The book buying continues apace here at Stately Person Manor. I plan to have a comprehensive roundup of every damn thing I bought toward the end of the year (which is nigh), but here are a few particularly interesting, obscure, and/or lustworthy books I’ve picked up since Worldcon (a;; pics enbiggenable):
Little did I know that almost immediately after I put up the short version that Tokyo Shoegazer would put up the complete 8 minute, 29 second version.
Well, because I run a full-service blog (full service, I tell you!), here it is:
Maybe I’m easily amused, but something about the absurd, over-the-top, off-screen violence tickled my funny bone. Given that each of these have more than a million hits, once again I may be a wee bit behind the curve.
“That’s what forgiveness sounds like. Screaming, and then silence.”
“I should probably mention that I filled our luggage with orphan meat.”
The Houston Texans beat the Bengals 20-19, which, combined with the Titans loss to the Saints, means that the Texans have clenched the AFC South and are going to the playoffs for the first time in team history.
Also, Dwight Brown owes me $100.
After posting last week’s Tokyo Shoegazer song, I did some more research, and it seems that Shoegaze is (thankfully) a lot more popular in Japan than I first realized.
Here’s a band named Supercar (which evidently broke up in 2005) with “Lucky.” Here they seem a little more J-Pop than Shoegazer, but either way they’re very tasty. Skip the first 42 seconds of cheesetacular introduction.
And here’s the live version:
When the three-way trade between the Rockets, Lakers and Hornets was announced yesterday, I wasn’t a big fan of the trade. The Rockets would have gotten Lakers’ center Pau Gasol, arguably the second best center in the game. The Lakers, who do not need any help in getting better, would have gotten the league’s top point guard in Chris Paul, the Hornets would have gotten Lamar Odom from the Lakers and Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic from the Houston Rockets, plus the Kinck’s 2012 first round pick.
I enthused because I think Houston gave up too much for a 31-year old center. Scola is good for 18 points and eight boards a night, while Kevin Martin scores and extremely efficient 23 points a night (though he’s definitely a defensive liability). If Gasol had been 26 rather than 31, I would be more favorably inclined to the deal. (If Rockets GM Daryl Morey had a deal for the Nuggets Nene at hand with the freed-up cap space, as many suggested, then the deal becomes a lot more palatable for Rockets fans.)
But New Orleans clearly made out like bandits, receiving three extremely solid starters and a first round pick for a guy who was going to walk in eight months anyhow. Which is why they’re the ones most screwed by NBA Commissioner nixing the deal for vague “basketball reasons.”
As many commentators pointed out, this was a solid deal with risks and rewards for all concerned. Both Paul and Kobe Bryant have experienced knee problems. If they stay healthy and the Lakers land Dwight Howard next year, yeah, that’s going to suck for everyone else in the Western Conference. But if Paul and/or Bryant go down, and they don’t land Howard, then they’re in a world of hurt from having gutted their front court.
I’m all behind screwing the Lakers, but having Stern do it in this fashion, with so little justification, screws all three teams.
Two, two earworms in one!
Well, Gaga has already had a Eurotrash Disco vibe about her anyway, so it’s no surprise that these two mash up so well…
I was poking around YouTube looking for more Shoegazer songs when I came across “Bright” from Tokyo Shoegazer, an accurate and wonderfully self-referential name.
That’s only part of the song; the full track comes in at 8 minutes and 19 seconds of reverb-and-sustain drenched fuzzy, blissed-out shoegaze goodness.
That track is off of their debut album 「crystallize」, which evidently just came out November 23. For once I’m not ten years behind the curve! All the tracks are available on iTunes. I’ve already picked up “Bright” (which hits very close to the heart of my Shoegazer sweet spot, which is still Slowdive’s Just for a Day), and may end up buying the rest.
Even if you’re not a Shoegazer fan, you have to admit that this collection of guitar effects peddles on the album cover is impressive:
And now that it’s December, enjoy the songs of Nine Inch Nails set to traditional Christmas music.
And as long as we’re on that topic, here’s Bad Kermit’s rendition of “Hurt.”
And here’s a mashup of Nine Inch Nails and The Beatles on “Come Closer Together.”
NSFW warnings apply to all.
Even though it’s been on Fark, I feel I would be remiss in not mentioning that a man has found the workprint for Manos: the Hands of Fate. He intends to restore the film to all it’s, um, glory, and sell Blu-Rays of the newly remastered version.
May his work be blessed by Torgo the White.