Two Reasons Why I'm Giddy Right Now....

1) The New Orleans Hornets drafted Chris Paul of Wake Forest with the 4th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft. At the end of the NCAA Tourney, I wanted the Hornets to end up with either Andrew Bogut outta Utah or Paul. I was sure they'd have a pick in the top 3, but after the draft lottery, they ended up with the 4th pick. I was devastated as I thought both players would be out of reach, and they were going to end up with high schooler Gerald Green....a player with a lot of potential, but one that would take a while to fully have an impact on the team. Over the past week, though, it became apparent that the Hornets would end up with either Paul or Marvin Williams of UNC. The Bucks were set on Bogut at number 1, and it would be the actions of the Hawks and Blazers, at numbers 2 and 3 respectively, that would decide who the Hornets would end up with. The Hawks were big fans of M. Williams, arguably the player with the most upside in the draft, but they are already loaded at the 3. It really didn't make sense for them to take him. What they really needed was a point guard like Paul or Daren Williams of Illinois, but being the Hawks, they in fact did end up going with Marvin. Then, Utah moved up to the 3rd pick after a trade with the Trail Blazers and took Daren Williams who they were apparently enamored with as their point guard of the future. With all that going on, Paul fell right into New Orleans' lap. It was pretty damn sweet. The loss of Baron Davis in the trade with Golden State last year was a huge blow to me, as I am a HUGE fan of his (despite all his damn injuries), but I think everything will work out OK. Now with Paul, JR Smith, and David West, the Hornets are rebuilding for the future after having one of the oldest starting 5's for the past several years. The NBA better watch out. Chris Paul is gonna be a superstar (people are already calling him the next Isiah Thomas) and the best player to come out of the 2005 NBA Draft. Just wait.




2) OK Go has a new album coming out on August 30 entitled Oh No. I loved their first album tremendously. It's barely more than 35 minutes long, but it is one of my favorite albums of the past several years. It is just so much fun to listen to and catchy beyond belief. They're all about having a good time, and when it all comes down to it, I think that is what music should be all about. I first heard of them on Madden 2003 as "Get Over It" was part of the soundtrack, and came up quite often in the game. Every song on their self-titled debut is a winner, but if I had to choose some favorites, I'd have to go with: Get Over It, You're So Damn Hot, Return, The Fix is In, and Bye Bye Baby. I've seen them live twice and their live show is just as great as their album. They do covers, bring audience members on stage, and all sorts of other crazy stuff.



here's a hilarious video to a song that I hope is on their new album:
Million Ways



I'm soooooooooo STOKED!



Currently Listening To:
Naked - Love Supreme

Does it come in black?

Batman (the one directed by Tim Burton) has always been my choice for the best comic book movie...any comic book movie. Whether you were talking about something like Spider-Man or Sin City or X-Men or even Ghost World or American Splendor, Batman was the movie I always felt strongest about. Maybe it's just because I grew up with it and watched it so many times over, but nothing I ever saw could convice me that it was better than that. However, tonight I think I may have finally been convinced.
Now, I'm only a little more than an hour removed from seeing it, but Batman Begins may quite possibly be the best comic book movie ever. It was fantastic. I'm terrible at putting into words exactly why I really like something (its always much much easier to verbalize why something sucks), so I'm not even going to try, but there have been few films in recent memory that I have been so giddy about immediately after watching it (The Aviator is probably the most recent that comes to mind).
My expectations were through the roof for this, and I've gotta say that they were met in basically every way. Christopher Nolan (of Memento fame) did a beautiful job reviving a franchise that Joel Shumacher drove into maggot infested pile of feces. And Christian Bale is the PERFECT Batman. When they were originally casting the part, I thought Bale would have been great for it before I ever even read that he was a candidate (I actually even thought he'd make a pretty decent Superman). His perfomance in American Psycho is seriously ony of my favorite performances ever, and I just thought he could fill the role of Bruce Wayne so well. It was kind of surprising that he even took the role since he's always had this rep of trying to stay out of the spotlight, but I sincerely hope he won't have any problem being Batman for many years to come, because now I can't see anyone else doing it. The supporting cast was pretty great, too, though Katie Holmes was definitely the weak link. Anyway, I won't say anything else because I'm feeling really lazy and don't want to type anymore.

Quddus! Quddus! Qudouche!

"I kind of figure this is like a nice halfway mark to just kinda lose your mind and go nuts...so thats kind of what I've done....with the help of a little coors lite and some crown royal. But its totally a natural high. Because sleep deprivation is the cheapest drug in the world. You know what...you wanna get high? You wanna get hiiiiigh? Stay up for 36 hours...you'll trip balls. Trippin balls...trippin balls..."



Have I ever mentioned how awesome Dave Grohl is? Seriously, the guy is amazing. I'm finally watching the live rock performance from the 24 Hours of Foo that aired on MTV2 last Saturday, and its just awesome. They're playing an all out rock set in front of like 30 people who are no more than 10 feet from the band. I don't think words can even describe how incredible that would be.
But yeah, I DVR'd various parts of the 24 hours and caught most of it over the past several days. This is the last thing I need to watch, but I must say the whole thing was pretty sweet. Some of the things that happened:
-Dave apparently is an ordained minister of some sort and married 2 couples
-The band did a nice acoustic set
-They played some trivia game with Amy Poehler and David Cross
-Janeane Garafolo and Fred Armisen showed up and chilled
-Dave and Taylor went out into Times Square and played drums on buckets for like half an hour with street performers
-There was a Win a Date with A Roadie type deal
-Dave frolicked around to A-Ha's 'Take on Me'
-Dave said "Quddus" about 87 million times...which is apparently some MTV VJ who he'd never met, but thought the name was awesome
-And lots of other random and weird things

The person that thought up the idea of having the Foo Fighters on TV for 24 straight hours is a total and complete genius. So cool.

If Winona Ryder and Dave Grohl had a baby...


Awww...they're playing 'This is a Call" right now. The memories, the memories...
"fingernails are pretty
fingernails are good
seems that all they ever wanted was a marking
them balloons are pretty
big and say they should
ever fall to ground
call the magic marker"
When I saw the Foos open for the Chili Peppers several years back (I believe it was my 2nd time seeing them), I think they closed their set with this, and I almost threw my vioce out singing along with it. What the crap? They just bleeped out "ritalin" from the song. You can't say ritalin on MTV? Weird. But geez, watching this is getting me so stoked to see them live. Dave said somewhere that they might be touring with Weezer sometime in the fall. It sounds intriguing, but I dont know...I guess it could work. Weezer's cool, though I wasn't a big fan of Maladroit, and the new one, Make Believe, is just OK. The most important thing, though, is that the Foos headline the tour. The Foo Fighters playing before Weezer???...I don't think so. Whatever happens, I WANT TO SEE THE FOOS LIVE NOW!
Crazy, now MTV is letting some Foo Fighters cover band called Monkey Wrench play a song...with the Foo Fighters instruments, no less. I'm not sure I like that. I don't think Dave and the guys even stuck around to watch them...that's pretty funny.

Quddus!

Yao Ain't Got Nothin On Me!

the coolest pic ever...


...after this one...

Like, TOTALLY!

Took the day off from work because of the pain, and have managed to be pretty productive. I watched the MTV Movie Awards (well, what my DVR decided to tape of it...the last few awards...and most importantly, the Foo Fighters performance...were cut off), watched a couple episodes of Ed, played some NBA Live 2005, and watched half of the French film Delicatessen directed by Jean-Peirre Jeunet (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement) of which I will finish a little later.
The MTV Awards were pretty lame overall. I don't know if my tolerance for it is waning because I'm getting older, or because it has declined in quality. I know its not a legitimate awards show by any means, and its sole goal is to be a spectacle and lure in the "hip" and "cool" "MTV crowd", but I just have to cringe when I see some of the things that are nominated...and cringing hurts a lot right now. That new category, "Best Frightened Performace" or whatever its called, was just plain ridiculous, and even worse were the little "frightened" montages they put together for each actor. I had to laugh during the Sarah Michelle Gellar one it was so terrible. One thing that really bugged me was that Emmy Rossum was nominated for Best Female Breakthrough performance for The Day After Tomorrow. COME ON! I don't have a problem with that movie getting any technical nominations (I believe it won Best Action Sequence or something...though I remember there being more worthy nominees), but there was no performance in The Day After Tomorrow that warranted any sort of award nomination whatsoever. And if you're going to nominate Emmy Rossum for anything, at least do it for The Phantom of the Opera. Good grief. I was happy that Napoleon Dynamite picked up a couple of awards, though. And Leonardo DiCaprio getting best actor for The Aviator was pretty sweet. I loved Jaime Foxx in Ray, and he's deserved everything he's won, but I'm glad to finally see Leo get some props. Dustin Hoffman for best comedic performance was kinda shady. Of the nominees, Will Ferrell should've run off with that one for Anchorman. What else? The skits, which in the past were always the best part of the show by far, were fine, but there was nothing too memorable. Oh, and what the hell was going on with Jessica Simpson?

Geez, did she look raunchy. But Jessica Biel, Nicole Kidman, Katie Holmes, Jessica Alba, and Dakota Fanning (just kidding) all looked fantastic. Can't remember who else was there of note. Also, have Molly Ringwold's breasts always been this big?...

Maybe she's pregnant? I can't really tell.

Update (6/11, 10:30pm): Finally caught the end of the MTV awards. Thoughts:
-Tarentino looked either high or drunk or both when he was up accepting the award for best fight...that was pretty funny.
-Lindsey Lohan won best female performance over Hillary Swank!?!?. Don't get me started...Don't even get me started...
-Foo Fighters performance was awesome. I CANNOT WAIT to see them tour for this album. It really is gonna be amazing...if Dave's voice holds out. I'm sure I'll have to go to Dallas or San Antonio or Houston for it, but it will be well worth it.
-Napoleon Dynamite winning best pic was pretty cool. I was shocked that Mean Girls wasn't even nominated here, as it was for essentially every other category. You know if it had been, it would have won in a landslide. Maybe the producers felt they had to have some semblance of legitimacy here, and decided to go with (mostly) respectable nominees in this category....


During my productive day, I also finally put together a track order for my Songs of May 2005. Here's what I'm going with...
1) Super Secret Opening Track
2) Jimmy Eat World - Crush
3) Hundred Reasons - I'll Find You
4) Foo Fighters - DOA
5) Taking Back Sunday - Cute Without the 'E' (Cut From the Team)
6) Stereophonics - A Thousand Trees
7) Jimmy Eat World - Call it in the Air
8) Matthew Good - Carmelina
9) British Sea Power - Please Stand Up
10) Muse - Thoughts of a Dying Atheist
11) Kanye West - Hey Mama (Demo)
12) Augustana - Boston
13) Stereophonics - More Life in a Tramp's Vest
14) Gorillaz - Feel Good, Inc.
15) Better than Ezra - Burned
16) Feeder - Cement
17) Hot Hot Heat - Goodnight, Goodnight
18) Foo Fighters - Best of You
19) My Chemical Romance - You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison
20) Ben Folds - Landed
21) Stereophonics - Mr Writer
22) Better than Ezra - Hollow
23) Razorlight - In the City

I think it turned out pretty well. Kept it pretty hard and fast at the beginning, chilled out some in the middle, brought the intensity back up for a skoch, and then closed out rather smoothly. Good stuff.


Currently Listening to:
Stereophonics - Mr. Writer

Never Guard the 6'5" Behemoth....

...cause you'll inevitably get an elbow to the nose with the force of freight train going 1000 mph. Holy shit am I in pain.

So I go to the Rec today to play some basketball cause I've been neglecting my UT gym membership a bit the past few weeks. It's pretty quiet on the courts when I get there, so I just shoot around for a while, trying to find that magical Ray Allen like jump shot I had back in 8th grade. After a good 30 minutes, some people start showing up (unfortunately, said jump shot had not yet been found) and we get a game of 3-on-3 going. Game was alright...ended up losing...but I was starting to get in a good rhythm. By the end of the game, there were 2 other folks that wanted to play, so we manage to get some 4-on-4 full court action going. One of the new guys, though, was this 6'5 white guy who you could tell had played somewhere before; he was all fundamentally sound and trying to show off by jumping up and grabbing the rim a couple times for no apparent reason. I'm going to call him Keith Van Horn from here on out.
Well, we shoot for teams, and I end up being on the opposite side of this guy. My team starts deciding who to pick up on defense, and I, of course offer to pick up Van Horn. There was another guy on my team who was probably slightly taller than me, but he was really slow, so I let him match up with another fellow who of a similar build. I didn't really want to guard Van Horn, particulalry because that meant he would guard me, but I do because I feel the only to improve is to take on challenges like that. Guys taller than me that can play some D usually do a pretty good job of stifling my offense which usually consists of me hanging around the permiter trying to get the ball so I can try to hit a jump shot. I hate posting up, and most everyone who's played with me knows I couldn't hit a lay-up or a shot around the basket to save my life. And my perimeter tendencies increase exponentially when I'm guarded by someone I have no hope whatsoever of posting up against.
Anyway, things started off pretty well. First time down the court, I get the ball just outside the 3 point line, and drain a 3 right in Van Horn's face. That felt really good. They come back with the ball, dish it off to Van Horn in the low post (cause its pretty obvious I'm going to have a hell of a time trying to guard him), and he does some juke move that gets me pretty good, and lays it in for 2.
Fast-forward a bit and I believe the score was something like 9-6 (with my team up, yay). The other team is on a bit of a fast break and I'm with Van Horn every step of the way. He ends up with the ball down low, kind of shoving me down towards the basket, but there's nothing me and my scrawny build could do, but just take it. He tries again to do his little juke that got me earlier, but this time I don't bite. (Let me note here, that his elbows are basically at the equivalent height of my face any time he touches the ball.) Then, one of my teammates comes down to help, and kind of knocks the ball out of Van Horn's hands, though unable to force the turnover, and Van Horn quickly recovers the ball. The next moment is just a huge blur, as all I can remember is a huge, gigantic, enormous, monstrous, and even ginormous elbow is coming straight at my face, more specifically at my nose, and I take a BIG blow. I hear something, not sure if it's a snap, a crackle, or a pop, but I hear something. Immediately, I feel this terrible pain where my nose is supposed to be, and I cry out a huge "FUCK!" I put my hands to my nose, take them away, and see that they're covered in blood. I panic and run to the bathroom. I've never had anything that even resembled a nosebleed before (sure, I've been whacked in the nose a couple times, but nothing too hard or painful), so seeing all that blood on my hands and dripping onto my shoes really freaked me out.
Well, I'm in the bathroom wiping my nose nonstop with water, and it seems like the bleeding has finally stopped. I get my first real good look of my nose in the mirror, and I notice that the bridge about halfway down is basically curved to the left. Here comes another big "FUCK!" I seriously almost started to cry. I finish cleaning myself up in frenzy, go back to the court, grab my stuff, and hightail it to the ER. Some of the guys come over to see if I'm OK, and I just reply with an emphatic "NO!". I appreciated the concern, but I'm in such pain and actually really pissed off. All I really wanted was to brawl with the Van Horn douchebag who I can't even look at as I'm leaving. He give me a pretty lame "sorry, man" as I'm heading out the door, and that's that.. (Note: I totally know it wasn't intentional and its all part of the game, but I must say he had been a little careless with those elbows throughout the game, and you would have had the same death wishes if someone just whacked your normally straight (and sexy) nose into some strange deformed curve).
I went to the hospital, saw the doctor for about 30 seconds, and gained absolutely nothing except a phone number for an ear, nose, and throat doctor. The guy said there was no point in taking an x-ray and that nothing could be done until the swelling went down. Well, tomorrow I'm giving this EN&T Dr. a buzz to get a real opinion. I'm sure he'll probably say the same thing, but I'll feel much better hearing it from someone qualified, than from some random ER doctor who's more worried about watching Alanis Morisette sing the national anthem before the Pistons-Spurs game. (Speaking of, does that make any sense to you? Alanis, a Canadian, singing the American National Anthem....hmmmm....).
But yeah, my nose looks deformed, and I can barely even look at myself in the mirror right now. It also hurts like a bitch, and the over-the-counter Tylenol I was "prescribed" isn't really doing the trick. God, I hope they can put my nose back in place with ease and there won't be anything like plastic surgery necessary. I was shaking the whole time while I was at the hospital; partly from the pain, but also partly because of the thought of this being permanent or the need for surgery. That really freaks me out.
All I know is, the next time I step on the basketball court (and that will be a good time from now), I'll be taking a fashion tip from one Mr. Richard "Rip" Hamilton...



...and I'm not even joking.



Currently Listening To:
Jimmy Eat World - Pain

Quick, Slightly Edited, Stream of Consciousness Thoughts About Cinderella Man

Though not my favorite movie of 2005 so far, Cinderella Man is probably the strongest Oscar contender to have been released (passive voice, bitches!) as of today. Russell Crowe was phenomenal and at this point definitely deserves a nomination for best actor. Paul Giamatti was excellent as well, and will hopefully get some recognition after his snub for best actor in Sideways. But yeah, back to Crowe...like or hate the guy...he can act with the best of them. Just think...The Insider, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander, and now this...it's hard to think of another actor with that strong of a resume over the past several years (let's disregard Proof of Life)...and don't forget L.A. Confidential back in '97. The movie itself is quite good. Its a great story, and Ron Howard and the script manage to stay away from the over-sentimentality factor that plagues many of these underdog/feel-good/audience-pleasing type tales. I've heard some critics call Cinderella Man this year's Seabiscuit (except with a man instead of a horse)...and you know, I can definitely see that comparison. I will, however, take this over Seabiscuit any day.

Score: 8/10




Currently Listening to:
Our Lady Peace - Blister

In Your Honor, I Would Die Tonight

" There are subtleties. There are complexities. There are extremities. There are familiarities. There is orchistration. There is simplicity. There is a pile of blown speakers on the floor. There is full bottle of whiskey covered in drywall dust. There is a full bottle of whiskey covered in drywall dust that is about to disappear."
-Dave Grohl

I have a man crush on Dave Grohl. He's just a badass. When I first heard the upcoming Foo Fighters release was going to be a double album, I nearly wet my pants. One by One came out in the Fall of 2002, but that seems like ages ago. While I liked One by One a lot, I think it may be my least favorite CD in the Foo Fighters discography. However, when it first came out, I was actually proclaiming it their second best (behind The Colour and the Shape). Looking back, I think that's mostly because I was just so stoked to have new material to listen to.
Now on June 14, we get In Your Honor with 20 songs spread over 2 discs. One disc is all out rock 'n roll, while the other is sweet, soft and tender acoustic. And yes ladies and gentleman, I have already had the privilege of listening to the entire album. Dave wasn't lying when he said that the rock songs were some of the hardest stuff they'd ever done, and he sure wasn't fibbing when he said the acoustic songs would be some of the softest and most atmospheric stuff they'd ever done. They are two very very different discs That is what I have always loved about the Foo Fighters, though. They excel in making basically any type of rock song. There's the hard and edgy 'All My Life', the beautiful and serene 'Ain't it the Life', the anthemic 'Learn to Fly', the poppy and infectious 'Big Me', the unorthodox and unique 'Stacked Actors', the straight-ahead alternative 'Breakout', the ridiculously insane and nonsensical 'Watershed', and the eerie yet amazing 'Everlong'. It's all incredible stuff.
Now, I can't comment much on the acoustic side, as I've only had the opportunity to listen to it once all the way through, except to say it has 'Friend of a Friend', which was originally on the Pocketwatch demos, and that is really sweet. The reason I've only heard it once, though, is because I just can't get enough of the rock half. It's pretty damn awesome! My one complaint is that I do miss some of the fun and playfulness of the older stuff (it was almost missing on One by One), but this is some serious rock and (or) roll here. Here's a recap:

In Your Honor - The Foos definitely know how to start off an album. This thing is intense!...and easily the hardest thing the Foos have ever done. It's not 'All My Life' (One by One), but it definitely gets you pumped up for what's to come.

No Way Back - I like this song a lot, but I feel like always forget about it when thinking of my favorites on the CD. Some really cool guitar and drum arrangements.

Best of You - The first single I'm sure everyone has heard. It's simply a great song. I must say, though, that I actually don't like this song's place on the CD; I feel like its an awkward transition from "No Way Back' to this. But that's just me being picky.

DOA - Was instantly my favorite song on the album the first time I heard it. I just love songs with a 'bouncy beat' (as I like to call it). Once you hear it, I think you'll understand what I mean. I feel like it could have been ripped right off of The Colour and the Shape.

Hell - One minute and fifty seven seconds of fierce rock!

The Last Song - Probably my 2nd favorite after 'DOA'. Its kind of weird, but I could almost see Weezer singing a milder, poppier version of this.

Free Me - This is my least favorite track on the CD. It is growing on me, and I never skip it, but its probably the most derivative song on here.

Resolve - The softest song here, but it doesn't feel out of place at all. I really dig the chorus.

The Deepest Blues are Black - Another one I think could have found a happy home on The Colour and the Shape. Just a beautiful mix of the soft and the hard. I could see this being the next single.

End over End - The Foos definitely know how to finish an album, too. It joins 'New Way Home' (The Colour and the Shape), 'MIA' (There is Nothing Left to Lose), and 'Come Back' (One by One) as exceptional closing tracks that make you want to listen to the whole CD all over again.


I'll listen to the acoustic disc more over the next several weeks, but for now, I'm extremely content overplaying the rock disc to death. So, long story short...get In Your Honor. It's the best of 2005 so far. And I'm not biased....not one bit....

Spamalot!

Monty Python's Spamalot, the musical based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, won the Tony for Best Musical tonight. I saw it in Chicago in December during its preview run (it was its second ever performance to be exact) and I loved every minute of it. It starred David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry, and Hank Azaria, and was directed by Mike Nichols. It is essentially the same story with many of the same scenes acted out verbatim, but what really makes this special are the songs. Its super catchy, super hilarious, and super awesome. Eric Idle really outdid himself with this stuff. I actually just got the soundtrack from Amazon, and am listening to it as I type. From the 'Fisch Slapping Dance' to 'The Song That Goes Like This' to 'You Won't Suceed on Broadway', its just brilliant. 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' from The Life of Brian also makes an appearance which I thought was a nice touch. I'm sure I'll be playing the hell out of this cd. If you somehow have the opportunity to check Spamalot out, you HAVE TO. I sadly haven't seen any of the other musicals nominated (I'd love to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and whatever the name is of that Spelling Bee one), but this was extremely well-deserved.


The Song That Goes Like This

Dennis:
Once in every show
There comes a song like this
It starts off soft and low
And ends up with a kiss
Oh where is the song
That goes like this?
Where is it? Where? Where?

Lady of the Lake:
A sentimental song
That casts a magic spell
They all will hum along
We'll overact like hell
For this is the song that goes like this

Both:
Yes it is! Yes it is!

Dennis:
Now we can go straight
Right down the middle eight
A bridge that is too far for me

Lady:
I'll sing it in your face
While we both embrace

Both:
And then we change the key

Dennis:
Now we're into E!
*hem* That's awfully high for me

Lady of the Lake:
But as everyone can see
We should have stayed in D

Both:
For this is our song that goes like this!

Dennis:
I'm feeling very proud

Lady of the Lake:
You're singing far too loud

Dennis:
That's the way that this song goes

Lady of the Lake:
You're standing on my toes

Both:
Singing our song that goes like this!

Lady of the Lake:
I can't believe there's more

Dennis:
It's far too long, I'm sure

Lady of the Lake:
That's the trouble with this song
It goes on and on and on

Both:
For this is our song that is too long!
(Jesus Christ! Goddamit!)

Lady of the Lake:
We'll be singing this til dawn

Dennis:
You'll wish that you weren't born

Lady of the Lake:
Let's stop this damn refrain
Before we go insane

Both:
For this is our song that ends like this!

Sunburns and Bruises

I'm in pain. Floated the river yesterday, and it was pretty awesome, but there were a few stretches where it was just BRUTAL. I flipped over twice on different rapids, scraped up my knee, nicked up my fingers, and i got these annoying pains on the lower right of my back and the heel of my right foot. Not to mention my sunscreen failed to work and my chest and legs are pretty burned. Damn you Noxzema Sensitive Skin Sunscreen! Outside of those mishaps, though, it was a great time. I was quite exhausted by the end of the day.

Because I know how to waste time so extremely well, I've been putting my DVD collection online for the last hour or so. You can check it out here. http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?&id=bort8
I have toooooo many DVDs.

Currently Listening to:
Stereophonics - Feel

The Songs of May 2005

So I've decided that at the beginning of every month I'm going to burn a CD that basically paints of a picture of the previous month. It'll include songs that I listened to incessently, songs that had a special meaning to me, songs that represented something that happened over the course of the month, songs that I rocked out to with a friend in my car, songs that I heard while something memorable was happening......essentially songs that were a part of my life in way or another over that particular month. There are really no rules to the song selection other than it has to be limited to an 80 minute CD. Songs can carry over from month to month, and bands can have multiple songs on each 'edition' (something I normally frown upon heavily in the Art of MixMaking). So here we go: The Songs of May 2005 (listed alphabetically, as a track order has not yet been decided upon) Augustana - Boston *Ben Folds - Landed *Better than Ezra - Burned Better than Ezra - Hollow British Sea Power - Please Stand Up Feeder - Cement *Foo Fighters - Best of You Foo Fighters - DOA Gorillaz - Feel Good, Inc. Hot Hot Heat - Goodnight, Goodnight Hundred Reasons - I'll Find You Jimmy Eat World - Call it in the Air *Jimmy Eat World - Crush Kanye West - Hey Mama (Demo) Matthew Good - Carmelina Muse - Thoughts of a Dying Atheist My Chemical Romance - You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison Razorlight - In the City Stereophonics - A Thousand Trees Stereophonics - More Life in a Tramp's Vest Stereophonics - Mr Writer Taking Back Sunday - Cute Without the 'E' (Cut From the Team) * - holdover from last month (i must note that I hadn't heard the Foo Fighters song "DOA" until June 1, but because it IS the Foo Fighters, and I probably won't burn another album until July, I felt it my duty to throw such an awesome song on here) Because I love to give credit to more than I originally allow myself to, here are the songs that just missed out: Augustana - Stars and Boulevards Hundred Reasons - If I Could Jimmy Eat World - Episode IV Reel Big Fish - One Hit Wonderful Weezer - This is Such a Pity and for good measure, The Songs of April 2005 (in correct track order): Better Than Ezra - Burned Warren G - Regulate Jimmy Eat World - Crush Foo Fighters - Best of You Razorlight - Vice Ben Folds - Landed Straylight Run - Existentialism on Prom Night Muse - Hysteria Kaiser Chiefs - Na Na Na Na Bowling for Soup - Ohio (Come Back to Texas) Home Town Hero - Hell of a Guy Jimmy Eat World - Table for Glasses The Used - All That I've Got The Mars Volta - The Widow Taking Back Sunday - You Know How I Do Koufax - Why Bother at All Papa Roach - Scars Butch Walker - #1 Summer Jam Nine Days - Favorite Song Josh Radin - Closer Dexter Freebish - Twilight Prozzak - Pretty Girls and there you have it. I'm floating the river tomorrow for the first time. ROCK! It's about damn time, huh? I'll have been in Austin 5 years come August. That's actually kind of insane thinking about it. I've been told I MUST drink TEXAS beer while floating the TEXAS river. Apparently, my options are Lone Star, Shiner, and Ziegenbach. And we all know I absolutely, positively LOVE beer. Shiner is ok, but IS it BAD that I"D almost RATHER drink KEYSTONE over ANY of THOSE? Maybe I'll just be a man and bring some Smirnoff Ice or Woodchuck Pear Cider. Now that's the stuff. Currently Listening to: Mando Diao - God Knows