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26 Nov 2010 20:22

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World: Lost-at-sea New Zealand teenagers were trying to win over a girl

  • cute Three New Zealand teenagers who wanted to woo a girl they saw went on a trip to see her.
  • scary Instead of finding her, they got lost without food, water or any sort of long-term supplies.
  • crazy The teens were rescued 50 days later, which should make that girl not feel guilty at all. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jan 2010 18:04

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Music: Who knew Sade was still around? Our Saturday Mixtape did

  • 1. It’s strange to listen to this and realize that Sade, the band (led by Sade, the singer) has been around three decades, and their lack of output in two of those decades hasn’t significantly hurt their popularity or their quality. Their last studio album – from 2000 – sold 3 million copies, as did the album before that – which hit in 1992. But the downtempo “Soldier of Love” is pretty much timeless, built from elements that sound modern.
  • 2. Banjos and video game blips have never fit together so well as they do in the uniquely dense world of the Freelance Whales (who have the best name, ever). The lyrics on “Hannah” carry a sort of cleverness that pokes, but doesn’t prod.
  • 3. Lucero (one of our recent one-word album reviews) mines a territory midway between The Hold Steady, the Drive-By Truckers (more Mike Cooley than Patterson Hood) and The Gaslight Anthem, but – having been around since 1998 – already has a long history already behind them. On “Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble,” they earn their Springsteen chops.
  • 4. “What We Do Matters” is a pretty bold name for any song by any band releasing their debut album, but lo-fi rock rattlers The Mantles at least make a good argument for it in under three minutes. It’s no Girls, but that’s OK, because it’s not trying to be.
  • 5. Speaking of Girls, the band’s “Album” is certainly proving its value beyond 4th quarter ’09 into 1st quarter ’10. Beyond the well-loved “Hellhole Ratrace,” “Laura” has one of the most piercing Roy Orbison-esque choruses this side of … well, Roy Orbison.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Dec 2009 17:02

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Music: Saturday Mixtape: The best singles of 2009, in no particular order

  • Lots of great singles came out this year – pieces of memorable mind candy worthy of (more than) a few minutes of your time. Here are a few of our faves.
  • one Instant euphoria, in just a few words. What else could you want?
  • two Crocodiles hit our Jesus & Mary Chain soft spot; they get in easily.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Oct 2009 22:32

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Politics: Harry Reid wants to dance with somebody who loves him

  • We think Harry Reid grew up a lonely, sad, single high-schooler. The Senate Majority Leader says the real problem with Republicans on health care is that they’re doing everything in their power to do anything but dance. By this standard, Joe Lieberman is a gender-bending tranny who came to the dance dressed as a guy and left wearing mascara. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Oct 2009 17:59

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Music: Sad saps unite: Our Saturday Mixtape is designed to bum you out



We've been pretty bummed out by "Hellhole Ratrace" by Girls lately. It's a beautiful song, but it's beautiful in that way where you have to hang your head while you're taking in the beauty. So with that in mind, here's a soundtrack for the bummed-out.
  • 1. This gut-punch of a tune by the Drive-By Truckers, “Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife,” is based on the true story of the family of musician Bryan Harvey. They were killed randomly during a series of spree murders in Richmond, Va. in 2006. It’s one of the strongest in the Truckers’ catalog, but man, you wish they never had to write it.
    2. Begging to be coupled with the previous tune is this one by Antony and the Johnsons, “Another World,” which deals with the very issues the Truckers dealt with, but in a more direct fashion. We must hate you for giving you two gut-punches in a row.
    3. You can tell that Girls singer Christopher Owens, a former Children of God member, had to fight really hard for his optimism. On “Hellhole Ratrace,” he’s straddling the line between pain and optimism. Optimism wins.
    4. Even Elliott Smith’s rockier songs were doused in bitter. “Don’t Go Down” is very bitter, plus it was from the death-allusion-filled “From a Basement on the Hill,” Smith’s posthumous final album. Gut punch number 4. (Sorry.)
    5. We’ve all been here. End of a relationship, drunk, trying to reconcile, showing up unannounced. Being the very kind of drunk jerk you despise. OK, we all haven’t been there, but Casiotone for the Painfully Alone has, and he’s singing from experience on “Destroy the Evidence.” Fortunately, this gut punch has a little levity thanks to the Casio backing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Sep 2009 18:59

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Music: Pitchfork likes Girls, throws them a huge rating

  • 9.1 rating for Girls’ “Album,” a fuzzy chunk of catchy pop source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jul 2009 12:12

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Offbeat: The soap-box derby isn’t a boys’ game anymore, guys

  • 4 of the six titles went to girls in the national Soap Box finals source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Apr 2009 10:52

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Sports: Coach of basketball team with 100-0 game: It wasn’t our goal

  • To us, it was just another game. I think to mainstream media, everyone looked at it as … a team that just decided to run up a score.
  • Micah Grimes • Former coach of the Dallas, Tx.-based Covenant School girl’s basketball team, discussing at length his team’s 100-0 thrashing of Dallas Academy in January. Dude. Did you not see the freaking score? It wasn’t like you guys tripped into winning. The win set off a national debate about sportsmanlike conduct in high school sports, by the way, and Grimes lost his job in the process. At least someone took something good out of the game. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Apr 2009 21:36

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Offbeat: If this guy is right, we should have a million girlfriends right now

  • Over the course of history, women actively look for signs that their man is intelligent, and I believe the ability to actively judge the situation and pull off a joke and make you laugh is an intelligent feat.
  • Kristofor McCarty • A researcher at Northumbria University who authored a study on how dudes who make laaaaadies laugh have the best luck with relationships. It also helps if you’re fat and annoying. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2009 11:37

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Culture: Teens place surprising blame in the Rihanna/Chris Brown saga

  • 46% of teenagers blame Rihanna for the domestic violence incident, according to a Boston Public Health Commission study
  • 52% said that both of them were to blame. The case provides an interesting case study into how teens react to domestic violence. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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