, nine-minute opus that encapsulates modern disaffected teenagers. So yeah, they came a long way from All By Myself.
#16: Bloc Party
They’d be much higher on this list had they not completely botched their second album. Still, you can’t take away the greatness of Silent Alarm. That album jumps from anger to outrage to fun to earnest and rarely hits a false note.
I don’t know what it says about me that my favorite song is a straight forward love song that contains exactly 59 words, but here you go (and Here We Are):
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Ole Miss-Tennessee preview, er, sorta

Your morals and personal code aren’t written down on a list and followed each day. They’re developed over time. Sometimes you don’t even know how you feel about a subject until a line in the sand is drawn and you have to pick a side. For me, that day is today. I have to pick who to cheer for in the Tennessee-Ole Miss football game.
Living in the South means that you have to pay attention to college football. If you have balls, I mean. I can’t be totally invested in college football for the following reasons:
1. The outcome of most games is easy to predict. The talent discrepancy between the haves and have-nots is the difference in 95% of the games.
2. There is no prevalent fantasy game that revolves around college football.
3. My alma mater, the University of Memphis, sucks.
Regardless, football is football and I watch. Since, as mentioned above, I live in the South and my alma mater sucks, I spend the majority of my time cheering against teams. It’s fun and it’s easy. My two favorite teams to hate are Tennessee and Ole Miss. But today, my plan of cheering against these guys is ruined. They play each other. What’s a half-hearted pessimist to do. Let’s break down the pros and cons of each school and figure out who in the hell to cheer for.
The Cities
Knoxville looks like a glorified truck stop. I hate it. I don’t know how it’s scientifically possible but everywhere you walk is up a hill. The only redeeming part of Knoxville is that I once saw a Krystal-eating contest there. This is both awesome and pathetic when talking about a city’s most redeeming quality.
Oxford, it’s quaint, it’s got some trees and Hardees, so yeah, it’s alright. I can see the value in this place, if, and only if, every Ole Miss graduate didn’t talk about Oxford like it was the location of God’s orgasm during creation.
Winner: Oxford
The Coaches
Lane Kiffin is a brash, arrogant SOB. However, as far as I can tell, he hasn’t done anything to deserve this. I’m pretty sure the only thing he’s done to date is get fired by Al Davis and be proud of losing games in a somewhat competitive fashion.
Houston Nutt is the ideal Ole Miss coach. He looks like the type of guy that would get shot by Dick Cheney while hunting, which is what Ole Miss fans are looking for.
Winner: Houston Nutt
The Teams
Tennessee players commit armed robbery with pellet guns.
Ole Miss players can’t read (see the last paragraph here) and steal from hotel rooms.
Winner: Lawyers
The Cheer
Rocky Top Tennessee is hands down the worst song to ever be created. I’d rather be stuck in the Branch Davidian Compound and be forced to hear “These Boots are Made for Walkin’” about 3,000 times before I hear Rocky Top again.
Hotty Toddy is a drunken rant. I can accept this. However, to hear the same drunken rant 272 times before you enter the football stadium is one too many. The good news is that you don’t have to hear the chant that much during the game since Ole Miss usually sucks and the fans have nothing to cheer for.
Winner: No one
The Fans
This is really what I care about. I don’t really want Tennessee or Ole Miss to lose because I care about the actual players or coaching staff. I’ve come into contact with too many of their fans and it brings me joy to think about these people experiencing loss.
Tennessee fans on the east side of the state are mostly hillbilly conservative clichés that bleed orange and white, drink moonshine, beat their wife, sleep with their cousin and vote for the white guy, er, Republican. (I can’t really vouch for any of this since I’ve been to Knoxville a total of 3 times and hung out with friends from the suburbs, but I don’t mind writing about stereotypes.) Tennessee fans here in Memphis drive me nuts. Most of them attended Tennessee for 1-2 semesters, drank a lot of beer, failed their classes and had their parents make them come home. They then went to the University of Memphis but proudly remain UT fans, you know, cause they spent a total of 4 months there and all. Drives me nuts. Then again, you have these other people who, for some unbeknownst reason, cheer for Tennessee in football and then the University of Memphis in basketball. They’re frontrunners. I can’t stand this either. Look buddy, pick a school and cheer for them. It’s not that hard. People don’t cheer for Ohio State basketball and Michigan football. Ugh.
Ole Miss males all have haircuts like this. It’s amazing. Seriously, go to Oxford on a Saturday and you’ll see 10,000 20-40 year old dudes with this haircut. It’s almost like they are genetically predetermined to go to Ole Miss. These guys generally drink way too much, invented date-rape, wear shirts and ties to football games and vote for the white guy, er, Republican. They hate every other SEC school and constantly have an inflated sense of their team. Every preaseason they talk about how bad ass their team is, although most years they end up somewhere between 3-7 and 7-3. I’ll give them credit for one thing: they don’t cheer for Memphis basketball. Thank God.
Winner: No one
So it looks like the final score is in favor of Ole Miss by a margin of 2-0-3. However, I just remember that I picked Tennessee in my work pool, so screw it, I’ll cheer for anything that gives me a chance at money. Go Vols. I just threw up in my mouth.
Chris
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Rockin the Suburbs Book Preview Continued
A while back I gave a preview of my coffee table book idea, "Homoerotic Sports Pictures." Here's the second preview:

Does this guy ever live this picture down? I bet his friends made t-shirts out of it.

What are the chances he's saying, "You smell good?"

He's not allowed with 20 feet of a school yet he can ref wrestling matches?

Europeans are weird.

As far as homoerotic sports pictures go, this is the Mona Lisa.

Now that's what I call going for the ball, zing!

No wonder this is Graham's favorite sport.

This is the opposite of how I'd celebrate something.

The Lakers are always screwing someone over, aren't they?

This gives no meaning to "taking a charge."
Chris

Does this guy ever live this picture down? I bet his friends made t-shirts out of it.

What are the chances he's saying, "You smell good?"

He's not allowed with 20 feet of a school yet he can ref wrestling matches?

Europeans are weird.

As far as homoerotic sports pictures go, this is the Mona Lisa.

Now that's what I call going for the ball, zing!

No wonder this is Graham's favorite sport.

This is the opposite of how I'd celebrate something.

The Lakers are always screwing someone over, aren't they?

This gives no meaning to "taking a charge."
Chris
Monday, November 2, 2009
We're still too lazy to write so here's another video
I want to make a video like this about Memphis, you know, if actual work wasn't involved.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
YouTube Friday
It's a little early, but happy Friday. If you didn't know why they called him Rampage, here's a good clip why.
Chris
Chris
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