vain, selfish & lazy.

Friday, August 04, 2000

baby bob bouncing to cbs primetime pilot: he's the spokesbaby for freeinternet.com. hmm, a talking baby with an adult-sized iq. doesn't remind you of anyone, does it?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

"today" show: the real boob tube: opie and anthony strike again!
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jfk, dietrich had 1962 white house tryst - report sure, she was hot. but she was 58 at the time!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

hugh grant 'fantastic in bed,' says ex-love hurley: so which is it, liz?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

hole lotta love for liam?: is there any rocker courtney love's not seen with? kurt cobain must be rolling in his grave!
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

snoop dogg puts girl band together: they're called dogg's angels. it's good to see that he doesn't let self-aggrandizement get in the way of giving the girls a good name.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

madonna mauls modern pop: she becomes more unbearable by the day. "i just hope somebody comes along like johnny rotten or sid vicious and tears the belly out of teen pop." have we forgotten our roots already? she goes on to use the word "arse" and it gets worse from there. i'm chalking it up to the british influence.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

victoria warns geri off of robbie williams: it's nice that she still cares. of course, the story of this alleged love affair has probably knocked victoria off the front of the tabloids, so i guess she had to get her say in.
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MAGNETIC FIELDS - CASTLE CLINTON - 8/3/00
surely, the irony wasn't lost on anyone when the rain, having held up all day, came pouring down just as the magnetic fields concert began; that the only black cloud in all of manhattan hovered over the small monument gave me a laugh, at least. as you can guess, it did end up raining fairly heavily and the show was called about 45 minutes in. it all started so promisingly too, what with the promoter announcing that this would be the longest show of the season since it was the last. sadly, it wasn't to be.

the show began with a spare, lovely version of "a pretty girl is like...": this was my first mf concert and hearing merritt's voice live was quite a revelation. the voice was sterling and unwaveringly perfect: for the longest time, i believed him to possess a very cool, deep voice, but it wasn't until perhaps the charm of the highway strip that i felt he was evolving into a good singer. the voice was so commanding and so alluring last night that i couldn't imagine any singer being able to compete. which is why dudley and l.d. stood no chance when merritt performed versions of "let's pretend we're bunny rabbits" and "the luckiest guy on the lower east side." i felt that both of them gave good performances on the record, but it wasn't until i heard merritt sing them that i realized he was meant to sing his own words; when he did "all my little words" and "come back from san francisco" live, two songs i've thought were a tad too precious despite my liking them, his vocals gave an edge to the prettiness and made them all the better for it.

from the beginning, i've felt one of the band's real strengths was merritt's mostly synth-based productions: imagine my surprise then when the songs were treated organically and sounded better than on record. songs that particularly benefitted from the treatment were "no one will ever love you," which had a driving piano arrangement; "asleep & dreaming" which was the softest lullaby you could imagine; "the luckiest guy on the lower east side" whose ploppy synth was replaced by a sublime piano part, and merritt absolutely nailed the ending; and "i don't believe the sun," a modern standard on record which became transcendent with its beautiful piano and viola accompaniment. on that last song, as the clouds gathered and the wind picked up, though it was a beautiful version, you couldn't help but think that maybe merit shouldn't be spiting the sun as it was having enough troubles as it was. ;)

claudia was an absolute dream, an indie-rock dream girl if there ever was one. her piano playing was beautiful and her between song banter was funny and endearing. she said "thank you" after every song, compared to stephin's one, slightly muffled "thank you." she told amusing anectdotes about their british record company reps and their way of saying "GOODBYE!" forty octaves higher than their regular conversation -- they just returned from england; i would've liked it if they left the weather behind -- and she was our constant weathergal, giving us matter-of-fact statements like, "it's raining!" merritt wasn't nearly the misanthrope people make him out to be, though perhaps with the darkness and gloominess, he was in his element. he introduced "meaningless"; he told us all how atonal music was becoming very popular which is why they had to buy the helicopter (last year, it was the theremin, this year it's the helicopter, what's next?); he wondered aloud if they had any songs about natural disasters as the dark clouds rolled in and shouted out "all the umbrellas in london" -- they didn't play it, sadly; and closed the show exclaiming, "we're all dead if we stay here!" one of the funniest moments belonged to merritt's. the guy seems like a consummate professional, but as the rain starts pouring down, he breaks out in laughter two words into "the night you can't remember" and has to restart.

as i said, the show ended 45 minutes in and we got 18 songs. songs that i never really particularly cared for, like "pretty girl...," "bunny rabbits," and "asleep & dreaming," were wonderful live and i don't think there was one song that didn't sound better live. it was a shame that the show had to end so soon, but i will definitely try to catch them live next time they're in the area. in merritt's hands, the book of love may be long, but it sure ain't boring.

setlist: 1. a pretty girl 2. i don't believe in the sun 3. all my little words 4. a chicken with its head cut off 5. reno dakota 6. come back from san francisco 7. let's pretend we're bunny rabbits 8. asleep and dreaming 9. i don't want to get over you 10. the book of love 11. parades go by 12. meaningless 13. fido, your leash is too long 14. no one will ever love you 15. very funny 16. the luckiest guy on the lower east side 17. kiss me like you mean it 18. the night you can't remember
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

Thursday, August 03, 2000

diamanda galas rates the singles: i'd been trying to post this since i saw it in time out a few week ago. magnetic fields collaborator l.d. beghtol plays the tracks and galas rates them. the attacks on sleater-kinney and trembling blue stars are particularly amusing ("put a tampon on it, honey.")
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

as republicans party, few americans turn in: it's about the convention coverage's ratings woe, but it's worth going to just to see the picture of george w. who appears to be staring at a u.f.o.
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l.a. lifeguard fashion emergency: los angeles county wants to change their swimsuits from speedo to izod! oh, the horror!
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madonna makes ricky martin cry: ah hell, i have to take time out to blog this.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

just so you know: i've just been handed a big assignment here at work, so i'm afraid it will interfere with my blogging. updates will be sporadic, though i hope the frequency will improve as the day wears on.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

gervase booted off the island: surprise, surprise. perhaps cbs is smarter than we thought. it was a night of surprises on cbs what with jordan getting kick out of the big brother house. who would've guessed that curtis, CURTIS!, would survive?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

Wednesday, August 02, 2000

man killed wife over no sex: well, would you want to have sex with a 64 year-old? people are crazy.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

universal music testing digital downloads: and now universal joins in, but they're just dipping their toes in the waters. they're performing trials, offering up about 60 songs at first with new songs being added weekly. it's a start.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

of shampoo and conditioner: so last night, i'm taking a shower. i accidentally grab the conditioner and put it in my hair. when i'm applying it, i'm thinking to myself, "you know, i bet this is conditioner because it's not lathering up like the shampoo would." wouldn't you know it, i was right: shamefully, this isn't the first time this has happened. i get out of the shower and i'm thinking, "no, your hair smells of chamomile and not of fruit complex -- IT'S A DEAD GIVEAWAY. you can say that you didn't use conditioner, but that would be a LIE!" thankfully, i'm just very paranoid and no one really cares whether or not i use conditioner.

when i was in high school, i had a friend whose hair was always somewhat greasy. one day, his hair was looking greasy even for him. the following is a transcript of our conversation about it.

me: wow, (name deleted), your hair is looking REALLY greasy today.
him: i know, but i have no idea why. i even used conditioner today!
me: *long, thoughtful pause*
me: did you wash out the conditioner?
him: you mean you have to wash it out?
all: *loud laughter*

ahh, those were the days.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

mcdonald's faces hot drink lawsuit in britain: stella liebeck, meet your british counterparts.
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the u.s. mint: the golden dollar coin: i went to wendy's for lunch today. when i received my change, $14, i got back two fives and four golden dollars. "odd," i thought, but lured in by the novelty of it all, i didn't give it a second thought. i get back to the office and decide i want a soda, so i head over to the vending machines. well, imagine my surprise when the machine wouldn't take my golden dollar! what are these things good for? the subway? tolls? man, i am thirsty, but i don't want to give the cashier these damned things. it's the same timid reticence i experienced when trying to use the kennedy half-dollars my grandfather would give me. every time i'd try to use one, someone would say, "what is this?" or "we don't except this." it's perfectly legal tender, if just a bit large and unwieldy! i guess i'll have to break the fives. damn.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

hands-off wills britney!: the palace is asking that britney stop sending stuff to william. for some reason, she sent him her resume (?).
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

'mnf' loses viewer yardage in miller debut: now, now, let's be fair. the patriots vs. the 49ers isn't exactly a marquis matchup. as i said to a co-worker yesterday, it doesn't really matter who is in the booth, unless there are, say, chicks getting naked up there. if it's a good game, it's a good game: last year, a lot of the teams that were good the previous year ended up sucking so many of the monday night match-ups were pretty bad. it probably wasn't fair to lay the blame on boomer, but i guess they needed a scapegoat. essentially, it all comes down to what games they line up.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

God only knows: salon article on, who else, brian wilson. doesn't offer much: an examination of his reasons to bring pet sounds on the road and a review of one of those shows. but it's worth the read for the info on the bulletin board at brian's website -fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

eminem to start acting career: in his own life story no less, which shouldn't be much of a stretch. it's loosely based on saturday night fever. go figure.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

'coyote ugly' errors: well, some might say it was an error to even make the film, but nevertheless. skip down to the second story and, if you too hate the film without even seeing it, laugh 'til your heart's content.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

newsblogger: i love the guys behind blogger. really, i do. they provide an excellent service and they do it for FREE! and i know they mean well with newsblogger, but i can't say that i really approve of the idea. it takes a lot of the fun out of digging for news stories that you think others may not have seen, and it caters to laziness. now, with newsblogger, all you have to do is browse through the headlines and then blog them. for a comparison, i look to music (of course) and those sampling cds that are out on the market. they take a lot of the best grooves and put them on one cd and, voila!, we end up with the puffys of the world. i guess we'll have to do what those who oppose those cds do and that is to dig a little deeper.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

entertainment weekly -- 10 best albums of 2000: well, ew.com chimes in on their top 10 so far, and i have to say it's a fairly sucky list. frankly, i don't know if i've even bought 10 new albums this year, but only one of the ones i really like is on their list (eminem).
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

madonna video promises "unblurred strippers" in new video: it debuts at 4 pm (est). if you're not at home -- or even if you are and love blurry videos -- you can catch it at muchmusic.com and perhaps at vh1.com.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

beastie boys cancel us tour: :(
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postal service testing e-mail for all: sounds nice, doesn't it? but stop and think about it for a second: God knows they already open regular letters as it is and look at all of the things they lose! do you really want the post office controlling your e-mail?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

microsoft's allen pledges money for alien search: a tale of two billionaires: bill gates seems content just giving his money away, the other day he gave $40m to harvard for research; paul allen, on the other hand, likes to buy sports teams and do things like this.
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philadelphia police, protesters clash: "about 20 blocks from the convention." how about saying what it really is? and that's five miles. five miles from where i work is battery park city: i'm sure they're getting a lot accomplished.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

robbie and geri 'in love': oh, where to begin with this one! geri is a new gay icon and she hung out a lot with george michael; robbie has been rumored to be gay. is she a beard?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

Tuesday, August 01, 2000

BOYZ II MEN - "PASS YOU BY"
there was a time when a new boyz ii men single was an event. those were different times however: back then, each new release threatened to break some billboard record or another; now, particularly following the disappointment of their evolution album and every song they've released since then, they're bound to play second fiddles to those they've influenced, namely the backstreet boys and 'nsyncs of the world. based on "pass you by," are they being unfairly overlooked? well, no.

boyz ii men's debut, cooleyhighharmony, was the very first cd i bought. to this day, i think of it as a classic new jack album: it came at just the right time, their hip-hop beats, wonderful harmonies, and overall ebullience providing a breath of fresh air. they struck a fine balance between ballads and uptempo songs, but the ballad was obviously their forte. after that album, they released ballad after ballad and on the albums, the attention paid to the uptempo tracks was perfunctory at best. for a time, they had some very strong ballads so it was hard to fault them for this but with evolution, the guys decided it was time for a change.

the boyz were no longer boyz and as such, they wanted to take control of their careers. evolution did feature songs by the usual big names, but as a single, they decided to issue "doin' just fine" which was their own creation. needless to say, it stiffed on mtv and on the charts. since then, they've released a slew of ballads on soundtracks and such and not one did anything. so this brings us to "pass you by," which is the first single off their upcoming album.

it's a ballad alright, but thankfully it's devoid of the sentimentality and mush of many past releases. sadly, that's all i can say in the song's favor. i don't have the writing credits but my guess is that the group wrote it, and if they didn't, whoever did needs to hide their head in shame because even professional hacks like diane warren can at least write a catchy tune. the only thing noteworthy about the song is an unexpected time change in the chorus, a trick that only furthers my belief that songwriters just learning their craft, i.e. boyz ii men, wrote it, that being the kind of trick utilized to show how "mature" and "sophisticated" one's skills are. if this dents the pop charts, i'll be amazed. i'd never thought i'd say it, but i'd take a backstreet ballad over this.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

mobile phones link to playstation video games: as if their users needed anything else to distract them. remember when people used phones to talk on?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

send in the clowns?: tom, i'm surprised that you like collins's version better than sinatra's...actually, i'm not. i think that, when given a choice between a female singer and a male singer, you'll take the former, especially when the former is all soft and delicate. so, in theory, i'd be surprised that you'd like her version better because i think her version is clearly inferior.

collins sounds like an mor singer just singing another song put before her. her delivery is certainly pretty, but i don't feel anything when i listen to her; i don't sense any connection between her and the words and she comes off sounding boring. on the other hand, sinatra, as he does with many of his songs, makes you feel like the song was written for him. he puts up a facade, trying to bring a dignified air to his handling of a broken relationship, but underneath you can sense his vulnerability: he's a man with a bruised heart who's trying desperately to keep it from breaking. it comes across like a page out of his life; it strikes me that he chose to sing the song, whereas with collins i get the sense that it was given to her, and when it comes to interpretation, i believe that's the difference between a great cover and an average one.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

the top ten elvis songs: apropos of nothing, here are my ten favorite elvis songs.
10. "suspicious minds"
9. "unchained melody"
8. "kentucky rain"
7. "an american trilogy"
6. "mystery train"
5. "can't help falling in love"
4. "viva las vegas"
3. "surrender"
2. "jailhouse rock"

and in the number one spot...

1. "if i can dream"
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

madonna's music breaks new ground: maybe it is true, but i personally don't believe anyone who still uses the word "dope."
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dmx lands a new starring role: in the fourth installment of the film series, dmx will play...the crow?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

charles barkley seeks screen role: "i'm not going to be no action hero, but i do want to kill people,'' he said. ``i've always wanted to kill somebody, so i can't wait to do that." gotta love that charles.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

"mnf" ready for miller time: after some initial awkwardness, i think miller really settled in and provided both good commentary and much-needed comic relief. he's better than boomer esiason, that's for damn sure.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

free madonna "music": the remixes of the song are available legally all over the web. read this article to find out where. n.b.: it's not vhi.com; it's vh1.com.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

bolton seeks soccer star signing fee: what they're trying to say is that he's trying to get $15m out of jive records to sign with them. hasn't he heard the adage, "beggars can't be choosers?" another one worth going to merely for the pic of bolton: dotmusic has the most sadistic art department out there.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

radiohead explain birth: or their album title, rather. another reason to dislike radiohead! the title is very similar to a book called "kid a in alphabet street." the alternate moniker? "An Abecedarian Roller Coaster Ride Through The Phallocentric Obscurantism Of Jacques Lacan." are radiohead jealous or what?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

india's top bandit kidnaps top movie star: too good to be true. even if the headline doesn't grab you, it's definitely worth the read.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

'x-files' accident leaves 1 dead, 6 injured: if this isn't a sign that the show needs to end, i don't know what is.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

powell, mrs. bush take stage: it should be known that i'm a republican, or rather i'm moderately conservative. when i entered college, i was very conservative, but upon graduation, i found myself leaning to the left more. that all said, powell's speech last night at the convention was excellent, and it saddens me that he never ran for the presidency. if george w. is smart (a big if, admittedly), he'd make powell his secretary of state.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

Monday, July 31, 2000

the funniest thing i've seen all day: the link comes courtesy of hi-fi slacker. you can see the info page on this item here. for now, enjoy the pic.

-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

who am i?: or who was i in a past life? here's my answer:
Diagnosis:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I do not know how you feel about it, but you were male in your last earthly incarnation.
You were born somewhere around territory of modern Turkey approximately on 825.
Your profession was handicraftsman, mechanic.
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Your brief psychological profile in that past life:
You always liked to travel, to investigate, could have been detective or spy.
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Lesson, that your last past life brought to present:
Your lesson -- development and expansion of your mental consciousness. Find good teacher, spend a part of your time and energy on his wisdom.
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Now you remember?

no, not really. most who know me would get a kick out of the fact that, in a past life, my profession was a handicraftsmen, mechanic. this link brought to you by the letter j and bloggy.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

how are you?: me? i'm fine. weather-wise, it was a fairly sucky weekend. if it wasn't raining, it was gray all weekend long. as long as it doesn't rain on thursday, i'll be fine.

this weekend, i saw magnolia which is a hell of a movie, but one i haven't yet fully absorbed. once i can conjure some thoughts, i'll write a review. for now, let's just say it's ambitious.

this morning, someone must've accidentally switched the subways to "suck." the problem with the 66th st. station, going downtown, is that you can see the train when it arrives at the 72nd st. station. sometimes this is good: you know that a train is coming so you can stop worrying. sometimes, like this morning, it's bad: you know that a train is coming but it's just NOT coming, for whatever reason. it's just sitting there; i knew there was a problem when i saw the 9 riding on the express line. eventually, someone asked what was going on -- the train was disabled -- and then everyone got irate that we weren't informed. so i walk down to the 59th st. station and there's a b train waiting for me. cool. however, this was the slowest damned b train i've ever been on, and that's saying a lot. it stops in the tunnel, of course, and i end up almost being late for the first time since...well, i don't remember. anyhow, it SUCKED.

right now, i'm listening to the new wyclef album. once i get through it, i'll get working on a review.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

passengers rattled by emergency concorde landing: what is going ON here?
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company admits math scores don't add up: in minnesota, 336 seniors were barred from graduating because a private testing company mistakenly flunked them on the math section of a basic skills exam. oops.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

u2 world exclusive today: if you go here, you'll hear a sample of their new single, "beautiful day." i've read a couple interviews with the band about this album. since they stopped making good music, u2 has had the annoying ability to make their music sound much better than it is. let's hope this isn't the case once again.

btw, their website is really annoying and confusing. so if you can't find the clip, it's here.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

never mind all that: the worst search ever: kathie lee gifford. NUDE! meep.
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okay, now i'm fucking disturbed: someone came to this site searching for nude pokemon. NUDE POKEMON! ewing, was it you? wait a second, aren't all pokemon nude?

another came in looking for shirtless justin timberlake. hmmm.

and this is actually the most disturbing thing i've seen all day. someone ended up at this here site via a search for NAKED PICTURES OF FRED DURST. if such things exist, i hope they're burned for all of our sakes.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

gates give harvard $45m for research: i think that's really nice of melinda gates, to give so freely of her husband's money.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

'scary movie' writers strike again: 10 things i hate about clueless road trips when i can't hardly wait to be kissed is the title. kill me now.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

tobey maguire lining up to play 'spider-man': though i'm not the biggest tobey maguire fan, i think he does have the right mix of boy-next-door innocence and mild creepiness necessary for the role of peter parker.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

madonna and child in a time crunch: it seems that guy ritchie has convinced her to contemplate inducing labor so the birth won't interfere with the premiere of his new film. also in this link, you'll see that there's an eminem biopic on the way, and you'll read about the strange things a nude christopher walken did with cats. hmmm.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

stereophonics frontman working on his first film script: let's hope it's as good as his lyrics! hasn't anyone learned from bono's mistakes?
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

don't dream it's over?: ew buffoon david browne theorizes that the teen pop phenomenon is already coming to an end. however, he foolishly believes that teen pop = not writing your own songs. typical.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

the six faces of stephin merritt: here's a great little interview with merritt from this week's time out new york. in it, you'll learn about his upbringing, you'll get a clue as to where he does a lot of his writing, and you'll discover who a number of the singers on the upcoming 6ths album will be.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

texas a&m students plan bonfire: one for the "only in texas" department. what amazing sensitivity on the part of these youngsters. one can only hope that logs fall on them too.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

Sunday, July 30, 2000

drybuns.com: Kathy Griffin, NO!
-Michael Daddino | steal this link! | discuss

britney the activist?: sorry fred, i couldn't let this go unblogged. this is weird on 2 levels: britney spears taking up a cause for an incarcerated rapper... and that rapper being Keith Murray.
-Bill Johnson | steal this link! | discuss