Throw large objects at band-wagoners?

What defines "band-wagoner"? How do you measure a fan's loyalty towards their team? Are some fans NOT allowed to be fans of certain teams?

Those are the questions that have been stuck in my head for months. I'm going to attempt to write an entry totally related to those questions, but completely trying to avoid answering those questions. Because I still don't know the answer to those questions. With one answer, I can give you two more questions.

"A band-wagoner is someone who roots for a team when they are good, but denies that they are a fan of the team when they are bad."
Ok, that is the general answer to my first question. But what if they've always been a big fan of Kobe Bryant and his hard-nosed defense and unstoppable offense, so they root for the Lakers. What if Kobe left the Lakers? What if they don't want to root for a team without their favorite player?
How about this one? The Dodgers sucked for most of the year, but as soon as they got Manny Rameriez and started doing well, their attendance increased by thousands and I started seeing more Dodgers hats around campus.

OK, I think most of you guys have figured it out by now. This topic is as subjective as it can get. There is no right answer.
The ultimate fan, the one who buys the season tickets no matter what, and attends every game possible, they would call someone who tried to make it out to a few games per season a bandwagoner if they decided to go to more games when the team got better.
The few games fan would call the fans who wanted to attend their first game because the team got good a bandwagoner.
It just goes down to a "bigger fish eat smaller fish" scenario. But in the end, it is just a stupid concept that some fans made up to make themselves feel more "hardcore" than the others.

This might be a little too "hippy-ish" for me, but just let everyone be their own type of fan. Let them enjoy sports in their own way.

"Oh, I was a Red Sahks fan for 20 years and endured through so many heartbreaks. And you started rooting for them after they won the World Series."

Good for you, cocky looking masshole. Wicked awesome. Some people can't endure the early 90s when the "Sahks" hung around the .500 record until they got Pedro.

I call myself a hardcore Niners fan, but even I couldn't stand watching them in the 2004 season when they only won 2 games.

Anyways, this rant is getting longer than I expected. But yea, don't get down when someone calls you a bandwagoner. Enjoy sports the way you like to enjoy it.

Things I am excited about in 2009

With the ball dropping in downtown Sacramento and the crowd of thousands were counting down, I heard some stranger behind me say to his friend "2009 is going to suck, this economy is going to get worse." Wow, what a crappy way of starting the new year. I was way bummed out by that guy. But instead of complaining and worrying about the economy and my job, let's talk about all the great things that I am looking forward to in 2009.

• Obama – I'm not (too) stupid. No, he's not going to come in, snap his fingers and end the economic crisis, world hunger and the BCS system. But he is the first president in my lifetime that I felt was giving it to me straight every time he talked. I trust the guy, and I hope he does some great things in the next few years.

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• Lost - New season starting in January. Season 4 was the best season by FAR. Not too late to jump on the Lost train folks. Actually, if you want to start, start with season 1, because the train might be going too fast in season 5 for you to jump on.

• 24 – Huge 24 fan back in the day, but it got old in the last 2 seasons. With the new season approaching, I hope they learned that most of the 24 fans already know that there is going to be a “mole” in the headquarters, someone Jack’s related to will be involved, and an old friend will become an enemy. C’mon 24 writers! I dare you to throw a curveball at me!

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• Dollhouse – Created by the same guy who made Buffy and Firefly. I’m not a huge Sci-fi guy, but I’ve always been a huge fan of Firefly, hopefully this show turns out to be a good one. And it has Eliza Dushku in it…and she really does something for me.

• Lil Wayne - If he keeps doing what he has been doing in 2008, this is going to be a great year. Songs instantly get better when you see "featuring Lil Wayne" on it.

• Kanye West - I'm excited to see what he is going to go with his music in 2009. He can't turn back to the "Good Life" Kanye, people would call him a fake and a hypocrite. He can't stay depressed and make another 808 heartbreak. He is stuck in a corner now, excited to see where he goes this year.

• San Jose Sharks - Sure, call me a band wagoner, I'm ok with that...but with a new roommate that played hockey and can actually explain to me rules, strategy, etc...I am really into hockey now. Not to mention that the Sharks are the only bay area team doing anything good right now. Warriors games aren't even fun to go to anymore, Giants are preparing for a .500 season, and the Niners are going into the offseason with "hope" again...I don't like "hope" I like "wins".

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• Arrested Development (the movie) - Ron Howard director, check. Same cast, check...kinda. The rumor is that Michael Cera is not in yet, but as long as Will Arnett is in, I'm good to go.

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• Terminator Salvation – Another Terminator movie…meh….Christian Bale as John Conner? I am interested.

• S. Darko - A sequel to Donnie Darko, one of my favorite movies. Comes out in July. Only problem is that it is not directed by Richard Kelly, the director of Donnie Darko. Might just be a bust, most sequels of awesome movies turn out to be busts. But hey, still looking forward to seeing more info about it.

Top 10 Albums of 2008

2 honorable mentions:

The Cool Kids (Hip Hop) – Bake Sale EP – Love love love the cool kids. These guys bring hip hop back to when it was good hip hop. They remind me of ErikB and Rakim, Tribe Called Quest, a little De La Soul. Definitely a recommend if you like those 3 groups I mentioned to you. Even with such a big complement for these guys, they have plenty of room to grow, their rhyme schemes should improve, and their song topics should improve as they grow.



Recommended listens: Mikey Rocks, Black Mags

My Morning Jacket (Indie Rock, Experimental) – Evil Urges – A last minute addition to the list. Had to take NERD off the list for these guys. I just started listening to in 2005 with their release of "Z". I liked it, but I really loved Evil Urges. They replaced Kings of Leon as "that one Southern band that I like." Evil Urges went WAY experimental rock on me, and I loved every minute of it.



Recommended listens: I'm Amazed, Evil Urges

Watch for these guys in 2009:

Chester French (Pop) – She Loves Everybody EP – The rumor was that Kanye West and Pharrel's labels got into a huge bidding war on these guys and they ended up signing with Startrak, Pharrel's label.




Recommended listens: She Loves Everybody

Here are my top 10 albums of 2008!

Does it offend you, Yea? (Dance Punk) – You have no idea what you are getting yourself into – Think Gorillaz turned punk. Maybe Daft Punk turned good? I even feel a little Rage against the Machines in them. Named after a Ricky Gervais quote in the British version of The

Office, the band is very new, and I predict will explode on the US scene in 2009. Great album that shows a lot of intensity and "tastiness" through random noise. And it also shows a lot of promise for a young group that will be in the spotlight soon.

Recommended listens: We are rockstars, Let's make out

Foals (Indie rock) – Antidote – Foals replaced the Arctic Monkeys as "that one British band that I like". Not like the arctic monkeys at all though…Foals is the genre of rock that I really enjoy, "math rock" which is basically rhythmically complex rock. We're not going to go into details for your sake. But it originated from bands like The Police and Pink Floyd back in the day. Antidote reminds me a lot of Minus the Bear songs, but also a lot of originality. Great album to

listen to on a long roadtrip or on the plane.


Recommended listens: Balloons, Cassis


Santogold (Indie Pop) – Santogold – With the sudden popularity of M.I.A, I have decided to move on to the next obscure artist that will be underrated until their song is put into a movie trailer and suddenly everyone becomes a fan. Just like MIA's first album, there were songs that definitely threw me off, songs that just didn't sound "good" or "right". But this is going to be the genre that is popular in a year. These are going to be the beats and samples that Timbaland will be stealing from soon. It will be good stuff, I know it.



Recommended listens: Creator, Lights Out

The Tings Tings (Indie Pop) – We started nothing – You know them best from that one ipod commercial. And you gotta give Apple credit for their music choices. Since 2007, they have introduced me to The Fratellis, CSS, The Bird and the Bee, Feist, and now, The Ting Tings. Think White Stripes gone pop, and these days, if it ain't pop, it ain't on the radio. OK, no more insulting pop music, these guys are good, good singing and good beats....definitely a solid album.


Recommended listens: Shut up and let me go, That's not my name

Flight of the Conchords (Acoustics, Comedy) – Flight of the Conchords – Does putting a
comedy album on my top 10 totally disqualify this list from anything near legit? Yea, probably. But who cares? Let me make my list. The people who never saw their show on HBO might not appreciate this album, the overall music talent on these guys really aren't top notch. But if you have seen all the episodes on HBO, you will love the album. For me, this album has to be the most fun album of the year.


Recommended listens: Robots, Business Time

TV on the Radio (Experimental Rock) – Dear Science - Definitely didn't like their previous albums, but they changed something up in this one. They just added so much more into this new album. It's has more pop, more soul, more punk, and a lot less depression. My pick for the best rock album of the year.




Recommend listens: Dancing Choose, Golden Age

Kanye West (Hip hop/Pop art) – 808s and Heartbreak – This might not be Kanye's best
album (which is Graduation imo). But it is still a good album. Definitely would be 9th or 10th if I ranked my top 10, it still deserves some recognition. Not going to go into that much detail about this album since I wrote about it in my last blog entry. But hey, definitely check it out if you are into the current hip hop scene.




Recommended listens: Amazing, Coldest Winter

Lupe Fiasco (Hip hop) – The Cool – This album was released late in December of 2007, but I'll still count it in the 2008 edition. This album was like a sophisticated and refreshing bottle of wine in the world of Grey Goose, Cristal and Olde English 40s. Like Kanye, Lupe went through some bad times before this album, but instead of crying about it through bad singing, Lupe showed it through his lyrics. Sure sometimes the lyrics go WAY over your head, but there's nothing wrong with trying something new out for a change.

Recommended listens: Hip Hop saved my life, Little Weapon


Lil Wayne (Hip Hop) – Tha Carter 3 – A lyrical masterpiece. Top to bottom a brilliant album. Might be the last good one he makes for a while if he falls in love with that auto-tune crap. This album has be delayed for a while, and it's been hyped for more than 2 years now, I'm very glad about how it turned out. It's definitely proven now that he is the best rapper alive. Best rap album of the year.

Recommended listens: A Milli, Let the beat build

Vampire Weekend (Indie Rock) – Vampire Weekend – Looking around at other top album
lists, Vampire Weekend is always mentioned, and I totally agree. Not because this band has received more internet hype than chocolate rain, not because they were named "Best new band" and "Band to look for" in magazine…I am just in love with this album. It is something I can listen to everyday and not get tired of it. In fact, I have been listening to them almost everyday since their release of the album in January of 08.

Recommended listens: A-punk, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

More 808s and less Heartbreaks please

Sorry about the really really late review.
This took me about three weeks to decide how I should write this review.

I won't be writing album reviews for a lot of albums, but this one...I gotta write about this one.

Please don't think I'm one of those guys who thinks that they will make the final decision on if the music is good or bad. As a DJ who used to play N Sync's Digital Get Down at YMCA teen nights, I don't have a say in what good or bad music is.

This album could be a masterpiece, I just need to figure out why. Is this album the "Rubber Soul" in Kanye's career? Or will this be his "Beatles for Sale"?

My initial feeling towards the album was utter disappointment and frustration. Most of you read my auto-tune blog and saw how much I HATED rappers who have taken advantage of this "tool" and ditched every bit of originality they had in them. Kanye West is arguably the best rapper I've ever heard, and he decided to make a whole album with auto-tune?! Really? Seriously? I mean, his part in Young Jeezy's "Put On" was hot as hell. But the whole album? Seems like he's trying to play the whole golf course with just a nine iron. Even with my disappointment, I still had high hopes for this album.

When I looked further into the creation of this album, I realized that Kanye went through some stuff which caused him to write this album. His mother passed away in a tragic plastic surgery complication. He broke off his engagement with his long time girlfriend.

The album took a little less than 2 weeks to record. Which is understandable considering how easy it is to record tracks with auto-tune. But what is truly impressive was that he made the whole album with a Roland TR-808 drum machine, frequently used in house, jungle, and hip hop beats from the early 90s to the present day.

I tried many places and situations to listen to the album. By myself in my room, in the car, while working out, while I'm working, while I'm happy, while I'm sad, but I just could not figure it out...it's the same feeling I had with Andre 3000's Love Below. Why did I love and hate this album at the same time? I didn't quite figure it out until my friend Matt Londre told me that I didn't have to like the whole album, he enjoyed tracks 6-8...

I didn't like the whole album, but I loved every individual song. How does that work? Think of every album as a full meal served to you. 808s and Heartbreak felt like 12 servings of the delicious soup. Even though each soup was delicious and you loved it, but at the end of the meal, you wish that the chef would have served some other type of dishes. The 12 songs also took away the greatness of each other a little bit. Put something like Street Lights or Coldest Winter in one of his previous albums and it would be my favorite song.

I have so much more to say about this album..

- his inability to do any of these songs (well) live (starting at 2:30)
- breaking down each individual song and how great each of them were (Amazing and Coldest Winter were my favorites)
- how great that a rapper is showing vulnerability and rarely mentioned how many cars he had or how big his stack of cash was

But hey, I think you guys (all 3 of you) get my point.

This album gets a 8 out of 10.

Top Albums of 2008

There are about 4 more weeks left this year, and it's never too early to start thinking about your top albums on the year. These are my frontrunners so far, but I still need to listen to Kanye's album and The Killers again before I make my final decision.

Top 10 album list will probably come out around new years.

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter 3
TI - Paper Trail
TV on the Radio - Dear Science
Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
Atmosphere - When life gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Santogold - Santogold
Kings of Leon - Only by the night
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the lonely
Lupe Fiasco - The Cool (Dec 2007)
NERD - Seeing Sounds

Eight underrated shows you'll probably never watch...

Ever since the invention of DVRs, TV Series DVDs, and people posting TV shows online, I have found a new love for TV shows.

In fact, I can't even fall asleep now without the sound of Sawyer's sweet voice in the background.
I would say I watch too many shows, but here are the shows that I've noticed that not many of my other friends are into. So here are my top 8 most underrated shows on (or once on) TV.

8. Battlestar Galactica - Sci-fi fans are in love with this and would no way call it underrated. That is the problem though. This show has gotten such great reviews in the sci-fi arena that it has gotten the reputation of being a show compared to "Star Trek" that only "geeks" watch. This is not the case, this is a show that can be enjoyed by more than a sci-fi fan. Give it a shot and watch the first episode, I guarantee you will be hooked.

7. Californication - Been getting some love these days, but still a show that not many people watch. Mainly because it is on showtime and no one really has showtime. David Duchovny is amazing in this show, the situations that he gets into are hilarious and I really love the way that they portray Los Angeles as a monster that can suck you up and spit you out as a completely different person.

6. Arrested Development - If everyone calls a show "underrated", does it make the show "overrated"? Honestly the smartest, funniest show I have ever seen. I have no idea how it was canceled...actually, FOX fucked it over, but hey, who's still bitter? I watch the DVDs again from time to time and I still catch new things in there that are hilarous.

5. Firefly - Again, one of those sci-fi shows that can be enjoyed by non-sci-fi fans. If you want the cliffnotes to see if you will enjoy this show, check out the movie "Serenity".

4. It's Always Sunny in Philly - Right next to The Office, this is the funniest show on TV right now. This show is absolutely amazing, it's one of a kind and you can only catch it on FX....yea, I know, FX...the same place to get your NYPD Blues reruns...
But this show is definitely NOT for everybody, but if you don't get offended easily and would like a big laugh, buy the DVDs and check the show out.

3. Scrubs - My ex-roommate Bryan and I used to watch this religiously on NBC a few years ago. Now it's on Comedy Central and still not getting the love that it deserves. This show is NOTHING like the other medical shows. Although it does take time to make fun of shows like House and Grey's Anatomy. Zach Braff is a genius on the show...and Dr Cox rocks my world.

2. Dexter - It is my favorite show on TV right now. Again, not getting the publicity because it is on Showtime. But one of the most original shows I've ever seen. I hate predictable shows (last few seasons of 24) and Dexter is anything but predictable. Definitely buy the 1st season and watch it from the start. Might be a little gory for you at the start, but you'll get used to it.

1. American Dad - At this moment, American Dad is better than the Simpsons and Family Guy. This show started slow, but definitely has picked up. Now into it's 4th season, it is still not too late to start watching this guy. Definitely a recommend if you are into Family Guy.

Well, 8 shows you can check out while you are on holiday break. And don't be afraid to ask me to borrow DVDs or where you can download or stream these shows.

Auto-tune is slowly killing hip-hop

I'm going to try my best not to hate on T-Pain and say that he is the cause of all this. And it is true, this auto-tune in rap phenomena didn't start with T-Pain, and it certainly won't end with T-pain.

However, T-Pain is one of the best examples I have for my first try at blogging, but first, a little history of auto-tuning in rap and music in general.

For those who have no idea what auto-tune is and are completely lost right now, let me start by explaining what exactly this "auto-tune" thing is.
Auto-tune is a tool used by professional recording studios to record precisely tuned recordings. It corrects the singers' pitch, basically making it easier to record a well-sung record.

Pitch Correction and auto-tune recording tools was first exposed to the public when the popular new pop star, Britney Spears, was revealed by the media for using pitch correction tools to help her make up for her lack of...musical talent. Did her fans really care though? No one really was into Britney for her singing talents anyways.

Auto-tune as we all know it now made its appearance in 1998, by an artist that T-Pain should be thanking in every one of his album "thank you" sections. It was motherfreakin Cher...the song was Believe (the link is to the music video, I would advise NOT clicking on the link unless you truly don't believe me...believe, heh). There were auto-tuning used in small parts of songs before her, but Cher used the auto-tune throughout the WHOLE song. And it was soon known as the Cher Effect.

SO back to the slow death of hip hop. Again, I will NOT blame T-Pain for this. You can't blame the man pouring the Kool-Aid without looking at all the people drinking the Kool-Aid. Many R&B artists have used this effect to "enhance" their tracks. Chris Brown, The Dream, Rhianna, AKon, just to name a few. Plenty of rappers also drank the red Kool Aid, Weezy, Jeezy, Kanyeeze, even the dog father, Snoop Dogg, couldn't avoid this fad.

You're asking, "So what? This is just a fad, Hip Hop goes in and out of these fads, it's not worth bitching about."

You are wrong sir, I do agree that Hip Hop has had a history of being a recycled genre. Taking beats from old rap songs, funk, disco, and you can't forget Puffy making millions for taking hits from the eighties (ya ya). But true Hip Hop was slowly moving out of that phase, with guys like Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Young Jeezy, David Banner, and TI paving the way. There were young guns making damn good music, The Cool Kids, Kid Cudi, Gym Class Heroes, Murs. They were ALL original, they were GOOD music. Just when I think something great was going to come around the corner...if it doesn't have auto-tune in the song, it can't be a hit.

Again, rappers decided to take the easy way out. Yes, Lollypop was a damn catchy song, but A Milli was a hundred times better. Why? Lil Wayne rapped, he showed his true talents instead of sing half-assed lyrics and letting the technology do the trick.

And Kanye's new album 808s and Heartbreak...not a new idea that will revolutionize the rap game, just a bad idea...period. Know why this album came out so quickly? It's because Kanye can go into the studio for a few hours, sing however badly he wants to sing, and then the auto-tune will make sure it sounds like a hit. Like my friend Jeremy said in his blog, "Bad form Kanye, bad form." Don't you remember how much crap Love Below got?

TI..."whatever you like"....that's not you TI, what happened to my Rubberband Man? Smokin dro and riding on 24s? But it's fine, take the easy way out and make millions with it, I probably would have done the same thing.

Can we do something about this? Probably not.
Can we tell the DJ that is mixing on his macbook to go back to using two turntables and vinyl? Probably not.
Can we ask Lil Wayne and TI to spit 16 hot bars at us instead of showing us their best Cher impersonation? Probably not.
It's just TOO easy the other way, and it doesn't seem like too many other people are complaining about it.

So all us original hip hop heads can do is go back and drown in our Atmospheres, Living Legends, old school Biggie...and when the Cher impersonators are played in the club, put on a smile and just dance, cause it's all good baby baby!