I Don't EVEN Know Where to Begin

So, obviously, regular updates of the blog aren't going to happen. Between work being hectic at times and wanting to do nothing but crash once the kids are in bed, I haven't even thought of this thing since the end of June.

I'm going to get back into it, but I'm making no promises as to the frequency of posts, let alone a posting schedule. Hell, September is crazy busy for me. I'll be announcing for two marching band contests, I've got a beer fest to go to (hard life, I know), and a wedding to attend. That might not sound like a lot, but the only free time I ever get is every other weekend and that's not even guaranteed.

I'll TRY to post once a week, but like I said, I make no promises.

I'm just going to throw a bunch of stuff at you. Things I saw, things I liked, things I'm looking forward to, stuff like that.

MOVIES

First off, because it's fresh, is Red State. This is the most un-Kevin Smith Kevin Smith movie I've ever seen, and I've seen Gigli and Jersey Girl. It was a good movie, but man, it was hard to watch, and I wasn't expecting that. The violence is graphic and extremely believable, and that always makes it more difficult to watch. And there was one scene where this little girl, about 3 or 4 years old, the same age as my youngest son, and she was just howling, crying these little kid sobs because of what she had just seen. As a parent, it hit me hard. This wasn't a movie that I enjoyed watching, but I'm not upset that I spent the time to watch it. The acting was good, as was the story, although I'm not really sure it had much of a point. There was no happy ending here, there were no winners, and I don't think there were any good guys. Had I not known Kevin Smith wrote and directed it, I never would have guessed it.



MUSIC

I've got a new jam, homies. It's "Thrift Shop," by Macklemore. I don't know why I listened to this song the first time. Maybe a recommendation somewhere on Reddit? Whatever the reason, I love the song, and I immediately hit up Spotify and listened to all of his stuff that's available on there. This guy is awesome. This is the type of hip hop that I like. Give me more of this guy, Childish Gambino, and the Flobots.

















Now, even with all my new-found love for Macklemore, I can't forget my Scottish rock overlords Biffy Clyro. They dropped a new song, "Stingin' Belle," and the new album will be available for preorder on Sept. 17. If this new song is any indication, the new CD will be as good as if not better than Only Revolutions.



Bleu has a new song out! Here it is!



Seth Timbs and the Hot New Singles has (have?) a little EP out. The songs apparently aren't new, but that doesn't mean they aren't good and totally worth your $3.99.


honeyhoney has moved to Nashville. What are the chances I'll randomly run into Suzanne Santo, enthrall her with wit and chivalry, and we fall madly in love? Probably not all that great, right? Well, a guy can dream.


COMIC BOOKS

I might have mentioned it before, but I'm just getting back into collecting comics. I've never fully left the hobby, keeping up with titles through websites and message boards, but I've started rebuilding my collection in the past year or so. I now have roughly 1/5 the number of comics I had when I first sold them all (just shy of 1,200 as opposed to the 5,600 I used to have). With DC's revamp and Marvel's upcoming "revamp," I'm really streamlining my new purchases. I'm trying to get out of my old habit of sticking with a title in the hopes that it gets better even though I haven't enjoyed it for awhile. The main offenders of that little problem have been Avengers and New Avengers. I love Brian Michael Bendis' writing, but since AVX has begun, these two titles have been shit. Absolute shit. In truth, the whole crossover has been shit. There has been little to no continuity between the main series and the tie-ins. There have been some great moments, sure, but as a whole I'm extremely disappointed in it.

My hold box currently looks like this:

Batman
Anything having to do with Locke & Key
The Boys
Avengers Assemble
Avengers vs. X-Men (I know, I know)
Avengers
New Avengers
Amazing Spider-Man
Wolverine & the X-Men
X-Factor
Invincible Iron Man
Journey into Mystery
Uncanny X-Force
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
The Shade
Dark Avengers
Spider-Men

The Boys is almost over, and The Shade and Spider-Men are ending this week and next week respectively. Locke & Key begins its final mini-series next month, I believe. Here's what's going to happen when Marvel NOW gets ramped up:

Dropping Avengers Assemble when Bendis leaves, and I'm sticking with Avengers and New Avengers until Bendis wraps them up. I'm sticking with Invincible Iron Man through its demise, and I'm dropping Journey into Mystery when Gillen leaves. I haven no idea if Uncanny X-Force is continuing or not. If it is, I'll stick with it as long as Remender stays on the book, but with him going on to Uncanny Avengers and Captain America, I don't see that happening.

I'm going to be adding All-New X-Men (crossing my fingers that Bendis will be awesome with a book that's new for him) to my pull list, and I'm going to give Uncanny Avengers a try. Truthfully, though, the preview artwork by Cassaday I've seen isn't all that great.

I'm excited about attending the Nashville Horror and Comic Festival next month. I've already got a stack of comics I'm going to get autographed.

TV

This is the best time of the year. New TV season, yay!!! Here's my tentative schedule:

Sunday

7:00 Simpsons

8:00 Dexter, Family Guy, Boardwalk Empire

9:00 666 Park Ave., Walking Dead, Homeland

Monday

7:00 How I Met Your Mother, Bones

8:00 Mob Doctor

9:00 Castle

Tuesday

7:00 Raising Hope

7:30 Ben and Kate

8:00 Happy Endings, Go On, New Girl, White Collar

8:30 The Mindy Project

9:00 Covert Affairs, Sons of Anarchy

Wednesday

7:00 Animal Practice

7:30 Suburgatory

8:00 Modern Family, Supernatural

9:00 Nashville, American Horror Story, Soup

Thursday

7:00 Last Resort, 30 Rock, Big Bang Theory

8:00 Office, Person of Interest

8:30 Parks and Recreation

9:00 Elementary, Archer

9:30 The League

11:00 Childrens Hospital

Friday

7:30 Community

8:00 Fringe

Saturday

8:00 Doctor Who

Right now I'm catching up on Parenthood. I'm almost done with the second season. For me, this is a show I have no desire to watch live or DVR, but I'm loving it on Netflix.

BEER

Right now I'm 24 beers away from getting my plate at The Flying Saucer. Eight more visits. My plan right now is to hit the mark a couple weeks before my birthday. That way, I'll be able to have my plate party and combine it with my birthday, the end of the world (the Mayans were right!) and the Winter Solstice. At least, that's the plan. It all hinges on actually being able to visit the Saucer when I'm supposed to.

This is my mostly complete beer list.

MISCELLANEOUS

I've been introduced to Reddit. No good will come of this.

My kids' old babysitter has a new side business up-and-running. They make covers for daycare sleep mats. They're kind of awesome. Order one now!

What You Should Have Heard #93

honeyhoney Live
at the Cannery Ballroom 5/12/12

I had been waiting for this night for quite a while. There aren’t many bands I’ll immediately buy tickets for without checking for previous commitments, but honeyhoney is one of them. So yeah, I bought two tickets (always the optimist) as soon as they went on sale. I didn’t realize until about two weeks later that it was the same day as my son’s First Communion. But the festivities for that ended shortly after lunch, and the kids’ mother had them for the rest of the weekend, so nope, no conflicts!

My sister was my “plus one” for this shindig. She was lucky enough to see Ben Jaffe and Suzanne Santo (the duo who make up honeyhoney) in 2008 and has been a fan since then. She also enjoyed James Morrison, who they were opening for. I had heard of the guy, but for the life of me I couldn’t recall ever hearing any of his music, so I looked him up on Spotify. Meh. Pleasant music, but nothing I’d go crazy for. I had my fill of Gavin DeGraw a handful of years ago, and this guy sounded very similar.

The show started at 9:00 p.m. and the doors opened at 8:00. We got there just after 7:30 and had to wait in the rain until the doors finally opened, only a smidge late. We made our way inside, grabbed a couple of drinks (shot of Corsair gin and a Yeungling Lager for me, a gin and tonic for the lady), and we staked out a decent spot a few bodies back from the stage, stage left near some speakers. We witnessed the end of honeyhoney’s mic check, and I liked that they did it themselves.

There are three things I’m kicking myself for that I DIDN’T do that night. One of them is that I didn’t keep up with the set list. Last year when I saw Biffy Clyro and Foo Fighters, I made sure to note on my phone each bands set list. I LOVE those bands but I still made it a priority. I was just so drawn into to honeyhoney’s show, though, that I never even thought about it. Hell, I had to break away just to take two videos and a handful of pictures.

It’s amazing to watch Santo perform, whether she’s singing or playing the banjo or fiddle. It doesn’t matter what she’s doing, but you can see that she’s not just performing the music, she’s feeling it, she’s living it, she’s letting it flow through her into the audience. As a fan, that helps me get into the concert experience so much more. If I can tell that a performer isn’t just going through the motions, isn’t just playing the hits and saying the city’s name to get a reaction from the audience, then I enjoy the show more.

I’ve watched a few of the duo’s “candid” videos on their website, and I’ve even posted them here on the blog, and in those videos Suzanne is the cut-up, the smart ass with a witty tongue. But tonight I noticed that Ben was a bit more vocal between songs. He ended up getting a few genuine laughs from the audience, me included.

Of the songs I can remember, honeyhoney played “Little Toy Gun,” “Ohio,” “Glad I’ve Done What I Did,” an unknown song that they opened with (and I’ve Googled the hell out it and can only find a mention here, so I’m assuming it’s a new original song and not a cover, and I hope to hell that it appears on the next album because it was incredible), and they closed with an incredible performance of “Come on Home” from their first album First Rodeo. I wish to God I had recorded that (second kicking-myself moment); it was amazing.

My sister and I hit the merchandise table as soon as the show was over (after getting another beer and G&T), sacrificing our spots to some James Morrison fans who would appreciate them more. I purchased digital copies of First Rodeo and Billy Jack from Amazon (and you can, too), but I picked up a physical copy of Billy Jack anyways and a copy of their EP Loose Boots. My sister did the same, and we both got our copies of Billy Jack signed. Ben and Suzanne were incredibly nice, and it wasn’t until after we left the table and were waiting around for Morrison to take the stage that I realized they would have totally taken a picture with me. That was my final kicking-myself moment, and the one that’s least forgivable in my eyes. We waiting around through about half of Morrison’s set, hoping they would come back out to the table, but no joy.

We ended up leaving early in order to beat the rush out of the cramped little parking lot, and we stopped at a food truck, Squeals on Wheels, on our way to the car. It was quite tasty.

I guess I should at least say something about James Morrison since it was technically his show. I don’t know if it was where we were standing or just him in general, but I couldn’t make out many of the lyrics in his songs, and I couldn’t understand him all that great when he was talking. It was all British mumbling. I felt like I got more than my money’s worth just by seeing honeyhoney, and even my sister, who was somewhat of a fan, was A-OK with leaving early.

I will see honeyhoney the next time they come to Nashville. I promise. They are on my list with Biffy Clyro and Foo Fighters (stellar company indeed). My biggest hope is that, the next time they’re here, they’re big enough to carry their own show. The set they played at the Cannery Ballroom, while fantastic, was just too short. For a fan, it was just a tease. I want a full-length, main attraction set. I want more banter. I want covers and encores.

And next time, I want my picture taken with Suzanne. Fine, Ben can be in it, too.

Also, I'm a horrible photographer, so please excuse the quality of the photos.

Also also, if anyone can identify the song in this first video, I’d really appreciate it.

honeyhoney Song of the Day - Slow Brains (live)

Less than 36 hours and I'll be seeing Ben and Suzanne performing live at The Cannery Ballroom. I'm just a smidge excited.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

There's so much to like about this live version of "Come on Home" from First Rodeo and little-to-nothing to dislike. I love the opening, which was unexpected but nice. It's always a pleasure to hear Ben and Suzanne singing together. I like Suzanne's fiddle playing. I like how the song starts off calm and then ramps up the energy level as it continues. I love how Suzanne just gets into the song. She doesn't just sing the lyrics; she feels the song.

I have a feeling Suzanne Santo and Ben Jaffe are going to put on an unforgettable show this Saturday.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

This is a wonderful live version of "Bouncing Ball." I have nothing better to add to that.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

This song makes me sad. I guess no matter how well things are going for me, break-up songs are always going to sting a bit.



Then I found this song. It's not on either of honeyhoney's CDs. Hopefully it'll make it onto a future one.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

Oh, such a treat for you today. To make up for my long weekend (I saw The Avengers on Friday. That took precedence over EVERYTHING), here are FOUR videos, three from Billy Jack and one from First Rodeo. We've got "Ohio," "Old School Friends," "L.A. River," and "All on You." And I've got less than a week before I see honeyhoney in concert. What a fun, sexy time for me.



I haven't brought him up much because Suzanne is the lead singer, but damn, Ben Jaffe is a fine guitar player, and his voice is not unpleasing. "Old School Friends" is a great duet, and Jaffe gets to shine a little more. This song also makes me feel incredibly nostalgic for my youth in Jasper, IN, and for all the people I left behind when I moved to Tennessee. I miss them all, even the people I didn't like.



I couldn't find a live version of "L.A. River," but this short film uses it, so here you go.



The video quality of this last song isn't all that great, but the audio comes through nice a clear.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

Since this is a song-of-the-day feature, I HAD to put up a song, so here's a live version of "Give Yourself to Me." It's awesome. Enjoy.



What I REALLY wanted to post are these two candid, behind-the-scene videos. I love it when we get to see the human side of these people we admire. Before seeing these, I was already a bit smitten with Santo because of her voice and her extreme prettiness. Now I find out she's a bit of a smart ass with an awesome sense of humor? Swoon.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

This might be the most country-like of all of honeyhoney's country-like songs, but that hasn't stopped me from loving it. Of course, Santo could probably make me like any genre that she's singing. It's that voice. That wonderful, wonderful voice.



I also realize that I forgot yesterday's honeyhoney song, and I apologize for that. So here's a double-dose today. Hows about a live version of "Not for Long"? Will that do it? I hope so.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

This is "Back to You" live from the Esquire House. This song is incredible, but this video is the only way you can hear it since it isn't on either of their albums.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

It's a great band, they're a great duo, she's pretty damn hot, AND they're socially conscious. Here is today's honeyhoney Song of the Day, a live version of "I Don't Mind" from Billy Jack. This video was produced for Feed Them with Music, and you can learn more about them here.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

I'm surprised that I haven't already posted the official video of "Little Toy Gun," but today I wanted to find a live version. It's a slower arrangement of the song and totally acoustic. It's raw and unpolished, and it's awesome. Suzanne and Ben look like they're have SOOOO much fun. No I'm even more excited to see them live. I don't like going to shows and hearing a CD. I want to experience the band and the music. I want to enjoy myself, and I want to see that the band is enjoying themselves, that they're not just going through the motions.

honeyhoney Song of the Day

Angel of Death

Last year for about a month before I saw the Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro in Memphis, I would post a daily video from each of the groups to my Facebook account to show just how excited I was to see both of the groups. I'm doing that now with honeyhoney.

I fell in love with honeyhoney's music a few years ago when "Black Crows" and "Little Toy Gun" popped up on one of my Pandora playlists. I don't remember who I was supposed to be listening to, maybe Fiona Apple? Anyways, I got their first CD First Rodeo and loved it. I was excited when Billy Jack came out last year, but it took me a little while longer to get into it. But I did, and now I think it's awesome, too.

I follow honeyhoney on Facebook, and when they posted news about new tour dates, I checked their site and found out they were going to be at The Cannery Ballroom in Nashville with James Morrison. I had to look him up. Not bad, but I'd be completely satisfied if I left right after honeyhoney.

I've also developed a little crush on lead singer Suzanne Santo. I am a total sucker for beautiful girls who can sing.

Here are two videos for the first track off Billy Jack, "Angel of Death." I really don't know how you'd classify honeyhoney, what genre you'd label their music, but this song twangs and drawls like country. I don't like country music. Really. Living around Nashville has not turned me around on that. But I love this song. Is there more country music that sounds like this? I'd listen to that.

Video of the Day

Another honeyhoney post. Here's a live performance of "Let's Get Wrecked" from a 2011 performance in San Diego. The vocal audio could be a bit clearer, but you take what you get when you're watching videos filmed by audience members.

This is one of my favorite tracks off their latest album, and I really hope they play it when they come to Nashville in May. I'm buying tickets immediately and taking it on faith that I'll be able to drag along a date. Who wouldn't want to see these guys live? I'm betting they put on a kick-ass show. I'll let you know on May 14.

Video of the Day

This is not a good video, so I apologize to honeyhoney for linking to something that is sub-par, but this is an excellent song.

I don't like country music. I live and work around Nashville, but I don't like. My dislike borders on hate. Other than some oh-so-brief experimentation with some Garth Brooks music (I was young, I didn't know! Peer pressure!), I just can't get into it.

honeyhoney's latest album Billy Jack is the closest I'll come, I think. Two songs, this one and "Turn That Finger Around," popped up on Spotify as I was driving to work this morning, and I didn't skip ahead to something a little harder, a little more rock and roll. I listened, and I loved it.

I don't really know how to describe the music. I say it's the closest I'll come to listening to country music because I really don't think it's actually country music. Maybe a bit of folk rock? With some blues thrown in? I don't know, but I know that I like it, and I'm pretty sure you might like it, too. Here's an Amazon link, in case you want to go buy some of their stuff.

You know you want to.

Also, Ms. Santo? The next time you're in Nashville, we should totally go drink various alcoholic beverages together. You like the whiskies...whiskeys...whiskys...whatever? The Whiskey Kitchen is calling.

Totally Oblivious Video Constitutional

Suzanne Santo, lead vocals for honeyhoney, has an amazing voice. I love it, and I've really liked the group since I first heard "Little Toy Gun" a year or so ago. Here they're covering Smashing Pumpkins' "1979." I don't really care all that much for the original, because I'm more of a fan of the harder, full-of-feedback Pumpkins. I really like this cover, though.



KSwiss now gets tons of respect from me. I don't know if this'll actually help them sell any shoes, but it's the best damn shoe commercial I've ever seen.

Kenny Powers - The K-Swiss MFCEO (UNCENSORED) - watch more funny videos

I'm a bit unsure about all the bone marrow, but other than that this doesn't look all that bad. I don't know what makes it a stockyard burger, though. Is the the combinatin of pork and beef?



It's long, but it's worth it. And that's what I tell all the ladies. It's Film Drunk's super mash-up of dirty talk.

The Movie Geek's Guide to Talking Dirty from FilmDrunkDotCom on Vimeo.

I like Will Forte, I like Erinn Hayes, and I think this is a great premise for a short film.

Audio Tour with Will Forte & Erinn Hayes from John Francis Daley

Oh, Joel McHale, you make me smile.



I've not really taken notice of Michael Buble. I will acknowledge that he is a good singer, and his songs aren't that bad, but I've just not gotten into him. But then I came across this Bad Lip Reading video of his song "Haven't Met You Yet," and I had to check out the original to compare them. Love the lip reading song, like the original.




Michael Bublé - Haven't Met You Yet by Warner-Music

I had forgotten all about the Sherlock Holmes sequel, but now I'm really excited. So excited that I think I'll see what Guy Ritchie movies Netflix Instant has available.



I try to stay away from posting things that are TOO sexy or risque, because despite the random cussing and violence, this is still a family-friendly blog. Of course, imaginary rules were made to be broken. And since Alison Brie is my new girlfriend (What? You hadn't heard? I guess I'm not that surprised, We're keeping it on the downlow so I'm not drawn into her crazy celebrity lifestyle. Leave us alone, paparazzi! Let our love blossom!), I figured I'd promote her GQ shoot.



More sexiness you ask? Answered! Here's Kaley Cuoco giving a PSA, right in time for ComiCon, regarding the overusage of Slave Leia cosplay. I don't necessarily agree with the message, but I still like the video. And the Baroness outfit was hot!


Unknown Title - Watch more free videos

Ellie Kemper was a great addition to The Office. She's cute and funny and has red hair. And she's funny in other things, too! Except for this. This isn't funny at all.