A little tidbit

Musician's Friend's 'Week in Review' article reports that this week in 2007
"Elsrock, an outdoor heavy-metal rock festival, is given conditional approval to put on its show outside the town of Rijssen, located in the Netherlands’ Bible Belt … the proviso is that there can be no cursing or blasphemy … the 2006 version of the festival had outraged residents … in explaining why the permit was granted, Mayor Bort Koelewijn cites 'the stated readiness of the organizers to make sure that no blasphemous words are used, and that the honor of God's name is not besmirched.'"
First of all, the Netherlands has a 'Bible Belt?' When did this happen and how do they have room? Second, I'm very impressed that the organizers of this event were able to agree to this with a straight face. "Yeah sure, no one playing our Metal Festival will use foul language and blaspheme" that's going to happen. And yes, this post was just an excuse to post some metal.

Slayer - South of Heaven

Pantera - Fucking Hostile

Gwar - Sexicutioner

Blades Jackalfiend - Jerk Friends

Amon Amarth - Vahalla Awaits Me

Financial Support Goes Here
Slayer
Pantera
Gwar
Blades Jackalfiend
Amon Amarth

Songs to Blow Your Mind Pt. 1

Now that I'm posting mp3s here at The Chesterfield King, I think I'm going to start a little feature which I will call "Songs to Blow Your Mind" (You'd figured that out already hadn't you?). Every so often I will get really into a song for a while and I listen to it a bunch, look up the lyrics, try to play it, whole deal. Now, in addition to all that nonsense, I will post the song of my fancy here, often along with a video. I'm not going to justify it though. So suck it.

The inaugural song to blow your mind is I'll Make You Mine by Rainer Maria (possibly the coolest band to be named after a German poet-philosopher narrowly edging out The Schlegels).

Rainer Maria - I'll Make You Mine

Financial support goes here.

Hair = Short

If this were a decent mp3 blog, I would post that Pavement song about cutting my hair. But it's not, so I won't. As you've probably guessed by now, I cut all my hair off as part of a crazy weekend of traveling about the Commonwealth. I also grew a pretty bitchin' mustache in case I decide to begin a career in Highway Patrolling (Cue Bruce Springsteen mp3 link). I should probably clarify that I didn't grow the mustache this weekend, I just shaved off the rest of my facial hair leaving said mustache. I should also note that this mustaching was originally the idea of my guitar playing counterpart Greg (blog link go here). I mention him because I feel bad for busting his balls about it earlier and I wish to make recompense for this.

You may be thinking one of two things at this point. Either you are thinking "Recompense, huh? That's an impressively large word. This Keegan must be a man of masterful vocabulary" or you are thinking "Recompense, huh? I don't think he used that word correctly. This Keegan must be a pompous ass and a foul-mouthed one at that." Well, you could be right on both counts (he said, being both coy and self deprecating) but it leads me perfectly to the other two things I have to blog about (Told you I was going to work on my transitions).

First of these two, a little less than a month ago I said in a post that I was going to start talking about the podcasts I listen to and the blogs I read. Today feels like as good a time as any to start. The first podcast I'm going to discuss is a fairly simple one. It's the Miriam-Webster's Word of the Day podcast (now you see why 'recompense' was a lead in). You can find it here. It's pretty self explanatory. Every day, even weekends, they send me a word along with its pronunciation and definition as well as its etymology and an example of how to use it in a sentence. As an added bonus, the guy who does the podcast has a truly calming voice. If for some reason you have been horribly traumatized and need to be calmed, this is the podcast for you.

The final thing I wanted to talk about in conjunction to this podcast, is that I want to start posting new words I've learned on this blog. This may be opening myself up to some indie-snob-styled ridicule (You don't know that word? How do you not know that word?) but I feel like it could also be delightfully informative for all of us. That's all for now, but be on the look out for more blog/podcast recommendations as well some serious vocabulary boosting in the days and weeks to come!!

*Edit* I have, with a great deal of help and coaching from Greg, taken the big step toward being an actual mp3 blog. Which means that I will now be posting the two songs I said I would post earlier. Happy Happy.

Pavement - Cut Your Hair

Bruce Springsteen - Highway Patrolman

These songs can be bought and the artists who recorded them properly compensated financially here and here respectively

The Andes Mountains run from the Bolivian border to Tierra del Fuego

spread the word

Slow News Day

The World Baseball Classic can really eat up your day. In other news, I finally have a car here in Worcester, so I can start looking for a job like it's, well, my job. I feel like "In other news" is my most used phrase on this blog (note to self: work on transitions). Also, my miniature golf game is currently the best it has ever been. I say this with no official criteria for deciding that it's true. You'll just have to take my word for it. Both of you.

My girlfriend just told me "I love you" in Klingon

First off, in reference to the Neko Case debate from yesterday, I have just been informed by my remarkably hip and indie-informed parents that she is moving to Vermont, so I will be awarding her extra points for accessibility. Jenny Lewis however remains in the lead owing primarily to Michelle Nolan's dropping off my radar in a big way.

In other news, IGN (dunno what that stands for) have released a list of "10 Must Hear Hardcore Bands." I quite liked their list of top 10 punk drummers but I was less impressed by this one. I would have appreciated a little more warning that it was in fact a list of up-and-coming hardcore bands, because when I think 'must hear' I think, well, 'must hear' not 'could someday be 'must hear.'' But other than that I enjoyed it (enough even to repost it here!!!). Good to see some smaller hardcore bands getting solid exposure.

Finally, in more cringe-worthy news: A cd of anime actresses singing punk classics is being released and PunkNews hooked its readers up with a link to a preveiw of it and it is just as awful as you would assume. Somehow it's like Alvin and the Chipmunks after being force fed gallon after gallon of high fructose corn syrup (WHICH IS NOT FINE IN MODERATION GOD DAMNIT I HATE THOSE ADS). So for those of you who haven't ground a millimeter or so off your teeth today here's the preveiw:


Final note: I am without a positive or negative opinion regarding the statement which constitutes the title of this post.

A Quick One (While He's Away)

I can't tell if Neko Case is pretty or not and since she has a new album coming out that everyone and their brother is plugging, this is a quandary that comes up relatively frequently for me.

Also, how is it that the Adicts are playing two shows each in Sao Paulo and Bielefeld - Germany, but only three shows total in the U.S. and all of those are in California? I am irked. Cali punks getting all the old schoolie goodness.

And finally for everyone that the recession has a little down, the boys over at Gizmo Groove have the perfect pick-me-up for you.

Oh yes, that is gold and those are diamonds. Especially the 6.6 carat sucker in the middle. I can't wait for someone to leave this in a taxi.