My beard is more legit than yours, Reid.

Uh oh

I have officially joined Sean in jumping on the bandwagon of receiving an account on the 'Grant Rants and Matt Moments' blog. Why? Because I am one legit mother fucker. How legit am I?



You decide, my friends. You decide.

Room to talk, huh?

Sean - Redundantly biased; consistently bashing things left untried personally because hes "too good" for them; argues with no sources; narrow minded; an overall egotistical douchebag.

Bored couples do this.

top 10 most fail individuals

a list compiled by Sean and Abby

Grant - Grant sucks at Call of Duty (Source MATT), plays car racing games with a keyboard (Source GRANT HIMSELF). Grant is horrible at ranting (source GRANT HIMSELF). Grant is a bitch because he falls in love with every girl he's ever dated after only a week. Only poseurs fall in love Grant.

Matt - wear's woman's clothes; plays wow. 'nuff said.

- Zach Cook - egotistical maniac with a scene hair cut. he also fails at playing little tykes xylophones.

- Kelsey Sullivan - a pretentious illiterate whore who took a facial on her walrus sized teeth, from another person fail enough to be on this list =/

-Anthony Micco - sorry Anthony, but you're kind of a pedophile, and have a bad habit of making fail movies that attempt to rip off more successful ones.

AND you were in Drixton.

- Michael Libby: fat scene kid who has 501 tattooed on his leg, and does it in the pooper. His pooper.

- Dyer Finan - dyer had two girlfriends in the 5th grade, who knew about each other, but then somehow has failed to have any friends since.

-Jerry Gorman - Jerry Gorman is a fat nerd who not only plays in the world of warcraft on a role playing server, but sucks at the game.

- Matt Meyer
http://www.purevolume.com/breakfastbythesea 'nuff said

And... the most fail person alive is...

- Sammy Petit - when Sameltoe isn't trying on new belts, rocking out to bayside, or molesting little girls, he can be found listening to music theater and masturbating three plus times a day.

The Second World of MMOs

Kotaku brought this one to my attention while i've been twittling my thumbs away home bored and sick. Its a documentary titling itself "Second Skin" and takes a look inside the several aspects and stereotypes that go along with the persistent worlds of MMOs from Everquest to WoW to Final Fantasy. From the trailer, it covers aspects such as addiction, love, the economy, and even the shady mmo-related suicides. Looks worth seeing whenever it does release. I'm amazed that there's actually a documentary emerging from this culture.




Apparently its a finalist in the south by southwest film festival as well.


Their Project's Site: www.secondskinfilm.com

Sean's (slightly late) top albums of 2007

Just because January, 2008 is almost over doesn't mean it's to late to look back at 2007's finest and most inspiring music releases.

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
The way i see it, AC has 3 major, absolutely incredible releases: Sung Tongs, Feels, and now Strawberry Jam. I am so pleased with these because each one has that distinct Animal Collective feel, yet is so unique within itself, Sung Tongs because acoustical, Feels playing Electric Guitars and Grand Pianos, and now Strawberry Jam opening up with Synthesizers and more effects than every before imaginable. You fail to Amaze me, Avey Tare.

BARR - Summary
a much lesser known trophy of the now defunct 5RC Records, BARR is pretty much unlike anything else i've ever heard. He's primarily not rap, but spoken words about friends and love and music. His third full length is much calmer and features an impressive musical backing as opposed to the Fruity-Loop-esque beats of before.

Avey Tare & Kria Brekkan - Pullhair Rubeye
The lead singer of Animal Collective and his wife released their own ep this year, which they "didn't want to be just another noise pop record." It was good, but it needed something more, so they released the whole damn thing backwards.

Battles - Mirrored
a sortof crossover between Postrock and an free spirited Feels generation Animal Collective style, Battles creates an impressive instrumental score in their first full length. wow that sounded lame. but srrsly it's good.

Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - Spirit If...
It's Kevin Drew's, (lead vocals of BSS) solo album, only he's backed by the rest of the BSS Crew. What more do i have to say? Very calm and largely acoustical, but the Broken Social Scene style is in no way absent.

Born Ruffians - Hummingbird
Really Really Rediculously catchy indie rock. I thought their previous ep was something to write home about, but Hummingbird ('s three songs) really tighten up the band and ultimately place them on a higher level. I also found out that Canadian Alex's cousin is allegedly in this band, which is sweet.

Cloud Cult - Meaning of 8
I am going to call this the MOST UNDERATED album of 2007. I didn't see it on any top album lists, but it's probably my favorite disc this year. 8 is much more deep and emotional than any previous Cloud Cult album. at 19 (okay, really just 18, one is blank) songs this album does not disappoint on length nor content. Each song can nearly bring me to tears. I hear Your 8th Birthday is about Kaiden (i think?), the lead singer's son who would have turned 8 the year the album was released = (

Daft Punk - Vengoose 2007
Alright, so Daft Punk is Amazing, rite?! now lets take parts from their own songs and combine them together into totally epic super songs! I would like to hear a studio version of this one, but for a live record the quality is amazing. My only complaint is that this album makes all their old releases seem incredibly boring.

Deerhunter - Cryptograms
I mention this mostly because I don't think i've ever had a conversation about it, but it's definately worth a listen. It's an album that i like to come back to every now and then. It has some really relaxing ambient moments, but some great pop songs as well. I'd describe Deerhunter as an often more upbeat, brighter Album Leaf. That might be a terrible analogy though. I still say check it out. Same goes for their (also 2007) Fluorescent Grey EP.

Efterklang - Parades
Incredibly epic Post Rock from Denmark. the song Maison De Reflexion is one of the most powerful songs (in a musical sense) i've heard in a long time. I would put this in my top 10 albums of 2007, easily.

Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
another of of my Top 10 of 2007, and my favorite release by the band to date. I'm positive most of you have probably heard this by now though, so that's really all i need to say.

Justice - Cross
French Dance music. aside from Daft Punk, easily the best dance music of 2007. The songs D.A.N.C.E and The Party are my personal faves.

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
I often forget this is a 2007 release as, if you remember, the fully mastered version leaked like halfway through '06. I'd call this a darker successor of Sundlandic Twins.

Of Montreal - Icons, Abstract Thee
Hissing Fauna's sister EP, these songs fit the HS theme but weren't on the album, though all were definitely good enough to be. No Conclusion is an incredible song about self destruction in a metaphorical sense, except later in the song in a literal sense. Really reminds me of The Past is a more grotesque, only probably more poppy but also more dark.

Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
another album i think was overlooked by many this year. Features an impressive orchestral backing to an impressive, highly creative singer. Top 10 material. edit: ok so i just listened to this album again after writing this. If you haven't heard this, dont talk to me until you have. I just remembered that this is one of my favorite records ever.

Rafael Anton Irisarri - Daydreaming
Nothing ground breaking, just mind blowing ambient music. For Fans of Stars of the Lid.

Random - Megaran
...and the award to best themed rap album on sampled classic video game beats goes to...

Stars Of The Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
another top 10er, 3 discs that will probably put you to sleep in half of one. but that's a good thing in this situation. This is probably the closest I'd get to being on drugs. seriously. check it out.

The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sound
best experimental ambient avant-metal drone album of 2007, i'd say hands down.

The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army
The first actually solid album by the band/orchestra/cult. The Spree continues to be incredibly huge and unflinchingly happy. Top 10 material.

Quentin Tarritino's Grindhouse OST
An incredible soundtrack. Lots of older songs that make you realize that not all classic rock is lamexcore.

XXL - Spicchiology
Xiu Xiu and Larsen's new joint album, and after hearing the 2008 xiu xiu stuff, this is probably where i will mark the end of the band in my book.



HUGE disapointments
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
they still suck. if it wasn't for New Slang and Garden State this band would be no where.

The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
the follow up to Funeral by my (formerly) favorite band. FAIL.

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
i wanted to kill myself after listening to the Coat Check Dream Song. Recorded in the same way as the last two modest mouse albums, in a better quality, turning up the volume of the voice of one of the worst singers in the industry. Stick to recording in your bathroom, Connor Oberst.

Dntel - Dumb Luck
mostly just because Jenny Lewis tried to play over the genius behind the music of the Postal Service.

Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight
Rilo Kiley continues to create full length albums based on 1 or 2 good songs.





So there you have it. I decided not to mention how much i didn't like the new Modest Mouse album, mostly because it was a huge improvement from Good News.

Originally i meant for this to be top 5 albums of 2007, but after scrolling through foobar, i had to have a few honorable mentions...

english paper

abby wanted me to post this, but itz probs not even good because it was for school. mostly a collection of facts about the music industry. i am leaving works cited attached because they are more interesting than what i have to say.

Piracy and the Music Industry

Once one of the most booming industries in entertainment, the music industry has found themselves slowly falling apart. When they became aware of their situation, they desperately began seeking a way to keep sales high, however their changes were that of a traditional business and in no way followed new technologic trends and their own tactics proved futile. Ultimately, rather than embracing the very technologies (i.e. the internet) that they felt threatened by, they chose to blame them for the recession, dubbing free music file sharing among individuals as piracy and copyright infringement. However, contrary to their claims, an examination of economic patterns, the views of music artists, and even an exploration into the history of the music industry all point to piracy not necessarily affecting the industry in a negative manner.

When music sales were at a high in 2000, major record labels began merging in an attempt to broaden their distribution and tap into other forms of entertainment. For example, in 2000, Vivendi became Vivendi Universal through acquisitions. Warner Brothers and EMI also attempted a merger, but it proved unsuccessful. In 2001, music sales had fallen 5% from 2000. By 2002, the drop increased to 9%. At this point, the companies began to think that merging was still the best way to cut costs. When this method proved unsuccessful still, the industry began to blame a new demographic: music pirates. Then, in 2002, a company called Napster which had begun allowing internet users to easily share digital music freely over the internet in 2000, was shut down after the major labels claimed it violated copyright laws, but at this point a number of smaller sites had already began replacing the media giant. The industry then in 2003 changed its focus to the everyday, individual file sharer (“The Music Industry”).

Obviously, the music industry is the primary attacker of the pirate scene. They claim that the distribution of pirated records “cost recording companies and artists billions of dollars annually” (“Recording Industry”). The industry holds that sales of recorded music shrank by a fifth between 1999 and 2003. When there was a small rise in physical sales during the first half of 2004, the industry contributed it to the stabilization of piracy due to lawsuits. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, an anti-pirate organization, claimed at this time that the number of freely available music files online had dropped from 1.1 billion to 800 million (“Music’s Brighter Future”). Regardless, the industry has failed to make a case directly ascribing their losses to music downloading. They simply defend their position by asking how else to account for the significant drop in sales by 139 million albums from 2000 to 2002 (Schwartz).

More recent studies are asking new questions: what is music downloading’s affect on the industry really, and if not piracy, what has been plaguing the industry? Critics now are answering the industry’s question with statistics which point to “a slow economy, fewer new releases, and a consolidation of radio networks that has resulted in less variety on the airwaves” (Schwartz). It is entirely possible that there was an abnormal explosion in CD sales in the nineties fueled by the people’s desire to replace their now-defunct vinyl collections. Perhaps interest in music is just falling victim to new technologies. In a survey asking why people did not buy music, only 10% reported the availability of free music online, the other 90% cited other reasons (“CRIA's Own Study Counters P2P Claims”). One such reason could be the increase of DVD sales from zero in 1999 to over $170 million Canadian Dollars during 2004 (“CRIA's Own Study Counters P2P Claims”). Professor Oberholzer-Gee points out holes in the industry’s reports in his report. He brings attention to the fact that anti-piracy studies consider each and every download a lost sale, when in reality people are downloading music freely available on the internet because the music is freely available on the internet; they usually wouldn’t have bought the music in the first place. A change in the industry’s menial approach to business today may also contribute to their decline. As of late, major labels have been releasing increasingly more “one hit wonder” style bands. Acts tend to tour less and release fewer albums than in previous decades, so any opportunity for a strong fan base to develop is lost (“Music’s Brighter Future”).

The music industry likes to tell people that piracy is hurting all our bands, but more open, revolutionary artists are finding out that the opposite is true. One paper concludes that although the top 25% of artists probably are hurt by file sharing, the bottom 75% is actually prospering! Jim Cuddy, front man of the Canadian musical group Blue Rodeo, admits that he can’t determine whether music downloading has hurt his band (“CRIA's Own Study Counters P2P Claims”). Dave Peters, front man of the American rock group Throwdown, is more open on the issue, stating “Fans and friends ask me all the time how I feel about ‘stealing music.’ I just told someone yesterday ‘I have a hard time seeing it as stealing, when I don’t see any money from the sales to begin with’…I encourage our fans to acquire our album however they please. The philosophy I’ve adopted is that if you’re supporting disc sales, you’re keeping the old model around longer… the one that forces dudes like me to tour 9 months a year if they want to make ends meet with a career in music” (“Frontman to File-Sharers: Steal Our Album, Help Bury the Label”). Music superstar Curtis James Jackson III, or more popularly 50 Cent, shockingly enough has a similar view on the issue. He says “The concerts are crowded and the industry must understand to manage all the 360 degrees around an artist. They [the industry] have to maximize their income from concerts and merchandise. It is the only way they can get their marketing money back.” 50 Cent explains that “a young fan may be just as devout and dedicated no matter if he bought it or stole it.” He says “what is important for the music industry to understand is that this really doesn’t hurt the artists” (“50 Cent: File-Sharing Doesn’t Hurt Artists, Industry Should Adapt”). 50 Cent admits that his own label, G-Unit Records, is not holding up well in modern times, but hip-hop, a youthful genre, must keep up with the innovations in technology faster than fans of more traditional types of music. He concludes by criticizing the industry for focusing less on the developmental needs of the artists than as before file sharing (“50 Cent: File-Sharing Doesn’t Hurt Artists, Industry Should Adapt”). The Swedish rock band Lamont has already taken a step towards embracing the latest innovations in technology, and in 2007 they offered their new album for free on ThePirateBay.org, receiving over 100,000 complete album downloads in under 24 hours. Naturally, the band is ecstatic about the immense free publicity. The administrator of The Pirate Bay has said that his site, the largest peer-to-peer site on the internet, is more than willing to support bands willing to share their music through Bit Torrent (the program used by The Pirate Bay and many other sites for data transfer), and expects more artist to take advantage of this in the future like Lamont did. He believes that projects like Lamont’s are living proof that a band mass distributing their album for free is not only not a bad idea, it actually aids the artist (Ernesto).

Today, most artists are doing as well as, if not better, than ever; the only one falling behind is the traditional industry which refuses to comply with new innovations in technology. After all, this is the same industry that thought the radio would be the end of music as we know it! Some steps towards an alternative have been taken with programs such as Canada’s Private Copying Levy, which allows for legal, personal, non-commercial copies of music without permission by the copyright holder by repaying artists with a small levy taken from devices such as CD-Rs and Mp3 players, but nothing like this has been created, however, in the capitalist capital of the world: the United States of America (“Piercing the Peer-to-Peer Myths: an Examination of the Canadian Experience”). Testimonials by several artists and deeper examinations into the role of piracy on the music industry reveal that there is more to this issue than meets the eye and provide significant data to support the fact that piracy has not negatively affected the music industry.

Works Cited

Engimax. "Frontman to File-Sharers: Steal Our Album, Help Bury the Label." TorrentFreak.Com. 8 Dec. 2007. 10 Nov. 2007 .

Enigmax. "50 Cent: File-Sharing Doesn’t Hurt Artists, Industry Should Adapt." TorrentFreak.Com. 8 Dec. 2007. 8 Dec. 2007 .

Ernesto. "The Pirate Bay Sponsor's Rock Band." TorrentFreak.Com. 9 Oct. 2007. 10 Nov. 2007 .

Geist, Michael. "CRIA's Own Study Counters P2P Claims." MichaelGeist.Ca. 2006. 10 Nov. 2007 .

Geist, Michael. "Piercing the Peer-to-Peer Myths: an Examination of the Canadian Experience." FirstMonday.org. Apr. 2005. 10 Nov. 2007 .

"Internet." The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: World Book, Inc., 2005.

"Music's Brighter Future." The Economist 28 Oct. 2004. 10 Nov. 2007 .

Pollock, Rufus. "P2P, Online File-Sharing, and the Music Industry." Rufuspollock.Org. 2005. 8 Dec. 2007 .

"Recording Industry." The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: World Book, Inc., 2005.

Schwartz, John. "A Heretical View of File Sharing." The New York Times 2004. 27 Nov. 2007 .

"The Music Industry." The Economist 28 Oct. 2004. 10 Nov. 2007 .