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On Wednesday, October 28th at The Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, VA, I saw Portugal. The Man play an insanely long and fantastic set. The main set consisted of twenty songs, all of which I would consider classics, including a cover of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”, and the encore consisted of four songs. This encore was perhaps the best they could have possibly put together as it consisted of “People Say”, “Don’t Look Back In Anger” (Oasis cover), “Guns and Dogs”, and “And I”. I suppose bands typically save some of their best songs for the encore, but with a band like Portugal. The Man, that is one that doesn’t seem to get the recognition it deserves, it can be hard to guess what they could save for an encore. One thing that was very clear after watching the band play on the somewhat small stage of The Jefferson is that Portugal. The Man is ready to be noticed more. The entire show was fantastic from start to finish and the band seemed to be more confident than the last time I saw them in Charlottesville, not three years prior. They have put out seven albums that have been recorded at least once a year since 2006, which is crazy given that every single one of them is good. Their latest album, In the Mountain in the Cloud, is probably their most listenable, especially considering that their earlier stuff tends to be more psychedelic. A lot of their albums are overall still pretty listenable, but as time progresses it seems that each album seems to get even more so than before. Anyway, here are some of the best songs they played, as well as some highlights from In the Mountain in the Cloud:
“Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)” from In the Mountain in the Cloud:
“All Your Light (Times Like These)” from In the Mountain in the Cloud:
“Sleep Forever” from In the Mountain in the Cloud:
“People Say” from The Satanic Satanist:
“AKA M80 the Wolf” from Waiter: “You Vultures”:
A friend of mine at work over the summer introduced me to Kendrick Lamar and the song Rigamortis in particular and after one listen it was instantly likeable. Having picked up Lamar’s album Section 80, which after a few listens, it’s becoming clear that Kendrick Lamar is definitely going to be a favorite discovery as a hip-hop artist. The inspiration to put this up came from researching whether or not Dr. Dre’s Detox was still coming out this year (apparently it is!) and finding that Dr. Dre is currently working with Mr. Lamar. Below is a video for another great song off Section 80 – A.D.H.D. Read the rest of this entry »
I am posting this as a review because I am bad at thinking up clever things to call such a post that offers up my thoughts on a game I just finished. Anyway, I finished Rage by id Software over the weekend and it was a pretty enjoyable experience overall. Going into the game without knowing much about it besides knowing that it is a shooter of some sort is probably the best way to get into it. Having known the general idea of the story and having a few minor preconceived notions in my head of what I hoped the game would be definitely let me enjoy the game more. I say this not to make people hesitant to play it, but because I think it is important to understand just what the game is before you go and spend some hard-earned cash on it. Read the rest of this entry »
So here it is, Totally My Hat is back thanks to the proper motivation from Aaron randomly posting on this day, October 7, 2011. I could use some sort of outlet to write down thoughts on what I think about certain things such as movies and games, and without even knowing if anyone will care to read this stuff I would like this stuff to be known publicly because the internet is good for letting you share with other people easily.
Anyway, what I’ve done is clean up the blog a little by deleting some old posts that weren’t really going anywhere (which I suppose you could argue that none of them really were) and made it so that only Aaron West and myself are the only contributors to the blog. This was originally a project we started back in 2009 and it’s strange to get back to it but, similarly to how I felt back then, any blog I can share with Aaron is going to be an awesome experience.
Currently I am playing Rage and it is definitely a game that was made by id Software. This is actually really good praise in my eyes, but I can see how many people might be thrown off by what can be seen through previews and what have you. So as a shooter it’s a pretty excellent game so far, but if you are expecting something else you might be disappointed. I’ll probably offer more thoughts after I finish it.
Having recently finished Neverender, a four-disc compilation of all of Coheed & Cambria’s works to date played live at Terminal 5 in New York City with each subsequent album being played every night for four nights straight, I felt it entirely appropriate to write about just how truly amazing this band is. Don’t think of this as a review of Neverender because that would consist of reviewing every one of their albums, as well as their live performances, but think of it as an overview of my experiences being a fan of the band for about 6 years now. Read the rest of this entry »
In an attempt to put something up that is quick, here’s some random musings about a few games I’ve been playing recently. I’ve been incredibly busy lately with school work and my 21st birthday last week, so I have not been posting as often as I’d like. I have had the chance to play sporadically over the past couple of days the two puzzle games: World of Goo and Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure. I felt I should share about them, even though I haven’t completed either, because they are both pretty damn fun so far and I’m looking forward to finishing both of them at some point in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
You are welcome internet.
Why? - Alopecia
So here’s an attempt at one of what may be many CD/music reviews on this site, don’t expect it to be particularly good, my intention is to just inform people on some music that I think is particularly awesome. You may see some consistencies with my music musings or reviews that I enjoy to share lyrics, I feel they are an important part to understand what a song or band may be about sometimes.
Why? – Alopecia is such a fascinating album in so many different respects that I think it’s impossible to simply listen to it and not be taken aback by some song, lyric, or musical piece contained within. This album is by far one of my personal favorites to listen to because it just sounds so great, it has a lot going for it. Read the rest of this entry »
I just finished the fifth episode of Eastbound and Down, which is the latest HBO show starring Danny McBride. It is a show about a retired baseball pitcher who, years after getting kicked out of the big-leagues, ends up working in his old hometown as a gym teacher. I cannot recommend it enough, it reminds me of The Footfist Way, a film also starring Danny McBride. As a show I think it excellently allows the cast to achieve the kind of comedy they are going for. Much of the lines in the show are improvised and Danny McBride’s character, Kenny Powers, is entirely unlikeable yet hilarious. Below is proof of that, a making-of video that I believe does a better job of putting the show in perspective than a trailer would: Read the rest of this entry »
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