Why, I’m glad you asked!
It may be a little presumptuous of me to assume you’re all interested in what I’m listening to, reading, and watching at this moment, so on one hand I hesitated to just dive into something like that. But at the same time, I write a freakin’ music blog, where clearly I’m going to write about the things that interest me. So really, what else would you expect? Anyway, a small sampling of the stuff I’ve been enjoying of late.
Music
The Veronicas – Imagine if Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne circa 5 years ago decided to record an album together. Now imagine that same record was completely devoid of AutoTune. That’s sort of a sense of what The Veronicas’ (really sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso) second album Hook Me Up sounds like. Make no mistake; this has “stupid girl-pop” written all over it. But God, is it a fun listen. It’s more than a girly punk record, and it’s more than just run-of-the-mill teen pop. That fact alone, that it doesn’t try to stay in the bounds of one genre, makes it a wonderfully interesting listen.
The Veronicas – Untouched [iTunes]
Jaydiohead – Yeah, I know I just raved about this Jay-Z/Radiohead mashup album earlier this week. But it’s still so damned incredible. Kudos to Minty Fresh Beats for putting together the first impressive mixtape of 2009.
Jaydiohead (Jay-Z and Radiohead) – Dirt Off Your Android
Paramore – Look, if you’re not on the Paramore train yet, nothing I say here is gonna change your mind. But “Decode” is quite possibly one of my favorite songs on the radio right now, and this video from the Final Riot! CD/DVD just continues to solidify their spot in my music collection.
Paramore – Let the Flames Begin (From The Final Riot!)
Books
High Fidelity – My brother found this for me at a local bookstore. I knew it was a book before the movie, but had never gotten around to pick the thing up and read it. Big mistake. The book is as brilliant as the movie, and in some spots moreso. The coolest moment of the week had to be when I took a break from reading to watch TV only to find the film on. Game on.
The Velvet Underground – Who Loves The Sun [From the High Fidelity Soundtrack] [iTunes]
TV
Fringe – It’s in midseason hiatus right now, but for the entire end of last year JJ Abrams’ new show had me sold. I was just a bit too young to pick up on The X-Files in its heyday, but Fringe takes everything that made that show so popular and gives it a touch of Abrams’ weirdness. Kill a guy by getting him stuck in a wall? Done. Use LSD to induce a coma where people can talk to the dead/comatose? Sure. The guy who played Denethor in Lord of the Rings as a formerly government-sponsored mad scientist? We have a winner. The show comes back on the 20th, and I urge you all to give Fringe a well-deserved hour of your time.
Grey’s Anatomy – Yes, I’m a 20-year-old male college student who watches Grey’s Anatomy. No, I see no issue with this. Sadly, though, last night’s return from hiatus indicates the show’s clear loss of direction. Right now there are two viable long-term storylines on the show (Seattle Grace falling to 12th best teaching hospital, Grey and Yang being at odds over the intern surgery) and dozens of frivolous ones that are better suited to soap operas than primetime. I’m giving this show the remainder of the season to right itself, but consider it on notice.
Apologies to anyone who just lost interest in that brief rant. That’s all for right now. Back in a couple hours.
==TJ==
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Jay-Z, musings, Paramore, Radiohead, The Veronicas, TV
i found the veronicas record to be Extremely lacking. it has like four good songs. ladyhawke much?
I’ve lost count as to how many pages of your blog I’ve read. I dig your musical tastes and you’re a solid writer.
bookmark’d
sorry to say but the veronicas are definitely not autotune free; was just listening to “I could get used to this” (from their first album); listen at about 0:28 and you can clearly hear the autotune. doesnt stop me from listening to them though.