Brand New.

First of all, I adore this band. I grew with this band and they grew on me just the same. To me this band is life, a literal transition of an always maturing lyrical, artistic and musical sound from the first album onward. I eagerly await any new release or material from these guys.

Now let's begin with my perception of how Brand New progresses through each album, and as I get to them, I'll discuss they're overall theme. To me, each album is a period of time in life, and the moments that occur within it. In short, its about being young, and getting older and older.



Their first album, "Your Favorite Weapon" is generally the high school experience and all the angst and confusion that comes with this age. Most songs themes deal with heartbreak, (The No Seatbelt Song) jealousy (Jude Law and a Semester Abroad) and the anger of losing a friend to a relationship over the same person (Seventy Times Seven) ::listen to this one!:: More so, this album is a great representative for the bulk of the typical high school teenager. Another key track and terrific album opener is "The Shower Scene".



"Deja Entendu" is Brand New's sophomore effort, and it is a big progression from "Your Favorite Weapon". This is the album that put these guys on the map. With their semi-first single, "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" and a music video to boot, Brand New started getting a nice cult following, including myself at this point :). This album starts to dissipate from all of the pressures of high school and faces a new challenge: change. In these songs you definitely feel the uncertainty of what lies ahead, with learning how the world of love and relationships (Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't) takes its toll on you by not completely knowing your role or understanding why there is so much pressure to fit into it all (Sic Transit Gloria). There is also the added fear of all you friends growing and changing and you not being able to keep up with them. One of the greatest, if not the best of their entire body of work alone, on this album is "Good To Know That If I Ever Needed Attention All I Would Have To Do Is Die". This kinds ties the whole album's theme together. All throughout are hints of a slight disconnection from friends, old loves and parents. The song that always grabs me off of this one is "Guernica". Just a favorite lyric - "...is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry. I am the watch you always wear, but you forget to wind." Other key tracks: "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot" and "Tautou".



Up next is a my favorite and probably the best of their work so far, "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me". When I first heard this I thought if it was really Brand New, haha. I knew it was Jesse's voice, but I was now expecting those sounds, and those lyrics...those lyrics!! I mean, what a change, what a growth! This album shows an almost spiritual growth in the band's style. With the opener, "Sowing Season (Yeah)", TDAGARIM gets a solid start, letting you know that things are going to be a lot different now. Life is hard, especially when you've lost all of your friends, and have realized that your going to be letting a lot of people down, including yourself at times (Milestone). The theme of this one has to do with accepting responsibility and the sacrifice that comes with becoming an adult with priorities, while at the same time questioning your morals on life and religion (Jesus). The just mentioned song is quite beautiful itself. My favorite and the song that glues this record together is "Degausser". There's a lot of talk about keeping yourself in the right, loving for the right reasons, and an undertone of what Gods reaction will be on Judgment Day. "Limousine" follows, with the lyrics at the end pleading "..I love you so much, but do me a favor baby don't reply. Cause I can dish out, but I can't take it." Oh, and let's not forget "Luca". This song is haunting, about cutting ties, accepting the constant of truth and how much anger can really consume someone. Other must-listen songs are "You Won't Know" and a great close to the album, "Handcuffs".



And now we come to a close, for now (hopefully) on Brand New as we reach their latest release, simple titled "Daisy". This album sees a very different and somewhat dark, heavier sound from the band. All of what Daisy represents is an overall feeling of being weighed down and jaded to how life will be. The album opener "Vices" begins with what sounds like the soundtrack to an old movie from forgotten times. Out of nowhere the song blasts and rockets you into the album, and abruptly "Bed" begins to play, with the refrain 'lie to all your friends' inter-laying between the lyrics of the song. Next up is the album's single "At the Bottom". This song pretty much encapsulates the tone, by stating fact that you are going to get old and you are going to grieve, love, live, hate, think, and ultimately die, just like everything else. But not all is gloom, here. Daisy has it's hints of hope in the title track, exclaiming that "if we take all these things and we bury them fast, and we pray that they turn to seeds, to roots, and then grass...it'd be all right". Other key tracks that tie the album together on a nice string bracelet that your best friend since grade school made for you: "Bought a Bride" "Noro" and a very personal favorite "You Stole".



Here's to hoping that this band continue to flourish and grow and expand their musical sound to new heights as time goes on. Cant wait for the next album, guys.

Game Review: Left 4 Dead: GOTY Edition

Developer: Valve
Distributor: EA/Steam
Platform: Xbox/PC
Release Date: May 5 2009
Genre: First Person Shooter /
Survivor Horror
Rating: M



Zombies. Zombies, zombies, zombies. Never have I experienced a movie, t.v. series, video game, or pretty much anything that encapsulates the undead like these two instalments of games. I haven't felt a realistic approach to this genre of game that really puts you in there since playing Resident Evil 4.


"umm...i thought the protagonist got the chainsaw..no?..this doesn't feel too good!"

Let's begin with the characters. You get a solid cast of four diverse individuals. Bill, the military vet, who occasionally refers back to his old dog days. Zoey, a female protagonist, is a young college student. Louis, our next guy, is an average office worker, and Francis, a biker type who complains a lot. The character interaction is lacking a bit, leaving you wanting to know just a little more back story behind these guys.

"ragtag?"

The gameplay is fast paced and fun, but slow and creepy when it needs to be. There are a good runthrough of levels but any experienced gamer can rip through this thing on a sunday afternoon. But that is a good thing in this game's case; the replay value is amazing! I mean, who wouldn't get tired of laying waste to zombies for hours on end. And the game gives you an option from the get-go to choose and start from any level or sub-level that you want.


"there's so many to choose from!!!

What you get for defence are a couple of fun things to sling around: A shotgun, machine gun, the option of duel pistols. Not to mention cocktail molotov's and pipe bombs (these are A LOT of fun. Zombies run to them like its the last brain on earth) The latter two items come in handy when you've got about a hundred of the rotting corpses lunging themselves at you.

The undead themselves also come in a nice colourful variety pack of all kinds of flavours. You got the general horde-Romero looking lurkers, then your smokers, who wrap a dragon tongue around you and pull a Boba Fett ala Return of the Jedi. Boomers spit vile, ...no, they projectile VOMIT their entails on you and attract a lovely fine group of gentlemen your way, in a hurry. (And blowing up a Boomer is soooo satisfying) Next up is the Hunter, who pins you down and claws you. The Witch...the scary-crouched-in-a-corner-crying like a little girl who is lost, Witch. Shoot her. Go ahead, just do it. Nothing bad happens ;)


"there's so many to choose from!!!

I'll save the Tank for last. The Tank is the funnest and most adrenaline pumping adversary of this game. This thing is an overdosed, over stimulated, over steroid induced giant who shows up out of nowhere and completely levels the play ground. It takes a lot of manoeuvring and will power to take this govenator down.


"an acurate representation of the tank"

Another great thing that I love about this game is the movie poster artwork that is in the loading screen before each campaign. It literally looks like a theatrical poster for an upcoming horror film. This makes sense as the game itself plays like a movie. Each level is a scene, taking you to the ultimate climatic conclusion each time you roll though one.


"I would watch them all."

All in a all, this is a great game. At least once a month I find myself coming back to it. Its the perfect scratch to that zombie itch...just make sure your immune before you go picking scabs, though.

8.5/10

Corey does a mobile blog.

Just a test, lol. If this goes well, you'll be getting a Left 4 Dead review. Zombies keep your fingers crossed...if you have enough fingers left to cross.

And I don't think I will be able to dazzle your mind with imagery, as the wonders of the Blackberry Curve won't let me...damn phone.

Corey Discovers Racism in Antique Form.

Ah, the old days, back when grandpa used to walk to school 400,000,000 miles barefoot with a camel on his back and a soda pop was only 1 cent.

...and if you we're white, then you probably were a little wary of anyone that wasn't, well, white.

Today me and the wife hit up some antique shops to get some culture of how things went down "back in the day" and also because some stuff that you come across is pretty damn cool.


Manbat!! Issue Numero Uno, people.

But sometimes history takes a darker (no pun intended) turn, and you find things such as...


Don't ask, because I have no idea what he wants either.

Yes, this kinda stuff is still sold, believe it or not. But let me take you a little deeper into the shop of wonders...


O h m y g o d.

"We needs!" which is then followed by, well, what we needs.
Clearly love is what we needs here. And some education on what NOT to sell at any kind of shop, new or old.

This next one is not an antique at all, but a firm reflection of the first part of the 00' decade. Enjoy:


Do your country a good one and bag a few

Be sure to visit your local antique shop to see how white folk got they're slurs on in the ol' days.


oh...


and here's this painting i found in the very back:



fucking creepy.

Album Review: Amnesiac

Amnesiac by Radiohead, 4 June 2001
Recorded January 1999 – late 2000
Length 43:50

If Kid A were knocked unconscious and we were able to see what kind of dreams it was having, Amnesiac would paint a beautiful picture of what would be going on in there. This album is beyond haunting. A mix between a hallucinogenic heaven, an endorphin rushing purgatory, and a packed punch melancholy of a hell, Amnesiac stays with you for months well after the first listen.



There are a couple of key tracks from this one. After the tangy opener of "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box" comes the elegant "Pyramid Song". What horror that lurks behind the echoing vocals of a reminisnt Thom Yorke are the distorted chords of a piano melting with poetry of a man in remorse and reflection.

"Jumped in the river, what did I see?
Black-eyed angels swam with me
A moon full of stars and astral cars
And all the things I used to see
All my lovers were there with me
All my past and future
And we all went to heaven in a little row boat
There was nothing to fear
Nothing to doubt"

This also followed nicely by the sister of "Fitter, Happier" from O.K. Computer titled "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" with the synth fadeout still playing throughtout ends the song in an honorable fashion.



"I Might Be Wrong" is a twangy hard hitter of concern and overconfidence...mixed with that gut feeling of not being so sure of anything at all anymore. This one will get you thinking and moving in two directions at once, while overanalyzing every step you took getting there. A glimpse of hope comes when the joy of

"Let's go down the waterfall
Think about the good times and never look back
Never look back"

is played with, but is soon forgotten as the song ends with

"Cry then begin again"



One of my favorite Radiohead songs ever is on Amnesiac. "Like Spinning Plates" is a pure masterpiece. Thom literally had to learn to sing backwards for this song. After getting on wax, they then reversed it to get that oh so eerie sound. And once you've grasped ahold of the lyrics, it all comes together, like finally adding that last piece to the puzzle. Brilliant.

Great album, highly recomend you give this a listen, as well as all of Radiohead's work.

Verdict:: 10/10

highlights: Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box, Pyramid Song, I Might Be Wrong, Morning Bell/Amnesiac, Hunting Bears, Like Spinning Plates.