January 2012
6 posts
“It’s hard to imagine an infinite amount of skill as a handicap to winning, but...”
– “An Unlikely Underdog,” The Classical
And if you haven’t been reading The Classical, you really should be. It’s pretty great.
If You Spot Bigfoot, Should You Shoot Him? →
Perhaps the most important question mankind has ever asked. Certainly this is an ethical dilema for the ages, exposing the very duality of man.
And if some day you or a loved one is called upon to answer this question, then man god have mercy on your soul.
[via The Awl]
Wrestling Is A Vampire →
Jeremy Gordon for The Classical on Billy Corgan’s new professional wrestling promotion, because Billy Corgan is a narcissistic nut case.
December 2011
8 posts
Bon Iver // Beth/Rest
Bon Iver’s eponymous...
WatchIf you watch a second internet video this holiday season (I’LL ALLOW IT), make it this one from Conan starring Minty, The Candy Cane That Fell On The Ground.
Watch“Wanna See Something Cool?”
For UCB LA’s The Midnight Show.
Fugazi Live Series →
Fugazi recorded every single live show they ever played. And now, through the wonders of internet, they are releasing every single live show they ever played. Some 850 shows. This is awesome.
I certainly cringe at some of the stuff I hear, especially sometimes when I’m talking to the crowd. I think sometimes my humor is extremely dry, and a lot of times I would say things that I thought...
WatchTitus Andronicus // A More Perfect Union
Directed by Tom Scharpling and from the same shoot as this year’s “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future” video. The venue? FUCK MOUNTAIN. Also, make sure you check out Tom’s newest podcast, Low Times, for some great interviews with musicians.
November 2011
1 post
“Writer-director Kevin Smith talked about working with Peters on a fifth...”
– Wikipedia: Wild Wild West
October 2011
6 posts
“Fuck genres, fuck trends, fuck history, this band are only concerned with...”
– Klaxons: Myths Of The Future, NME
It’s important—even if you’ve never done it before—to check in from time to time and remember how batshit insane the New Musical Express’s review of Klaxons’s 2007 debut record was.
And also to realize how amazingly appropriate that album...
David Bowie & Klaus Nomi, “The Man Who Sold The World.” Saturday Night Live, 1979.
9-9-9
“You need a hook. Something that gets the people talking. Real buzz.” Herman Cain stared down at his chicken fingers and curly fries. His meal was getting cold. He took a long sip from his giant fountain soda and remained deep in thought.
“Herman, I’m serious,” Cain’s new campaign manager was trying to get the presidential candidate to understand where he was coming from. “Your people brought me...
Why Tom Scharpling & Jon Wurster Are Punk Genuises →
The November issue of SPIN is the magazine’s first “funny” issue. Which can—and usually does—break bad for a music publication. Look, I’m sure that you think John Mayer is very, very funny. But he’s not. Stop it.
SPIN avoided this potential trap by enlisting Patton Oswalt as guest editor. Smart decision. So now we have things like this Jake Fogelnest-penned ode to...
“Water fluoridation is not much different than sending a fluoride Gestapo around...”
– Florida!
[via The Awl]
September 2011
5 posts
“After he finished eating a dinner of fried cheese bread, artichoke dip, roasted...”
– “Rick Ross’s Simple Lessons for Bosses, Dons, and Bitches,” Gentlemen’s Quarterly
Jon Stewart and the Burden of History →
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are worshiped by their legions of fans. They are also lauded by critics and do very, very well in the ratings. All of this is completely deserved, because after years both shows remain consistently funny night in and night out. And, really, that is all you can hope for from two late-night comedy shows.
But there’s a certain type of fan that loves Jon Stewart...
August 2011
5 posts
The Smashing Pumpkins // Bodies
My dad still...
Nerdist Writer's Panel →
“People love a podcast.”
Eight days after he was gunned down during the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY, President William McKinley uttered this sentence. They would be his final words. At the time this was thought to be the nonsensical gibberish of a man in the throes of death. But it’s become clear now that McKinley’s legacy should be one...
July 2011
8 posts
The Michael Kay Diet →
Part of a conversation about baseball over at The Awl delves into one of the most fascinating topics about Yankees telecasts: the eating habits of broadcaster Michael Kay. It’s not so much about what Michael Kay doesn’t like to eat, but rather about the laundry list of everyday foodstuffs that he has refused to even try. The man is 50 years old and claims to have never,ever eaten...
“I saw Miley’s cover of ‘Teen Spirit’ in South America. The...”
– Billy Ray Cyrus, from SPIN’s What Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ Means to Me
And it only took twenty years and seventy-two cover stories for SPIN to run out of people to interview about The Only ’90s Album That Matters. See also: Lenny Kravitz and the girl from Evanescence.
Inside 'The Order,' One Mormon Cult's Secret... →
I’ve been to Utah. It was weird. The cities are Disney-fied, EPCOT versions of what real towns in America look like; strange approximations of major urban landscapes, with just a few details changed that throw everything else a little off. In between these few towns, Utah is desolate and empty. The highways are the kind that on dark nights you become convinced a truck driver...
The A.V. Club Interview: Tom Scharpling →
Tom takes a break from steam-rolling chumps to talk to the A.V. Club about The Best Show on WFMU’s origins, directing music videos, the future of the show, the Insane Clown Posse, and the late Kevin Allin.
June 2011
6 posts
I’m not sure if standing-up comedians Jon Dore and Rory Scovel came up with this bit before hand, or if they just went for it after actually being double-booked. I suppose it doesn’t matter, because it is fantastic. I’d like to believe that somewhere the Sklar Brothers are really angry for not having come up with this idea first.
And if you stopped watched Conan after the...
Blow-Up: An Oral History of Michael Bay, the Most... →
Yes, yes. Some people hate Michael Bay, some people love Michael Bay; we get it. But three Transformer movies that no one wanted when he could have been making Bad Boys 3 is just unacceptable. Stop it. No one likes Shia LaBeouf, not even Shia LaBeouf.
Michael Bay claims he’s a “true American,” but a patriot would not deprive the people of this nation a third Bad...
The Ballad of the Akron Kid: On Sequels,...
LeBron James will never, ever be Michael Jordan. It has nothing to do with how talented LeBron James is, or how many championships he wins, or how many awards he receives, or what records he holds when it’s all over. LeBron James will never be Michael Jordan because Michael Jordan is a myth, a ghost, a living legend. What Jordan did as a player in the NBA—his actual, concrete...
“This is the second time that January Jones has been cast in 1962 opposite an...”
– X-Men: First Class (2011) - Trivia - IMDb
Die In a Fiery Accident and Taste Your Own Blood:... →
Nearly a decade ago, when Judd Apatow was running the fantastic Undeclared on FOX, there was a misunderstanding between himself and That ’70s Show creator Mark Brazill over the use of Topher Grace. What followed was an incredibly angry, hilarious exchange of emails that are preserved here—on Harper’s—for us to enjoy until the internet goes SkyNet or magazines completely stop being a...
May 2011
12 posts
“On Sunday, September 3, Hughes fell off the toilet and injured his arm and heel....”
– Howard Hughes: His Life & Madness. He was the only man with the balls to challenge the Minute Maid.
List of Alleged "Natural Born Killers" Copycat... →
Man, Wikipedia has everything.
Sleepy Brown // You’re My Lady
I’m not sure what...