Pop Culture Blog: Music, Movie and Humor

Leveraging low-hanging synergies outside the vertical fruit box since 1999.

Friday’s Quizzlet: The Crack Hole.


in Monday's Quotelet

Appetizer: On a scale of 1 to 10 (10=highest), how sociable are you?
I’m a solid 8 I think. People think of me as a connector, but I can be quite the lone wolf, too. The addition of Tivo to my bedroom understandably has not helped this. If I’m not alone for a little while each day, watching true crime shows, I can’t think straight. Or rub myself.

Soup: Name 3 DVDs you currently own.
I have about 300, so this is a little moot. I will name the 3 most embarassing ones, how’s that? I simply don’t know how I ended up with Rush Hour 2. I will also openly admit to owning The Black Hole and A Nightmare on Elm Street. And the fact that I have obviously never truly learned the value of a dollar.

Salad: If you were to win a superlative award now, what would it be?
The same one I won when I was a senior at Vermont Academy – “Talks Least, Says Most”. I would have also appreciated the class clown one, or “Most Pranks Played on Rest of Campus”. Considering we were at a school you could have been thrown out of for belching, we sure frigged around a lot.

Main Course: What is your favorite radio station?
I am all about the Podcasts these days. My favorite has to be Ricky Gervais – and it also happens to be the #1 podcast in the world right now. If you like the American version of The Office, which I know you do because it’s incredibly awesome, have a listen to the guy who created it. Most podcasts are ridiculously bad, but if you sniff around long enough you’ll find some doozys.

Dessert: Complete this sentence: I believe _______ because ________.
I believe I can fly, because I believe the children are our future. I also believe that fallen R & B singers deserve a bit more sympathy. And crack.

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Feeling Kinda Cannon Fodder.


in

I’ve played paintball several times. And I personally think I’m quite good at it. Why then, was I riddled, tatooed, welted and swiss-cheesed last night? Don’t get me wrong – it was a heck of a lot of fun – but there were so many people on the field. There wasn’t room to move, duck or anything else. Because it was a special event, they loaded up the teams so everyone would get to play and it was just too much. So I made a little animation last night when I got home which pretty much sums up my recent paintball propensity.

A great laugh, and I met some great kids. My crew did pretty well, and I have to mention that my team – R1 (Republicans 1) – went completely undefeated, even if I have more bruises today than Rodney King with a broken tail light. Have a look at the rest of the ridiculous paintball photos here, and please send ice.

UPDATE: Here is an article about the event from the Crimson.

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Battlefield Somerville.


in

We’re off to the wars tonight somewhere in Somerville for a paintball tournament that my company is sponsoring. A little brand-recognition, a little intern recruitment – and a lot of oozing welts. It’s mainly Harvard students, with a few outsiders like myself thrown in, and the theme is Democrat vs. Republican. So basically I’m going to try and make as many of the little bastards cry tonight as I possibly can. Peden shot me in the neck from two feet away once, and I know first hand where to aim for maximum damage to smart-overpriviliged-twats.

I don’t know what team I’ll be put on, but if I get to choose I’ll be gunning for Moonbats like my name is Van Helsing and pretending they all look like Carolyn Parrish. I’m bringing my new camera, which is probably extremely ill-advised, and I hope to post a few good shots up here tomorrow. I look forward to lots of pizza, beer and post-traumatic stress this evening. Suppress, move, flank and goon.

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Wednesday Wadio: Lush’s ‘De-Luxe’.


in Wednesday Wadio

“In a sense, the beginning of Lush was as inevitable as its ending was not.”

This song is senior year at Concord-Carlisle for me. So many memories surrounding it. Lush opened for Jane’s Addiction that year at the Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg. We rented a bus, filled it with our best buddies (and underclassmen girls), before having one of the best times of my life. The whole shebang kicked off at PJ’s with kegs. We filled 2 litre milk jugs with beer and moved the bender to the bus. The show was amazing, and in between moshing with Mike Duffy – and watching Tombeno get thrown out and sneak back in 3 times – Lush rocked the rink with this awesome tune.

“When I sat down to listen to Ciao!, it had been at least seven years since I’d last listened to Lush, and probably five since I’d even thought of them. But by the end, I was digging out the old discs again– not out of an obligation to research and refresh, but because I wanted to relive and remember.” – Pitchfork

Lush has long since gone the way of the do-do (the drummer even killed himself), but they released 3 solid albums in the 90’s and I have every one of them on my iPod. They’re considered to be part of the “shoegazing” genre – Shoegazing is characterised by the use of distortion and the fuzzbox, droning riffs and a Phil Spector-esque wall of sound from the noisy guitars. You’ll understand the classification when you hear ‘De-Luxe’, which was their breakthrough hit in America. ‘Ladykillers’ fared better a few years later, but it isn’t anywhere near as cool as this etherial little ditty.

This song also reminds me of driving to a party in Carlisle at Sarah’s house with Triconi in my ’84 BMW 318. We videotaped the party, and you can see Doug and I singing along to De-Luxe as we navigate the windy dark roads. We still sing that song to eachother, and it’s admittedly extremely gay to be doing so. Enjoy the song – it’s a great little timecapsule.

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My Video Debut: BossBack Mountain.


in

You’ll be pleased to know that I am far from finished doing embarassing things with my new camera. Last night Boss and I brainstormed for about 3 hours and came up with the heart-wrenching tale which you’re about see. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you – BossBack Mountain.

His line at the very end – “Maraaaaanch” – transcends both racial and special boundaries, and I only wish we’d gotten this in the can prior to Sundance. Keep an eye out for this hot new star. He’s 70 in cat years, but I predict a late blooming Olympia Dukakis/Hume Cronin sort of success for him. Cocoon 3: Ass-Dragging on the Carpet”. You’d see it.

UPDATE: I put this retarded thing up on YouTube an hour ago, and it’s already been viewed 72 times.

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