When I talked to Ryan Ross earlier this month for an upcoming piece in AP, he tipped me off that the band were going to be recording a "holiday song" and it "wasn't for Christmas." He laughed when I immediately guessed Halloween, saying that at least he could keep it a secret since he hadn't actually told me Halloween was the correct holiday.
So, without further ado, here's the vid for "It's Almost Halloween," written and recorded by Panic At The Disco.
Do the Trick-Or-Treat with these guys, and then have yourself a very spooky evening. :) (You can also see the band's vid for "Northern Downpour," which debuted on TV yesterday, on altpress.com.)
And yes, I'll be adding this my Monster Mix, for sure.
So, my cable/internet at my apartment is temporarily down, so unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to watch Barack Obama's 30-minute infomericial tonight, to air at 8 p.m. EST on NBC, CBS, FOX, Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One. Everyone (i.e. media, bloggers, the Republican Party) seems to be making a reallybig deal about the fact that Obama bought a time slot this evening. (And no one's complaints have anything to do with the World Series start time being bumped up.)
I say, hey, if the democratic party wanted to reportedly spend somewhere in the $3 million to $5 million range for the slots, then fine. But if you are a 20-something who gets your news straight from Jon Stewart's mouth, then the more important Obama TV appearance tonight is on The Daily Show at 11 p.m. EST.
Admittedly, I already know who I'm voting for, and I'm pretty sure that if my TV were working, I'd be DVRing the infomerical, and live-watching Pushing Daisies (that amazing show needs all the ratings help it can get). But I am disappointed that I'll miss Obama's fourth DS appearance (and first since he won his party's nomination). Though he'll be appearing via satellite, I'm guessing it'll be pretty interesting.
Not to be outdone, republican nominee John McCain will appear on Larry King Live at 9 p.m. EST.
Either way, if you're looking for something to watch tonight and you'd like to make your voting decision based on the candidates poise on television, you've got loads of options.
Halloween is officially less than a week away. Woo!
I'm still plowing through my mega-bowl of Halloween candy. I'm sadly trying to avoid the Milk Duds, which happen to be my favorite, because I currently have a temporary crown (which also happens to be completely silver--don't ask), and the chewy, chocolaty caramel goodness would inevitably dislodge said crown. (I may or may not have already discovered this through trial and error, but that's neither here nor there.)
Anyway, I've been trying to partake in at least a few Halloween traditions (DVRing The Corpse Bride, picking out a pumpkin to carve), and a couple of new ones, too. Jason's wife, Emily, inspired me to make Halloween cards this year, which turned out to be very fun and satiated my need to buy EVERYTHING orange and black and sparkly here.
I was at their house today, putting the finishing touches on my card collection and checking out all the cute cards Emily had made. She told me that last year she made Halloween-themed mixed discs, and I got very excited. See, the closest thing I've ever had to that was a tape (yes, a cassette tape) of spooky sound effects that I had when I was 7 or 8 when me and my neighbor Kirsten hosted a Halloween party/haunted house in my basement. So, it got me thinking about awesome spooky songs. The only one I can actually remember Emily mentioning now was "Spooky" (but the Daniel Ash version, not the original by Classic IV).
So, that begs the question. What would you put on a Halloween mix disc? I'd need to dig up "Monster Mash" and "Time Warp" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. But obviously, I need further suggestions. Thoughts?
And, just because I don't have everyone's home addresses, here's a card, from me to you, virtual interwebs-style:
FRONT INSIDE
(If you had any doubt about my level of nerdom, that should all be cleared up for you now...)
When you think of tons and tons of tours coming to your town, you normally think summer, right?
I always used to think the most shows came through in the summer, too. And don't get me wrong, that is prime touring season for many bands. But I was going through the listings for the rest of the year so I could fill out my calendar, and I was amazed at how many bands are cramming in a show in Cleveland before the end of the year. My fall show-ness officially started on Tuesday when I saw Atmosphere at the Beachland, and will continue tonight at Anberlin at the House of Blues.
In fact, in a couple of cases, there is more than one tour I'd like to see in town on the same night. Sheesh. Cleveland isn't that big, people. You'd think that they would work something out so that Chiodos and Senses Fail weren't having to split crowds. However, despite a few dilemmas like that, it's shaping up to be a good end to 2008, show-wise. Here's what we're looking at for a potential lineup:
OCTOBER 28: Just Surrender/The Higher/The Morning Of 31: Ludo/Relient K/This Providence
NOVEMBER 02: Wolf Parade 03: Brighten/Houston Calls/The Morning Light 05: The Academy Is.../We The Kings/Hey Monday/Carolina Liar 06: Portugal. The Man/Wintersleep OR A Wilhelm Scream/Polar Bear Club... Decisions, decisions 07: Neva Dinova 08: 3OH!3/Innerpartysystem 10: Jack's Mannequin/Treaty Of Paris 12: Senses Fail/Dance Gavin Dance/Foxy Shazam/Sky Eats Airplane OR Chiodos/Silverstein/Alesana/Escape The Fate/A Skylit Drive... This is going to clearly cause some panic attacks at the AP office 14: Hellogoodbye/Ace Enders 18: Cute Is What We Aim For/Secondhand Serenade/A Rocket To The Moon/Automative Loveletter 19: Hawthorne Heights/The Color Fred/Emery 20: Dear And The Headlights/Steel Train/Matt & Kim/No Ago 22: Murder By Death/William Elliott Whitmore OR All Time Low/The Maine/Every Avenue/Mayday Parade... Again. Can I be in two places at once?
DECEMBER 04: Jeremy Enigk 07: DragonForce 13: Jim Gaffigan 16: The Faint
It's too bad the love bands show to Cleveland in November isn't spread around a little in September and October, too. Now, if only I had as much energy as I did three or four years ago, and all the free nights in the world, and none of this would be a problem. Still, I'm gonna try to hit up as many as possible. We'll see how it goes--there are worse quests to attempt, I'm sure.
After several false starts, I've realized that there's no great way to re-introduce yourself in your blog after being gone for a week and a half. There's just not.
I was thinking I might be able to do a "fun times" mail bag blog akin to the ones Tim likes to do, because I was sure I would have loads and loads of good mail waiting for me when I got back to the office. This was not the case, however. Unless you count a mini cardboard coffin full of Halloween candy promoting The Simpsons Treehouse Of Horror XIX (which I do), or the new Encyclopedia Of Reality Television (which I don't).
I was also thinking I might do a "stellar vacation" mix, but I didn't actually go anywhere that stellar. Unless you count Crest Hill, Illinois, (which I do) or Bed, Bath & Beyond (which I don't).
But, today we posted the covers for AP 245, which subscribers should start getting this week and anyone looking to buy it on the newsstand can pick it up Nov. 4 (also Election Day... you should get an AP to read while you're standing in line at the polls).
Anyway, Fall Out Boy are the new cover stars, and we've got two versions of the cover, so everyone should have something to love and something to complain about: FOB Suck! Vs. FOB Rule!. And while I'm going to leave all the cover discussion to the message boards (unless you want to comment on the covers via my blog to make me feel slightly popular and/or missed among our blog readers), I'm pretty stoked for a couple of things on the inside, namely in the sections I handle.
One, head to our Screening section for an excellent interview with Kevin Smith all about his new film, Zack And Miri Make A Porno. If you can't think of a good Halloween costume this year, I recommend heading to your local multiplex to see that instead--it debuts Oct. 31. I've been a big, big fan of Kevin Smith ever since me and my high school friends repeatedly watched Mallrats every weekend for about eight months straight. I'm stoked for a film from him that's outside his View Askewniverse.
Here's the trailer if you've been living under a rock. Or on vacation:
Also, we're sporting our third annual comedy special, and it's the first time I've been in charge of booking the talent, so to speak. I'm pretty stoked about all of the participants. And for a sneak peek:
If you don't recognize Danny McBride by name, you will by his mustache. Here's the trailer from his hilarious film The Foot Fist Way. It's out now on DVD, and if you slept on this (or Hot Rod) rectify the situation immediately.
In any case, I think we've put together an entertaining issue--hopefully you'll agree!
So, just in case you have some sort of co-dependent relationship with my blog updates or have a serious complex about me not loving you, dear reader, as much as I used to, your fears should cease here. I won't be updating the rest of this week or any of next, as I'm off work on a much-needed vacay.
And no, I'm not in Spain (I wish!). But I figured that "Gone Fishin'" would be too misleading, as even though I live on the coast of Lake Erie, I (sadly) don't own a boat. Or a fishing pole, for that matter. However, there is a good chance you can find me at a spa sometime while I'm off work, so I figured that was more appropriate.
If you're still worried that you will miss me too much, take comfort in the following YouTube goodness. It pairs my all-time fave band (Wilco) with one of my new faves (Fleet Foxes)--covering Dylan, no less.
Enjoy!
PS: I saw Wilco cover this song ("I Shall Be Released") in Boston in the summer of 2005. My Morning Jacket was opening that tour, but unfortunately, Jim James did not come out and jam on the tune. That would've been pretty sweet, though...
So, we are officially less than a month away from the presidential election. Regardless of your political affiliation, I think everyone is ready for some kind of change, and it's a very exciting time in the history of our country. No matter who wins in November, history will be made.
If you're 18 or older, you NEED to register to vote. I can't even emphasize enough how important this is. In our Gym Class Heroes/Underoath issue, we ran an election special, getting testimonials from band members and displaying survey results from our readers who took our online election survey. You can see some of the extras on our website.
We also ran a sidebar of info on registering to vote, and I'm going to reprint it here because I think it's so incredibly important:
REGISTRATION, PLEASE Don't have time to hit up your local courthouse and fill out a voter registration form? Well, we're not sure we believe you, but we'll clue you in on some alternate voter registration methods, anyway.
DECLARE YOURSELF Declare Yourself is a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading voter awareness. On their site, simply provide your e-mail address and ZIP code; and they'll provide an online form. Fill it out, hit print, then mail it to your local board of elections. Done and done.
ROCK THE VOTE Rock The Vote aims to bring voting power to the 45 million young people in the U.S. Similar to Declare Yourself, Rock The Vote provides an online registration form. Once you finish the form, the appropriate election board address (based on your ZIP code) is provided for you. Doesn't get much easier than that, does it?
USA.GOV Yep, even the government has a website with tons of voter tools. Not only can you register, but you can look up state registration deadlines and find the addresses of the nearest election office and polling places. Also, if you're away at school (or on the road with your band) but registered to vote back home, you can sign up for an absentee ballot. Your local election office with mail you a ballot before the election, and you simply have to fill it out and send it back. It's so easy, it's almost like they do all the work for you...
One of the first steps, though, is checking your state government's website to find when the registration deadline is. Some states have a cut-off day, and it's super important you find out ahead of time. Also, make sure you know where your polling place is, what kind of ID you need to take or what the deadline is for mailing in an absentee ballot. (You can also find this info on usa.gov. Put those interwebs skills to use, people!)
Like many of you, this is going to be my first time to actually go to the polls and vote. This is my third presidential election (I also voted in 2000 and 2004), but both times I was registered in Nebraska. Since I didn't live at home either of those years, I voted absentee. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing it this way--a vote's a vote. But I'm pretty excited to actually go stand in line (and get my "I Voted" sticker) for the first time.
If you're not old enough to vote yet--don't worry. You can still educate yourself on the issues, volunteer for a campaign, or simply discuss it among your friends. In fact, AP has a Mosh Pit thread dedicated entirely to politics--so make an account already and get going!
Apathy is so 2007. Please get out there and make your vote count.
In case I'm not convincing, here are some other terrific resources:
So, I know that my blog isn't the fave among our readers (believe me, we've got stats on these things. And they're announced at staff meetings. Not embarrassing at all.)
Anyway, because of this, I've gotta take my props where I can. One of my good friends teaches in Boston, and this is a snippet of a Gchat we had the other day:
(Teacher friend): hey funny little tidbit for you: me: oh yeah? (Teacher friend): i'm teaching an intro to mass media class this semester, and thursday, we covered the "magazine" chapter so i asked them to all bring in magazines that they read and one of the girls brought in AP and i was like, "oh, one of my friends is an editor there!" and i showed her your name and she was like, "wow, that's soooo cool!" so i'm pretty sure you just made me look cooler in front of my students
So there ya go. AP: Making teachers look cooler since 1985.
Well, Nebraska suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday against Virginia Tech. I'm gonna blame it on the fact that both dweebs on College Gameday picked us to win. Jinx!
I actually didn't get to see the game, even though it was on ABC prime time. I dunno, I guess the network execs thought viewers in Cleveland would rather see Penn State play Illinois. What-evs. But, judging from conversations with my brother and parents, they looked pretty good, but still made some mistakes and got absolutely killed on penalties. That's OK, though. Progress, not perfection, as a good friend of mine likes to say.
Tomorrow, though, it's gonna be a whole different ball game (pun intended). Tomorrow marks the start of Big 12 Conference play for the Huskers, and they're kicking it off with a doozy: The Mizzou Tigers.
Rewind to October 2003: I was a senior in college and my best friend and I had taken a road trip from Illinois (where I went to school) to Mizzou. I was going for a campus visit as I was applying to their grad school program, and I figured scheduling it the same weekend the Huskers were in town was pretty much the best idea I'd had all year. I rarely got to see Husker games once I started college, and I'd never seen one in Columbia. What transpired was not pretty. The Big Red gave up 21 points in the rain-soaked 4th quarter to lose to Missouri for the FIRST TIME IN 25 YEARS.
Needless to say, they've been on my shit list ever since. Doesn't help that Mr. David McKay (formerly of AP Warped Tour booth fame, now of Photo Finish Records) is from Missouri and always decides to cheer for them after USC (his alma mater) effs up. So, now I actually know a Mizzou fan who will no doubt, like the past season, give me major crap via text message every time the Tigers score.
However, not all Mizzou fans are bad apples. (And for clarification's sake, David's pretty okay in my book.) Tom Shatel is a sports columnist for the Omaha World Herald, who also happens to be a Mizzou alum. He gave an interview this week to Behind The Stripes, an online branch of the Columbia Tribune. He sheds some very interesting light on why Nebraska's program so quickly spiraled into the shitter under the fearless leadership of one Coach Callahan.
Here's an insightful excerpt:
BTS: This Huskers team strikes me as being tougher and more fundamentally sound but not all that athletic. Just doesn’t seem to have many playmakers to match up with Missouri or the other high-powered teams in the league. What’s been your impression so far?
Shatel: Bo was hired to clean up this program, literally. So much sloppiness, so many mistakes, so much lack of motivation.
A quick story for your Tiger fans: Callahan ran this program like an NFL team. I had numerous former players who would attend practice (when they were allowed; BC didn't like former guys hanging around) tell me they couldn't believe what they were seeing. In a Callahan practice, only the first team would run plays, against the scout team. The second and third team would stand and watch. This is an NFL thing. Apparently after he was hired as AD last October, Tom Osborne went to a practice and told someone, "There sure is a lot of standing around going on here.'' I had one former player say he witnessed the second and third team players get into a water fight at one practice; they were that bored. As for the players who practiced, if a mistake was made, practice would not stop and the mistake would not be corrected. It was all about tempo. Onto the next play. That, ladies and gentlemen, is not college football. And this team rarely hit in practice. Nebraska? Not hit? Surely, you recall the game in Columbia last year. That wasn't all Missouri.
Anyway, Pelini was brought in to change that. He did so immediately. There has been lots of hitting and lots of teaching going on. Real college football. What a concept. There will be blood. But it's going slower than Pelini had anticipated. Here's the problem: The new staff basically has to re-program a group of kids who were brainwashed to play a certain way. When linemen have been backpedaling for so long, it takes time to get them to go forward and attack. Pelini's defense takes time to learn. Right now there are still a lot of mental errors as the system sinks in. That does not bode well for Saturday night against a quarterback and receivers who could run the offense with the lights off.
I'm not saying Nebraska's going to win tomorrow (though judging by the eleventy-hundred upsets last week, anything's possible). I'm just hoping to see more of Bo Pelini's ship-steering in the right direction.
And as for Mizzou's grad school program? I was so appalled by the behavior of their fans at that game, I decided to give all my money to Boston University, instead. I figured a school that had long ago traded football for hockey would never mock me for wearing a Husker hoodie.
