February 2011
21 posts
4 tags
The Mix Tape: E For Explosion - Hold Grudges Not...
The Mix Tape: E for Explosion - Hold Grudges Not Hands EP
After their 2008 debut, Reinventing the Heartbeat, was released by Eyeball Records in 2008, E for Explosion has played it pretty quiet. A planned acoustic release was briefly mentioned and then all traces of it were wiped from their website. Then came the news that the group was being pared down to two members. Without much fanfare...
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The Follow-Up: "I Need a Doctor" Video Released
The Follow-Up
The official video for Dr. Dre’s comeback anthem “I Need A Doctor” has finally been released onto the web. You can find it here. The video itself is a haunting expose on the demons that Dre has battled after losing his son nearly three years ago, losing those who were like sons to him in the process (i.e. Snoop). Though sad in its underlying purpose, Dre eludes to the fact...
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On The Move: Destination San Francisco
Destination: San Francisco
I’ve heard Tony Bennett croon it, countless people quote it, and seen it printed in a variety of places, but I never truly understood the meaning of the saying “I left my heart in San Francisco” until my most recent visit. I’ve flirted with the city in the past, jet-setting in for a weekend to get just a taste of its allure, but being sure to leave before...
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Now Playing: Pablo Francisco
Pablo Franciso
I like to laugh. That’s no secret. What I very rarely do, however, is remember that all it takes is a 30 minute Metro trip to get myself to the DC Improv for live standup. Usually, it takes someone else to point out that a great comedian is coming through the city. And that’s exactly what it took in order to get me to see Pablo Francisco and his friends on...
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Now Hear This: Dream A Little Dream
Dream A Little Dream
When I was twelve years old, a new girl enrolled in my school and my entire world fell to pieces. Her name was Jamie and now that I’m in the sunset of my twenties, I can’t—for the life of me—remember her last name, but when I was twelve… oh how I could softly speak every last syllable in unrequited reverie. I used to dream all day about those...
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The Reaction: Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I...
The Quote:
“We are separated by three inches of bulletproof glass and a million other barriers that I can’t articulate or overcome.”
-Jonathan Tropper’s This is Where I Leave You
The Reaction:
This is the quote that started it all, really. I had always thought about keeping track of the quotes that mean something to me, but it wasn’t until I read Tropper that...
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Now Hear This: Maybe It's OK To Say "Never"
Maybe It’s OK To Say “Never”
There is a disease spreading across our great land threatening to upset the very balance of our nation. It’s infected our youth and, in turn, even some of their parents. The scientific community has yet to label it, but we lay-people know it simply as “Bieber Fever.” It’s relentless. If you haven’t heard of it, or its cause; prepubescent...
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Now Hear This: The Inception Question
Now Hear This: The Inception Question
The single most insulting question I have heard in the last six months is: “Did you get Inception?” It is usually asked by people who think they’re a lot smarter than they really are. You know, the kind of people in college who attended every Shakespeare lecture for the sole purpose of challenging the professor’s every word only to...
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The Reaction: Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino...
Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino Claims That He Is Like Michael “His Airness” Jordan. Nation Groans.
Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, as well as the rest of the petri-dish cast of MTV’s “The Jersey Shore,” is well known for saying things that no intelligible adult would, but last week, in an exclusive interview, the walking stereotype managed to outdo even himself. It should be known...
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Now Hear This: Good People Eat Good Steak
Now Hear This: Good People Eat Good Steak
Here’s my declaration for all of you: if you have never spent more money on dinner than you’re usually comfortable with, I’m not really sure if you have been making the right life choices given the era we live in. It’s a conclusion I came to last weekend while having a meal with a friend in one of Baltimore City’s many...
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On The Menu: Birch & Barley
Restaurant: Birch & Barley
Cuisine: High End American/Beer
Location: 14th Street (near Logan Circle)
Cost ($-$$$): $$-$$$ (Moderate to Expensive)
I’ve walked into the front door of Birch & Barley on many occasions, always quickly running up the stairs beyond it to its neighbor and co-mingling bar, ChurchKey. I’ve always looked at the downstairs restaurant as the first act...
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Now Hear This: In Search of Boh
Now Hear This: In Search of Boh
The mustachio’d man has been a Baltimore icon for decades. You can find him on a billboard as you drive on North Charles Street, where he is proposing to the Utz potato chip girl. His likeness can be spotted in Canton and the neon sign will wink at you if you time it just right. Some people mistake him for the Pringles guy. Those people are not my...
4 tags
Now Hear This
Christina Aguilera Hates America. Or Not.
All across America, today, teams of colleagues stormed their water-coolers with talk of “Rape-lisburger,” Doritos ads, the use of The Option and the Auto-Tuned Black Eyed Peas performance. Whatever it was, there were a variety of opinions and takes on each, but the one thing that Steelers and Packers fans alike found common ground on was the un-American...
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The Mix Tape: Fantasies
The Mix Tape
Artist: Metric
Album: Fantasies
I was first introduced Metric from the 2010 film, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The music-centric movie features a live performance by the fictional band, The Clash at Demonhead. It turned out that the song, though, was an outtake from Metric’s latest album, Fantasies. (The title is “Black Sheep” for those who are curious.)
...
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The Mix Tape
Artist: Dr. Dre
Album: I Need A Doctor (feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey) – Single
It’s been nearly nearly ten years since we all forgot about Dre, a fact that he has publicly admitted has wracked his mind and left him in artistic turmoil, constantly recording, rerecording and throwing away new tracks for the long awaited Detox album. The wait is over. Rap’s Dr. is back. And just...
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The Letterpress: So Yesterday
So Yesterday, by Scott Westerfeld
I was first introduced to Scott Westerfeld’s writing by my 8th graders last year. I gave them a reading survey and, aside from the usual suspects of Speak and Percy Jackson, more than a few listed Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series. Needless to say, I read book one, became a fan of Westerfeld’s style, and sought out his other works.
So...
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Now Hear This
The Ye Olde Times Sucked. Fact
We’ve all heard our parents say it too many times and, believe me, that they spent a good majority of their lives hearing their parents say the same shit. Hell, as I get closer and closer to thirty (FML), I even find myself saying it (usually only in reference to rock music and the relative attractiveness of Britney Spears). If you’ve heard it once,...
