b-ruce

bLau - "Stop Your Denials"

Here's a clip of yours truly performing at an open mic =)

The Waste Land by TS Eliot

So we're actually all getting very interested in recording books on tape and the first one out of the gate is my good friend Nat aka Curse, here's his rendition of TS Eliot's The Waste Land. Here's it in OGG if needed

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Fleet Foxes - "Fleet Foxes"

What I love best about the Fleet Foxes self titled album is the way they make it okay to vocally rock out to their smooth, harmonious tunes. Robin Pecknold has a knack for writing the singing equivalent to a catchy electric guitar riff. It’s feels a bit strange really, you’re listening to this folk inspired, Beach Boys-esq music and all of a sudden you can’t help but sing in loud outbursts “Lie to me if you will! At the top of Berringer hill! Tell me anything you want! Any old lie will do!” And I think it’s the charm of this juxtaposition of mellow, easy listening melodies and earth shattering emotional confessional vocals that really make Fleet Foxes special. It may not be following the current trend of DIY minimalism, but Fleet Foxes feels like the type of album that will be a reference point when one looks back through the musical context of the second half of this decade. Really, it has to be, it’s just that good.

A+

The soundtrack of my life

So I had been thinking about doing one of those chain letter type deals in Facebook where you list a bunch a stuff about yourself or your favorite things and thought why not combine the two. Music has always played an important part in my life and set the stage for the various moments. And it works in reverse now as when I hear certain songs it totally floods me with memories of a certain time and place. So I compiled a soundtrack of my life. Hopefully I can be good and update it when need be.

‘90-91 “Groove is in the Heart” by Deelite; in Jr High house music rules

’92 “Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde” by The Pharcyde; hanging with the B Boys

’93 “The Third Album” by Camper Van Beethoven; eclectic tastes start to take form

’94 “Five Guys Named Moe” by the original London Cast; working at the Flipside and the begin of the swing era

’95 “Orange” by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion; infatuation has its privileges

’96 “More Noise and Other Disturbances” by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones; boy did we love Ska

’98 “Viva La Woman” by Cibo Mato; party time all the time at 401 C

1st half ’99 “If You’re Feeling Sinister” by Belle and Sebastian; missing Lisa

2nd half ’99 “Things Fall Apart” by the Roots; my golden age of hip hop

1st half ’00 “Midnight Vultures” by Beck; there was this one time that I had a bit of a nervous breakdown, quit school (again) and bought a Dreamcast, NBA2k, House of the Dead and this album

2nd half ’00 “Transmissions from the Satellite Heart” by the Flaming Lips; endless quoting of the Big Lebowski with the P-towners

1st half ’01 “Pinkerton” by Weezer; There was this one time that I had a bit of a nervous
breakdown, quit school (again) and had my parents rescue me and bring me back home, seemed like the perfect time to listen to a great break-up album.

2nd half ’01 “Chatterbox” by Lazlow et al from Grand Theft Auto 3; brilliant social commentary and comedy

’02 “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” by Wilco; my commute’s soundtrack heading over to BCI and back

’03 “Sea Change” by Beck; there was this one time that my dad had a bit of a nervous breakdown, I moved back home (again) then quit my job due to building stress and decided to go back to school (again)

‘04 “Medulla” by Bjork; community college and working at Go Write

‘05 “12 Songs” by Neil Diamond; delirious love

‘06 “The Who Sell Out” by the Who; finally discovering the Who, starting work at Starbuck’s

‘07 “Musicology” by Prince; Prince is back and so am I… kinda

‘08-present “Vampire Weekend” by Vampire Weekend; enter “all out Bruce”

New Final Fantasy trailer

There's a new trailer for the game which looks surprisingly worked upon for something we won't get until next year. I'm glad they went back to a sci fi setting but really all the subtitles might as well have been gibberish. http://na.square-enix.com/ff13/

Portishead – “Third”

Look I don’t want to get into an argument here. I think of “techno” when I think of Portishead. Really, I think “electronica” feels better rolling off my tongue, but in my punk/hip hop heavy narrow mind I just have one big bin for stuff like this and my brain chooses to label said bin “techno”.

Ok so yeah, please stop yelling at me. I’m conceding here that this isn’t my home territory. I’m not that big into this scene or this music as a whole. However, I’ve always liked Portishead. And I think this is so for because for the most part their music sounds like hip hop beats. Repetitive, drum heavy but not too drum heavy, stripped down (like a RZA beat or something more raw from The Roots) and still with some sort of conscious reference to jazz.

With “Third” all of these said trends continue. The hip hop types beats continue to groove me, I’m still digging Portishead and my brain still labels it techno. It has a great moodiness to it and some nice moments that force you to stop and give it your full attention. This being said it’s not as great as the previous two albums as it doesn’t really have any big moments or hooks that encapsulate the effort.

Merry Hollidays to y'all

1 up gives SMT Persona 4 an A+

Their Persona 4 review here. 40 hours into the game myself (thanks again pAjAmO!) I find myself in almost complete agreement. The only thing that I have qualms with is the way the homosexual character's turn played out, check out the first half of RPGfan's more robust review for more info.

I really thought the game could have pulled off a touching unique scene had they been a little more open-minded but who can quibble too much with cultural differences in tolerance when as both reviews state one of the game's best features is how Japanese it totally is.

Giovanni's Room

I've been fascinated with James Baldwin every since I read some short piece of his in my Sophomore year English textbook and saw his picture. It looked so ridiculous, he seemed so strung out, complete with cigarette in hand. I had never seen anything like it in a textbook. I assume the editors thought the picture would serve as a warning, send the right message to the kids about which lifestyles and choices were the morally correct ones. However, having always associated myself with those sorts textbook editors disapproved of, I immediately recognized how cool James Baldwin was. He was Black, Gay and on H. An outsider looking for ways to get further outside. So, held this high in my esteem, it surprised me to reflect that I had never read any of this novels, an epiphany that came to me when confronted by a copy of "Giovanni's Room' while scouring the DePaul bookstore for my own textbooks. So I bought the book, read it, and now in my tradition, report back to you, my sweet readers.

Giovanni's Room was entertaining, devilish, introspective and instantly accessible. It surprised me how many pages I was able to get through in the much maligned 30 minute lunch break, where I have found a nice bit of time to finally get back to reading, my long commutes now ended. I wonder though, if there was a larger point which I was missing. Still what I was able to gleam was a moving meditation on the confines that society puts us in and our problems if we're not willing to face and recreate them.

I hope this sparks a trend, I'd love to see a pro-McCain "Where's the beef?" remake

Rock Band gives us Piece of Nevermind

So announced today we're getting most of the remaining tracks needed to play the breakthrough Nirvana album "Nevermind". What's conspicuous is which tracks are still missing. The only songs between us and a full "Nevermind" setlist are the biggest hits on the album: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" "Come As You Are" and "Lithium". Is it some conspiracy that gets us to pay some sort of premium on these songs in the future? Or are the copywrite holders being extra bitches on those songs because they think they're worth more? Or is Harmonix including them in the 20 extra bonus free songs for buying Rock Band 2? I wish lawyers didn't preclude us from getting a little more information on this as I assume must be the case. Still, I'm pleased as Punch to be getting my grubby drumsticks and vox on these songs, especially on "Polly" and "Breed".

p.s. Sorry for the inactivity as of late. My earnest endeavors to become a successful small businessman earned me a ride on an emotional roller coaster at the beginning of this month that lead me into a spat of depression that I feel just now to be coming out of. No need for worry dear readers, just wanted to keep you abreast. We solider on, boat backs ceaselessly into the waves or something like that.

'09 BruceShirt design revealed

Here's what the luckiest of you will be opening on Christmas day!

bruceshirt.com is now live!

You've all been asking me how to buy your own BruceShirt if you hadn't earned one yet or have to get another to wear on laundry day. So now here's your chance! BruceShirt.com

funny because it's sort of true

Portrayal Of Obama As Elitist Hailed As Step Forward For African Americans

new song: 'Ain't it Penny?'

So keeping in line with my "write, record and mix one song per college break" mantra I give you my latest creation: Ain't it Penny?. I had been working on other things for weeks leading up to this but this came together in 5 days and was the best of what I had to offer. I think while sloppy and muddy it shows my taste for R&B and ambient, not enough rock in there yet but there's always time to rewrite later.