"The Jesus Lizard was one of the best underground rock bands of the 1990's," people have said. I'm sold.

I read this article from Pitchfork about the Jesus Lizard remastered albums from their Steve Albini period (Head, Goat, Liar, and Down) that were released in October and I could not agree more with what that guy wrote.
"The Jesus Lizard was one of the best underground rock bands of the 1990's", he said. This is almost a fact. Actually, it should be written in stone.
I went and purchased the remasters of Goat and Liar because those two albums proved a lot to the underground rock scene, if not music as a whole. The Jesus Lizard had three albums after that, but they couldn't touch the genius of those previous two.
All four individuals in this act – guitarist Duane Denison, drummer Mac McNeilly, bassist David Wm. Sims, and vocalist David Yow – have a talent of their own. But, it's how those individual talents fuse together to make the band what it is.
When you listen to the Jesus Lizard, the first thing you're drawn to is the rhythm section of McNeilly and Sims. It never misses its mark, as if Sims and McNeilly were attatched at the hip of pounding wisdom. However, the lines of Denison's guitar travel through your brain like a snake does through grass. Last, but, certainly not least, is crazy man Yow. The guy covers a vast amount of vocal styles. He's truely entertaining on record and I'm sure even more so in person.
So, while I spin my remastered copies of Goat and Liar, one might think that this listener is totally obsessed. But, who can blame me?
The evidence is easy to hear.

This is what's playing right now....

Hi. I'm going to go through what's blasting on my stereo right now.

"Sugar Free Jazz" by Soulcoughing –– Ah man, good groove on this one. Soulcoughing never disappointed in my opinion. This very smart dude I knew in college played it for me and I'm glad because this band is talented. Mike D. plays around here all the time. Saw him once.
"I Only Want You" by Eagles of Death Metal –– Josh Homme and some guy playing bluesy goodness that melts on you like butter.
"Living in the USA" by Steve Miller Band –– Hah. Fun song actually. Just clap your hands.
"White Pizazz" by Big Business –– Low, low, and lower. Keep going lower, you're almost there. Drums and bass sludging into the ground. Cody Willis (formerly of Murder City Devils) on drums. Enough said.
"Everyone Knows That You're Insane" by Queens of the Stone Age –– Such an epic band. I believe that every album is well done. The chorus in this song is quite catchy because the guitar hook really pulls you in. Queens has many fans and its easy to hear why.
"Unison" by Bjork –– She knows how to sooth the ears. There are little noises in the background that grab attention quite quickly.
"The Glooming" by Radiohead –– Just close your eyes and enjoy. I love Radiohead head when they rock out but the slow movers always show how they can mix it up.
"Under A Killing Moon" by Thrice –– Lately, this band has been trying to sound like Radiohead, but that will never work. Thrice should just stick to crushing rock like this.
"Fisticuffs" by Supersuckers –– Funny lyrics from this band. Their music isn't that good though.
"Other People's Lives" by Modest Mouse –– This is an old song. Issac Brock sounds like he's going to tear his throat apart in the beginning. I like the rawness of this track. It's a nice little jam.
"Tonight, Tonight" by Smashing Pumpkins –– This song has been reviewed so many times, so, i won't bother. It's a classic.
"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" by Led Zeppelin –– Another classic. You feel the true emotion in Plant's voice. The rest of the band blends in accordingly.
"Fight Test" by The Flaming Lips –– Pure and mellow.
"Lurch" by Dillinger Escape Plan –– Their musicianship is untouched. So dynamic it is. Heavy, fast, deep, and composed. Love this band.
"Why Its So Hard" by Madonna –– My girlfriend gave me an album of hers. I'm not ashamed though because she's the queen of pop music.
"Jezebel" by The Drones –– Now that I think of it, this song has a similar pace like the earlier Modest Mouse track, but different though. Tangibly guitars behind the telling of a story. This band means business.

I'll end here.

Shocking news.

I just came across a story on ESPN about Allen Iverson retiring from the NBA. It's kind of silly.
Iverson said he's retiring because no teams will give him a shot. He was playing for Memphis, but he packed his bags for some reason (probably because they're a lousy team). Then, it was recently rumored that the Knicks signed Iverson to a deal. That eventually fell through and caused him to "retire."
Iverson is a great player and I'm wondering why no one wants to pick him up. He's one of the few players in histroy to average 25 points and five assists per game over his 13 year career. Iverson is few and far between.
Iverson, please come back. It was fun to watch you play.

The NFL is pretty cool....

Yes! Another win for the Patriots after totally fucking up last Sunday in Prime time! Poor Jets, they've gone steadily down hill after having a great start (that included a win over New England). But, I laugh because I loved watching my team beat on the Jets.
I'm glad that the Steelers lost but disappointed that the Bengals choked in Oakland. Why do I even care?
This post needs to end now, sorry.

Murder convictions are a tough call....

So, I just started this blog and I already have something on my mind (per usual).
I'm a writer for a great weekly newspaper called The Enterprise and I got talking to my editor today about murder stories that the paper had covered over the recent years. There hasn't been many since 2000, maybe five or six. I was really intrigued about this one murder that took place back in Oct. 2004. It was about this senior at the University of Albany that was convicted of beating the shit out of this guy with a blunt object. His name was Erick Westervelt and he was accused of murdering a man named Tim Gray.
However, there's always a catch.
Westervelt claims that he didn't do it and that he was "tricked" by police because Gray had started dating his former girlfriend, Jess Domery. After reading all the stories about it, the case seemed like a battle of he said, she said, bullshit. You have the cops saying one thing and Westervelt and his family saying the opposite. I guess that's just how trials go.
But, the crazy thing, Westervelt's DNA was never found on the scene and Gray's DNA was never found on Westervelt. It had me scratching my head a little. Another wild thing, Gray was laying in his own blood for about 12 hours before his neighbor found him on the brink of death. He died like four days later.
It really sucks for Westervelt if he actually is innocent because he's serving 25 to life. Plenty of people have been found innocent after serving some time for a crime they did not commit. It was just easy for police to convict Westervelt because he's the "jealous ex-boyfriend."
I kind of believe Westervelt. I don't know him, but should I help him??