Unsolicited CD Review: El Perro Del Mar

so this was one of the acts I've heard of before getting the CD, though I didn't know much. Despite the name ("the dog of the sea"), El Perro Del Mar is a solo Swedish woman named Sarah Assbring. Pretty funny name.

Anyway, on her album "From the Valley to the Stars," she sings breezy, summery, sometimes silly songs. To keep up the sibiliance, they're sometimes sixties and sometimes slight as well. "You Can't Steal a Gift" sounds a bit like a 50's R&B number and has smiley little keyboard "bwow bwows", while "How Did We Forget" features soft 60's style horns, and "Glory to the World" (check out the mp3) is a nice and slow little ditty.

The songs are quick, most under three minutes, and they're gentle but not quite twee, like "To Give Love." There's a little bit of keyboard, some soft drums, and generally that's about it, plus some atmospherics. I wish there were more songs like "Somebody's Baby," which is almost Sloan-like, quicker and punchier, with insistent but soft drums and nice multilayered vocals. Assbring has a great voice, and they seem better utilized on songs like "Somebody's Baby."

In all, the album is a fun little summer cupcake. I think it'd make a nice soundtrack for lounging in bed on a Sunday morning, or maybe floating in the pool on a nice day. El Perro Del Mar is currently on tour with Lykke Li, another Swede, who I also plan to review.

Here's her Myspace and her Wikipedia.

so this is unreal. Amazing. Terrible. Astounding.



I don't know if the song is a joke , but I feel like this is the end of music. Everything that could possibly be done has been done. I'll probably change my mind in a week.

But anyway, Riskay is a rapper from Bartow, Florida and she was at SXSW, of all places.

Here's her Myspace
And Wikipedia

so... what the hell is this?



Apparently KOB-TV is in Albuquerque. And Darren White is running for Congress.

so I made this

so this principal in Mclean, Virginia, a ritzy suburb of DC, banned the game of tag from her school. How stupid. She called it a game "of intense aggression." Give me a break, it's a game that kids play, and thus some kids win and lose. What's next, banning all sports, video games, and Candyland? How stupid.

Here's the principal's email if you want to comment.

so I just saw "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane," and may I just say it's a forgotten classic. It's Andrew Dice Clay's movie, also starring Priscilla Presley, Gilbert Gottfried, the guy who says "Warriors, come out to play-ay!!" and a host of other legends. It was made in 1990 and stars the Diceman as Ford Fairlane, a rock n roll detective who likes bimbos and fast cars, according to the blurb on my On Demand.

It's terrible. It's even award-winningly terrible, it won three Razzies that year and was nominated for three more. It's by Joel Silver and Renny Harlin, if that means anything.

But it's also really funny in a terrible way. The movie is very 1990, with Tone Loc, hair metal (Vince Neil as a rock singer), sorority girls doing jazzercise, and more. Plus added Wayne Newton and koala bears. I recommend it, especially say, post bars or a lazy night. It causes a lot of "what the hell" responses, as in, this guy was famous? What just happened? A koala bear? But he's actually pretty amusing, in a completely obvious and stereotypical way. It's kinda like Teen Wolf, in that it really shows the cheesy stuff about that time period, but it's not as clever as Teen Wolf.

Unsolicited CD Review #2 : Hello Tokyo - Sell the Stars

so I get a lot of free CDs in the mail. Today's is Hello Tokyo's album "Sell the Stars."

One of my main determinants in whether I listen to a CD is A. is it metal, and B. how's the album cover. I tend to get a lot of metal CDs - if you want them, let me know. As for the album cover, if it looks cheesy or has a lame font, odds are the album will be similarly cheesy or lame. If it looks professional and/or cool, then maybe the band is also professional and/or cool - the odds increase, at least. Maybe that's a dumb way to do things, but I usually get a CD a week or so, and I haven't heard of most of the bands.

As for this CD, Hello Tokyo has a nice album cover, and they play in DC a fair amount,so I assumed they were a DC band. They're actually from Brooklyn, a three-piece power pop group with a female singer. The album is well-produced and all, but it's basically mid-90s style power pop - think Material Issue, the Smithereens, Catatonia, Magnapop, or Matthew Sweet's non-good tracks. The music doesn't really stand out and the singer is a little too over-the-top for me. If you're into that genre of music, check them out. Otherwise, steer clear. But hey, just my opinion.

so this is the greatest video on youtube:

so I saw REM on the Colbert Report today, and I was like "yeah whatever, new album." They said they wanted to play fast and loud, which reminded me of Monster, so I'm listening to that now. And it's pretty damn good. Fuzzy, buzzy, tons of feedback catchy guitar rock numbers. Give it a look if you haven't in awhile.

New job, moving

So as most people reading this blog probably know, I have been going crazy at work for the past few months working on Google software and doing other bitchwork - printing out people's Excel files and such. I had been searching for jobs passively, but after the last few weeks I've been doing it more aggressively, and I'm happy to say I found one - I'll be working in the sports information office at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. I had hoped to get a similar job in GW's athletic department, with my basketball blogging, but I think this job will be awesome. I've heard great things about Alaska and have been getting tired of DC. I'll hate to move and leave everyone, but I've been in D.C. ten years now and it's time for a change.

My last day in town is April 12th, so hopefully I can see everybody before then. If you want to see more about the university where I'll be working, click here. It's a really beautiful campus.