Top Ten Albums of 2007 (in my opinion)

1. Empty Orchestra: Here Lies Empty Orchestra
Unconventional top album, but I ran into Empty Orchestra player John Duffy at work today and I was like, "You know, that album, for me, sums up Flint more than any other album I've heard since Kid Brother Collective's Highway Miles." It is blue-collar rock from the heart of the Mitten State, and done with an energetic, alt-country flair that seems to be all the rage these days. I've followed Stephen Wisniewski's songs since my inception into the whole Flint music scene and I have always admired the risks he has taken. I remember how confused people were when May/June would entertain kids with Suicide Machines tees with delicate, heartfelt folk music that inspired sitting quietly and watching, rather than mixing it up on the floor. His songs commanded respect then, and they certainly deserve the audience they're getting now. Highly, highly recommended.

2. The Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
Albums like this remind me of why I love music. I really, really liked Funeral, but the jury was still out on the band as a whole, fearing they might slip into the sophomore slump. Not happening here. This improves upon their previous album in nearly every facet, creating a darkly haunting masterpiece that will surely age well. I find myself going back to this record a lot.

3. Radiohead: In Rainbows
Sure, this is token top-list fodder, especially given the high profile of its unconventional download-only release. The band inadvertantly shook things up just by releasing it in the format they chose. I don't think they really aimed to do that, they just wanted to rely only upon themselves for their record's success or failure and take absolute control over distribution of their works. Surely lots of bands will steal from this, and more power to them. In an era where every new band wants to get signed and be the next big thing, Radiohead proves that sometimes it's still better to just do things yourself. Musically, this is a pretty schizo album with no songs as epic as anything on Kid A, OK Computer or The Bends, yet showcases Yorke as a true visionary. As In Rainbows proves, there's no formula to Yorke's music... or the way he does anything, for that matter. Jonny Greenwood is still among the best guitarists playing today.

4. Rivers Cuomo: Alone: The Solo Recordings of Rivers Cuomo
This is a geek pick. I grew up adoring Weezer and they were sort of my segue into indie-rock. This record is nearly impossible to listen to start-to-finish because some tracks truly hurt the ears, but accompanied by Rivers' liner notes, it is a fascinating and nostalgic time capsule of the enigmatic songwriter's career in music.

5. The National: Boxer
Christ, I am a late adopter lately. I heard everyone gloating about this album and I disregarded it for most of the year. Over the past couple of months I started to question why the hell I waited so long to give it a listen. The fact that Sufjan Stevens played piano on it has me less excited than the music itself, which is saying a ton. It's brilliant chamber-pop of the highest caliber. Boxer is incredibly ambitious and it pits The National up against Arcade Fire for the best of its ilk.

6. The Swellers: My Everest
I was super-hesitant to place The Swellers on my top list, since I get paid to work for them, but since they made countless other top-ten lists I feel somewhat confident in my decision to include them. I mentioned Empty Orchestra and Kid Brother Collective's LPs as the definitive Flint albums. This would rank as the third in a trio of anthemic blue-collar albums about loss aside from the romantic sense. It's a coming of age album, and it tackles some difficult subject matter. For a hyperactive punk record, it sure forcasts a gloomy outlook tinged with bitterness. These kids are pissed off, yet maintain their intelligence about the whole affair.

7. Limbeck: Limbeck
Who says alt-country can't be rollicking and fun? I loved Limbeck's first album, Hi, Everything's Great with a passion, yet its follow-up, Let Me Come Home didn't quite hit the mark for me. I got around to picking this up when I saw the band with Hot Rod Circuit in Detroit, and continually go back to listening to it. There's a lot of Paul Westerberg influence this time around, drawing the band further away from its more commercial indie-pop roots in favor of something a bit more homegrown and close to the heart. Solid record from start to finish; Casey James Prestwood is a savant.

8. The Shins: Wincing the Night Away
I'm probably the only person I know who really dug this album, at least compared to the band's absolutely stellar discography. While Wincing is very front-loaded (The first 15 minutes are among my favorite of any disc this year), it is still an incredibly consistent rock record. The more upbeat moments are the best, and explore new territories for the band's Beatles-inspired sound.

9. Original Soundtrack: Once
If any movie made me love music more than I had before, it would be Once, a charming Irish-folk indie musical in the least overbearing sense. This is a quiet, inviting movie that offers insight into a man's passion as a street musician/vacuum repairman, and the musical passion his friend, a random pedestrian and eventual musical partner, shares with him. I have yet to spin the actual soundtrack disc, but there's a loophole in that the film (loosely) follows the formula of a musical, with songs weaved through its narrative, so I've already heard the complete works courtesy of the film. Glen Hansard (also of The Frames) became one of my favorite singer-songwriters after watching this film. I hope the passion he showcased in this film isn't a ruse.

10. Patton Oswalt: Werewolves & Lollipops
This is a landmark comedy album. While the Dane Cooks and Larry the Cable Guys of the world rake in huge amounts of dough at the expense of intelligence and innovation, Oswalt dares to shake things up a bit. Opting to play indie-rock clubs and theaters versus large arenas or comedy clubs, Oswalt (along with David Cross and the other Comedians of Comedy) has opened stand-up comedy to a whole new audience -- twentysomethings. It helps that he's a geek, too. Dude's written Batman comics, even. This album is raunchy as hell, yet insightful. There's nothing more amusing than a short, pudgy angry dude (trust me, I work in retail) but Oswalt breaks so many stereotypes, showcasing a dash of charm with his extreme bitterness. Name-dropping Fugazi into a stand-up act is daring. Joking about kicking a pregnant woman in the stomach is something else entirely. Gather your friends, listen, and enjoy.

Honorable mentions: Jimmy Eat World: Chase This Light (got new life for me on vinyl -- I spin it regularly), Thursday: Kill the House Lights (the DVD, released on Victory Records, is actually fairly objective about the whole Thursday vs. Victory fiasco. No mandatory cover-ups. Worth a watch, and the CD is solid, too). Between the Buried and Me: Colors (there is so much to admire with this album... where to begin?), Minus the Bear: Planet of Ice (I didn't dig their latest release nearly as much as everyone else, but it is still definitely worth a listen).

Disappointments of 2007: Straylight Run: The Needles, The Space (yawnnn... their last EP was almost great, too). Jimmy Eat World: Chase This Light (I know it also made my Honorable Mentions list, but Futures was the closest the band had come to the greatness of Clarity, and I see this album treading the same path as Bleed American. The songs are still amazing, though... just a different direction than I had hoped).

Happy New Year, and may 2008 give us some incredible records.

Sleepwalking (creative nonfiction)

It’s another tired night at another lifeless club. The haze of secondhand smoke wafts through the sparse crowd, collecting the putrid scent of body odor along the way. I am sleepwalking through yet another newspaper assignment, reviewing yet another boring radio-rock band for no other reason, it seems, than obtaining a paycheck. It’s hard not to laugh at how clichéd the band is, with their cut-off sleeves and bad tattoos. Its members bear more in common with a football team than a group of artists.

It appears as though most of those who are in attendance are merely bar regulars. I’ve seen most of them before, and their enthusiasm for the band varies. A middle-aged white guy seems lost in the repetitive guitar riffs and forced choruses. This is probably his escape from cubicle Hell. In a way, this is my cubicle Hell. A woman a few years his elder and a decade or so past her prime fawns over the lead singer, referring to him by his first name and requesting whatever modest hit the band may have had during their prime – years before being relegated to playing small bar shows in Flint.

This has become a typical assignment for me. The bands and fans, often times, are anonymous and interchangeable, and far too often lately I have walked into each assignment with such contempt for the music and atmosphere – not to mention attitude – that it’s a wonder I accomplish any shred of objectivity. Sometimes a friend tags along and we sit in the back of the bar and sip overpriced beer, quietly poking fun at the unconvincing onstage antics of whoever is performing. Part of me wants to exclaim, “I’m too old for this shit!” but I look around and see handfuls of people who are infinitely more qualified to express such sentiments, yet they don’t.
It was a lot different six years ago.

My friend Keith and I launched an online music magazine and we set out to interview and review as many new bands as possible. Our goal was to bring exposure to lesser-known artists and expose ourselves to new music. A few years in, this plan began to backfire because we had heard so many new bands in such a short period of time, we became jaded rather fast. We became harder to impress, and it got to the point where bands would have to beg us for coverage, insisting that their band could somehow change our lives. I never had the heart to tell them that they sound almost identical to about 12 other bands I had heard that month alone. Occasionally a band will surprise me and steal my attention for a few months at a time, but so many of their peers come across as little more than empty hype.

It sucks, too. I used the music scene in high school to find a sense of belonging. I loved the same bands so many other kids adored, so we automatically had something in common. I built long-lasting friendships with concert promoters, band members, fans, sound engineers and record label owners, all based on the fact that we had similar record collections. We would introduce each other to new bands and new ideas, and we would head into weekend all-ages shows with nothing but enthusiasm. Our hard-earned money wouldn’t last, as we would collect CDs and t-shirts of obscure touring bands who made an impression with their honest music. But somewhere between then and now, that magic escaped music. I can’t even remember the names of the bands that did impress me.

I don’t know if it’s music in general, or if it’s just me, but music means a lot less to me now than it did back then. Maybe it’s the idea that music has been reduced to digital files that can be freely swapped over the Internet that makes these artists lose their significance. I do, after all, remember browsing through liner notes as an obsessive fan-boy, picking out inside jokes and pondering the significance of certain artists’ album covers. For me, there’s less emotional attachment to music when there is no physical product to admire.

I certainly hope that it’s not my age. Hell, I’m only 25. I have read horror stories by much older rock journalists about how music has essentially become ruined for them over the years, obsessing way too much over the individual elements of each recording, as is the nature of their job, to the extent that a complete album cannot merely be taken as a complete entity, but rather a sum of many, many parts.

Yeah, six years ago music and live performances gave me a sense of belonging. Tonight, I am merely an outcast. The bands are here for the money, girls and free drinks. The one thing I have in common with these guys is that I too am here for the paycheck. I have no desire to talk to the bands after the show. They needn’t inflate their egos any more. I just want to go home, file my story before deadline and get a good night’s sleep.

Help my friend and I travel to Chicago

Falwell dead at 73

CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News

Rev. Jerry Falwell dead at 73
Rev. Jerry Falwell dead at 73

The Rev. Jerry Falwell has died, a Liberty University executive said Tuesday. He was 73. Earlier today, Ron Godwin, the executive vice president of Falwell's Liberty University, had said Falwell was found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but said Falwell had "a history of heart challenges."

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Gotta love double-dipping... and The Onion

CBS To Release Own Version Of NBC's The Office

NEW YORK— "We changed some language and cultural references to things our audience would understand," said producers, disputing the notion that the show could only work on NBC.

Wii-reless N64, Genesis?

Messiah Entertainment, creators of the acclaimed Generation NEX (an unlicensed upgrade of the classic Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom deck with built-in wireless capabilities), are apparently targeting Nintendo's next-gen Wii for their next line of wireless products. The niche company is targeting the Virtual Console download service, specifically.

I had been an NEX owner for several months before becoming an employee at Game Crazy, one of the few retail distributors for the system. I was very happy with the system's near-perfect emulation of NES and Japanese Famicom games and did a random inventory search for "Messiah" to find new accessories and was amazed to see a line of products outside of the NEX universe, including wireless Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 controllers.
After successfully running the system on standard-definition 30-some inch sets, I had experienced difficulty running the video signal to an inherited 60" projection television, as the colors bled together and distorted the image onscreen. I e-mailed tech support, stating that my Atari 2600, Sega Master System and original NES all performed without incident on said set. I also took the opportunity to ask them about the Sega and N64 accessories, as I was unable to find any such products online.

I received a prompt reply from the support team, stating that many users have experienced difficulty playing the system on larger sets, as the system was designed to draw a minimal amount of power and thus was designed for smaller sets. Messiah hadn't anticipated the demand for wireless retro play on large sets and was in the works to upgrade hardware in the form of a newer system. They suggested a signal booster from any small-box electronics dealer and asked for input about any success in that area.

The representative also filled me in on the curiously listed products, stating that there are, in fact, official plans for an August release of wireless Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 controllers along with a receiver for more comfortable Virtual Console play on the Nintendo Wii. Adapters will then be released shortly thereafter enabling wireless play on the original Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 consoles.

The Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System already have wireless options available from Messiah, the former also a part of the official NEX line.

The actual e-mail from Messiah is published verbatim below:

Hello John, thanks for your questions. For the first part, the Generation NEX was built on a lower power consumption rating as it was designed for use on small TV sets. Game hardware in the past was often built using more power and therefore can still transmit a signal strong enough for large format TVs, which require a strong signal. We did not originally plan for the number of users who want to hook up old school NES games on their plasmas and large projection TVs. This is something we've received a fair amount of feedback on and we are considering upgrading in the future. Any upgrades would be a new console release. You may consult an electronics dealer and seek out a signal booster (cost?). Let us know if you have success in this area.

Secondly, it's great that you ran a search and came up with some curious listings from us. These Sega/N64/etc. Wireless Controllers are NEW and scheduled for release in August. We have developed a receiver for the Wii console that will come with classic style controllers for playing Virtual Console downloads with a more comfortable controller. After the initial launch, we will release receivers that allow you to use these same controllers on your classic hardware as well. Get it?

Good luck with your Wireless plans, we hope we can assist you in your efforts!


Thank you for Supporting Messiah Entertainment, Inc.

Messiah Support Staff

MySpacism

I have been entrenched in a campus controversy over the past month. My friend and I started a lively discussion regarding a MySpace group that assumed a harsh racial tone against a certain group of students at the University of Michigan-Flint campus.

The group, entitled "2nd Floor UCEN (University Center) -- We're Takin' It Back!" was moderated by UM-Flint student Josh Jenkins and populated by several of his friends, all of whom were members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. The second floor of the UCEN sports the Loving Cultural Lounge, and is predominantly black, although it is open to everyone. The online community featured a picture of Damon Wayans and referred to our campus as a "damn inner-city pity group."

We first discovered this website over a weekend in mid-February, and by the time we returned to classes on Monday night, news had already spread throughout campus and people were outraged, but at the wrong target: the Kappa Sigma fraternity. So began a debacle, with the fraternity on damage control as the protagonist in the story, Jenkins himself, attempted to explain his actions (apparently he's biracial, so that makes blaming blacks for theft and leaving chairs greasy and messy perfectly acceptable). He stood behind the First Amendment (which does protect him, but hardly applies to his situation) and refused comment when a reporter from The Flint Journal contacted him.

Meanwhile, being the former Assistant Editor of the campus bi-weekly, The Michigan Times, I co-wrote a special editorial with another editorial staff member preaching accountability to Jenkins and deflecting blame from his organization, who had shouldered most of the blame. They did the right thing by taking responsibility for, and denouncing its member's actions (though it shouldn't have had to) and severing ties with Jenkins. The organization posted a formal apology in a subsequent M-Times.

The situation was buzzworthy for several weeks following the initial conflict, but it was reignited this past week. The Journal's story was published in its Sunday edition, raising awareness of the issue. Tuesday, the campus hosted a discussion about racism and hate (although allegedly without much of an answer, as it relied on religion rather than actions to achieve results). Thursday, however, the specific issue was formally addressed by the campus community in an open forum, Word On Da Street: MySpace and Freedom of Speech: Satire or Mockery, that incorporated many of the main players in the initial controversy, and showcased how evidence of hate on campus affected those students who utilized the second floor of the UCEN.

As I walked into the panel, I immediately received a call-out from Jonathan Ettinger, a member of the College Libertarians/antagonist to everyone who took it upon himself to blame the College Democrats for two of its members (myself being one) bringing the event to administrators. His rant was unintelligible as I was on the wrong side of the public address system walking into the debate, but I heard my specific name mentioned, and being tied to bringing the brouhaha to campus in the first place.

I took a seat and held my peace alongside my friend who found the posting. He continued on several more rants, and the issue of satire was brought into the discussion. I asked my friend for a pen and paper and wrote down some bullet points so I could give a proper response to Mr. Ettinger, who has a habit of disagreeing with everyone but himself.

I finally motioned for the emcee (whose name I did not catch, regrettably) that I had something to say, explaining that I was one of the students who started the debate. I introduced myself as such, and immediately contradicted Ettinger's allegations. The organization that I am a part of had nothing to do with bringing the event to campus. Jenkins and his friends started the group on their own, we merely kept the discussion online by providing a dissenting view. Someone else took it upon themselves to bring the issue to administrators, which began the larger controversy.

Furthermore, I stated, the notion of satire was ridiculous. Satirists do not actually believe what they directly say. For instance, Stephen Colbert is not an arrogant Republican commentator. He pretends to be in an attempt to mock arrogant Republican commentators. Carlos Mencia pokes fun at different races as a way of noting the absurdity of stereotypes.

As members of peer networking site Facebook.com, we noticed that Jenkins was recently a member of the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP) who, among other things, feel that we should not celebrate Martin Luther King day until federal documents about the civil rights leader are unsealed and support reparations against whites for damage done during the race riots of the 1960s. He actually believes this stuff. This is not satire. I felt ashamed that I let such a person into my house before (long story). This call-out was particularly awkward, as I am not a confrontational person and Jenkins himself was present at the event, as well as other members who were part of the online group.

Ettinger immediately countered my comment by asking why I chose not to attach my name to the M-Times editorial. I simply stated, "Because it was an editorial." For the uninitiated, editorials usually do not have bylines.

Unfortunately, being a ridiculously busy college student, I had to duck out of the panel discussion early to meet a class group for a project and missed Jenkins' explanation of his actions, and innumerable instances of Ettinger disagreeing with everyone in the world.

I strongly back up the last point I made before leaving, however. While we may not have been directly responsible for bringing the event onto campus, I am very glad it did make it to campus because this is the first time during my lengthy career at UM-Flint that anyone organized an event to explain the importance of the Loving Cultural Lounge and the emotional toll of racism on campus.

This is not the first time during my academic career that the lounge was a hot topic of discussion (and furthermore, not the first time that the controversy has been related to myself or a close friend -- again, long story), and at this rate it likely will not be the last. Race is a heated issue by nature.

I came from a community that was not diverse at all. Less than one percent of its population is black, and in high school many students who were black were forced to leave due to intimidation and mockery. During my freshman year, a group of juniors and seniors organized what was known as the "Carhartt Clan," inspired by the Ku Klux Klan, who sported the brown work jackets and Confederate flags. This group of students was responsible for the intimidation of many blacks and as a result the school and community became far less diverse. Witnessing this firsthand as an adolescent, it was alarming that in a well-educated crowd like UM-Flint, such ignorance would still exist.

One incredible aspect of UM-Flint is its diversity. There are so many varying opinions and thoughts, butting heads on many topics is a given. I am just incredibly pleased that such a diverse group of students were able to speak their voice about this particular incident. It was cathartic for many, even if it did not provide any clear answers or a resolution.

Is Fox even trying anymore?

"Fair and Balanced" has always been said with a smirk by the likes of Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly after lengthy, pro-Christian, anti-diversity, pro-Republican diatribes. However, whenever contested, its anchors fiercely defend its network's neutrality.

In recent weeks it appears that Fox just isn't trying anymore. Perhaps they've run out of good news on which to report about their preferred party (Mark Foley, Scooter Libby and the Iraq catastrophe certainly do not help). A series of bizarre recent incidents hint that those at Fox are now hitting a new low on which to convert any lingering doubters who have the misfortune of relying upon cable news.

First, the Ann Coulter debacle. Coulter, bless her Adam's Apple, is never one for subtlety and her homophobic attack against Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards does not necessarily come as a surprise. What was surprising was the event at which the Fox News Channel regular chose to dig into Edwards' sexuality (he is married and has children, by the way), the Conservative Political Action Committee. While most CPAC attendees justifiably demonstrated initial shock at the blunt remarks, they then applauded and gave her a warm response. This event was televised on CSPAN. While many media outlets on which Coulter regularly appeared have dropped her, Fox News has not made any such moves. Instead, they appointed her the Vice President to President Rush Limbaugh on their "fake" news show (is this a joke?), The 1/2 Hour News Hour.

And boyyyy is that show bad. Hideously bad. Not only is there the same annoying laugh track that plagues almost every Fox sitcom (thank you, Arrested Development, for going another route), but the acting is awful, the punchlines are dull and its anchors hit new lows to dig at Democrats. Yes, my friends, the show relies on racism. Comparing Barack Obama's mixed ethnicity to Tiger Woods and making fun of Obama's middle name (Hussein), it is hard to fathom how this show received the green light. Then again, this is FOX.

This could very well be forgivable on a Daily Show-inspired program, but when Fox Chairman Roger Ailes blatantly compares Obama to Osama bin Laden at a black-tie dinner while consistently railing liberals and Democrats, it is fairly easy to see why the network acts as it does. Democrats pulled out of a Fox-sponsored Presidential debate shortly thereafter. When this story broke, it grabbed headlines on every major news network -- except Fox. Perhaps a bit too red-faced to acknowledge their boss' racist remarks, they quietly put the spin machine into motion and waited for their savior, Bill O'Reilly, to explain Ailes' remarks. And so he did just that, blaming MoveOn.org contributor George Soros and likening the MoveOn PAC to Dr. Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister of information.

I think Keith Olbermann perfectly summed up Fox News Channel by noting that the network used to be good at cleverly claiming to be "Fair and Balanced" while reporting one-sided news. Hell, it used to be fun when once in a while Hannity and Colmes sometimes agreed. Now their stance shows no effort at all to be a legitimate news organization. How depressing.

Debut Blog

So... I finally have my own blog. Not MySpace. Not LiveJournal. Not Facebook. Just a standalone blog. I feel so special.

My goal is to post essays, articles, opinions and observations -- and in the process join millions of Internet users worldwide by having my own blog.