Lost: Tricia Tanaka is Dead

This afternoon, I said that I was utilizing a "three strikes and you're out" policy with Lost. Tonight might have been strike 2. No clever clues, no fun mythology, and some very heavy-handed storytelling. So what if it was cute and quotable? BAH. I'm buying a ticket for the bitterness train.

• Hurley's flashback: okay, so now we know that he's fat because his dad left. And his dad is Cheechtastic! But it felt pretty boring otherwise. That scene with the psychic... totally lame.
• As for Hurley's island escapade: even the two new castaways who nobody likes knew that wanting to start up the Dharmabus was pointless. "You gotta have hope." "Victory or death!" Oh please. There was a rabbit's foot on the key, for crying out loud. No one was going to die. It did get a little dusty early on at Libby's grave, though, and it was nice to see that Vincent's still around.
  
• I hate that we've swapped the Jack/Kate/Sawyer triangle for Kate/Sawyer moping. His mournful glances at the couples around him before popping open another can of warm decades-old beer were just this side of cheesy.
• Jin's still learning English! Fun with the language barrier! Women only need to hear that their pants don't make them look fat! Oh man, when will the comedy STOP?
• Kate's going to get Jack! And Locke and Sayid are going with! I am strangely unmoved.
  
• (I just took a break from writing this entry to watch Jake Gyllenhaal on The Daily Show. He is so cute. Great hair. Great smile. I want to see Zodiac. Swoon.)
• So... what happened in the episode that everyone will be talking about tomorrow? Was it the not-at-all-shocking revelation that Alex is probably Rousseau's daughter? Was it the fact that Roger WorkMan's head popped off? Was it old people having loud sex after 17 long years of separation? I might have to stop watching the previews, because clearly whoever is making them doesn't even watch the damn show.
  

Listen What I Saaaaay-Oh

Sorry for the week without posts. We've had guests in town: Alan's good friend Jeremy and his lovely lady Monica were here from last Thursday until this afternoon. There was drinking and exploring and drinking and braving the snow and drinking and mocking the Oscars and... drinking. Thus: not much time for blogging.

In fact, there's not much time for a post now, since it's past my bedtime, but I wanted to throw up a quick entry about the Red Hot Chili Peppers show tonight at the Allstate Arena. It was approximately a million times better than their set at Lollapalooza. Plenty of hits, plenty of up-tempo goodness, and one frenetic and awesome jam session from Mr. Frusciante to wrap up the night. I can finally wash the bad taste of the mediocre Lolla set out of my mouth and fully enjoy their music again.

But the night was far from perfect, thanks to an uber-fan two rows in front of us on the floor. Look: I love to dance at shows. I have no problem with other people dancing or showing their enthusiasm at shows. This dude, whose pants were painted with the words "Sex" and "Magik" as well as the RHCP logo on his crotch, was truly a maniac. He skittered up and down the center aisle like a crab on speed, flailing his arms and kicking at the air. He bounced off other people pinball-style without concern for their well-being, distracting everyone in a 15-foot radius from the show with his antics. And when Douchebag McFlailly careened into the guy right in front of me for the fourth time, all hell broke loose. There was shoving, and then a punch was thrown, and then a few more. Alan tried to help break it up, and I tried to pull him out of it. I ended up with a bloody torn fingernail, but thankfully Alan didn't get hurt. Security grabbed D. McF. out of there and let him back in once he'd calmed down... and then he proceeded to taunt the guy he'd slammed into. His routine got less out of control, but it did not stop for the rest of the night.

Acting like a selfish asshole at a concert is not acceptable in my book. It was clear that this guy loves the Chili Peppers, but he ruined a huge chunk of the night for a lot of other people who love the band too. In his mind, his love for the band - and the money he paid for his ticket - meant he could behave any damn way he saw fit, regardless of how it affected those around him. I discussed a study about narcissism and college students on the air today. The media wants to start calling those kids the "Me Generation," and researchers say their excess of self-love and inflated self-image could have disastrous consequences on society. I'm sad to have seen a clear example of the consequences of that behavior tonight.

Anyway. I have no setlist, but when I find one, I'll put it up. Maybe we'll do a block of Chili Peppers tomorrow morning and swap stories...

Lost: Stranger in a Strange Land

• I used to fly kites with my dad on the beach as a child. He would have been appalled if I wore any of Bai Ling's outfits from tonight. Her hair is atrocious, too. Why do we need another pointless Jackback? Ohhhh, so we could have gratuitous sex and violence and learn that "he walks amongst us, but he is not one of us." Laaaaaame. I guess we also learned that the Lost makeup crew COULD NOT have covered up Matthew Fox's tattoos properly if they had not been worked into the storyline. When the two of them were rolling around on Jack's floor, his shoulder looked god-awful. I don't like it.
• This "sheriff" nonsense... Isabelle's got a cool voice and icy demeanor, but it seems like she was conjured just to translate Jack's stupid faux-meaningful tattoo. I bet we never hear from her again, and I don't like it.
• So what happened to the stolen kids? "We give them a better life... better than yours," says C/Karl. What's up, vague not-really-an-answer-answer? But hey, Cindy the flight attendant is alive! And brainwashed! And saying things like "we're here to watch" - which we knew would happen from the preview - but not explaining what or who or why! I don't like it!
• Kate's being bratty and stubborn with Sawyer. Sawyer's clearly in "love" and unwilling to admit it. Reminds me of the old pre-cage-sex days. Guess what, I don't like it.
• So C/Karl has no idea what the Brady Bunch is... he, too, has been raised on the island. This isn't new. Benry Gale had no idea how big a deal the Red Sox winning the World Series was when he related that information to Jack. We get it, they're isolated and have built their own little twisted society. Anvils, they are falling. No me gusta.
• Ew, Juliet has a tramp stamp brand, and she and Jack had an aloe moment. Why does she have to be marked? What does it prove? Heck, it doesn't even look like a Dharma logo! Like it, I do not.
• So Ben lives, C/Karl and Alex mope, Sawyer and Kate squabble, and Jack and Juliet make plans to... do something, I guess. There were no clever hidden clues that I noticed. We even got a lame-o sweeping musical montage of banality to wrap the whole mess up. I think this might have been the worst episode ever. Boring. Pointless. Misleading. What a shame after last week's awesomeness. Not sure if you've heard... but I didn't like it.
• (Though... I thought Ursus Theodorus was kind of cute. Doesn't redeem the fact that I wanted to shove toothpicks under my fingernails during the whole episode.)

Documentaries and Friends Are Fun!

Woo hoo, day off! I just got back from NYC last night. It was a quick weekend trip to see two of my dearest lady friends from college. We did lots of eating and catching up, made a stop at the Barney's warehouse sale, and discussed the future of our collective industry. (They work in music too: one at a record label, one in music television. No, not that channel, this one. The one that actually shows music videos.) I'm grateful that no matter where - and how often - I move, the people who matter are never all that far away.

The ladies and I also found time for "Documentary Sunday;" we watched Wordplay and An Inconvenient Truth. Wordplay is about the New York Times crossword puzzle, its editor, Will Shortz, people who obsessively complete it (Jon Stewart! Bill Clinton!), and people who obsessively COMPETE to complete it. As someone who does at least 10 minutes of (easy) Times crossword work every night, I loved it. My kind of geeky, word-obsessed people. Coincidentally, my brother Steve shared classes at RPI with one of the competitors they profiled, an adorably dorky redhead named Tyler. Steve told me that he remembers watching Tyler blow through puzzles during class. Cue the music from that one DisneyWorld ride with the boats and the singing.

An Inconvenient Truth was less much fun, but equally great. I'm glad I finally saw it. I knew it would scare me, and it did. I audibly gasped at some of the figures Al Gore presented about the current projected climate change. He shows evidence of how much the glaciers are cracking and melting, how little snow is left on some of the world's highest peaks, and the effects of massive drought on Africa. If the ocean level rises 20 feet, which is entirely possible because of melting at Greenland and Antarctica... significant portions of major developed areas will be underwater. We're talking New York, San Francisco, a gigantic chunk of Florida, and even more of India and China. Imagine the refugee situation in New Orleans. Now imagine hundreds of millions of people affected by it. Alan's the earthy-crunchy one in our house, but I definitely feel inspired to make changes to my habits if it will help avoid that desolate future.

Like any documentary, some facts are omitted and positioned in such a way as to help the filmmaker's cause. It's not as egregious as, say, Super-Size Me, or anything done by Michael Moore. But it's like any argument: you use what helps you, and you don't use what doesn't. That being said, it's hard to argue with the facts you do see, or with the idea that preserving our planet's future is a moral issue, not a political one. We had a spirited discussion about whether or not Al Gore should be running for president again after seeing the movie. He's so engaging, earnest, and passionate in the movie. It's a different man than the wooden figure who came so close in 2000. I think it's the absence of the pressure of the presidential race that makes him so much more likable. He implies in the film that the defeat repurposed his life towards the goal of educating people about global warming. Would he really jeopardize that focus by running again? Is it worth it?

Of course, I'm fully in the throes of Obamania, so what do I know. :)

NIN: Year Zero

Right now I am alllll about Nine Inch Nails and the world of Year Zero. I promised you info. Let's start with the new songs. Right-click to download.

My Violent Heart (This is the song that got Q101 in trouble with NIN's record label yesterday. It is also the song I played three times today even after Fook got yelled at for playing it three times yesterday. More on that here.)

Survivalism (This is the "official single.")

Both songs come from symphonyofnoise.com.

Update, 2/20: Look, here's another one!!!

Me, I'm Not

Here's the complete tracklisting, along with hidden pics of Trent at work.

Next, some of the links about the unbelievable future world Trent has imagined for Year Zero. It's terrifying. It's brilliant. Some of this stuff might upset you... because it could all be real someday.

http://www.iamtryingtobelieve.com
http://www.anotherversionofthetruth.com
http://www.bethehammer.org
http://105thairbornecrusaders.com/default.htm
http://churchofplano.com/

Here's a great NIN message board where users are examining every minute detail of everything involved to find further clues. You'll find other links and tons of mind-blowing stuff there. I got a shoutout from a user for defying the man and playing "My Violent Heart" here (bottom of the page).

Trent = genius. That's all for now.

Chris Cornell Quits Audioslave

File this under Totally Not Surprising... Chris Cornell has quit Audioslave. The dudes just couldn't get along. First clue this was going to happen: Audioslave didn't tour when their new record came out. Second clue: all we heard AFTER the Audioslave record came out was talk about Chris Cornell's new solo stuff. Third clue: the upcoming Rage reunion at Coachella. Zack De La Rocha's gotta eat, y'all. I liked the first Audioslave disc, but I've been lukewarm about them since. This doesn't upset me so much.

What does upset me: I am in a 2007 predictions pool with some friends, and I ALMOST made "Audioslave breaks up" one of my picks. Spike suggested that they were more likely to have an unofficial breakup/hiatus to pursue their own projects. If a band breaks up in the woods, and no one hears it, does the public know they broke up, essentially. I'm not sure if Chris quitting counts as the band breaking up, but if it does... I'm making Spike give me $10 for replacing that prediction with "Anderson Cooper admits that he's gay."

Lost: Flashes Before Your Eyes

Woooooooow. For my money, that was the most enjoyable Lost episode in a long time. Of course, most of it was off the island, thanks to the extended Desmond flashback... and what a flashback it was! I got all kinds of chills when Desmond first "woke up." It's been a while since Lost has done that to me.

• I've read a book where it turns out that the main character has been forced to relive parts of his life over and over until he gets it right. I'll refrain from mentioning the book to avoid spoiling it, but I KNOW that anyone else who has read the book got the same vibe... and that more than one book may apply. Oh, and then there's Groundhog Day. It's not a new concept. (Alan: "maybe Lost is giving a little jab to Daybreak?") In this case, the "powers that be" won't let Desmond get it right. But to what end? If pushing that button is the greatest thing he'll ever do, and he can no longer push the button, then what now? Was his great purpose to bring Flight 815 to the island? So then there must be a larger purpose served by getting them there... right? Or was his great purpose to turn the failsafe key and keep the world from imploding when Locke screwed up? And in THAT case... wasn't it turning the failsafe key that alerted those men in the snow - who were working for Penny - where Desmond was? I think my brain just started eating itself.
  
• The creepy jeweler made a point of mentioning Desmond's full name: Desmond David Hume. I think we knew that before, but now's as good a time as any to brush up on the Wikipedia entry on Scottish philosopher David Hume.
• Alan says: "The creepy jeweler reminded me of the Oracle from the Matrix." I get that. Why was she able to be aware that Desmond was reliving his life when no one else was?
  
• When the episode started, I began my usual chorus of "SHUT UP CHARLIE SHUT UP CHARLIE SHUT UP CHARLIE!" He is the single most annoying character on this show, and that's saying a lot. So imagine my delight to find that he MIGHT BE SHUT UP FOREVER!!!
• There were plenty of island references in Desmond's flashback. Numbers, polar bears, the beeping of the microwave... just cool little creep-outs or legitimate clues about Widdemore's connection to the island?
• Minor nitpick: now that we know how Desmond got that much-loved pic of himself and Penny, we also saw that Penny only paid for one copy. So how does she have the same picture on her dresser, as seen in the final scene of Season 2?
  
• Even more minor nitpick: Claire's bangs annoyed me. What, I'm just supposed to accept that she not only has access to makeup, but she has a stylist???

That's it. Comment away.

A Nap A Day Keeps Heart Trouble Away

Want to reduce your risk of heart disease? A daily nap might be one way to do so. Research has proved it in the past: naps are totally awesome. They help you focus, they reduce stress, and they allow the cleaning gnomes time to tidy up the apartment while you're sleeping. Now it seems that the stress-reducing powers of naps can help keep you from having a heart attack. You can't abuse your body or be an inert lump on the couch all day and expect that naps will save you, naturally. But a nap could be another tool in your healthy living arsenal.

I love naps, personally. I just took one yesterday. Some people feel lazy about sleeping in the middle of the day. Not me. It all goes back to my days doing morning drive for WBRU. Up at 4:30, on the radio until 9, home by 10, sleep until noon, class for a couple of hours, sleep for a couple more, homework, dinner, homework, socializing, homework, bed around midnight. Repeat daily for an entire semester. I couldn't have done it without those naps. Sometimes I don't know how I did it at all. Being 20 and ambitious helped a whole lot. Having good friends who kept me sane did too. Ah, college.

Pan's Labyrinth: A Review

My dad and stepmom are in town, and last night we all went to see Pan's Labyrinth. I've been wanting to see it for weeks, and it was worth the wait. I'm a geek for fantasy and mythology, and the movie has a great mix of both. A young Spanish girl named Ofelia takes an (imaginary?) journey to an underground world to escape from the bleak environment she and her pregnant mother are forced to live in. The fantasy elements of the movie, while visually awesome, aren't as prevalent as the ads would have you believe, though. It's also about Fascist Spain and the struggle for individual consciousness. Do you blindly do what you're told, or are you brave enough to think for yourself? Ofelia - and the Spanish rebels - learn the consequences of both. It's dark and it's sad, and it's often violent and ugly, but it's beautiful. And I need to see it again, now that I don't need to follow the subtitles as closely to figure out what's going on. I'm sure there are tons of visual details and allusions I missed.

Now we go to the Auto Show, and tonight Fogo De Chao, and then... likely drinking and Hearts. Or High Low Jack. Or sing-alongs and air-guitar. You never know with these party animals.

Lost: Not in Portland

Oh, Lost. I am back, sucked into your seductive web of mystery. I was apprehensive earlier today, and I still am, but I'm ultimately glad you're back.

• We learned something! The "Others" were, at least in part, recruited by a group of people powerful enough to kill someone via bus. That's how Juliette arrived there, anyway. I saw the bus killing coming, but it still shocked me. Not unlike Mean Girls. Awesome.
• Juliette can induce an immaculate conception. So are the Others trying to breed a new remote race? What does this website have to do with anything?
• Why were the Others going all Clockwork Orange on C/Karl?
  
• Yeah, sure, no one's gonna go back for Jack. Suuuuuuure.
• If Danny is Alex's father, then what is his relationship to Rousseau? (edit: Oops. I misunderstood. BENRY GALE is Alex's father. I drank too much wine before watching.)
  
• I thought the second half of this season would involve the whole cast. Boy, that better start happening right quick.
  
• I wasn't as excited about the return of Lost as I hoped to be. Who else is in that boat?
  

Two, Two, Two Shows in One Day!

Today was quite the rock star day for me. I headed to the House of Blues right after my show for Fall Out Boy. It was the second show of a long day for them: they started in NYC, headed home, then left for Los Angeles. Pete Wentz likes to drop f-bombs. That was particularly fun because of the opera box full of children I was in. They played my favorite song from the new album, "The Take Over, The Break's Over." They also thanked Q101! All kinds of goodies from their big day can be found here. (I didn't see much Chicago love there, but maybe you'll have more luck.) Good stuff.

Then it was sushi and "Would You Rather" with an awesome crew before heading to the Riv for INCUBUS! It was a short set, but we still had a blast. The crowd was full of love and sang along constantly. Brandon, who had been sick the past several days, did not remove his shirt. He DID wear a goofy tank top, a too-small derby hat, and, at one point, gloves with spotlights on them. He and Jose had a drum-off that was just fantastic. "Megalomaniac" into "Wish You Were Here" into "Are You In" made me a happy girl. Oh yeah, and they covered R. Kelly's "Sex in the Kitchen" for about a minute. Also good stuff. Your setlist:

Just A Phase
Anna Molly
Paper Shoes
Nice To Know You
Warning
Blood On The Ground
Out From Under
Here In My Room
Redefine (Acoustic)
Megalomaniac
Wish You Were Here
Are You In?
Sick Sad Little World
Earth To Bella #1
Earth To Bella #2

Encore:

Quicksand
A Kiss To Send Us Off

I had a few drinks at the Uptown Lounge after the show, and now I'm beat. Night night, y'all.

Boohiss

Not a good day. The 8-Bit Assassins didn't win our audition tournament. (I can't tell you any more than that, because I signed my life away to VH1 before we tried out.) I'm disappointed, but that's life.

Then: what a sloppy, sad football game. That opening Devin Hester TD felt magical and awesome, but it didn't feel like I was watching the Super Bowl from there on out. All those turnovers. What a mess. My friend Jill Carlson from Fox (Girls on Sports on iTunes now!) interviewed Rex for a good long while after the game. When she got to asking him why they couldn't get into a rhythm, and he had to acknowledge his fumbles and interceptions... he looked so depressed, so frustrated, and so very young. I think he actually cried a little. He's gonna get an earful tomorrow. Tonight I feel bad for him. Sad, sad, sad.

Also sad: the amount of fog and rain on the CBS cameras. It's just the biggest television event of the year, guys. Would it kill you to invest in some towels?

And the commercials weren't even that good. I only really liked a couple: Robert Goulet and Emerald Nuts, and the GM commercial where the robot gets fired and throws himself off the bridge... except that it's all a dream. Despite my fear that the robots are eventually going to take over and kill us all, I acknowledge that there are no absolutes in life: thus, not all robots are evil. That one was pretty darn cute. Not quite Johnny Five cute, but almost. Also adorable: an older Blockbuster commercial that aired early on, involving fun with a "mouse." (It's near the end.) Comical misunderstanding + animated animals = good times.

It's not all bad, I guess. I hosted a mini-gathering and made a ton of yummy food, and heard/told many inappropriate jokes, and texted with friends and family across the country - including Miami. Technology really does help keep us together. And Prince was awesome. That Foo Fighters cover was hot, AND he managed not to get electrocuted in the rain. Still bummed, though. Need to vent?

World Series of Pop Culture

Since someone took the time to scold me for being "down to one post a week," I guess I should post a quick note to explain why this week's been so slow: I'm in the middle of tryouts for the World Series of Pop Culture. We - the 8-Bit Assassins - made it to Chicago's final eight, and the rest of the audition is in a couple hours. I've been spending every spare minute "studying," which basically involves quiz books, 90's Trivial Pursuit, and scouring the internet. So I'm sorry for neglecting the blog. Been busy. Plus there's this football game this afternoon. You understand.