Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Like A Boss

I am so G'd for the World Cup tonight.



Midnight Match

We have The Glorious Nippon against Paraguay. Regardless of what people have been saying, I think Paraguay have a damn hot chance here. There game is fast and ruthless to the opposition, and while they only win by one goal which is near the end of the match usually, it's because they have the stamina to run the other team ragged. Damn high altitude of Paraguay! On the other hand, we have Japan. Japan who haven't played spectacularly this tournament (except when Cameroon was bombarding their defence and they managed to withstand it (Eiji Kawashima made amazing saves)). They need to fucking step it up. They weren't the best Asian team here, that was easy South Korea, but let's see if their loss pumps up the Japanese. Let's hope.

Four-Thirty Match

What we have here is potentially the most awesome match of the 2010 World Cup. Spain V Portugal. The nations hate each other (except like 12 points from Portugal to Spain in Eurovision WTF!?) and Ronaldo is a fag and so is Torres, so if the match gets a bit boring, we can have a bitch-off between the two. Or cut to some birds, which seems to be the cool thing to do according to Fifa. I'm assuming this match will be off the fuckin' chain because Portugal didn't exert any energy last match so they should power on and Spain need to pick up their feet. I want to see some epic shit that makes getting up at 4:00 worth it, YA HEAR ME!!!?

So in other news, I'm working a shitload this week, which means I'll be a rich kent. And there's like $318 flights to Osaka and mum was all "Let's go!" and I was like "FUCK YEAH I'LL GO JAPAN TWICE IN A YEAR!!!" so I might (probably not) have that going for me. Which would be absolutely dope as fuck. Imagine. Yeah, you can't, sorry, but I kind of can. Just have to imagine more green where all the dead brown was. Fuck.

And now I'm currently listening to The Protomen because Chris told me to and it's a rock opera loosely based on MegaMan and MegaMan rules like a boss. Looking forward to this. Just started. If the whole album is like the first track, we could be in for a fucking fun ride. I also have a headache for some reason, which sucks the big one. I'll grab some panadol and attempt to stay up for Japan match. I should be able to do it. Take some tea and food upstairs as eating keeps me awake. Looks like it could be a sweet night of my own, awesome company. I am a cool dude to hang around with. Not really.

Super excited for The Eastern tomorrow night. The one place where I lose all class, gaze at fine wymyn, give dirty wymyn filthy looks of disgust and pray I never have to use the bathroom...but I always do. Keen to hear some terribad RnB (see: Con dancing like a drunk fool), some good electro on the 3rd floor (Major Lazer PLZ). I would be amazed if the DJ had taste and was educated and played some SunStroke Project. I would actually jizz. And Saxophone Guy on the D-Floor.



Get Shakes - Disneyland (Pt. 1)

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Guile Theme



Even though I am just playing Grand Theft Auto IV but with more horses, less protitutes (I know, you cannot do whores in the whore-house!), more coyotes and $3 rewards, I am fast becoming addicted to Red Dead Redemption. It is fucking sweet. Like so sweet. Maybe it will be a 10/10 like Hyper gave it. Probably not. Solid 9.5 currently, though. Worst thing is the water = death mechanic they decided to go with. What a shame. Still, I kill buck like a boss. Big buck huntin' on horseback.

Anyways, because I'm drunk on the last train home on Saturday nights, I type shit into my phone. This would have taken a while for me to do...I can't really remember it. Damn that tequila shot (lolnotreally).

"Cube Runner is really hard when you're seeing double...

I wish my headphones didn't get lost somewhere along the way tonight. I'd totally be jamming out some:

- Sleigh Bells - Crown On The Ground
- Holy Fuck - Red Lights
- The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
- Hüsker Dü - Never Talking To You Again

I'm totally getting into 80s alternative and power pop currently. The Replacements are absolutely loved by me. Let It Be and Tim are solid albums, both highly recommended. I'll probably start listening to some R.E.M. soon and go on a binge with them. Document and Murmur are incredible records. Might listen to Green. I have Automatic For The People on CD, so I may give that a spin when I get home after some mi goreng or a toasted sandwich. A truly great band who people either take for granted or do not pay enough attention to.

Hüsker Dü are similarly as amazing. I could recommend Zen Arcade to absolutely anybody. It's the O.G. American Idiot, but with 80s production. Simply brilliant and beautifully emotive songs were written by Bob Mould and Grant Hart.

However, I have a soft spot for albums that let my emotions loose. Those albums where you yearn for the past when you mull in melanchaulia. Stuff like 16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. Albums that are brought together through emotional turmoil and destrought. And Live Travels At Illegal Speeds by Graham Coxon, it holds a special place in my romantic history.

Tonight was pretty fun. At first, I was quite sad that Nicole decided to not come and get drunk with me. I was really looking forward to that. James Squire Brewery was cool, as per usual. It is a nice pub with a great atmosphere that I can always get into. Bar Century was packed and I drank many a-scotch and coke. I love $3 drinks...they make my life. Then there was the George Street drama with Aidan being punched by some guy. I don't know the full story, but I can bet there was more in it than a guy punching Aidan for no reason. Regardless, we managed to calm him down and not create too much of a scene...I hope. When we got to The Argyle, more bad shit happened. Eli couldn't get in so we tried to sneak him in by giving him my shoes, but the sneaky, sober bouncer caught us. One tequile sht later and I was saying goodbye to Tim and getting on the last train myself.

Oh dear, I apologise for my drunken ramblings.

Con

PS. Awesome, you'll shut up and leave me be."

Hideyuki Fukasawa - Theme of Guile

Umm...I wanna play Final Fantasy XIII. And like, Asian girlfriend...

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Fuck Off Sun, I'm Trying To Get Some Sleep

And so begins the staying up.



Now that the World Cup has kicked into gear, with the final games in the group stages providing thorough entertainment, I am now staying up to watch the midnight game and then sleeping from two until four and then watching the four o'clock game and going to sleep at six. Like this morning, I was getting to sleep after a bitter-sweet Australian match and the sun was being a bitch and making my room light. It was annoying. Let's see what's on tonight,

12:00 - Paraguay V New Zealand
New Zealand have had a surprising and interesting campaign, matching Slovakia and Italy extremely well. It's been great. However, Paraguay were the highest qualifying South American team, beating Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. It's going to be good.

4:30 - Japan V Denmark
I will watch this because of my love for Nihon. They have to draw to get through. I hope to Amaterasu that Japan get through to the round 16. This is so I can go to the city when Japan play and hit on the supporters like I should have last weekend. Fucking yes I am so excited for this.

Aside from watching football, I currently spend my life playing Final Fantasy XIII. Fuck I am cool. I am so cool that I did not know there was a large group of people going to Hot Damn tonight so that's why I am not out. That's quire depressing. What's more, I can't even drown this by playing Final Fantasy XIII because dad's playing Red Dead Redemption. So unfair.

So Final Fantasy XIII. Pretty great game. Obvious flaws are put aside by my unhealthy love for a video game that has a story that consists for fourty plus hours of people whining. It's what the series evolved into. It's great. I mean, I haven't even finished Final Fantasy XII and I'm at like fourty-five hours. It's fantastic. Arguably, my admiration for super-Japanese melodrama makes me pretty gay, and I would probably not even argue against that. The games are just the epitome of polish. The cutscenes are spectacular, the art direction, while sometimes questionable, is pretty sweet and the outrageousness is perfect. The last boss battle I fought was three people (two girls and a kid) taking down a hovering tank that had turrets and rocket launchers. I won with magic. I am godly. Or sad...I just don't know anymore...

Well then...seems like I'm not actually a cool dude at all. A sad realisation. I think I might just go to sleep or something. Probably not, though. Damn this, I'm even going home on Saturday night relatively early and getting picked up from the station, meaning I can't get super trashed. That makes me even sadder. Oh well, looks like I'll just have to go back into my video games cocoon and be super anti-social. Then when I finally finish Final Fantasy XIII, I'll go out and get me an Asian girlfriend. That's really what I would like.

Cheap Trick - Surrender
The Replacements - Kiss Me On The Bus
The Jam - That's Entertainment
The Undertones - Let's Talk About Girls

Friday, June 18, 2010

Sport

I don't normally watch sport. The only thing I regularly watch is the Australian Open and Wimbeldon and maybe some cricket thrown in there. But this is completely different. I am fucking loving the World Cup. It's fantastic. I have no idea what's happened. I never watch football normally, so why am I suddenly watching two games a nice and staying up until outrageous hours of the morning? Who cares, it's shit awesome!



People doubted Maradona, but Argentina performed marvellously last night. Except the brain explosion that allowed South Korea to score. I bet the tiny man was not happy with that. Regardless, I hope South Korea beat Nigeria, I actually love their team. Not as much as the Japanese team because they are all just so damn cool.

Otherwise, I haven't been studying not nearly as much as I should be for Japanese. Tomorrow will be an interesting one. But I still deserve a huge night out, amIright? I AM RIGHT! But I want to go somewhere that has a TV so I can watch Japan V Netherlands at 9:30 and Australia V Ghana at 12:00, because I'd rather drink and watch football at a club than dance the night away. Maybe. Damn, that's a hard decision. Next semester, I promise to do work throughout for Japanese. I've learnt my lesson the hard way. But still, Mad Manning Mondays will be little work and more chilling. This semester will be totally archaeological!

I'd make a "Con's World Cup Playlist!" but I'm not a gayfag, so here's a cool song:

Holy Fuck - Stilettos

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Priscilla, 1969



Priscilla, 1969, from Almost Grown, Joseph Szabo.

Cool.
I also got a Dinosaur Jr. Peel Session from 1988. It's pretty ace.

Dinosaur Jr. - The Leper (Peel Session version)

Sunday, June 13, 2010

2010 Music, Part II

Because I like good music, I know that there have been some great singles this year. None of which are 2Day FM singles, but some probably will be, which is shame because there they will be unappreciated and drowed with all the Ne-Yo's and T-Pains in this terrible world.

Japandroids - Younger Us



This year, Japandroids are on some project to release five singles with B-sides which are covers. Younger Us is their second single and is better than the first, Art Czars. It's better because it goes somewhere, unlike Art Czars which just mulls and repeats it's own chorus for 3:57. I haven't heard the B-side (X's Sex and Dying In High Society), but I assume it'll be great.

Fuck Buttons - Olympians



Remember how I said Fuck Buttons made the best, most interesting electronica album of 2009? Well I did. Here's proof. Olympians is a damn killer song and should defs hold it's place as #1 single of 2010 (on rate your music). It is epic shit at 10:55, but is easily the best thing that Fuck Buttons have ever done. If I were a DJ, I would totally remix the SHIT out of this track.

Gil Scott-Heron - Me And The Devil



Gil Scott-Heron rules. And so does this song. That is all.

Janelle Monáe - Cold War



This song perfectly encapsulates Janelle's album. It's fast, poppy, soulful and arty. Beautiful instrumentation that sets her miles apart from any other R&B artist around nowadays. In fact, Monáe is so friggin' sweet that people who listen to commercial radio pop would not find her interesting because it's actually good music and doesn't have hand-claps and autotune. Yes! She can actually sing :O !

Kanye West - Power



Yes! I am so gay for this man. Mr. West is back with utmost style, slamming out some King Crimson, slight comeback to President Obama, tribal chants and dope as fuck beat. It's Kanye's version of Jay-Z's Death of Auto-tune last year; the popular rapper being all "Fuck you, bitches!" and powering out a single that jaded hip-hoppers can love. Except Pills. Whatabitch!

Lastly, Erykah Badu's Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY) isn't officially a single yet, so I can't include it in this list, but when it is, it'll easily be in my top five. That is a funky piece of neo-soul right there.

Erykah Badu - Jump Up In The Air and Stay There

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Cringe-Worthy



Gustave Doré, Inferno Canto 32, 1857

I hate bad movies. Movies that are confused in direction, with no character development, stale, flat jokes, poor, predictable attempts at drama and terrible over acting. I hate them. I love a good performance in a well thought out, cleverly written film is always great. See, Schindler's List is tarnished by what is essentially the final scene and redemption. Liam Neeson completely fucks up everything good about the previous three hours because the scene is amazingly tacky and poorly performed. Arguably this is Spielberg's fault for having some filthy fetish over wanky, over dramatic endings. They are the reason why I don't like Spielberg that much. It actually made me roll my eyes and genuinely sad that the filthy scene wasn't redone in a completely different way to having Oskar Schindler break down and cry. It was out of character. It was wrong. There could have been a much easier way for Oskar to show his gratitude. Did we see the Jews crying out of happiness when they were RESCUED FROM AUSCHWITZ!? No! Why then does Schindler become a mega pussy when he SETS THE OTHER PEOPLE FREE!? Gah!

Regardless, "La Ritournelle" by Sébastien Tellier is an incredible song. If you play it on repeat, the file I have perfectly matches the start and the end together, making some amazing, never-ending aural bliss. Great stuff there.

Voltumnus - Flow

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

2010 Music

I would say it's been a pretty darn swell year for music already. You can tell that some of the stuff released this year will be "essential" or "seminal" later in the 2010s. Like in 2019, there'll probably be an album from this year in the top 10. However, I still haven't found my new Merriweather Post Pavilion because I actually am still sexually aroused by the record.
Here's my favourites so far (in no particular order):

Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma



I was reading some reviews for this brilliant album while at work. Someone compared it to Massive Attack's Mezzanine in that it was the genre perfected. However, I couldn't tell what genre he was talking about. FlyLo is still classified by some as dubstep, but this is a tag I do not agree with in the slightest. And to say that Cosmogramma is the perfection of the electronica genre is a huge claim when Aphex Twin exists. I would regard this as the peak of FlyLo's career, but not of a genre because it's the kind of album that sticks out in your music library. It doesn't just get lumped into one category. It's so much more.

Jónsi - Go



It can easily be agrued that this album is nothing more than Jón Þór Birgisson "selling out" from his status as a post-rock master craftsman. I disagree. Yes, it's pop. Yes, it's bouncy and cute, but it's also pop not for the radio. You probably will hear "Go Do" and "Boy Lilikoi" on the radio this year if you haven't already, but see if Nova will pick this up. They won't because it's a pop record with a brain. Also, it's a little too arty for the Lady GaGa's out there. Also, I would bet that he can get more straight men than GaGa, the ugly hoe.

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh



Neo-soul rules, and I think Erykah is the voice of the genre. Sorry D'Angelo. Yeah, it's less funky and fun as Part One, and doesn't have a song as good as "Honey" (which is technically a bonus track), but you can tell she's poured a lot of soul into this, as you'd expect from a soul record. Madlib's production is great, as you can expect, and he does a great job of not pulling a dick move like he did on Mos Def's The Ecstatic last year where he recycled a Beat Konducta jam. Or maybe Mos wanted it. Who cares. The atmosphere created on this album is purely dripping with adoration and enthusiasm to make a killer record. Erykah Badu has done just that. Me loves.

Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid



Erykah Badu's main competition this year in terms of the loveliest voice of 2010. This contemporary, arty R&B record may totally rip-off Metropolis, but in the best way possible. Actually, it's suites two and three (suite one was her debut EP) of a four-suite concept. Regardless of the concept, this album is musically something very special. Janelle has completely rewritten the standards for R&B, genre-hopping while still being firmly rooted in traditions. Except the song with of Montreal, which doesn't quite sit right because it's so damn of Montreal-y. Outside of "Make The Bus," this album will satisfy anyone except maybe RnB listeners because the production isn't a terrible Timbaland rip-off (who sucks, may I add) and the instrumentation is intricate and subtle rather than "IMMA BE IMMA BE IMMA-IMMA-IMMA BE!!!"

The National - High Violet



This might just be the only rock record that matters this year. On the surface, it's nothing new: A delicate album about heartbreak and loneliness. After a few listens, this album digs into you. It becomes a beautiful set of songs that may or may not apply to you. They probably won't because you weren't engaged and haven't seriously thought about having kids. The album is a man growing up and coming to terms with what the world expects him to do. It's pretty fucking great. Understandable why it's #1 on rate your music for 2010.

However, I would say that my favourite song this year has got to be Nas and Damian Marley's "As We Enter." It is so slick.

Nas and Damian Marley - As We Enter

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Saturday Night, 'Round 12:53am...

Note: This was written on my phone as I went home from Establishment.

My Trip Home On The Last Train: A Tale of Triumph and Woe.

Con walks toward the train carriage. He notices sawdust spread EVERYWHERE on the floor. He walks to the other carriage.
Train Guard: It's a bit messy in there.

I swear I heard a girl chunder. Can't smell anything, though.

Note: Now here is when four drunk people got on the train. The rest of this is generally quotations from their conversation.

I've never thrown up in a bar. Maybe outside a bar.
It was running down your chin. You were like: "Give me a napkin!"

It's your de-odourant, it makes you smell like Thailand.

He beats the drum at his own beat...what is that saying...?

He was, like, really con-shi-en-suns...con-shieen-en-suns...what's the word...?

You could say "saucey"...but that's nothing like "sassy"...

It seems like I ate your fart

Chronological: I am rapidly sobering up, making this train trip highly unbearable.

I was so scared that I thought the train would never stop.
Did it stop?
Well, yeah, I'm here now.

1:20am: Awkward silence...

Where are we now?
Terulla.

In harmony: Super cheap, super cheap, it's super cheap-ay, yawwh. (To the tune on "Super Freak")

1:25am: I wish I was not sober right now...

1:28am: These people are getting tired and have stopped saying stupid shit D':

That's my job; I play with kids.
:|

Everything has a reason.
What's the reason for throwing up in a bar?

But I like tequilla-
Not anymore!

I left my passport in a bar...that bar...

I am actually thinking about how I am going to write this on Facebook.

Step 1: Tequilla shot.
Step 2: Throw up.
Step 3: Not know what happened.
Step 4: Give me a napkin!

6, 2, 1, 1...
6x2=12
21-1=11
11-1=10
Success!!

1:36am: Riverwood. So. Damn. Close.

Shonky kent on the train. Phone away.

1:42am: Car.

1:56am: Bathroom: Wee, photo, brush teeth.



2:00am: Oh yeah, I was listening to HEALTH before I went out...

2:02am: Go downstairs of get headphones.

2:06am: The Beatles - Revolver. An so begins an attempt to listen to my top 5 records at a ridiculous hour.

2:18am: WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE!!!

2:35am: Got To Get You Into My Life. Who am I thinking about? Your opinion.

2:45am: Village Green Preservation Society in glorious mono.

2:50am: Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?

3:10am: Can't make it. The Kinks - Phenonemal Cat. Good nightm thought's in my head. To to faaaark awwwwwf.

The Kinks - Phenomenal Cat

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

All Nighters



I am yet to pull an all nighter for uni.
I am about 1,000 words (halfway) into my music essay. I will not make this my first all nighter, because I have ancient tricks to overcome it:
  • Tea
  • Cookies
  • Dubstep
  • A Brain
No challenge.

Caspa - The Terminator

A Quick Note:



Mr. T is an actor.
B.A. Baracus was his character.
Clubber Lang was also a character of his.
"I pity the fool!" comes from Clubber Lang.
Stop fucking up popular culture.
Thank you.

The Beta Band - Squares