Top Five: Week Four (Happy late St. Patrick's Day!)

It's been over a month since I last posted. In my defense I haven't had a real secure place to live so I haven't had much internet. So, here I sit at my good friend Josh's house the day after Saint Patrick's day while he and Raven naps. If I find work, I might move in here... Until then, here is a new top five. I figure since I had a pretty good time on my holiday, I'd make a list for my top five Irish-Punk bands. Here we go.

5) Swingin' Utters ($wingin' Utter$): A pretty good band that's been around since the late 80's. Over 20 years now. They're influenced by one of my favorite bands, (that didn't make the list) The Pogues. They have a sound kind of like folk rock meets The Damned or Stiff Little Fingers... basically 70's British Punk and Irish Folk had a crazy orgy and Swingin' Utters was born. One of my favorite songs by them is, "Black Mountain Rain".

4) Ceann: An Irish band that sings about being Irish American. They play beautiful Irish music and many originals by them. A lot of them are extremely funny. Great folk-y tunes mixed with some of the wittiest lyrics I've ever heard. The band comes from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The singer even sings a song about being one of the few famous people out of Allentown. Awesome. Some of my favorite songs include, "Almost Irish", "Pretty on the Inside", and of course, "The Worst Pirate". I recommend listening to them to anyone who hasn't gotten a chance to yet.

3) Street Dogs: The first of two bands on the list coming from one of my favorite towns, Boston, Massachusetts. Also the first band that has Mike McColgan as the singer... Second band, first on the list. Dropkick Murphys is the band he previously sung for. McColgan left Dropkick back in 1998 to pursue his dream of becoming a firefighter. After 4 years, he decided he missed music and made Street Dogs. It sucks his dream wasn't what he thought'd it be, but damn lucky for us. Or at least me. I seriously cannot get enough of their music since hearing "Final Transmission" of of their third album "Fading American Dream" which was released in 2006. 4 years later than when they started, but luckily they're still around for me to dream about seeing live. Anyone wanting to hear some amazing Irish-Punk, give a listen to "Two Angry Kids". If you want some more peaceful, beautifully written songs, give a listen to "Final Transmission", I could not imagine anyone regretting listening to it.

2) Flogging Molly: A lot of my friends are huge Flogging Molly fans. I'll admit, I do love them and they put on a great show, but everytime I see them live, I still believe the bassist is holding a grudge on me for making fun of his hat in 2004. Jeff Weasel and Kori Foster will remember that, so will my father. But, he deserved it, his hat was stupid. Anyway, back to my point. It seems 50% of my friends love Flogging more than Dropkick, and the other half love Dropkick more than Flogging. I'm with the latter of the two, as beautiful as their music is, as amazing as the violin is, as sexy as the violinist is, Dropkick just makes me want to jump around so much more. Flogging Molly is great music to relax or dance to, but not jump around and punch people in the face to. Sometimes, that is all I ask for. Like I said though, they have great music to them, flute, violin, accordion, banjor, mandolin, not all played at once, but fusing beautifully into one of the greatest Irish-Punk bands ever. Just not good enough in my eyes. Some of my favorite songs include, "Drunken Lullabies", "Devil's Dance Floor", "Seven Deadly Sins", and "What's Left of the Flag".

1) DROPKICK MURPHYS: Formed in Quincy, Massachusetts, this band used to play in the basement of a barbershop. That'd be an amazing band to see after a haircut, so much better than a barbershop quartet. Another band influenced by The Pogues and Stiff Little Fingers, they were even influenced by The Dubliners and Swingin' Utters. How awesome is that? Influenced by another top five's influences... I'm not making this up, it is actually awesome. They were formed in 1996 and Mike left to years later only to be replaced by one of my favorite singers from an Oi band I've loved for a while now. That's right, Al Barr from the Bruisers! As much as I loved (and love via Street Dogs) Mike's vocals, Al Barr just has something about him that makes me want to jump around and set things on fire, mosh, and hug people at the same time. I get more done listening to Dropkick than any other band. It's as if they infuse shots of adrenaline into each and every record they sell and it seeps in through my ears. Some favorite songs include, "The Gang's All Here", "Dirty Glass", "Dirty Rats", and their beautiful heavy version of, "Amazing Grace". If I am not buried to that song, I will come back as my own version of the Jersey Devil and terrorize people for centuries.

That's pretty much all for this week, I'll try to log back in sometime soon and post my next top five or so. The way I see it is, I update more frequently than some webcomic creators do so I'm not doing to bad. They complain of power outages, try homelessness buddy. I still rock the blog while looking for work and places to live. "That's punk rock". Haha, please.

Top Five: Week 3

Wow, four weeks in a row posting on time, and three top fives. I am doing a lot better than I ever expected. This weeks top five is in honor of February, Black History Month. I picked five black people who have had the biggest impact on my life. Whether they are actors, musicians, family, or other, without these people, my life would be a bit more dull.

5) Dead Prez: Yes, this isn't one person... it is two. Oh well. They are a politically drawn Hip-Hop group that resides in New York but got their start in good ol' Florida. Some of their lyrics focus on veganism, institutional racism, governmental repression, and corporate control over the media. The first song I ever heard by them was "Hip-Hop" which is on their 2000 album Let's Get Free. I'm sure a lot of people have heard this song and group and don't even know it. Anyone who watched The Chappelle Show has heard it, or at least the instrumental version which is the show's beginning theme song.
Later, I heard it again with Static-X making me fall in love with the song once again. Recently, they released the song "Politrikkks" which is off their next coming album, Information Age. This will be their first album since...2004... damn. The track is about... well, as the name says, politics. It's a pretty good song with an interesting message for anyone who wants to hear it. I just hope stic.man and M-1 haven't made their fans wait years for nothing, like other musicians do...

4) Phil LaMarr: Born on the greatest day of the year, this actor/voice actor comes in at number four. Phil got his start as small roles, one being Marvin in Pulp Fiction... anyone remember that guy? The scene was awesome. Later, he landed a role on MadTV and got to reprise the role of Marvin in a parody of Pulp Fiction. He was with MadTV up until 2000. During which time, he appeared in Bio-Dome and did voice acting for shows, one of my favorites being Hermes in Futurama.

This man voice acts so many characters from shows I love it's amazing. I absolutely love sharing a birthday with him, January 24th is a day for funny, amazing people. I wish I could have dinner with him and another great comedian who I share a birthday with (John Belushi)... but if I did... he'd be a zombie and I'd feel awful if he ate Phil for dinner and I killed an actor I was impressed with who killed another actor I was impressed with... then I'd go zombie hunting and look for another great black actor to help me out... Vingh Raymes.

3) Grandpa Ellis: I don't know as much about this man as I'd like, what I do know is he was a father figure to my father, and is my grandfather. Through most of my dad's life, Ellis was there helping him through it. And throughout my life, he was here to tell jokes, as hard as it is to understand sometimes with his thick Jamaican accent, cook some amazing food, and let us hang out in the swimming pool on our visits. He is a very interesting person and the only reason I do not know more about him is I am barely around him and sometimes it is hard to understand him, but I love him a lot none-the-less.

2) D.H. Peligro: Born in St. Louis, Missouri, real name Darren Henley, D.H. was a drummer for the band Dead Kennedys back when Jello sang, and years later too. He tooka hiatus from the band in 2008 saying he wanted a break from touring. Being one of the first black people I ever knew in a punk band, I instantly fell in love. His drumming was, and is, absolutely amazing! Being a political band just helped fuel the fire in my heart. He spent most of the 80's in DK, from 81-87. Also, after the untimely death of Hillel Slovak, guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers, D.H. briefly took over on drums while Jack Irons quit to grieve.From 2001-2008 he was back in DK minus frontman Jello after some court battles, which awarded D.H. and other DK members 100,000 dollars each. D.H. also leads (backs?) a band called Peligro. Playing the drums while doing lead vocals. I remember being in high school listening to Too Drunk To Fuck during a Calculus exam, sharing headphones with my friend, later he told me how at a DK show he went to, there where some Nazi-punks that just stopped in their tracks at the sight of a black drummer on stage. To this, the crowd began screaming, "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" and jumping around as the band played. What I wouldn't have given to see them live. D.H. will always be one of my favorite, most energetic drummers, hands down.

1) George Washington Carver: Born in January of 1864, Carver was dubbed the "Black Leonardo" by Time Magazine in 1941. He was a genius... he was a poet, an artist, a botonist, he mentored children, and more importantly, he underminded the stereotype that the black race was intellectually inferior to the whtie race. The reason he's my number one though, is well-known amongst people who know me, his 145 peanut products. I am a lover of peanuts and peanut butter, and a lot of that wouldn't have been possible without the help of this genius, this... "Black Leonardo".

He did so much for agriculture, helping white people realize we're not intellectually superior to anyone just because of our skin color, and finding me my comfort food.

This week, rather than make a Lame of the Week, which would be Obama... although his speech was grand he interrupted my favorite two shows, I decided to show my love for close contenders. Mostly, they are Whole Wheat Bread. These people make amazing music and are from an amazing city, Jacksonville. No matter who they have on bass, and for whatever reason the bassists left, even for incarciration, this band blows my mind with each record. Their newest one, Hearts & Hoodlums is out now and their video for "Bombs Away" is pretty awesome. An all around great album from a band that's basically described as, "Dirty South Punk Rock". Check them out, and learn more about tons more black people this month. Famous or not, hell, just go out and strike up a conversation with someone, learn their family history, they're history, or even their dreams for the future. Because, eventually, their future will be their past, and maybe they'll be a part of history too.

Top Five Week 2

I'm actually being thrurough. Two Monday's, two weekly top fives. I am impressed with myself, it's sad to say this IS a good start.

Sitting here at 1 in the morning listening to Authority Zero and having online discussions with my best friend, it was decided this week's top 5 would be dealing with events that occured yesterday. Super Bowl. No, not the top five plays, or dumbass moments, my favorite part of the Super Bowl is... commercials.

5. After much thought, I decided last place for me was tied between two Pepsi Commercials.

Pepsi: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=51557557

Pepsi Max: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=51559196


The Pepsi commercial is just showing two different generations of Pepsi lovers and how even though so many years seperate us, much of what we do has many similarities. Showing a lost connection many people didn't know, or didn't want to know we shared, with other generations. Great music, great concept, great overall commercial.

The second commercial I just find funny, showing stereotypes of how men are. Too awesome to be caught in a show of pain, and of course to amazing to be caught drinking a diet cola. It's a great show of physical comedy. Alright, I lied... my favorite part's when the one guy just "mistakingly" drops a bowling ball over the other guys head and goes "... my bad". It just seemed like he was curious as to what would happen if he did that. Awesome.


4. A quick replacement. Originally, I wanted the Pedigree commercial to be number four, it was close to my heart as an animal lover, and had a silly nature with a good message. Today though, I saw a commercial I missed yesterday for General Electric. Yeah, it wasn't the best commercial, was showing a good idea and how GE is trying to improve everything they do, but what caught me, was the modern day Scarecrow and the music from Wizard of Oz. I couldn't let this NOT be in my top five mostly out of bias since I am still in love with that movie to this day. If everyone hates me for this, oh well. I'll still have the Cowardly Lion.

GE: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=51568571

The last three of my commercials are all humorous, though two of the others were just beautifully done, these took the top three for just making me laugh out loud and continue laughing each time I saw them, second place at least still makes me laugh.

3. Dorito's. It was tough choosing between the two Dorito's commercials I saw, but I found this one to be sexier, which Super Bowl commercials usually lack due to not wanting any legal matters, and pretty funny. It shows a guy, everytime he eats a Dorito, something happens most men would love. Money, cops disappearing, women losing top layers of clothing. And then the end makes me laugh so hard it's pathetic. The guy's facial expressions, how he jumps for joy, and the monkey really made it for me too.

Dorito's: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=51559011

2. Taco Bell. Oh man, everytime I see this commercial the same part cracks me up each time. Women always complain about men moving too fast. Hopefully, after this no girl will say that for a while... unless there really is a guy like this out there. Tragic. However funny it may be, it's still tragic. This would've been number one hands down but the next one had a very important message I'd like everyone to see. (I'm glad this blog is posted on Monday's)

Taco Bell: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=51568814

Haha, holy hell. I just watched it again and am laughing so hard. he just... stands there a few seconds. Brilliant.

1. Here's this week's number one. It was worthy of the top five, but not really number one spot. Until... the message at the end. This blows Taco Bell's Tuesday idea two weeks ago out of the water. Even without that, it's a pretty funny commercial. Three, "wise guys" talking business and can't get any words out. Awesome.

Denny's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oq-dDxS0AU

That's it for this week's top five. However, I do have something else in store for everyone. Something I might do from now on, or I might be lame and do it seldomly. It is, the Lame of the Week.


Lame of the Week!:

This week's Lame of the Week coincides well with the Super Bowl commercials. It is peta's banned commercial. They say it was banned because it was too sexy. Women humping pumpkins and broccoli. Under normal circumstances, I would cheer them on for weeks... or until they grew tired... more likely until the vegetables became dried up and withered. The thing that bothers me though, is this is a commercial showing people they should go vegetarian. I have no problem with that, I was a proud vegetarian for years, but this commercial makes it seem like demoralizing women is a great idea compared to saving animals. Is peta really that obsessed? I mean, I love animals and watch my meat intake so it's barely anything at all, but someone who is so out there to be morally correct at every turn. No meat, no dairy, no fur coats, those are bad for the animals. What gives them the right to show women in a rather pornographic nature? Are women less important in their eyes than our animal friends? Or is it just people in general? I don't know, I just found this commercial to be morally outraging with a side of sexy... is that hypocritical? Honestly, I'm glad it was banned. (Also, I won't deny the point of the message... from what I remember, it's true!)

peta: http://www.peta.org/content/standalone/VeggieLove/Default.aspx

Top Five of the Week

I decided ten is overdone. Everyone has a top ten, and to top the top ten, they make a top twenty. I'm thinking half as hard. So, here's my top five. Every week I will try and come up with a new category and write something brief about why the top deserve to be the top in my opinion. This will go on between random posts regarding my crazy life and unforetold events that bother me.

This weeks subject is... (the elipse is because I haven't thought this out yet, this is all written as I think it up)... concerts I'd like to go to in the upcoming months.

5. Slightly Stoopid - No, I did not spell it wrong, it's how the band spells their name. They are a nice, smooth ska band with a great reggae sound. I love to relax to some of their music. If I remember correctly, they write about pot a lot... still would be good to see live for the first time. February 20, 2009, the Plush, Jacksonville FL.

4. Less Than Jake - I've seen this band a few times. They are one of my favorite ska bands, have listened to them for years. They did put on a good show, my only problem is they never play my favorite song, "Gainesville Rock City". The one time they did play the song, I was pulled out by friends for being the only legal adult there. Had to be Aaron's legal guardian for the night and sign something saying he did not need to ride in the ambulance after getting his lip ring pulled out... makes me glad I didn't get my septum pierced just yet, not before I go see number 1. March 8, 2009, House of Blues, Orlando FL.

3. The Bouncing Souls - A great band with a vocalist I've always admired. Some beautiful lyrics in a lot of their songs. I've followed their music for years, always getting their new albums , but... I cannot believe I have yet to see them live. March 16, or 17, 2009, both at the Social, Orlando FL.

2. Badfish - It's a Sublime tribute band. I can't see Sublime, so I'll settle for a tribute band. Need I say more? (Apparently I do). March 02, 2009. XXX177, Gainesville FL.

and finally, the all obvious number one (if you know me)

1. Streetlight Manifesto - Exactly. My favorite band. They are coming all around FL but I'd probably go to the Orlando Show. It's a Saturday and if I do get my job, that'd be a day off. Weekends. Plus, my roommate Amanda would love to go too. And we can probably crash at Jeremy's place like Kori, Will, Caileigh, Kim, and he did last year in Jax. Most important reason they are number one... it'll be my 13th time seeing them live. Finally in the teens.

So, this is it for this weeks edition for the Unsung top five. Keep reading and next week we might get comics, movies, or beverages I enjoy. It's not always going to be fun and interesting, but it always will be unsung. Laters.

Something New for the New Year

So, it's a new year, and technically a second new year for this blog. I figured I'd do something different. First thing that is is, update with something longer than a 100 word paragraph.

I don't know how many words that was but look at this, a second paragraph. Off to a good start, if you ask me. Which brings us to the second new idea for this blog. A list. Perhaps weekly. This week's list will consist of the top __ new bands, albums, or songs I've listened to in the past year.


1. The Knux: This band is fronted by brothers Alvin and Kintrell Evans. They were raised in New Orleans and resided there up until Hurrican Katrina caused them to be displaced to Houston, Texas. Both boys grew up in with their single mother and were in Marching band. Honestly, this is one of my new favorite bands mixing 80's and early 90's rap with a rock/punk feel. The beat just gets you smiling and moving and the words are more political and get you thinking rather than being upset for the human race. "Bang Bang" is a beautiful track that I find myself listening to more often than I notice.

2. She and Him: Let me begin by stating that I did just hear about this band two days ago, but oh well. They have such an indie folkie vibe it's magnificent. Zooey Deschanel being the front woman is just an added bonus. One song by them that I listen to most in particular is "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here". The lyrics are absolutely beautiful and her voice is just so entrancing. From first listen, if you know Zooey's work, you can tell it's her voice. She just has such a great melody and the guitar parts are just beautiful.

3. "Coney Island" by Good Old War: Nice quiet drum beats, melodic guitar parts, and great vocals and backing vocals make one of my favorite songs of recent years. The lyrics, although about New York, hold a dear place in my heart and make me think of me wanting to go back to Jacksonville and get out of Brooksville. We even have a hotdog restaurant called Coney Island. One verse in particular I find humerous due to the slight coincidences to my life.

"I'm going to Coney Island and have myself a dog,
and reminisce why I still hate it hear.
It's all these people with their cotton candy eyes,
it's so sweet now put the train in gear."

I'd love nothing more than to crawl back to the city I love. However, for the time being I'm in the town that's taken everything. If you haven't heard this song yet and are a fan of soft, melodic folkie songs, give it a try. It most likely will grow on you though so, be warned.

4. Reina Del Cid: A few things stick out about this girl to me more than anything. 1) She's from somewhere in the United States, that's all I know of her location. 2) She began guitar at the age of 15, she's now 20. 3) She is unsigned but one of the greatest mistakes I ever made searching through youtube. Her blue guitar has become signature for me and her voice is so strong and beautiful it nearly sends chills down my side. She has written many of her own songs and made videos of her playing/singing them on YouTube. She has such raw musical talent I would not be the least bit surprised if she were signed by some company in the future. Her lyrics are great, have a nice rhyme scheme and the words are not dumbed down showing the true intelligence of this one of a kind girl. Even if she never gets signed, keep an ear out, she's remarkable.

5. Allison Weiss: Probably the artist closest to me in location and one of the few I've had the privelage of seeing live. I don't remember much of where, just it was in Georgia. Some of the luck of living in Jacksonville was I was close to Georgia and could go see some bands that barely left the state, (i.e. Allison Weiss and Bomb the Music Industry). Coming from Athens and having released much of her own music, this young girl has some very big music coming from a tiny package. She does have a band, but I listen to mostly her solo acoustic stuff, including a cover of the amazing BtMI song, "Future 86". If ever she were to come to Florida, whether it was Tampa, St. Pete, Orlando, Gainesville, Jacksonville, or Tallahassee, I would force a large group of 15-20 people to go see her and be in awe with me. Absolutely great.

6. HuDunit: My friend David from Jacksonville. He is a night security guard and during the day goes to school full time and takes care of his grandmother but still finds time to right some amaing rap songs. BET recently had a nationwide contest and viewers voted and HuDunit got into the top five. Big congratulations to him there. His lyrics are about what he knows and that's why I appreciate his music, it's about a man working for a living but still finding time for fun and knowledge. Working that graveyard shift. Genius.

7. Kanye West - 808's and Heartbreak: Kanye's fourth studio album and fourth album to go platinum. It's no wonder why with such great songs as "Love Lockdown" and "Heartles". He said the album was therapeutic for him, and I can say that listening through gives me the same feeling. If ever I'm having a bad day the album comes on and I feel relaxed and just get a feeling of great happiness that just erupts from the core. For a man who does it all from producing to making the music, let's hope his work stays as strong as it has been.

8. Death Cab for Cutie - "I Will Follow You Into the Dark": Although I have had the song a while ago, it recently made it's way back into my musical life via a new episode of Scrubs. Long forgotten, the mp3 has had the dust figuratively blown off and has now been so overused if it was a record I'm sure it'd melt from shear force of repeat and just the amount of time it spends playing. And I'm sure neighbors, family, and friends alike are annoyed with me singing along with it, but it's finally a song I can match note for note 100% and be happy with. The beautiful acoustic sound, the hauntingly beautiful lyrics, and just the way that Benjamin Gibbard sings this song is enough for me to be a fan for life. The band's other music is just as wonderful, but these lyrics just go well with me. And this means a lot with my hatred for him for taking Zooey Deschanel off the market.

9. The Veronicas: Jessica and Lisa Origliasso. Two Australian musicians head this pop-rock band. Best of all, they're twins. And sexy. Not usually my type of music, I just have this insatiable love for female vocalists and these two help me barely make my quota. Going up on the wall with my other secret loves Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton, and Kelly Clarkson, the only difference is, they have a more rock feel and that makes it less embarassing. It's been done before however with a poppy techno type beat going along with rock music, but, they just seem to do it so much better. That is not my vanity talking either.

10. The Dollyrots: Ending this little list (finally), is a band from Sarasota, Florida. The Dollyrots. Yes I know, another band with a female singer. In my defense however, she IS a bassist too and that just adds to my love. The key component that got me into them though is, they attended New College, since I know people that attend that school it got me really interested. They have a pop punk feel, and sometimes their songs can sound very psychobilly-esque. It's very interesting to sit and listen to some of their songs and try to pick at their influences. I would say to anyone looking for a unique, fun band give the Dollyrots a try.

There. that was more trouble than I ever assumed. It was fun however, and I look forward to more lists in the future weeks, for now however, I must be off for I got some news that might make it onto this blog if all goes well.