The Jester is (correctly) skeptical about the unzombification of this blog, saying that he'll believe that I'm back when I'm still regularly posting in one month's time.
I'll do you one better, I'll post something at least marginally substantive every day for the entire rest of August. At least once a day, I'll make a post concerning... well... I'm not sure exactly what I'll talk about every day for a month, but I'll make it work.
Also, there will be no more meta-style posts about blogging. The "Blogs About Blogging" tag is jumping up the leaderboard at an alarming rate.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Blogging About Blogging
A couple of things...
- I'm going to change the template of this site, which I've hated since the very beginning (at least it's not as bad as my old Xanga, eh, Jester?) There will be a tasteful banner at the top, and the sidebars will be arranged a little better so as to make Nibbishment seem a little less like a wall of text.
- I'm thinking about adding a little bit of comment protection. I have two reasons for this.
1. I'm getting a fair bit of spam, especially since I made that post about the Vista defender issue. That post is by far (and I mean by FAR) my most viewed and commented upon article, and I'm genuinely happy that I was able to help a few people out, but good heavens has it been a magnet for spambots.
2. I like knowing who says what. When someone hilariously says that he finds it likely that I live in my parents' basement, I want to know who that is, so that I can congratulate him on his deductive powers*. Even if it's just an alias, I'd like to have something to know things by. Until I do so, please utilize the "name" field when you leave comments. You liked the Highway Hunter soundtrack? Sweet. I did, too, but if I commented on your site, I'd totally leave a sign saying "Nibbish was here".
- Remember that whole "50 Favorite Song Parts" thing I did last year? I was thinking of giving myself some sort of similarly unreasonable blogging task right away. You know, to punish myself for re-entering the blogging fray. I'll think on what that Top 50 list might be. This time, you won't have to wait three weeks for 10-1.
- Also, as a throwback, behold the mighty dikdik.
CD Review: Neon Bible
This post has the potential to be surprising for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it's been almost a half a year since my last post. I'm sure most of the people who read this blog probably thought I had been kidnapped, and that no one bothered to pay the ransom.
No, the truth is, I just haven't thought of much that would be interesting for others to read. Most of the people I discuss things with are either on my IM, or chilling over at SBG's place. Also, just about any spare creative thought has been going into Spookymilk's Creative Writing Survivor.
The second reason this might be a little surprising is that I'm kicking it off with a review of a CD that's already over three years old. The title isn't a typo, it's time to take a look back at Neon Bible. I loved it back in the day (it was my number one album for 2007), but it's been getting a pretty savage beating by everyone in the wake of the new Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs.
Neon Bible seemed pretty well respected by the populous when it first came out. It got an 87 on Metacritic, which landed it around number seven for the year, and hit a lot of the critics' year end lists (twenty five 'major' top ten lists, by Metacritic's count), and general consensus seemed to be that it was a pretty damn fine package.
This year, though, it seems the only constant thing people have to say about The Suburbs is that it's a 'welcome step back toward the Funeral days'. Many of the places that I've been reading mention how dour Neon Bible was and how the new album thankfully eases up a little bit. So, what happened in the last three years
I think a lot of the dour reputation Neon Bible gets comes from the album opener "Black Mirror". Honestly, I feel it to be the weakest song on the album, and if there's a song that gets skipped, it's generally that one. It sets up the pessimistic attitude, but it almost does it's job a little too well. "Keep the Car Running" just feels like such a perfect album opener, with its soaring hook and driving beat. The light - almost haunting - title track moves perfectly into the massive sounding "Intervention". The songs are all dark and ominous, without much light filtering in, but they're almost all fantastic. In fact, from front to back, I'm not sure I know of another album where I consistently play every song (excluding "Black Mirror").
A couple of listens in, I can tell you that The Suburbs is a great CD, and will be high on my year end list (yes, that means that the lights are coming back on around here - more on that later), but Neon Bible remains one of my favorite albums of all time. I can listen to it today, having heard it countless times already, and still get the same feeling during "Intervention" that I did back in the day. I still whoop and shout to "No Cars Go", and "My Body is a Cage" makes my blood run cold. Detractors should take another listen - in my opinion, Neon Bible is every bit the album Funeral is, maybe even better.
Now. Come to Minnesota, damn it. I missed the last tour because I was busy getting married, and I'd like to check another favorite band off the list.
No, the truth is, I just haven't thought of much that would be interesting for others to read. Most of the people I discuss things with are either on my IM, or chilling over at SBG's place. Also, just about any spare creative thought has been going into Spookymilk's Creative Writing Survivor.
The second reason this might be a little surprising is that I'm kicking it off with a review of a CD that's already over three years old. The title isn't a typo, it's time to take a look back at Neon Bible. I loved it back in the day (it was my number one album for 2007), but it's been getting a pretty savage beating by everyone in the wake of the new Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs.
Neon Bible seemed pretty well respected by the populous when it first came out. It got an 87 on Metacritic, which landed it around number seven for the year, and hit a lot of the critics' year end lists (twenty five 'major' top ten lists, by Metacritic's count), and general consensus seemed to be that it was a pretty damn fine package.
This year, though, it seems the only constant thing people have to say about The Suburbs is that it's a 'welcome step back toward the Funeral days'. Many of the places that I've been reading mention how dour Neon Bible was and how the new album thankfully eases up a little bit. So, what happened in the last three years
I think a lot of the dour reputation Neon Bible gets comes from the album opener "Black Mirror". Honestly, I feel it to be the weakest song on the album, and if there's a song that gets skipped, it's generally that one. It sets up the pessimistic attitude, but it almost does it's job a little too well. "Keep the Car Running" just feels like such a perfect album opener, with its soaring hook and driving beat. The light - almost haunting - title track moves perfectly into the massive sounding "Intervention". The songs are all dark and ominous, without much light filtering in, but they're almost all fantastic. In fact, from front to back, I'm not sure I know of another album where I consistently play every song (excluding "Black Mirror").
A couple of listens in, I can tell you that The Suburbs is a great CD, and will be high on my year end list (yes, that means that the lights are coming back on around here - more on that later), but Neon Bible remains one of my favorite albums of all time. I can listen to it today, having heard it countless times already, and still get the same feeling during "Intervention" that I did back in the day. I still whoop and shout to "No Cars Go", and "My Body is a Cage" makes my blood run cold. Detractors should take another listen - in my opinion, Neon Bible is every bit the album Funeral is, maybe even better.
Now. Come to Minnesota, damn it. I missed the last tour because I was busy getting married, and I'd like to check another favorite band off the list.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Suck It, East Coast
Eight years, $184 million - full no-trade clause.
Now let's just hope for no injuries....
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Bioshock 2?
More like Bioshock: Big Daddy Edition
I'm about halfway through the game, and I sort of wish I would've rented it. It's fun getting back into Rapture and all, but this game really feels more like an expansion pack than a full sequel. Also, Lamb isn't as charismatic or interesting a villain as Andrew Ryan or Frank Fontaine were.
Oh well.
Also, this is truth. I haven't been able to unsee this since I first gazed upon its visage.
I'm about halfway through the game, and I sort of wish I would've rented it. It's fun getting back into Rapture and all, but this game really feels more like an expansion pack than a full sequel. Also, Lamb isn't as charismatic or interesting a villain as Andrew Ryan or Frank Fontaine were.
Oh well.
Also, this is truth. I haven't been able to unsee this since I first gazed upon its visage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)