Stubbs the Zombie

I want this game SO BAD.

Boasting one of the best track lists this side of GTA: San Andreas, Asypr commissioned 13 alternative bands (like Death Cab for Cutie, Cake, The Dandy Warhols, The Walkmen and The Flaming Lips) to record distinctive covers of the classic Golden Oldies. The tone and feel of the tunes perfectly fits the zombie-centric destruction.

Warner Music settles for $5 million

Sad. They're getting off cheap.

The latest Potter movie led a lineup that helped reverse the Hollywood box-office slump, with the top 12 films raking in $171 million, up 19 percent from the same weekend last year when "National Treasure" was No. 1 with $35.1 million.

Does this seem stupid to anyone else? As in the only difference between the two weekends being compared is that one of them has a Harry Potter film and the other has a cheap Indiana Jones ripoff?

This weekend = 171 million - Harry's 101 million = 70 million from all the other movies out

Last year = 144 million - National Treasure's 35 million = 109 million from all the other movies out

You want to talk numbers? Last year's were better because they were balanced more evenly - meaning that whatever movies bombed that weekend didn't affect the industry's bottom line that badly. Yeah, Harry Potter's a given blockbuster, and there's no reason not to make those movies. But ... 1) don't claim that there's some kind of a "slump reversal" going on here, and 2) I'll just say "Van Helsing" and we'll leave it at that. The formula can fail as easily as it succeeds.

And who says there's a slump going on in the first place? Entertainment numbers are so skewed. Their books must be the numerical equivalent of Finnegan's Wake.

Walk the Line is the movie of the year. Not because it's such a great film, either. There's parts I would have done differently, things that don't really work - showing John writing "Folsom Prison Blues" and June writing "Ring of Fire", although surely accurate, was a little too melodramatic for me. But beyond the (admittedly rare) questionable moments, it tells the story like it was.

Based on the trailers, I thought Joaquin Phoenix was going to be passable at best. It turns out he captures the entire spirit of the man. His voice starts out shaky and uncertain and finishes with deep confidence. Reese Witherspoon is possibly even better in her role, and they both sing their hearts out.

It's a great movie, flaws and all. Just like the real Johnny Cash.

Screw you, Stravinsky!

I'm at my aunt's house in Ohio until Monday, and my phone doesn't work here. I can see various friends and/or creditors are leaving voicemails but I can't listen to them. Anyway, I'll listen when I can and get back to you. E-mail still works so you can always reach me there.

They finally did it. Those maniacs. They blew it up!

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[Note: after my hosting account was hacked and reset, I was unable to find a copy of the picture in this post. Sorry.]

I am amazed by this. Somehow, there are people in this world that think that the Eagles and the Rolling Stones collaborated to produce "Brown-Eyed Girl" ... IN THE SEVENTIES. To make matters worse, it's the freakin' radio edit (which replaces "making love in the green grass" with "laughin' and a-runnin'" - you can hear the splice, too). And that's just the most egregious entry. Let's go down the list, shall we? I'll also label each version as edited or unedited, just for fun.

• Jimmy Buffett - Suprisingly, this is really him. Steel drums and all. (unedited)
  
• Green Day - Yes, it's a punk cover. No, it's not Green Day. Is it really that hard to tell? (hilariously unedited - the line is changed to "boning down in the green grass")
  
• James Taylor - It's not him, it's Van. (edited)
• Everclear - I was going to make a joke about how I knew this wasn't an Everclear song because I couldn't sing "Santa Monica" to it. The sad part is, it really is them - AND SOMEHOW I CAN SING "SANTA MONICA" TO THEIR VERSION. (unedited, but the arrangement is really gross. It sounds like Christian rock)
• Bruce Springsteen with Van Morrison (live) - It's hard to tell because this is a really bad bootleg. The first singer sounds like it could be the Boss. Then somebody comes in singing really bad harmony and different words on top of what the first guy is doing. I won't knock that because, I mean, I basically just described a Renaissance motet. But this is really bad. And clearly not Van. Upon further review, I have determined it's not Bruce either, which leaves us with the question of who did this and how much they ought to suffer for it. (unedited)
• CCR - This is clearly Van doing an alternate take. Or is it CCR? No, it's definitely not. But they had me fooled for a minute. (unedited, with a longer bass break and cooler backing vocals)
• Weezer (acoustic) - You gotta be kidding me. Not only is this not Weezer, it's terrible. Clearly some crackheaded backwater garage band decided it would be cool to record a version of this song with acoustic guitars, bass, drums, and backing vocals that sing in unison with the lead. On a lighter note: if this recording really is Weezer, I will eat my copy of the Blue album and never look back.
• Reel Big Fish - Not even close, but it is a ska-rock version with horns. Super Extra Bonus: the lyrics to this supposed version. All my best humor falls short of these lyrics, including but not limited to "gone down the old man witha / transista radio" and "cast from every backround law / sometime over come thikin bout ya". This is why I don't trust the Internet for anything.
• MXPX - The same version as the one labeled "Green Day". It's probably MXPX because it's a really bland punk arrangement and I keep thinking Reel Big Fish would do it better. Just like "Take On Me". Or any other song ever written in the history of the world.
  
• Jimmy Eat World - The same version as the one labeled "Green Day". Even more obviously not this band.

Sadly, you'll notice that "Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl" are not spelled correctly together until the fourth entry from the bottom. Figures.

Link to article

"In the old days in France, they had beheadings of people who commit heinous crimes."

And it worked so well. I wonder why they stopped?

Coincidentally, I like how the media is measuring the severity of the Paris riots by the number of cars burned per day.

And this looks like fun.