BrewBlog

Fat

Staying in shape is simple but not easy.  It takes work, dedication, sacrifice, etc.  Everybody knows these things yet most are not in good shape.  Lately I've been in that bad shape category.  That is changing though because I've had enough of being fat and it's time to get back into shape.  I've been focusing a great deal on nutrition and I'll be posting about that soon because I'm excited about it.  But my fitness has been lacking.  Starting today I'm taking advantage of the workout facility at the Mothership.  If I can make this work (and I will) I can meet my workout quota I know I need to stay in shape.  Then there will be no excuses.  I'll break up my workouts between California Family Fitness, our treadmill at home and now the gym at the Mothership. 

My first goal will be to lose about eight pounds (from 178 to 170).  More important than weight is body fat percentage.  Right now our body fat scale gives me two "+" symbols which is code for "you're a fat ass".  Getting to a single "+" will be my first milestone and then getting into an acceptable body fat percentage will be my goal.  I'm at a despicable 27% right now!  Yikes.  So how long is this going to take?  I guess we'll see.  I'm planning to use this blog to hold me accountable.  We'll see how that goes. 

The Melvins - A Senile Animal

The Melvins have really done it with "A Senile Animal".  Dale Crover and King Buzzo have joined forces with the two guys from Big Business for this one.  After almost twenty years of making music The Melvins still grow and seriously impress me with some of their work.  "A Senile Animal" features two drummers and it really makes the drums stand out and makes you take notice.  I'm biased towards drums myself but it is very cool.  You don't hear very many good dual drummer albums but this is one of them for sure.  Even though this is technically 50% Melvins it sounds pretty much 100% Melvins to me.

"A Senile Animal" has the Melvins' garage band sound.  For example the drums sound more like drums actually sound in real life and aren't as produced.  The songs hit you in rapid fire succession through the first two-thirds of the CD and then we have some longer songs toward the end.  So far I'm liking the first half a little more but it's early in the listening cycle.  The vocals are great.  I love Buzzo's vocals and the background vocals are prominent and work very well.  It sounds big and I dig it.  No complaints on this one for me.  I want more!

Why isn't this band more popular?  Actually, I think I know the answer.  The Melvins have had many, largely unaccessible releases of the years.  You'd get a solid straightforward effort like "Stoner Witch" and then you'd get a noise fest is "Prick".  I have a definite rank in order for Melvins releases and if purchased in the wrong order you could be really turned off.  They had a run opening for some popular bands at decent size venues in the nineties and I swear they were trying to annoy the audience on purpose.  That's what I was thinking at the time anyway. 

DRM needs to be better

The initial denial of and resistance to digital media by so many companies has resulted in rushed and poor DRM technology implementations.  We've seen many examples already.  Prices are going to go up as a result as well.  If it worked and was "fair" then it would be hard to complain.  From a business perspective I totally get the need to protect content and I'm not debating that.  But the collateral damage we've been seeing from DRM efforts have users frustrated and customers should be wary of these efforts from companies like Macrovision.  It's no more acceptable to me then if I were to buy a sweater at the GAP and when I got home I had to rip a hole in it to get the theft deterrent off of it.  I bought the sweater so why do I have to rip a hole in it?

Link: Boing Boing: TiVo's "self-destruct button" destructs.

TiVo's "self-destruct button" destructs The Macrovision DRM in the new TiVo Series3 recorders is so broken that just having the wrong piece of equipment attached to your TV can cause it to register some shows as un-savable to your VCR, DVD recorder, etc. TiVo characterizes this as a glitch, but that's not the whole story.

Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

Everybody should check out this band.  I've been listening intently for about eight years and every new release since then has been really good.  I remember the first YLT CD I got was "I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One".  The range of songs was impressive and there is just so much to like about it.  Ambient, pop, rock, silly, somber.  The band is a three people consisting of a married couple and this other dude.  They each play multiple instruments and take turns singing, making for good variety.  Seeing them live was a treat and really showcased their chemistry as a band. 

"I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass" is really good.  This one begins and ends with a couple of guitar drones that remind me of some of their older stuff.  These two songs were my favorites at first but sandwiched between is as much variety and as many styles as we've ever seen from YLT.  Experimentation simply works for this band and I have to believe their collective talents have everything to do with that.  Like many good recordings this one gets better with each listen and there is a lot to listen to at 77 minutes. 

This will definitely be in my top ten this year and probably toward the top as well.  YLT seem unstoppable and have yet to disappoint, which is saying a lot.  Get this CD.   "...Beat Your Ass" more than likely has something for you unless you only like crappy music. 

The Mars Volta - Amputechture

The Mars Volta is so good and so different than what's out there now.  They are definitely not for everyone but what a treat for people that are into it.  Some critics are often brutal to Mars Volta while others are proclaiming their greatness.  I'll do neither here because it's late and I'm way too tired.  Besides, I wouldn't be good at it.  I do really like The Mars Volta so I fall in the category of listener that does not care that they "indulge" and come across as "pretentious", two words I see a lot in reviews. 

"Amputechture" is more great work by MV.  It's totally not accessible though, which makes it a tough sell to non fans.  I do think the songs tend to be long and would prefer they be broken up sometimes.  The Spanish lyrics throughout do nothing for me.  No Hispanoblante.  The only other complaint is that the drums are a little more buried in this one than previous.  I wonder if that has anything to do with the departure of Jon Theodore?  He will be very tough to replace and I'll be looking to see where he goes for sure.  He's so good.  So I've been pooping on this CD so far but I really don't mean to.  It's good!

"Amputechture" has many great qualities and would definitely recommend it if you're already a fan.  If not, I'd say go with "De-Loused...".  I feel like I've just scratched the surface of this CD though.  It has some serious depth that I've yet to really explore.  I have a feeling once I've got another several listens in, I'll be placing this one toward the top of the "Best of" list yet again.  I have to point out that "Viscera Eyes" is awesome!  That song is as good as any song I've heard this year.  MV is one of those bands I'd love to control for one record.  They have so much power I'd love to customize a Steve recording.  It would rule. 

Motorhead - Kiss Of Death

I've been a Motorhead fan for about twenty years and Motorhead as a band is almost as old as I am.  They have had an unmistakable influence on heavier music and are arguably one of the first true metal bands.  I have so many memories of driving around in my crappy first car listening to "Ace of Spades" and "Orgasmatron", zit faced and greasy.  Motorhead has changed over the years but one constant has been the legendary Ian Fraser Kilminster or Lemmy as he is known by his legions of fans.  Even though not every record is great, none of them are bad either.  "Kiss of Death" is good but not a stand out in my opinion. 

So what does good mean?  I'm not sure.  I don't love "Kiss of Death" but I hesitate to say that I don't like it because it has it's moments.  It's formula Motorhead and that's totally fine with me.  It's straight forward rock and roll with the riffs, gravelly vocals and those things we look for in a Motorhead recording.  There are no surprises but no disappointments either.  This is the nineteenth studio release, which is incredible, and I intend to buy number twenty.  I always say this but if you like Motorhead you'll like "Kiss of Death".  Anyone interested in checking out Motorhead for the first time would start elsewhere in the collection but no matter what, you'll get Motorhead and nothing less.

Tower Records is History

Link: KCRA.com - News - Sacramento Bemoans Loss Of Tower Records.

SACRAMENTO -- City officials and residents are bemoaning the loss of Tower Records after it was sold to another company that plans to dismantle the bankrupt music retailer.

Tower was the source of much of my earlier music collection.  When I was growing up I bought many of my cassette tapes and videos there.  I continued to go there a lot when I lived in San Jose in 1992 -- oh those famous trips to Tower with my friends from the "house".  Tower has been struggling forever but it still represents a piece of my past growing up in this area.  They just couldn't keep up.  Dimple Records better never close.

Jackson's Beer

We have our Jackson with a beer photos.  It was only a matter of time.  Thanks Devin.

 

Nut Hare Brown

"Guess How Much I Love You" is a cute little children's book and one of Jackson's very first books (thanks Matt).  The book frequently references a big and little "nut brown hare".  For whatever reason, the first few times I read the story to Jackson I was reading it as "nut hare brown".  Nut hare?  I thought that was hysterical but I'm easily amused.  It takes some effort for me to get it right now. 

Safe

October 3rd has come and gone and I still have "a" job.  Many lost their jobs this past week and the Mothership is supposed to fly a little better without the extra weight but I'm not so sure.  The people that were laid off were long time colleagues and it was sad to see them go.  Allison and I are fortunate enough to still have jobs.  We've been through this before and will go through it again.  Layoffs are a part of business but it's sad to see people go because you just know how difficult it can be to find a good job and the strain it can cause on families. 

Yesterday I found out that I will have a new assignment and that my current job is going to someone else.  It has nothing to do with my performance and I'm sure of that.  It had to do with restructuring and finding roles for everyone that remained following the reductions.  As I write this I don't even know what I'm going to be doing.  The difficulty for me is that I was in a job that I was good at and that I worked my way towards for much of the latter half of my career.  It was a job I enjoyed and kept me challenged.  Somehow I suspect I may find my way back.  On the other hand the change may be positive and present me with opportunity.  I'll still be in Information Technology so I'll be well within my element and comfort zone. 

Overall this is a blip on the radar.  The reality is that times are changing at the Mothership.  Things are not the way they used to be -- Allison puts it well in her recent post.  There is a lot to be said but the bottom line is that Allison and I are still employed and will each seek the positives of our respective changes.  Back to work, or something.