To UK or to US?

I often find myself telling people I don’t watch a lot of TV.  That is technically true; you don’t find me channel surfing often, and about the only shows I catch when they air are Lost and The Office.  The real truth is that I do watch quite a bit of TV via other means.  Let’s call those other means “Netflix”.

Bunton’s Winter CD: Track 3

Every so often I make up a mix CD of my favorite songs at the moment; mostly new songs, but with some old songs sprinkled in for flavor. I thought it’d be a neat feature of this new blog to go through, song-by-song, and explain a little about why it appeals to me.

As I mentioned on the Summer CD, Bloc Party’s A Weekend in the City was my favorite album of 2007. Here I include “I Still Remember”, and all I really have to say about the song itself was already covered in that earlier post on “The Prayer”. So here I’ll talk about why I think I like the band so much.

Dry Times Ahead

And so it begins… after what seemed like, for North Carolina, an unusually chilly Spring (and commencement), summer has tipped its hand a few weeks early and we are now looking at at least four days in a row near 100F. Now it is time to start really sweating the drought again. We’re still on water restrictions here (try growing tomato plants when you can only water twice a week!) and according to the University of Nebraska’s handy drought monitor, “abnormally dry” conditions are already rolling over the research Triangle while the mountains are still under extreme drought conditions.

But it could be worse, as Radiohead’s new video for “All I Need” argues. No, it’s not just that the video is from Radiohead that’s the downside (Brian B. and Brad usually would rather have a toothache than listen to them). In fact, I was hoping that Prof. Bunton might find this one a bit more accessible. Of course, part of its accessibility is that it’s not quite as melancholy as some of their songs, a fact more than made up for by the video’s message:

1776

I was just going through my forgotten and nearly dead post drafts and found this doozy. Since many of us went and sat through the amazing-looking, albeit fascist 300 together, I figure many of you might also enjoy Robot Chicken’s 300-inspired take on the American revolution:

I especially enjoy the crossing of the Delaware. Robot Chicken really captures the movie for me — I remember longing for the sophistication of Starship Troopers.

And while on the topic of the founding fathers, I can’t help but find HBO’s John Adams to be completely unnecessary. I don’t really think it’s any fault of it’s own (except maybe for casting overused Paul Giamatti) but I can’t help but giggle at the oh-so-serious looking promos that popped up seemingly everywhere a few weeks ago. I don’t know if it’s possible to have year-long movie-watching moods, but I feel like I wouldn’t be in the mood for something like this until at least next year…

Bunton’s Winter CD: Track 1

Every so often I make up a mix CD of my favorite songs at the moment; mostly new songs, but with some old songs sprinkled in for flavor. I thought it’d be a neat feature of this new blog to go through, song-by-song, and explain a little about why it appeals to me.

I’ve raved a lot about my favorite band Nickel Creek, and most of it has been due to their mandolinist Chris Thile. But the other members of the group, Sara Watkins and her brother Sean are quite talented themselves. Sean has released solo albums, as Chris has, but I hadn’t taken a listen to any of his work until his recent release, Blinders On.

Sports Puppets

One of the many reasons I miss the Triangle area is the quality of the local media (although the TV doesn’t hold a candle to my beloved Upstate). So it is with envy that I watch this video of the NBC 17 late night news on YouTube several days later.

Killing the Blue Jeans

Every time I see it, I am blown away by JCPenney’s ad for Ralph Lauren’s latest line, American Living. Not so much the ad itself, but the use of the song “Killing the Blues” by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Check out the ad, and if you like what you hear, definitely check out the album, Raising Sand.

The Importance of Rebounds

The struggling Big Ten Network may need to consider giving Kevin Borseth, the Michigan women’s basketball coach, his own show. After Michigan blew an 18 point lead against Wisconsin, Borseth melted down in the post-game press conference. By the end he’s actually coming to terms with things, but in this case getting there is far more than half the fun. Assuming he can keep up this intensity the Big Ten Network could have quite the show on their hands…

ESPN has a nice piece arguing that this clip shouldn’t define Borseth, but it’s still a must watch.

Bunton’s Summer CD: Disc 2 Track 17

Every so often I make up a mix CD of my favorite songs at the moment; mostly new songs, but with some old songs sprinkled in for flavor. I thought it’d be a neat feature of this new blog to go through, song-by-song, and explain a little about why it appeals to me.

Sticking with the theme of hard-living British post-punk bands, the next song on the compilation CD is “Ooh La” by The Kooks. It’s a very catchy tune, given the melody and the interesting Brighton accent. The song is about the ex-girlfriend of the lead singer, who apparently chose her musical and acting career over their relationship. The words “ooh la” sound similar to her name (Katie Melua).

I first saw the video (making of) for this song on Fuse, which was my first introduction to the band. On the strength of this and another song (which will show up on the winter compilation), I purchased their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out. It’s a strong effort throughout, and a great summer CD on its own. It’s also fitting; the first lines are “Do you want to go to the seaside?”. As you know, I did. Their second album Konk is due out in mid-April.

Next time: the song from one of the greatest moments in television history

Bunton’s Summer CD: Disc 2 Track 16

Every so often I make up a mix CD of my favorite songs at the moment; mostly new songs, but with some old songs sprinkled in for flavor. I thought it’d be a neat feature of this new blog to go through, song-by-song, and explain a little about why it appeals to me.

I have to be honest: I don’t know much about The Automatic (known as The Automatic Automatic in North America) outside of this song. All I know about the band itself is what I’ve gleaned from the linked Wikipedia article. They’re an energetic, hard-partying Welsh punk rock band that’s found limited success on both sides of the pond. That success is mostly due to their one hit so far, “Monster”.

The song itself is fantastic, if not artistically “great”. The plot of the song is fairly similar to that of the movie “Cloverfield“. “What’s that coming over the hill? / Is it a monster? / Is it a monster?” The song’s repeated chorus and addictive energy make it so much fun to listen to over and over again. The cheesy video heightens the experience, taking the lyrics somewhat literally. It even has a bit of a surprise ending. Check it out.

Next time: another British band with a catchy tune