Alex's tumblr

My 5 Favorite 2010 Concerts…

I love music, and I love it even more when I see it live. I went to a lot of concerts in 2010. Thankfully, I post pictures on Facebook to keep track of all the shows I’ve been to. Without it, this list would’ve been just a little bit harder to compile.

#5: The Vaselines @ First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA (10/3). The Vaselines were one of Kurt Cobain’s favorite bands. Nirvana has even covered a few of their songs, like “Molly’s Lips”, which is my fave. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see them live. Plus, I love seeing shows in that church’s basement.

#4: The Bouncing Souls/Bad Religion @ The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA (10/19). I’ve seen both of these bands a few times, especially on the Warped Tour, and they have yet to disappoint. They played all the favorites, and the crowd rocked right along with them. I even saw a guy in a wheelchair crowd surfing. That’s punk rock!!

#3: Conan O’Brien @ The Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA (6/7). How could I pass up seeing Conan O’Brien live?? Especially at that point, when he hasn’t been on tv in over four months. The show was a mix of comedy and music. Conan performed songs, and had special guests like Phish’s Trey Anastasio. They did a lot of the classic comedy bits from his shows as well. Upper Darby’s own Tina Fey even showed up as a surprise guest. It was a great show all around. I think Conan should bring his TBS show to Philly!

#2: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones @ The Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA (8/23). Even though ska hasn’t been popular in well over 10 years, it is still some really fun music! One of the coolest things about seeing the Bosstones live is their dancer Ben Carr. All he does is rock out on stage for the entire show. His endurance is incredible to watch! But like I said, the Bosstones play some really fun tunes. The kind of songs that you and the total stranger next to you can sing along to, and share a brief moment together… so to speak.

#1: Weezer @ Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA (12/15). Favorite show of the year? How about favorite show EVER! I paid a boatload of money, had to rearrange my work schedule, and drove six hours to Boston to attend this show, and it was all worth it!! When Weezer announced the Memories Tour, I was hoping it would come to Philly, but it didn’t. So when I saw that the Boston show was close to my birthday, I figured I should go all out for it. I bought the VIP package. That gave me a ton of free stuff, allowed me to meet the band, and got my picture with them. That right there was worth what I paid, and the show didn’t even start yet.

As I said a couple days ago, “Pinkerton” is my favorite album of all time. And on this night, they played it in its entirety. But before that, they started the show with a greatest hits set that included personal favorites like “Perfect Situation” and “The Greatest Man The Ever Lived”. They even threw in some B-sides like “Susanne” and “You Gave Your Love To Me Softly”. For this set, Rivers Cuomo was a flat out rock star! The guy ran all over the stage, and into the crowd several times. He was a madman! Then when it came time to play “Pinkerton”, Rivers took a more old school approach. He ditched the glasses, strapped on the guitar, and stood center stage the whole time. Hearing them play rare songs like “No Other One” and “Across The Sea” was beautiful. I also loved that I could hear everyone around me singing along. Hearing over 2000 people sing along to an album about being alone was pretty incredible. It was definitely a night I’ll never forget.

Honorable Mentions: Weezer (5/1), The Breeders (9/3), Girl in a Coma/Sia (5/2)

It’s kinda fitting that I end my series of Top 5 lists by talking about one of my favorite moments of the year. Thanks for reading!

My 5 Favorite 2010 TV Episodes…

I think I watch too much television. Funny television too! Though they’re not on the list, I thought “Parks and Recreation” and “The Big Bang Theory” had a hilarious 2010. I just couldn’t think of one particular episode that stood out as well as these have…

#5: It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia - S6 E9, “Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth”. This was the funniest episode in a season that I thought was pretty weak overall. There were two things that I liked the most. One was the kid who wore Insane Clown Posse makeup. I love it when “Juggalos” are made fun of, and made to look ridiculous. The other is their “Lethal Weapon 5” movie. From Frank’s awkwardly long love scene, to Mac in black face, it was one of the stupidest things I’ve seen all year. I can’t wait to see the director’s cut when the DVD set is released this Fall.

#4: How I Met Your Mother - S5 E12, “Girls Versus Suits”. A couple years ago when Neil Patrick Harris got nominated for an Emmy, it seemed like his character, Barney, was slowly taking over the show. I believe this episode is the peak of that, as the show ends in an elaborate musical number that’s all about him. Though he was nominated again that year, I feel like he got robbed!

#3: Louie - S1 E6, “Heckler/Cop Movie”. Louis CK is an amazing comedian, writer, and director. His show, “Louie”, really lets all of his talents shine. The first part of this episode shows how Louie deals with a heckler during his act. Though hearing him use the c-word on someone was pretty awesome, the second half of the show really killed me. Louie gets an acting gig with Matthew Broderick, and the awkwardness of Louie’s terrible acting that followed absolutely cut a hole in me. I think I’ve watched the following clip way too many times…

#2: South Park - S14 E9, “It’s a Jersey Thing”. One of the best things about South Park is their ability to quickly spoof current events and pop culture. So the question wasn’t really if, but when will they trash these New Jersey reality shows. Being from Jersey, this one hit close to home, and I loved every second of it. The constant smashes at “Jersey Shore” and “Real Housewives of NJ” were really good. Though I don’t think it would be so bad if New Jersey took over the country…

#1: Community - S1 E23, “Modern Warfare”. When “Community” debuted, I mainly watched it because there was nothing else on at that time. I thought it was an alright show, but I didn’t think it was anything special. That all changed with this episode! In it, a school-wide game of paintball turns this sitcom into a 22 minute action movie. The movie parodies and cliches are countless, and it ends with an homage to of one of my favorites, ‘Die Hard’. This was one of the best television episodes I’ve ever seen. It easily turned the season around for me, and now I can’t miss a week. When I bought the season 1 dvd, I immediately played this one first.

Honorable Mentions: The Walking Dead - S1 E1, “Days Gone Bye”,
The Tonight Show w/ Conan O’Brien - E146, the final episode.

My 5 Favorite 2010 Albums…

Good thing this list only goes to five. I don’t think I have enough for ten. Right off the bat, I’ll disqualify Weezer’s “Pinkerton deluxe edition” from this list. Pinkerton is my favorite album of all time, but the deluxe only has one real new song. Plus, it’ll allow me to talk about these albums…

#5: White Stripes - “Under Great White Northern Lights”. I have yet to see The White Stripes in concert. This live album (and dvd) makes me want to see them even more! I would love to see Jack White shred his guitar in person. Favorite tracks: “Jolene”, I love the emotion in Jack’s voice as he sang this Dolly Parton cover. “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself”, I also love when fans sing along at a concert.

#4: OK Go - “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky”. “You can’t stop these kids from dancin’. Why would you want to?” Once again, OK Go put out a great album, and some AMAZING music videos! OK Go just oozes with creativity. Not to take anything away from the other band members, but I love the bass and drums on this record. Favorite tracks: “This Too Shall Shall Pass”, “I Want You So Bad I Can’t Breathe”, “White Knuckles”.

#3: Bad Religion - “The Dissent of Man”. Bad Religion has been around for over 30 years, and they’re still kicking ass. I think Greg Graffin’s vocals have actually gotten better with age. Plus, their fast tempo and vocal harmonies will never get old to me. Here’s to another 30 years! Favorite tracks: “The Resist Stance”, “The Devil in Stitches”, “Wrong Way Kids”.

#2: She & Him - “Volume Two”. One of my favorite films of 2009, “(500) Days of Summer”, has lead to a really huge crush on Zooey Deschanel. I was glad to see that she puts out her own music. In general, I don’t listen to a lot of folk music, but I love this album. I think the songs are catchy, and Zooey’s voice is spellbinding.  Favorite tracks: “In The Sun”, “Don’t Look Back”, “Gonna Get Along Without You Now”.

#1: “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”. It was my favorite movie of the year, so I bought the soundtrack… and played the hell out of it! Music was such a big part of the movie. Almost all of the songs were easily identifiable with certain scenes. I think that’s what makes a great soundtrack album. Favorite tracks: Naturally, all of the Sex Bob-omb songs. I also loved Beck’s extended version of Scott’s song “Ramona”, and Metric’s “Black Sheep”, the song performed by Clash At Demonhead.

Honorable Mentions: Weezer - “Hurley”, Green Day - “American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording”

My 5 Favorite 2010 Video Games…

This list is completely made up of games that can easily be played for a short time. I did buy some longer games last year, like “Mass Effect 2”, “Red Dead Redemption”, and “Final Fantasy XIII”, but I just haven’t played them long enough to warrant adding them to this list. In 2011, I do want to finish more games. Maybe I should start with those…

#5: Angry Birds (mobile phone). Myself and a lot of my friends got Android phones this year. After I got this game, it didn’t take long for me to recommend it to them. Then like a virus, they too got addicted. It’s one of those games where you tell yourself “Just one more try…” until you realize that you wasted HOURS of time. I love the use of physics in the game. Just the slightest variation in your shot can yield completely different results in murdering green pigs. Damn you, green pigs!!

#4: Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (PS3, 360).  I liked the first Pac-Man Championship Edition. I LOVE Pac-Man Championship Edition DX! I never thought that quickly eating 30, 40, or 50 ghosts in a row could be so satisfying. I have it on PS3, and it is one of the few games where I have earned all of the trophies. I wish I knew other people that have it. Competing with them for high scores would keep me playing more often.

#3: Super Street Fighter IV (PS3, 360). Street Fighter is one of my all time favorite franchises. I love the games so much, I bought an arcade stick, and customized it with my own artwork and authentic arcade parts. The new fighters, updated movesets, and cheap price made this upgrade an even bigger no-brainer. Even though she’s terrible, I loved to play as Sakura! It made getting a rare online victory with her pretty sweet.

#2: Picross 3D (Nintendo DS). One of my favorite DS games was “Picross DS”. As a fan of Sudoku, I love Picross’ use of numbers and logic to solve puzzles. In the end, a Picross puzzle makes a simple picture. The addition of a third dimension gave Picross a new twist, while still keeping it simple. I played this game the most before going to bed. Some people read books. I crush blocks and make a doggie!

#1: Green Day Rock Band/Rock Band 3 (PS3, 360, Wii). Yep, I’m still playing Rock Band games! I’m a Green Day fan. So naturally, I thought their game was perfect. It contained my three favorite post-Lookout albums, and other great hits. I knew their songs so well, I had no problems playing the singer, which I never do!

I can play all of Green Day’s songs, and A LOT more in Rock Band 3. I think my song selection is well over 300 and constantly growing. So the extra organization options is very welcome. As long as Harmonix keeps releasing fun songs, I’m pretty sure I’ll be playing Rock Band 3 until day Rock Band 4 launches.

Honorable mentions: Beat Hazard (PC, 360), Wordfeud (Android), Madden NFL 11 (PS3, 360)

My 5 Favorite 2010 Movies…

For shits and giggles, I wrote a bunch of “Best of 2010” lists, and thought I’d share them here. I’ll post a new list each day for the next few days. I hope that anyone who reads them will enjoy.

I gotta say I haven’t seen a lot of movies in 2010. I’ve yet to see “Inception” or “The Social Network”. I hear those are good. Anyway, out of what I’ve seen, here’s my top five…

#5: She’s Out of My League. Call me a sucker for movies about nerds that get the hot girl. That is basically what this is. But rather than fighting a bully to win a girl’s heart, Kirk (Jay Baruchel) is fighting his own insecurities to be with a girl that’s actually into him. Sounds like science fiction, I know, but it’s a sweet movie! I thought Baruchel and Alice Eve were great together, and the supporting cast was really funny.

#4: The Expendables. God bless Sylvester Stallone! I think the guy is pushing 80, but that doesn’t stop him from pumping himself with HGH, and then writing, directing and starring in a kick ass movie. I haven’t been a big fan of action movies in recent years, but he really got me into this one. The opening scene really earned its ‘R’ rating, and set the tone for the rest of the flick. Fun movie!

#3 The Human Centipede (First Sequence). This movie is the MIDDLE PIECE… of my list! Among friends and colleagues, this was easily the most talked about movie of the year. I heard so much about it, I had to finally see it. When I did, I couldn’t wait to talk about it the next day! I see this as one of those movies that will stand the test of time. It will probably be shown every year for the holidays, like Halloween… and Thanksgiving.

#2: Kick-Ass. Pretty much the only comic book I regularly read in 2009 was quickly made into a movie in 2010. This was my most anticipated movie coming into the year. Though it wasn’t a perfect comic translation (Darn, Hit Girl doesn’t snort a vial of cocaine!), it was still well worth the wait. I already can’t wait for Kick-Ass 2!

#1: Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Hands down, this is my favorite movie of 2010! A while back, I described this movie as a “geekgasm”. Not only is it based on a comic book series, it has a lot of cool rock music, stylized fight scenes, and constant video game references. I heard the fight tune from Final Fantasy II! I’m also a huge fan of the director, Edgar Wright. His quick cutting storytelling style from “Hot Fuzz” got even crazier in this one. It’s an utter shame that this movie did so poorly at the box office. It probably means we’ll never anything like it anytime soon or perhaps EVER.

Honorable mentions: Cyrus, Despicable Me, Youth in Revolt

My iPod’s holiday playlist

These are the tunes I’ve been rocking out to this past week. Ho ho ho! Hit shuffle and go!

“Merry Christmas” - Wesley Willis

“Christmas Vacation theme”

“I Wish It Was Christmas Today” - Julian Casablancas (SNL song cover)

“Baby It’s Cold Outside” - Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone

“Snoopy and the Red Baron” - Jingle Punx

“Joy to the World” - Bad Religion

“Oi to the World” - No Doubt

“Making Christmas” - Rise Against (Nightmare Before Christmas cover)

“Do They Know It’s Christmas” - Bouncing Souls

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” - She & Him w/ Conan O’Brien

“Christmas Wrapping” - The Waitresses

“Don’t Shoot Me Santa” - The Killers

“Christmas in Hollis” - Run DMC

“Mele Kalikimaka” - Bing Crosby

“The Chanukah Song” - Adam Sandler

“Xmas Eve (She Got Up and Left Me) - Rancid

“Cancel Christmas” - Rocket From The Crypt

“Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)” - The Ramones

“Christmas Vacation” - The Descendents

“Ex-Miss” - New Found Glory

“The Christmas Song” - Weezer

“Boots” - The Killers

“The Night Santa Went Crazy” - Weird Al Yankovic

“Heavy Metal Christmas (The Twelve Days of Christmas)” - Twisted Sister

“This Time Of Year” - Mighty Mighty Bosstones

“evergreen” - mc chris

“Christmas Celebration” - Weezer

“Christmas Time” - Smashing Pumpkins

“All I Want For Christmas” - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

“A Great Big Sled” - The Killers

“The Chanukah Song part II” - Adam Sandler

“Oi! To The World” (original) - The Vandals

“Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto” - Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg

“Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” - South Park

“Holy Shit, It’s Christmas!” - Red Peters

“I Wanna Rock You Hard This Christmas!” - The Dan Band

“Dick In A Box” - The Lonely Island w/ Justin Timberlake

“Merry Muthafuckin’ Christmas” - Eazy-E

“Santa’s a Fat Bitch” - Insane Clown Posse

“The Most Offensive Song Ever” - Mr. Hankey

“New Year’s Song” - Hagfish

“Auld Lang Syne” - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

“Ding Fries Are Done!”

Rules: -  Bold all of the following TV shows which you’ve ever seen 3 or more episodes of in your lifetime.  -  Italicize a show if you’re positive you’ve seen every episode of it.

24 
7th Heaven
ALF
Alias
American Gothic
America’s Next Top Model
Angel
Arrested Development
Babylon 5 
Batman: The Animated Series
Battlestar Galactica (the old one)
Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
Baywatch
Beautiful People (US)
Beautiful People (UK)
Beverly Hills 90210 (original)
Bewitched
Bonanza
Bones
Bosom Buddies
Boston Legal
Boy Meets World
Brothers And Sisters
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Californication
Chappelle’s Show
Charlie’s Angels
Charmed
Cheers
Chuck
Clarissa Explains it All
Columbo
Commander in Chief
Crossing Jordan
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dark Angel
Dark Skies
DaVinci’s Inquest
Dawson’s Creek
Dead Like Me
Deadwood
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Dexter
Dharma & Greg
Different Strokes
Doctor Who
Dragnet
Due South
ER
Everwood
Everybody Loves Raymond
Facts of Life
Family Guy
Farscape
Fawlty Towers
Felicity
Firefly
Frasier
Freaks & Geeks
Friends
Fringe
Full House
Futurama
Get Smart
Gilligan’s Island
Gilmore Girls
Gossip Girl
Grey’s Anatomy
Grange Hill
Growing Pains
Gunsmoke
Happy Days
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys
Heroes
Home Improvement
Homicide: Life on the Street
House
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
Invader Zim
Invasion
Hell’s Kitchen
JAG
Jackass
Joey
Kim Possible
Knight RiderKnight Rider: 2008 
Kung Fu Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
La Femme Nikita
LA Law
Laverne and Shirley
Law and Order
Law and Order: SVU
Law and Order: CI
Leverage
Little House on the Prairie
Lizzie McGuire
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
MASH
MacGyver
Malcolm in the Middle
Married… With Children
McLeods Daughters
Melrose Place
Miami Vice
Mission: Impossible
Mod Squad
Monk
Mork & Mindy
Murphy Brown
My Life As A Dog
My Three Sons My Two Dads
Mythbusters
NCIS
Ned Bigby’s Declassified School Survival Guide
Nip/Tuck
Numb3rs
One Tree Hill
Oz
Perry Mason
Power Rangers
Press Gang
Pretty Little Liars
Prison Break
Private Practice
Privileged
Profiler
Project Runway
Psych
Pushing Daisies
Quantum Leap
Queer as Folk (US)
Queer as Folk (UK)
ReGenesis
Remington Steele
Rescue Me
Road Rules
ROME
Roseanne
Roswell
Sanctuary
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
Scrubs
Seaquest DSV
Seinfeld
Sex and the City
Six Feet Under
Slings and Arrows
Smallville
So Weird
South of Nowhere
South Park
Spongebob Squarepants
St. Elsewhere
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate SG-1 
Starsky & Hutch
Superman
Supernatural
Surface
Survivor
Taxi
Teen Titans
That 70’s show
That’s So Raven
The 4400
The Addams Family
The Amazing Race
The Andy Griffith Show
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Big Bang Theory
The Brady Bunch
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Golden Girls
The Honeymooners
The Jeffersons
The Jetsons
The L Word
The Love Boat
The Magnificent Seven
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Monkees
The Munsters
The Office (US)
The Powerpuff Girls
The Pretender
The Real World
The Shield
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sopranos
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing
The Wonder years
The X-Files
Third Watch
Three’s Company
Twin Peaks
Twitch City
Unfabulous
Ugly Betty
Veronica Mars
Weeds
Whose Line is it Anyway? (US)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)
Will and Grace
Wings
Xena: Warrior Princess

Yay I’m on tumblr too!

I don’t really have anything to say. Sorry y’all. That’s me.