Bird, Zachary, DI finds, Rape Stats?

Update:

After enduring some difficult tests yesterday I went to see Loney Dear and Andrew Bird. Both were really really great and although the place was very crowded I am glad that I decided to go. I bought one of Martin Dosh's albums (Bird's drummer and a great solo act as well) and a tour poster that is pretty awesome. The whole show had alot of switching of instruments and looping and it was cool just to see how they used the technology to make the songs sound as full live as they do on the recordings. If he comes to your town...go. Here is some Martin Dosh doing his thing....its off of the album I bought yesterday and called Capture the Flag.


Today I watched a semi-disturbing documentary at Kevin's house called Dear Zachary. It is an incredibly sad story about a guy who gets murdered by his girlfriend, who was pregnant with his son. I don't want to give too much away so I will just tell you to see it and that it has a major twist at the end. Its a movie that you should watch, but it might leave you a little depressed. Here is the trailer for it, which is not all that exciting, but the movie is definitely reccommended viewing.

I also stopped by the the old Deseret Industries to browse a bit on my way home. I got pumped when I found a little casio keyboard there, but it didn't work. I grabbed a few old Mark Twain books, found a copy of Catch me if you can (the book by Frank Abengale), and also Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck. I read Grapes of wrath in High school and enjoyed it then, so if I get time on my hands I would like to do it again. Its a book worth owning for one dollar.

I also bought a record that has all of the Chopin Waltzes on it, which I am pretty excited about. I became a huge fan of this stuff while in Guatemala on the mission. I even tried to learn this one during the summer. Its extremely difficult, but it may be my very favorite classical piano peice of all time. Its got a very sing-a-long-ish melody and interesting rhythmic backing. Listen closely.

I think this guy places it slightly too fast.

Oh and for kicks...is this real or not? I hate Nancy Grace. Rape stats?

Another Awkward moment.


Tommorow I have to go interview with one of the Dental Board of Review people at Utah State. Wonderful. I am dreading it. Trying not to though.

armorie, andrewbird, baptazia

Hey you guys.

You may notice I write a bit less on the blog lately. Been busy. Thats a good excuse.

We played as armorie Thursday night and had a great time opening for Desert Noises, Drew Capener and Ruru. It was great to play first because we got a decent soundcheck and I think it really helped things go off without a hitch for the show. Here are a few pictures of the event.



This week I am going to go see Andrew Bird in Salt Lake. He's a great musician and I am excited for this one. He does alot of looping in his songs. And he can whistle like no other.


I have been working on some new material that should surface next month. Until then to hold you over, you can check out a couple semi-new rap songs I've posted at myspace.com/calvinsmooth. There are some live ones and some real low quality bedroom recordings. Some are pretty hyperbolic so don't be scared.

I have been addicted to watching these baptazia videos lately. THey are just basically evangelical churches services set to heavy dance bass and drums music. It makes it hard to tell if you are watching a crazy rave or a church service. Maybe the thing will evolve so that people will just go to these churches to party and dance...I have to admit that some of it does look almost painful though. This totally clears up though why MC Hammer used to be a preacher. The dances and all.

I think my favorite guy in the above video is the one at 3:30, and 2:56 with the old lady.
Here is one more for you viewing pleasure.

I cant decide the best part of that one.

Calvin

Strange Mashups, Letterman appearances

Just messing around with some sampling equipment that a friend Eric sent me. Its freaking awesome. I kind of want one now. Maybe this summer I will get one to play with when I am not working endlessly.

I have some tests coming up next week though so it is time to stop being so freaking lazy. Just in the nature I guess. ANd this weekend will suck cuz I am working both Friday and Saturday.

I enjoyed this remix very much. Its as if its meant to be. Cory gave it to me on some mix cd of strange mashups. This one was a gem though. Beyonce is still the most fly, \ I dont care what anyone says. The dance in Single Ladies proves it.



Also, it seems that Joaquin Phoenix is pulling some Kaufmanesk stunt. He is not all that great at it, surprising since he is a fairly good actor in films, but cannot deceive people in real life. It think he looks alot like he is going to try out for Teen Wolf 3. Which could use another sequel I think.


To see something that is really puzzling, not just trying to be puzzling...check this out.


and heres harvey pekar

later.

V-Day Show, Sportz Fanz

Hello loyal readers:

This weekend has been fun aside from having to put up with the shmoopiness of Dave and his fiance. (Shes been visiting this weekend from Rexburg and it was Valentines day, so extra blech!!) I survived...somehow, and now I use a suit that cryptobionically keeps my temperature at 0 degrees and is fueled by Diamonds. (Rita may be the only one to get that joke, sorry.)


I did go to the P.O.S. concert at Kilby court on friday with some friends and we had a good time. It was a little crowded in the venue, but still entertaining and I bought some good records afterwards. The drive home was scary through the canyon but we made it, and then on Saturday it really dumped snow.

Saturday I did a show at Whysound with the Crooked Beats. I did about 40 minutes of my own stuff, it had been quite a while since I had performed that much on my own. It went really well and I think everyone enjoyed it. The setlist was as follows.

1. Kill Rockstars
2. Laughing with Mouth Closed
3. Pro-Politics
4. Smooth Spitz Game
5. Youngest Man on Earth
6. SummerSummerSummertime
7. Taxidermy
8. The Web Remixt
9. Man Says No
10. With the Birds

It was alot of fun to do the theatrics again. Here are some pictures of the event.




Today I have been just tidying up and getting ready for school again. Read a book for a class about Positive Leadership which really got me thinking about how I treat people that I don't need. I think it will take a concerted effort to impliment some of the things in the book but I think it will be worth it. I decided its goood to read some motivational material once in a while, as much as I loathe the idea of a "self-help" book. I am a fan of literature and history, but not so much inspirational or how-to books. Guess I need a balance.

We are playing on Thursday as armorie at 8. You should come.

I also bought some of this for the sandwhiches I pack for school lunch...and if you aint had it, your missing out.


I thought this was really really really funny. Its at the Jumbodome caught on camera during a sports game. I like this guy's enthusiasm. More people should get this excited about what they enjoy. Even if it is sports.

Seeya.

Rap battle, Job Hassle, Top Ten Albums of 08

So last night I went to a rap battle on campus. I was not aware it was a rap battle, otherwise I might have not gone. A friend asked me to come do a song, so I obliged, and before I knew it, I was facing off against some gangsta rapper telling me how nerdy I was and how much he was going to kill me. I have not done one of these things for about 6 years, so it was definitely weird. But I held my own...spit some rhymes at fools. Took second (it was crowd judged) and won 20 dollars to Wal-Mart. I am going to buy a bunch of cereal, and some milk. Whoopee!

Last time I did a battle was in Alaska 2003 and it was downright scary. Everyone there hated me. It became a total racial "bash on the white dude" thing and I think I left with more enemies than friends. Have me tell you the story sometime in person because I'm too lazy to write about it.

Gotta work tonight, picking up somebodies shift. Oh well. I need the cash for various things. I decided that I am not the waiter type though. You couldn't make a worse waiter than me...because I don't care about your special needs when it comes to food. Let me just give it to you, and you leave me some cash. I dont want to know your life story, and I dont want you to know mine, and I don't want to act like somebody else while I am giving you the food. Order, Eat, Tip. I'm busy. Can't be bothered.
That may be a bit extreme, but that is why I am not all that cut out for the job. But it is a job.

Headed to P.O.S. this weekend in Salt Lake at Kilby Court. Its gonna be a cool show. Never Better.

Once again there is a show Saturday at Whysound. Gotta a fun rap set put together. I think I am on right at 7 this time around, so if you want to come, come on time. Crooked Beats, Navigator, and Cousin Songs are playing as well. Gonna Kill it.

Oh by the way, sorry the videos in the post below got deleted. I will try to find replacements shortly. They show that the Grammys are just a show....although Radiohead deserves whatever praise they get.

Speaking of...here are my top ten albums of 2008. Once again, totally my opinions and bias.

1. Jolie Holland "The Living and The Dead". It was a tough decision choosing number one, but I have gone back to this album over and over again in the past months without it getting old. Her voice is that mezmerizing, and it great classical songwriting. The genre is maybe rock/folk-country, and she does it better than anyone. Its very honest and I think its my favorite thing to come out this year.

2. Vampire Weekend "Vampire Weekend". This album was great from first listen and is still incredibly catchy. They also became their own genre, which is something every band should strive to do. I saw them last spring and the sound was excellent live. It was one of the most crowded shows I have been to recently, but it was still great. If you haven't heard them, (and you may be the only one) give them a try.

3. Buck 65 "Dirtbike 1-3". This is the greatest rapper in the world with maybe some of his best work yet. He released the 3 hour opus for free online, and its all very low quality, quickly thrown together stuff, but its fantastic. A lot of throwbacks and references and it doesnt sound as is he is trying so hard. Also there are some great guests on it. And once again its free!

4. Jamie Lidell "Jim". I get a kick out of Jamie Lidell, weird as he is. The amazing thing to me is that the music is so creative...and then there is his voice. Its good even for those looking for the traditional definition. Even my brother enjoys this album. But how could you not? Its what Taylor Hicks would be if he was actually cool...and could sing well in a recording booth.

5. Alopecia "WhY?". I have been listening to Why since Highschool and watched him go from an abstract rapper to having one of the stranger indie bands around. Alopecia is a combination of his hip-hop skills and singing. Don't be too weirded out by his voice. He has alot to say about things you never thought would be interesting. I did not like this album quite as much as the last one, but it definitely was not a backslide at all...just different.

6. Islands "Arm's Way". This album did not get treated fairly by alot of reviewers. I am sick of defending it. Most people are mad because they did not make the same album as last time, and to me that is admirable. They totally switched directions. Every song on there is epic in nature and maybe takes more patience, but they are still great songs, and alot more mature than the "Return to the Sea" thing.

7. Sigur Ros "Meo suo i eyrum vio spilum endalaust". This band never dissapoints. Ever. Enough said.

8. Wale "Mixtape about nothing". Thanks to Cory for turning me onto this. It was a free mixtape the rapper Wale released on his website, and the linking theme is Seinfeld. Sounds cheezy? I agree. Is it cheezy? No. Its great. There are samples from the show in lots of the songs and usually they forward the topic he is taking on. It is not about seinfeld, it just uses the templates to dig into his mind. And its awesome. And free.

9. Flying Lotus "Los Angeles". Thanks to Greg for getting me into this. REally grimy beats with lots of feedback and static pops. The entire thing bleeds into one song basically, so its hard to pick a track that you like. The entire hour though is really shifting and has a great feed to the whole thing.

10. Deefhoof "Offend Maggie". I had a hard time understanding Deerhoof before, but this album made it all make sense to me. When the first song hits with the hard guitar and the soft, almost indecipherable quiet singing, I'm sold. Its great. Check it out.

Opinions? Anything you would bump??

Seeya.
Calvin

Grammy aftermaths

Last night were the grammys. I didn't care to watch, but I did check out Radiohead's performance after the fact. Its pretty great...and here it is. Im not sure how long this link will last.


In other Grammy news, here is a guy who walked away with 4 awards. I just dont get it. This interview is comedy. Why is Katie Couric trying to be so hip? She probably has never listened to any of his songs. And if she has, how can she take herself seriously? I like that he calls he "Miss Katie" though.

He has got to be high all the time. All the time.

Thats all i wanted to post today.

Concert, Cereal Appreciation Day

Armorie is playing on the 19th. Will be a rock show for sure. We have alot of practice to do between now and then to get a killer set ready. Tell yer friendos.



Today as I was enjoying a full bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats, I thought of how amazing cereal is. Whoever invented the idea should have gotten the Nobel Peace Prize. Or maybe cereal predates that. The greatest thing about cereal is that there are so many choices. If you get sick of one, you just move on to the next, but soon your always drawn back to your very favorites. Anyways, in an effort to honor cereal today, I thought I would do a top 10.

1. The KING of all Cereal is Honey Bunches of Oats. Its so freaking good that its hard to describe. If you get tired of the regular, you can easily go for the +almonds, or even better, the +stawberries. There is no cereal more conducive to a fruit addition than H.B.O. either. The ultimate test is that even little kids are ok with it, even with their immature tastebuds.

2. Bluberry Muffin Top cereal is not only based on the ingenious seinfeld idea in its marketing scheme, but also is affordable because its made by MALTOMEAL! I couldn't believe how good this was the first time I tried it out. No other brand name has anything even remotely similar. For the record, it tastes nothing like blueberry muffins, but its still strangely very tasty.

3. Frosted Mini Wheats are one of those cereals that has been in my life for a long time. The image of round hay bales covered with snow comes to mind as soon as you see 'em, and somehow they have made that image appetizing. Even for a guy who absolutely hates hay...being that I have excruciating hay related allergies and cannot get within ten feet of it without ruining my entire day. One thing I love about FMW is the fact that they absorp milk at a fast rate without getting too soggy. They just are drenched, and it makes for some great textural surprises.

4. Fruity Pebbles are the Flinstones official cereal. If they didn't get much right in the stone age, this was definitely a winner. Best thing about the pebbles is that they are tiny so you get much cereal per bite, and also they leech their flavors into the milk and make an amazing after breakfast beverage filled with every sugar under the sun. I call it rainbow flavored milk.

5. HoneyCombs are another one of those cereals designed after something you would never actually want to eat...believe me, in Guatemala I sucked honey out of a comb many a time and its an excruciating and very unrewarding process. But make it into a cereal and somehow they have struck gold! Honeycombs are the one cereal that gracefully made the transition through the pre-teen years into the teen years and into adulthood. They are so good that everyone can agree on it. Part of a complete breakfast yo.

6. Lucky Charms did not make the aforementioned transition, but I have to include them because as a kid this was the only cereal that even could hold my interest. The marshmellows, the leprachaun who wouldn't let the kids have the cereal, the fact that your parents forbid you to partake. It was like the very first bit of rebellion I ever experienced...a friend would have some at his house and offer you some. There was no way you could turn it down. Later my mother caved and got some, and its as if you handed a kid the keys to a candystore. I snuck that stuff at various times of the day. Who cares that the marshmellows really aren't marshmellows, they still taste good. Lucky Charms is as close to comfort food for me as is Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup.

7. Cheerios...although incredibly boring in concept, are still delicious surprising and classic. I ate these things as a toddler from a plastic bag during church so I wouldn't cry, and they have never let me down. Lets get something straight though. Regular cheerious suck without sugar. If they are Honey Nut though, say no more, your morning is made.

8. Cap'n Crunch Oops all Berries is an offshoot that I am not even sure currently exists. Forget Captain Crunch, he was an old fart. The crunchberries on the other hand were what the cereal always should have been, and somebody finally realized. As the story goes, someone hit a wrong button in the Cap'n Crunch factory and all the bags got filled with berries. I don't care how it happened, this is the kind of mistake I love. By the way, the soggies effected the brown stuff in the cereals much more than it did the crunchberries.

9. Chex....All forms of it...well maybe the wheat chex lack a little bit, but even they have an intregal part when it comes to making chex mix. Chex has transcended even the cereal world, along with my number 10 choice, to something so much greater. Have you had muddy buddies? They even sell Turtle Chex mix in packages now. Amazing. Lest we forget though...straight up in a bowl is pretty fantastic as well, as long as you do a little sprinkling of sugar before hand.

10. Rice Krispies are so great. Plain and boring I know, but still, with a bit of sugar you have the makings of something great. And the sound those little suckers make is really one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole thing. Also caters to fruit mixing in, and of course, nobody can deny the power and resonance of the rice krispie treat. They have even turned Rice Krispie Treats into a cereal...which is a bit like cannabalism in a way. Maybe not.

Honorable Mention: Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Did I forget anything? Let me know your opinions on this one. Cereal deserves its praise and status as King of all Breakfast.

Calvin Smooth.

GymRats, Beirut, American Idol, Hurt Feelins

Just got done doin some excel assignments for my MIS class. Joy. Done fer the week with that at least.

Also, I went to the Gym tonight. I know, I know, just a little at a time. I ran on the stair machine and then hit the treadmill for a while. It made me remember why I don't enjoy going to work out. Sure, I feel better because I did it, but its the price I had to pay to get the work out you know? Like the fact that the entire place reeks of a blend of body odor, and you are not sure which part of that comes from you and which is coming from the place next to you. Also, today is the age of the Ipod. Its not like you can have a chat with the person next to you. So you remain in this weird awkard state of looking around at everyone while trying to appear as if your minding your own business. When your on the stairmaster, its hard not to stair (stare). Bad pun I know, but it holds true nonetheless. And since I never go there much, its like you feel that everyone is staring back at you when you can't get the stupid machine to work. I tried to get this one treadmill to work for like 3 minutes before I saw a little tiny "Out of Order" post-it on the side. Some girl next to me was watching me the whole time unabashedly and didn't say a darn thing. Take out the Ipod, help a dude out. They should call it the I-podge. Podgy people wear 'em while working out.

Enough of that.

I never mentioned that I saw Slumdog Millionare this weekend. I really liked it, even with some of the big flaws. I did not buy into the relationships in the film. The one with the girl was just weird, they only saw each other once or twice, and really were not all that romantically involved those times. And the one with his brother was even weirder. It was a cool show though, definitely one to pick up.

Some good new albums have dropped this week that you should know about. The Beirut one, "March of the Zapotec" is pretty good, but the first half is about twice as good as the second half. Heres the video for the song "La Llorona". The Llorona in spanish is ghost that they believe in that has a horse for a head and seduced men and then kills 'em. In Guatemala they are terrified of her, and everyone, I mean everyone, has seen her before and swears shes real. Since Zach Condon recorded this record in Mexico with one of the funeral bands there, its only appropriate.


P.O.S. "Never Better", is some rap that I can get behind. Its pretty hard, and definitely he spits alot of social commentary, but he does it in a continually interesting way, so whether or not you are 100% in agreeance or not with his stances is really kind of irrelevant. The other thing about the homie P.O.S. is that he always, always, has killer beats that are unlike anything you've heard. Check it.

There is a compilation album coming out very soon called "Dark was the Night" that is amazing. It has all your favorite artists on it. The best two songs so far to me are the one by the National, (listen to it at www.darkwasthenight.com) and the cover by Sufjan Stevens of You are the Blood. Pretty great stuff.

I'm too lazy to continue on that vein.

I will be playing at Whysound, opening for Crooked Beats on the 14th, Valentines day. I have some fun stuff planned for my half an hour. Costumes, stories, keys, rock and roll.
Also, armorie will be playing on the 19th opening for Desert Noises. That should be very good as well. We are learning alot by playing live. Never trust your equipment.

If you didn't get to see American Idol tonight, you will be happy to know that Katrina, or the Bikini Girl as she has come to be known, has been kicked off. Thank goodness. She was so horribly dumb that it was painful to watch. Tonight though, she refused to practice and went to bed early, then wouldn't wake up in the morning. She has always been this horrible singer too, so it goes to show that you can get far in America if you are a dumb slut willing to show some skin. And make-out with Ryan Seacrest the faux gay guy. Ugghh. I haven't heard too much awesomeness this season. One or two stand-outs, but i can't recall their names.

If you missed Flight of the Conchords this week, here is one of the songs from it. My favorite part of the tune is where Jemaine says, "Have you ever been told that you look like a Llama." I'm sure he's been told that alot, since thats EXACTLY what he looks like.


Word.

Strange Dog.

Hey all.

Good Weekend. Great Battle of the Bands. All the players were great.

I just wanted to pop in to post this quick video, which I think is one of the funniest things I've seen on the Soup in a long time. So weird.



That dog has issues.