Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You

I washed a cheese grater with my bare hands.

Basketball Announcer

"2 in the paint, 1 in to sink, whooooaaahhh folks! that's a shocker."

(did he do that on purpose?)

Weekend

finished out the week's 10.5 miles early with a quick 2.5 mile run.

bros, chicken bones, breweries, and standing on the rooftops of stl history. Foam: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings on the jukebox and a wall of '70s pachinko machines. rad.

CL find of the month: practically new snowboard, bindings, bag and boots that fit for $50.

400 mile quest for parts. got nothing but sage advice: Find an easier hobby.

Bishop Allen

Ugh. This is turning into a music blog. I will post more stories about the Porsches soon (lots of news but I haven't had time to pull the photos together.) In the mean time, this is one of my favorite songs of late 2009:



This isn't the album version. It is more raw, but I picked it because of the video. Amazing, no?

I like Bishop Allen because they're all smart and stuff (Proof: They met while attending Harvard.)

I like this song because it made me hit wikipedia:

USS Monitor

Battle of Hampton Roads

Square Gets My Vote for Startup of the Year

I am a beta tester* for the new startup, squareup.com. The service is amazing. I can't imagine an easier way to accept credit cards on the go. As an added bonus, my profits nearly doubled in the first week.

I'm using it to charge admission to hobo fights on the street down here by work. Getting the fight started is easy. Find a hobo, mention something about the hobo down the street and vodka. Before you know it, a fight ensues. I won't let anyone stop to watch unless they give me a CC to swipe.

simple.


*not really.

Speaking of MusicIUsedToListenTo

After my last post I dusted off the "Crap I Used to Listen to" playlist which is chock-full-o Taking Back Sunday. The first song on shuffle happened to be Hit or Miss by A New Found Glory. I never noticed it before, but that's a whole lotta autotune:



It is especially obvious every time he says Thriller... but you can hear it on "long" and "someone" every. single. time. I love that the singer because now we have 2 things in common. Same name, neither one of us can sing.

I kid... I kid... My last name totally isn't Pundik.

Speaking of autotune, let's talk about music I'm listening to right now. Ra Ra Riot is amazing. Saw them under a hot tent at SXSW 2008 and became an instant fan. Have a listen and tell me if you hear what I think I hear in their song, "Can You Tell"



The oddly tuned floor tom (starts at 0:32 in the video) throws Wes Miles off key when he says, "It's hard to stay cool." Listen closely to "it's hard" and you'll hear what I think is the warble of a pitch correction. I might be imagining it, but I think his pitch is pulled down the whole time those toms are going. It doesn't sound quite right until the band kicks in. Sort of a shame, but you can't blame him. I think everyone who has spent some time in the studio has had these moments.

NeatThingsThatILike:Songs that Mention Other Songs

I think you have to be a fan of Andrew McMahon (Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin) to appreciate the lengthy song, "Konstantine." I am a fan, so I effing love it.

Something Corporate - Konstantine


As an added bonus, I am also a fan of bands who mention other bands/songs in their songs. This works out quite nicely for me because right around the 5:52 mark we get the verse that says:

it's to jimmy eat world
and those nights in my car
when the first star you see
may not be a star
I'm not your star
isn't that what you said?
what you thought this song meant

Found the song:

Jimmy Eat Word - For Me This is Heaven


On a related note, I still (it's been what, like 7 years?) get a kick out of when Jesse Lacey of Brand New and John Nolan of Taking Back Sunday each wrote songs about their last telephone conversation. FFWD to 2:00 in Seventy Times Seven and 2:22 in "There's no 'I' in Team."

Brand New - Seventy Times Seven


Taking Back Sunday - There's No 'I' in Team