Nintendo Wii

I've had Nintendo Wii for just under two weeks now and I can honestly say it's the most fun I've ever had playing video games. Prior to this I was a Playstation 2 devotee but thanks to the exorbitant price of the Playstation 3, I decided that the Nintendo Wii was the better option. Perhaps the only disappointing aspect of the Wii is the fact that it is not a DVD player. However, my playstation 2 is currently relegated to fulfilling that duty. Before owning a Wii I was strictly a sports gamer. I never got into the major spectacles of violence, The Sims, or even first person shooters.

However, with the Wii, I feel that all beginning to change. By ratcheting up actual player involvement with the motion sensor the fun increases exponentially. You feel much more involved than if you were just sitting with your legs folded underneath you twiddling your thumbs while smacking a hooker in the face with your gun (Grand Theft Auto). With the Wii you probably have to have the hooker present so you can smack her in the face with your Wii controller. I find that much more interesting. I can't imagine the fun of playing Madden 2008 and snapping the ball, taking a three step drop while hitting Plaxico Burress in the end zone for the game winning touchdown. Wii will presumably help me feel as though I've made it as an NFL Quarterback which is that elusive dream that I never achieved because I was always too busy playing Tecmo Bowl and getting fat eating Doritos while my feet fell asleep underneath me. All hail the Nintendo Wii.

The Minus 5 (self titled a.k.a The Gun Album)

Item: The Minus (self-titled CD)
Cost: $15.99 at Tower Records on W.4th Street

I recently spent an entire car ride home with the new Minus 5 album that was released in February. I actually wasn't aware that it had come out until a week ago and it was quite the welcome surprise. The last Minus 5 album was released in 2003 and was titled "Down With Wilco" though not as a battle cry to break up Tweedy and his bandmates. Wilco served as Minus 5 recording partners and put forth probably one of the Minus 5's best efforts to date. Minus 5 mainstay Scott Mccaughey still seems to be Down With Wilco as Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, and Glenn Kotche all make appearances on the album with the Gun on the cover. The album back cover reads like a veritable who's who of musicians with alt-country and indie cred as Minus 5 regular and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck returns, along with sometimes R.E.M. tour guitarist and Posies member Ken Stringfellow. The regulars are joined by Decemberists' Colin Meloy, and John Wesley Harding, amongst a slew of other notable performers and combine for a generally upbeat, inspired album of great pop songs.

My car ride was completely enlivened by this collection as I rocked along to raucous rock n' roll of "Aw Shit Man". An bouncy southern rock riff and opening lyric of "I had six white russians tonight and two of them were people" kept things rolling. I somberly swayed to the Colin Meloy led "Cemetery Row". I kept control of the car as I swayed, don't worry.

The chorus of "Hotel Senator" is enough to keep it on repeat for at least two listens. This album made me miss driving in my car and blasting music. I've taken my ipod off shuffle because of this album. Maybe I'm getting a little too high on it but I generally liked most of the songs on this album and find that it had very little to no filler. I think we're in the midst of another good run of Alt-Country (whatever that means) music. Golden Smog is coming out with an album in a few months. Let the good times roll.

Overall rating: A

CD Review: Neko Case- Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

Item: Neko Case- Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
Cost: $9.99 at Tower Records on 4th St. and Broadway in Manhattan



This past weekend I caught Neko Case at Webster Hall and while I was vastly unfamiliar with most of the songs she performed I was blown away by said performance so I decided to pick up her latest album. I own two other Neko Albums and I've always been partial to 2000's Furnace Room Lullaby and her work with New Pornographers. Though I have to tell you since this weekend's performance and the subsequent purchase I've rediscovered her Blacklisted album as being quite a treasure. This latest album equally captures the essence of Neko Case as a singer and songwriter though not necessarily as a performer since seeing her live is a different reward in itself. She has a captivating, powerful voice that channels some old timey classic qualities but also has a self assuredness that shines through in the boldness of her delivery and the power behind her vocal. She is no lyrical slouch either as songs such as "Star Witness" provide at times cryptic and at times crystal clear observation. It sort of helped that I read what that song was about in advance. The chorus of "hey when she sings when she sings like she runs, move likes she runs" brings to mind a certain grace and beauty. After I found out that the song was about witnessing a murder, I thought twice about what that line might mean. However it made the line " Go on scream and cry /You're miles from where anyone will find you /This is nothing new, no television crew /They don't even put on the sirens..."make much more sense.

My favorite tracks on the album are probably the one's that mimic the old spiritual tunes such as "John Saw That Number" and "A Widow's Toast" that are of the same ilk of the gospel numbers that Jenny Lewis tries to mimic on the beginning of "Rabbit Fur Coat". I don't know what it is. Is it weird that I'm Jewish and I like the spiritual sounding numbers. Anyway, I'm sort of pussing out early on this review but I feel if I keep going that I'm going to try to review every song and I'll just say that I really like this Neko Case album and it's definitely worth the price. Also, you should see Neko Live if you get the chance.


Overall Grade: B+

Loose Fur: Born Again In The U.S.A.

Item: CD- Loose Fur- Born Again In The U.S.A.
Cost: $16.99 at Tower Records on 4th St. and Broadway

In November of 2005 I caught a Jeff Tweedy Solo show at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. At one point, the Wilco frontman was joined on stage by fellow Loose Fur bandmates, Drummer Glenn Kotche and Jim O'Rourke. . At the show they performed a song that would be on the 2nd Loose Fur album, that at that time I knew as "Whistling Jesus" (which appears as The Ruling Class on the album), not because they said that was the name of the song but because it was being circulated on the internet with that title. Since that show I have been looking forward to the new Loose Fur Record and luckily for me that time has comel

While the first Loose Fur album seemed hell bent on exploring and experimentation between the relatively new collaborative relationship between Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, Uber Indie Producer -artist Jim O'Rourke and Percussion Virtuoso Glenn Kotche, the group seem more focused on making things pop on their 2nd effort BORN AGAIN IN THE USA (I capitalized because I don't know how to italicize on this thing).




The first song "Hey Chicken" immediately hooks you in with a 70's Rock Riff and a catchy hook as Tweedy sings, "You want me broken/You want me dead/I'm living rent free in the back of your head." He then goes on to taunt the object of his ridicule by antagonizing "Hey Chicken You're all talk." The band continues to strut their stuff with the whistled fok pop hook on "The Ruling Class." Tweedy tells the tale of how Christ is spending his time now that he's back in town. "He's back Jack, shootin' smack, Find him if you wanna be found."

Like any good mix maker knows after getting off to a quick start it's necessary to slow things down a bit and that's just what mellow bittersweet ballad "Answers To Your Questions" accomplishes without diminishing the listeners interest one bit. And if one just so happens to zone out for a second, the upbeat tempo is quickly recaptured in the next three tracks, "Apostolic", "Stupid As The Sun" and "Pretty Sparks" which all do their job fitting into the mold of the 3 minute pop song. The latter of which is just what the title suggests, a beautiful melding of all the members' of Loose Fur's individual talents. Tweedy's vocals start off as the primary focus but each individual provides a spark to further the song whether it's a driving rock riff from O'Rourke or a flurry from Kotche's kit. When the tempo slows down, someone comes along to sweep it into a frenzy again.

The latest Loose Fur effort is not without the experimentation that seemed to be the uniifying factor in bringing these three individuals together. The instrumental "An Ecumenical Matter" is fairly sedate but nonetheless pushes the boundaries on an album whose strength lies in its pop compositions. Tweedy and company are also not afraid to try the patience of short attention spanned listeners as evidenced on the 8 minute plus but rather pleasant "Wreckroom".

By the time the album ends on a bouncy piano pop of "Wanted" you're expecting to be bounced into another catchy pop song only to have reached the end of the album. If the worst thing I can't say about this album is that I wanted to hear more than I guess Loose Fur have made a pretty good album.

Overall rating: A-

Fantasy Sports May 2006 Edition

Item: Fantasy Sports May 2006 Edition
Cost: $5.99 at the Magazine shop around the corner but since I won $12 on a bingo card it actually cost me nothing.

With my Fantasy Baseball Draft coming up (don't laugh) I decided I needed as much help as possible coming up with a strategy for picking a winning team. As a result, I picked up this, the cheapest fantasy Baseball magazine in the store. For $5.99 I was going to learn information that my opponents already had stored in their head. I need all the help I can get since the last few years I've ended up in last or 2nd to last place in my fantasy baseball league. Some cramming before the draft seemed necessary. Now, I'm not baseball dullard but I don't know enough about all of the other teams since I mainly focus my attention on the New York Mets as well as hoping for the demise of the New York Yankees.


As I perused the contents of this book I no doubt will be able to use their Top 200 rankings as the main guideline for my draft and their sleepers list when the Top 200 list is all crossed off or "Totally Krossed Out".

The magazine has plenty of other features including depth charts, projected lineups, and a 2 mock drafts that I will no doubt try to emulate as I am picking. That being said, I need more than this. I need a column where they write exact steps on how to draft a good team and what to do in each round. I need them to address me like I am a 4 year old so I can follow their instructions to a T and automatically have a winning team. They do have a section where the experts give tips but this is simply not enough. Without a step by step primer I will no doubt finish in the bottom two of my league again.

So what, you ask, is the point of me buying a Fantasy Baseball guidebook? I'm not really sure. The Fantasy Baseball season is and may alway be an exercise in futility for me. That being said, you never know who is going to have a good year and who has a bad one, and who will get injured. So while this book may attempt to give me all I need to know, the fickle nature of the game may render my investment moot. Here's to another waste of money. Someone alert me when Fantasy Football starts. That's a game I can really get behind.

Grade: C+ for trying to teach me as much as possible but since you're never sure what's going to happen in a season, what was really the point?

South Park Season 7

Item: The Complete 7th Season of South Park
Cost: $39.99 at the Virgin Megastore on 14th St., NYC though you could probably get it cheaper on Amazon.com

Alright, kicking off this new venture is a review of the newest thing in my apartment, The Complete Seventh Season of South Park. Many people who originally latched onto the original season of South Park back in 1997 for it's potty mouthed humor and outlandish storylines had veered away from this groundbreaking society skewering animated series. The series has largely been left by the masses but remains relevant mostly to diehard fans. Often times when I tell people that I'm staying home to see a new episode of South Park, people will say in a surprised tone, "I didn't know that show was still on the air." Unfortunately for those people they are missing out on some of the funniest and most socially relevant tomfoolery on television. While the 7th season of South Park is not its best (there are a few skippable episodes) it does contain some of the funniest and most clever satire in recent memory.

Matt Stone and Trey Parker continue to hold nothing sacred in this season as they take aim untalented singers, Mormonism, Christian Rock, reality shows, metrosexuaity, the dichotomy of Democracy, and Gang Violence.


I was so inspired by one of the episodes (705 "Fat Butt and Pancake Head") that I went as Cartman and his Jennifer Lopez hand one halloween.

Overall grade: B+

Here's To New Ventures

This site is a new sort of venture for me. The goal is to review new things in my apartment, whether they are CD's, Electronics, DVDs, clothes, etc. It's an all purpose review site for stuff I get. Hopefully, this site will blossom into a comprehensive review site and ultimately bring me the massive amounts of success that those who strive to achieve the American Dream, long for.