Sunday, May 31, 2009

BAM! I Just Nostalgiacized You in the Face! PART 3

Only two more albums that I want to recognize! The bands/albums in this post are kindof interesting selections since:

1) These aren't the bands' first-ever albums
2) These aren't considered the bands' best albums ever by critics- only me.

9th Grade- Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty (1998)

Yet another album that is disgustingly good from start to finish! The only thing I knew about the Beastie Boys in 9th grade was that they did the song "Girls, Fight for Your Right," and "Brass Monkey"- all awesome songs in their own right, but I had never cared to listen to anything else by them. WELL, one day my friend Jenny was telling me about how a new Beastie Boys album was coming out. A week later, a Rolling Stone issue came out that was interviewing the Beastie Boys about their new album. Around this same time, "Intergalactic" was getting HEAVY rotation on the radio and MTV. Anyhow, I read the interview, thought the band sounded awesome, and so I picked up the album on the day it came out. Just like all the other albums I've talked about, I was drawn in by one song here: "Intergalactic." The song is sick, and the video is sick, and the album turned out to be just stupid amazing.

EVERY song on this disc is good AND- the album has incredible staying power. 11 years later, this STILL is one of my most played ablums. Why is the album good? The lyrics are hilarious, the beats are phenomenal, and there is a lot of variety from track to track. Mix Master Mike is by far the sweetest turntablist on the planet, and the Beasties all have really sweet flows. They paved the way for dudes like Eminem to be taken seriously!

Anyway, because of this album I got into a lot more hip hop, but "Hello Nasty" serves as the meter stick by which I measure all the other stuff that comes my way! In case you were curious, T Pain does not measure up (though that track with Jamie Foxx is SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!).


9th Grade- Rage Against the Machine- Evil Empire (1996)


Ahhh yes, Evil Empire. This album came out in 1996 but I got into it a little bit later as a freshman in high school- The first time I saw the CD, it was in my friend's older brother's record collection. Then, I saw the video for "Bulls on Parade" on MTV (at the same friend's house), and didn't really know what to think. "What was this crazy noise?!" Keep in mind, the whole rap-rock thing wasn't all that big at this point and people weren't familiar with Tom Morello's guitar craziness either! ANYHOW, I actually don't remember at what point I was inspired to own this album, but it happened- I went to school one day and paid this guy Adam $5.00 (cold hard cash) to use his amazing CD burner technology to copy the album for me. And sure enough, I had it the next day! Again, I can't ever really remember listening to it a lot in high school, but as it stands today, this is one of my favorite albums ever and it still gets very heavy rotation in my life!

I consider this album better than the self titled one, and the band's best album overall! Any album with lyrics like: "Turn on the radio, nah, fuck it, turn it off- fear is your only God on the radio!" - is sweet! The whole album is just SO musically tight. Listening to it is the equivalent of injecting steroids and stimulants. It makes you run faster, lift harder, and probably fight more viciously! My favorite songs on this album are probably Vietnow, Tire Me, and Down Rodeo- all of these are lesser known Rage... songs but stellar none the less!

Another awesome thing that I appreciate about Rage a lot more today is how politically active they are/were. Though some of their stances are a bit questionable, for the most part, I think they are pretty awesome for standing up to a lot of bad shit in the world... Look up the band on Wikipedia if you're interested and reach you're own opinion on it.

Anyway, just like "Hello Nasty," I crank out "Evil Empire" out quite a bit these days too!

New Shades

I got SICKNASTY new shades! Wearing these shades can only result in one of two outcomes I think:

Outcome #1: People see me in these shades and say- "Damn, those are awesome. That guy is cool."

Outcome #2: People see me in these shades and say- "That guy is a total douchebag."

When you make the commitment to wearing cyan and tangerine sunglasses, there's not really a whole lot of middle ground or gray area. I'm hoping Outcome #1 occurs the majority of the time.

Back with a Vengeance!

Holy crap!

Time certainly flies when you are completely swamped with life. It's been a whirlwind last couple months!

Here's a quick recap:

1) Remember all those soccer games I was pumped about? Well they all had neutral to terrible results. Arsenal got worked over by Chelsea in the FA Cup semis, and then got murdered by Manchester United in the Champions League Semis. Dark times! Now, two months later, the soccer season is officially over and my team is trophyless. On a positive note however, I think this team is going to crush skulls next year.


President of Skull Crushing Operations for Arsenal: Andrei Arshavin
This mofo went totally batshit bonkers on Liverpool and scored FOUR goals. Insane.

2) I held my birthday celebration in NYC, and it was, as I anticipated, phenomenal.

3) The NFL draft went awesome for my Packers which helped offset some of the Arsenal losses. The Pack is going to be sick this year. Just wait.

4) I bought a subscription to the Economist. It has quickly become my favorite magazine but Jesus- it requires a hell of a time commitment to get through the whole thing every week. It pays off though because I end up feeling a little smarter and a little more in touch with the world.

5) In no particular order: I went sailing in Annapolis, attended a Prince vs MJ vs Madonna dance party, and spent a weekend in Michigan for a wedding.

Everybody look at me I'm on a motherfucking boat.Believe me when I say, I _____d a mermaid...
Also, how many of you recognize my badass necklace?

MJ makes everybody act absolutely ridiculous.

6) I started a "diet." This inevitably will become its own post because trying to "eat right" is mindbogglingly frustrating and borderline impossible

7) I discovered a metric shit-ton of new music and have lined up several summer concerts.

More posts that will discuss all these things and more are coming for my two dear follower: Jack and Teats.

Patience is a virtue people, but let the blogging recommence... now.