Greatest Beer ever

I've just discovered my new favorite beer of all time: Bells Hopslam. It is awesome. find this one and drink it now. It's a seasonal beer that will just start making its way on shelves this month. It's 10% and it will kick your ass but it drinks like a beer with half the abv. Enjoy.

The Future

PBS's Frontline Web exclusive featurette highlights Auburn QB Kiehl Frazier and his road to Auburn. I haven't watched it yet, so I can't comment more than that on it.

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Coming to the Ham

Im coming to bham this weekend 4/1 to 4/3. anything goin on?

Blast From the Past

Gone But Not Forgotten

Sometimes you just need to go back see it again, and again, and again. Never gets old.

HDL, Get Ready to @#$% Yourself

Who Doesn't Want More Head?

Even if you weren't aware that this problem existed, you can still rest easy knowing that scientists are working on a solution. Hopefully it will make stout beer cheaper in future.

Free Friday Ear Food - In Praise of Folly

Back again, sorry for not being around last week. Fucking work gets in the way some times. Anyway, back to the boring ol' work days of surfing the net for 8 hrs.

So, the band, In Praise of Folly was a Seattle indie rock band from the early 00's. They released 2 albums, The Present Age and Means/Ends in 2004 and 2005. Today I am highlighting the 2004 album The Present Age. The sound reminds me of several bands I listened to in college, most of which I can't now remember to name, but two-thirty-eight and Further Seems Forever mainly. I also hear a lot of SilverChair in the vocals, but you would have to know their new music to pick up on that.

Interestingly, a lot of the bands I have featured on FFEF have showed up for shows in the Ham, specifically Menomena, Unwed Sailor, Margot and the Nuclear So & So's, Starfucker next Tuesady (mark the calendar!), The Great Book of John, and Portugal the Man. Unfortunately, this band broke up in late 2010, so no chance of seeing them.

Here's the link to the album via Grooveshark.

Next week I will try to bring something more upbeat and funky to the table, but until then listen to this and drown in the dreary, rainy, sad Seattle melancholy.

Steely Dan Does Alabama

Steely Dan is set to play Tuscaloosa amphitheater on August 20th and the Wharf in Orange beach on August 21st. Ticket prices have yet to be determined, but their publicist did say that the tour would feature "greatest hits, deep cuts and some shows that will cover albums in full" If you're a Steely Dan listener, this might be the best time to catch them before they start losing control of their bowels and their performances go to shit.

http://blog.al.com/mcolurso/2011/03/steely_dan_tour_coming_to_alab.html

Hangout Fest Adds more acts

The Avett Brothers,

STS9,

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals,

Brandi Carlile,

JJ Grey and Mofro,

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe,

Big Gigantic,

Soja,

Railroad Earth,

Greensky Bluegrass,

Rival Sons,

Honey Island Swamp Band

http://hangoutmusicfest.com/more-artists-announced/

If they could just add Arcade Fire this would be a slam dunk fest.

The String Theory

This piece by David Foster Wallace is one of the best pieces of sports journalism I have ever read. I first read it in 2007 and read it at least once a year. The story of Wallace is an interesting one and could be turned into several blog posts on its own. His Wikipedia page has a host of good articles describing his life and how he came to be a writer. Simply put, the man was brilliant but severely depressed and ultimately hanged himself back in 2008. Anyway, here is "The String Theory." NB: This is a long one so read it when you've got some time to spare.

Radioheads Anonymous

A Good Cause - Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle

If anyone has any empty beer bottles (pop off, not twist off) lying around, can I have them? I made a batch of beer a couple weeks ago, it's time to bottle it, and I sort of shit the bed as far as drinking enough bottled beers to give me enough empties. Thanks to a valiant effort from Mr. Orange and another friend of mine, I am only about 1/2 case shy of what I need. Good luck and God speed.

Darth Sheen

Charlie Sheen has made life worth living again;worth living, and worth winning.

Free Friday Ear Food - Explosions in the Sky

EitS are another indie, post-rock instrumental band that seems to be fitting my mood lately. This Will Destroy You, Mogwai, Unwed Sailor, Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Explosions in the Sky are all I have been listening to lately (plus the new Radiohead, of course). I guess when I'm busy at work, I like music that is easy to listen to, ignore, and enjoy all at the same time and this band fits the bill nicely. Their myspace music page has a good sample of songs, but I first saw them on Austin City Limits w/ The Decemberists, which you will now get to enjoy both of.

This is only a clip, PBS won't let me show the whole episode here, but you can watch it on their website.

Watch the full episode. See more Austin City Limits.

The Mountain Goats

The Mountain Goats are usually described as an indie-rock band but in reality it is singer-songwriter John Darnielle playing his acoustic guitar along with an ever changing cast of backup musicians a la Steely Dan or Nine Inch Nails.

It is difficult to describe Darnielle's lyrics in any way that does them justice. Always clever and always thoughtful, his songs range from hilarious and jovial to dark and mysterious, and no lack of combination between the two ends of the spectrum.

His voice is unique and entrancing and reminds you of David Byrne, Steven Page, and Ben Gibbard. It is the kind of voice that when you first hear it you think "this guy should be leading a cult somewhere."

His best and probably most popular album is Tallahassee, which was produced in 2002. Here is the Groove Shark link to the album. "First Few Desperate Hours" is a great introduction to their sound and "Southwood Plantation Road" is a good uptempo song that incorporates more of the backup artists but "No Children" is the song that got me hooked. It is the epitome of tragic comedy composed in an upbeat 6/8 tempo. Here is a brief sampling of the lyrics:

I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow
I hope it bleeds all day long
Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises
We're pretty sure they're all wrong
I hope it stays dark forever
I hope the worst isn't over
And I hope you blink before I do
Yeah I hope I never get sober
And I hope when you think of me years down the line
You can't find one good thing to say
And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out
You'd stay the hell out of my way

Anyway, give it a listen and enjoy.

The Dark Knight Inspires Real Life Bat-Flight Suit

Wingsuit Basejumping - The Need 4 Speed: The Art of Flight from Phoenix Fly on Vimeo.

The Greatest Website of All Time

http://www.livethesheendream.com/

"I'm an F-18 bro."