Wherever there's music, the Devil kicks

[vovat]

A few hours ago, my computer was all, "Hey! Why don't you install Internet Explorer 7.0!", and I'm all, "No way! It sucks!!!" Which it really does. I don't know why everybody insists on making "updates" that make programs stupider looking and harder to use (see also: AOL).

I've now heard my first new album of 2007, Erin McKeown's Sing You Sinners. It's made up primarily of old-time jazzy standards, which are definitely well-suited to Ms. McKeown. I know she idolizes Judy Garland, which is shown in the fact that the record starts out with "Get Happy." I like most of the songs on it, although some are better than others. The drums on "Paper Moon" add a lot to the arrangement. bethje says that "Rhode Island Is Famous For You" reminds her of "Where Do They Make Balloons?" by They Might Be Giants, which I can totally see. Incidentally, since when does New Jersey give us glue?

This past weekend, Beth and I watched Lord of Illusions, which wasn't very good. About all I got out of it was that magicians (or at least Clive Barker's conception of magicians) are awfully arrogant. I mean, those characters sure did talk big for members of a profession that gets its livelihood from children's birthday parties! Also, one of the villains was a club kid type with leather pants and a widow's peak, who got pretty annoying rather early on, but he just kept showing up. Clive, we all know you can do better than that.

Comments

[revme.livejournal.com]

Isn't the Elmer's factory based in NJ? Or maybe i'm just mis-remembering.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I tried doing a Google search, but I couldn't find any information that confirmed or denied it. The company is apparently based in Ohio, but that doesn't mean the factory is there. I DID find out that the real Elmer the Bull lived in New Jersey, though.

[obsessical.livejournal.com]

i feel your 'update' pain. I use Rhapsody music player because I love it, and it made me update it, and then it looked and worked EXACTLY LIKE ITUNES. And I got super pissed off. Because i don't like iTunes. If i wanted to use iTunes, i'd use it. So i found this help line and bitched out this guy about how I hate iTunes and then he gave me a link to re-download the old version. Which I did. And it made me really happy.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I like iTunes pretty well as a music player, but only when I want to listen to an album or something. When I just want to open a sound file, iTunes takes way too long. I also don't like how the iTunes music store is all, "We're going to put everything in this funky format, so you have to burn it to a CD and then rip it again before you can do anything with it!" Not to mention that they're expensive. I've bought stuff there, but usually only as a last resort.

But yeah, I have no idea why anyone would "update" their program so that it worked just like another one. Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of having your own program?

[kristenjarrod.livejournal.com]

I noticed on my dad's PC, that when you open up IE it has AOL stuffs on it now. wtf?

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

I don't know, after reading about 8 of his books (and seeing none of the movies, which I probably should), I'm kinda tired of Clive Barker. All his stuff is beginning to sound the same to me. I tried reading one of them, called "Sacrament" I think, but I couldn't read past the 2nd chapter, because the character kept doing really stupid things without thinking and I didn't like him anymore. The stupid stuff I can remember was chasing after a killer polar bear just to take a picture and as a kid, trusting an old man that may or may not be human and wanting to be his "apprentice" or whatever sick, twisted, sort of sexual thing Clive was writing. For somebody who writes about sexual deviance and murderous acts, he gets boring.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I haven't actually read anything Clive has written, but I have seen all of the Hellraiser and Candyman films (although Clive himself only directed the first film in each of these series). bethje has read some of his stories, though. I intend to read Abarat at some point, although I assume that it doesn't have so much of the sexual deviance in it, being for children and all. {g}

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

I've read Abarat and its sequel (something about nights and days in the title). I like them a lot better than his adult stuff. Even though they're made for kids, I would give them a PG-13 to an R rating. He touches on slavery, black magic (I mean real black magic, the kind involving sacrifices and stuff like that), murder, religion, nonsexual romance between adults, etc. The Abarat books are at least as dark as the last two Harry Potter books.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I've read Abarat and its sequel (something about nights and days in the title).

"Days of Magic, Nights of War," I believe.