Tuesday, February 26, 2008

CD Review: Children 18:3

It's no secret that I've been looking forward to this CD for quite a while (basically since 2006, when they shockingly made my 8th favorite album of the year). I eagerly listened to the new versions of 'LCM' and 'You Know We're All So Fond of Dying', and liked what I was hearing, but I already knew that these were good songs, and while Songs of Desperation was good, it was pretty front-loaded, and my favorite 3 songs off of the CD were coming back. I began to worry that the band had already run out of gas.

No worries.

Having been familiar with a bit of their earlier work, it's no shock that the riffs are pummeling, or that the instruments are all played fantastically. It does, however, come as a pleasant surprise how tuneful the album is. As I said last month, they clean up nicely. David actually has a pretty decent voice when he puts his mind to it, and the male/female vocal play between him and LeeMarie is done as well as any act I can remember. It never feels like a gimmick, and they both really stepped up their game for these recordings.

The mish-mash of genres (including garage rock, punk, straight up rock, and even ska) never comes across as forced, and there really aren't any weak tracks. If this sounds a touch fanboyish, keep in mind that 3 years ago, I disliked this band enough to sell an old EP I had bought to my brother. They've come a long way as songwriters since then, and it really shows here.

Children 18:3 have put together one of the most consistantly engaging CDs in recent memory. It's not often that a CD like this comes along. Check into this album immediately. You won't regret it.

9/10

Standout tracks:
Children 18:3 - LCM (mp3)
Children 18:3 - You Know We're All So Fond of Dying (mp3)
Children 18:3 - Even Sleeping

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Fire Joe Buck

Congrats, Cards

Congratulations to the Alexandria Cardinals girl's hockey team. They won the state girl's hockey championship for the first time in Alexandria's history. It was a good game to listen to on the radio. The last 5 minutes were exciting, especially when Breck scored to make it 2-1 with 3 minutes left.

Also, good on local announcers who actually get excited when these type of things happen. Makes Joe Buck look pretty stupid after his near flatline voice during "The Play" during the Super Bowl.






Speaking Of... Joe Buck Should Really Be Fired

Check out the YouTube. you've seen the play 1,000 times before, but this time close your eyes and try to tell me that this isn't the type of playcalling that would normally occur during the 3rd quarter. It was one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history, and Joe Buck - whether in an effort to remain cool and collected, or out of sheer flippancy - treated it as if it were nothing more than a decent play.

But... if Randy Moss fakes mooning the America-beloved Packers.... well, that'll get him going.




While We're On the Subject of YouTube Football Plays...

Somebody remade the single worst play of the last 5 years of Vikings football in 'Tecmo Super Bowl'. Pretty perfectly, actually. Anyone who calls themselves a Vikings fan remembers this one. 4th and 22, and only enough time for one play. Josh McCown (of all people) throws rolls right and throws a touchdown to Nate Poole. There are plenty of YouTubes of this play, oddly enough, but this is my (least) favorite. Bonus for reminding me, once again, that a good anouncer sounds like he actually cares about what's going on.

Seriously... it's bad enough that I have to listen to Joe Buck during the baseball postseason, why should he have to bring his vanilla idiocy to the NFL, too??

Monday, February 11, 2008

There Are Certain Things I Will Never Get Used To

...and one of them is definitely sitting next to boxes labeled "Human Blood". There's just something strange about it, I'm sure to the average medical lab technician (and, really, to anyone who works in the medical field in general), there's nothing strange about it, but damn if it's not a little unsettling the first time.