If you're following me on here, you have probably noticed that i haven't been very active last year. The best place to find me is on Twitter and my new project, a bi-weekly podcast called "You Were Saying?" It's only one hour every two weeks and I assure you it's a great time. I would love for any input from you, my esteemed followers. We just released a new episode and it's pretty great.

Yeah, I made a podcast.

It was primarily out of boredom that I listened to my first podcast a few months ago. I was at work performing data entry and needed something to keep my mind occupied, and I wasn’t in the mood to listen to music on Spotify. John Hodgman had just tweeted a link to the latest episode of his podcast “Judge John Hodgman,” a fake court-procedural show featuring disputes from real listeners. I hit the “Play Now” button on the website and was prepared to close the window after a few minutes of boredom.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. “Judge John Hodgman” ended up being my gateway drug into the world of podcasts. I listened to every episode with a voraciousness I had previously reserved for the British sitcoms “Peep Show” and “Black Books” (which I had discovered far too late on Netflix). After I finished up with that podcast, I realized that almost every popular comedian hosted a podcast of their own. Now, I find myself listening to “Jordan, Jesse, Go!” and “Comedy Bang Bang” on a daily basis while I plow through my more mindless work. A good podcast, it turns out, isn’t just funny. It’s thought-provoking and it makes you feel like you’re a part of the conversation in a way that isn’t possible from a blog post or TV show.

When my friend Mike Powell first expressed interest in making a podcast and having me co-host it, it was before I discovered how entertaining the medium could be. I met the idea with an apathy that had defined my creative output for the past year. To Mike’s credit, he didn’t let up, and when he approached me a second time, I was excited to give it a try.

When it was time to prepare for our first recording, we had no idea what we were doing, but Mike researched, took notes, and outlined. We came up with a topic and a thesis. We recorded a sample show. We re-recorded when the first show didn’t meet our standards. I originally thought that the podcast would just be an hour of me chatting with my friend on Skype, but his effort inspired me to put in more effort myself, and I think the final result is something that we can proudly share with you.

“You Were Saying?” is the result of our trials and tribulations. We’ve produced two episodes so far and intend on releasing a new one every two weeks. We want to tackle popular topics in a way that hasn’t necessarily been done to death online yet. We posted the podcast onour Tumblr so you can stream it, download the MP3, or subscribe to us on iTunes. My friend Kaitlyn has been indispensable in providing feedback in how we should edit our rough cuts (final cuts are less than hour long). I feel that as the show goes on, our rapport will improve and so will the flow of the show.

In most of my creative endeavors, I’ve been comfortable enough with going solo and only asking for feedback if I had doubts I had created something worthwhile. Here, I think Mike and I have created a podcast with some real potential, and we would really appreciate any feedback you may have on it. I’m asking you to stop by our website and listen to an episode (or as much of one as you care to). Send us any feedback you may have, good or bad. You can email us at ywspodcast@gmail.com or use the anonymous submission form on our website. Any suggestions on segments we can add or ways we can improve would be greatly appreciated.

I don’t expect “You Were Saying?” to ever become all that popular in the world of podcasts, but as long as it’s fun to record, I’m sure Mike and I will keep at it. We just also want to make sure that’s it’s fun for you to listen to.

Review of "Skyfall"

The James Bond franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary with Skyfall, the twenty-third film in the series. Directed by Sam Mendes and starring Daniel Craig in his third performance as Bond, the film is an interesting amalgamation of ideas new and old that attempts to refresh the classic Bond movie formula and apply it to the starkly modern Daniel Craig Bond era to mostly positive results.

Skyfall begins with an especially strong chase scene in Turkey. James Bond and fellow MI6 agent Eve are trying to recapture a stolen hard drive loaded with the identities of undercover NATO agents. With M (tautly played by Judi Dench) overseeing the operation from London, Eve is instructed to take a difficult shot that results in the apparent death of Bond himself, though it’s no surprise that Bond survives the wound. 

After enjoying life on a tropical beach for three months, Bond returns to London after seeing news reports of a terrorist attack on MI6 headquarters. With the list in enemy hands and the British government is exerting pressure on M to retire, Bond goes on a globetrotting adventure to find out who stole the list and bring them to justice.

The characterization of Bond this time around is a mixed bag. While it’s certainly captivating to see James not at his peak physically/ emotionally and the consequences this causes, this angle seems to be conveniently forgotten when the plot calls for it. Take, for instance, a scene where Bond has trouble making a pinpoint shot in front of the film’s main villain, but is able to aptly incapacitate several armed henchmen later in the same scene.

Speaking of the film’s antagonist, Javier Bardem plays Raoul Silva, a former MI6 agent/ hacker with a vendetta against M. Silva is a villain more in line with Bond villains past than those from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Bardem’s performance is unexpectedly campy, and while he’s the most dynamic Bond villain in years, his character presents a jarring tonal shift in the universe established in the prior two movies.

Of course, it couldn’t hurt to establish some distance between Skyfall and its mediocre predecessor Quantum of Solace, and there’s plenty that this new film does right. The cinematography is top-notch, particularly during a fight scene set in a Shanghai skyscraper. The action is frequent and well-executed. The film’s story is larger in scope than Casino Royale’s and the action set pieces are far grander as a result.

I did find some quibbles with the film. The third act of the film drags on and isn’t quite as exciting as the scenes preceding it. Silva’s master plan goes from intricate and mysterious to blindingly stupid as the movie progresses. Some of the homages to past Bond films feel shoehorned in, particularly the inclusion the Bond girls. 

Whereas Casino Royale tried its hardest to deviate from the standard Bond movie formula, Skyfall embraces it. While Skyfall lacks the emotional resonance that made Casino Royale such an excellent film, it’s still superbly entertaining and a very worthy entry into the Bond canon.

Rating: 4/5

Review of "The 2nd Law" by Muse

(Listen to The 2nd Law on Spotify)

Like their last album, “The Resistance,” Muse’s sixth album, “The 2nd Law,” starts strong, with bombastic rock opener “Supremacy.” Bellamy belts out the loosely political lyrics in a screeching falsetto, string instruments swell up like a tidal wave, snares softly roll in the background, and then the guitar hook that wouldn't sound out of place in a spy thriller dominates the soundscape, with drummer Dom Howard going as far as saying that “It's got a little whisper to the Bond vibe.”

“Supremacy” leads into “Madness,” undoubtedly the greatest song on the album. “Madness” is a perfect demonstration of Muse’s pop sensibilities. The song also represents a stripped-down sound for the band. The majority of the song is composed of a languid beat and deep electronic bass reminiscent of dubstep, but the dramatic finale saves the song from sinking under the weight of its own minimalism.

“Madness” is a clear representation of the most salient change to the album: Muse has more widely embraced an electronic sound on this album than in the past, and the result is mixed. It makes sense for Muse to move into this direction. Since their debut “Showbiz” came out and critics accused them of aping Radiohead, Muse has since evolved into a maximalist rock band replete with grandiose musical experimentation. 

Much discussion has been generated by Muse’s surprising foray into dubstep, but the results aren’t groundbreaking in any way, and end up feeling like another diversion in the band’s long list of experimentation. The two dubstep-tinged tracks are “Follow Me,” produced by Nero, and “The 2nd Law: Unsustainable.” After a build-up that takes a third of the song’s length, “Follow Me” drops and the sound feels like a surprisingly natural fit for the band.

One of the critical missteps of the album is one-two punch of “Animals” and “Explorers.” A guitar build-up towards the end of “Animals” can’t save it from being the most disposable song on the album. Directly afterwards, the first two minutes of “Explorers” does its best to eradicate any momentum the album had built up, and even though it eventually falls into a pleasant groove, when Bellamy closes by gently singing, “Go to sleep,” it makes me wonder why the band had seen fit to compose a lullaby.

Less hyped than the inclusion of dubstep-esque sounds in the album are the two songs where Bellamy isn't on the vocals. “Save Me” and “Liquid State” arrive in succession late in the album, and both tracks were written and sung by bassist Chris Wolstenholme. This raises an as-of-yet unheard of question: Is Muse still Muse without Bellamy’s trademark low tenor? Surprisingly, the answer is yes, and the straightforward songs go a long way to keeping the album from becoming a completely incoherent jumble of ideas.

Overall, “The 2nd Law” marks another solid entry into Muse’s discography, but some inconsistency in the quality of the songs keeps it from reaching the greatness of previous works such as “Black Holes and Revelations.”

Rating: 3.5/ 5

Sudden Death

It seems like we didn't pay attention to Amanda Todd until she killed herself. I didn't. I didn't know about her story until after she had committed suicide. Fifteen-year-old flashes a stranger online and is cyber-stalked and bullied to the point where she develops severe depression and decides living is no longer worth the effort.

I had no idea who this girl was, why she killed herself, or how it was culturally relevant until my Facebook feed was spammed with stories about her. No longer merely a victim of suicide, Amanda seems to have become some sort of martyr for the anti-bullying movement that's dominated the zeitgeist as of late. I didn't write about Amanda immediately after she killed herself because I had nothing to say. "Her death is a tragedy." As someone who didn't personally know her, couldn't I leave it at that?

Apparently not. I've found myself decidedly uncomfortable with the state of the discourse launched by her death. It seems that everyone who has felt compelled to attach their personal opinion to the death of a 15-year-old falls into one of two categories:

I'm less concerned about the first group because, while ignorant, the posts are at least motivated by good intentions. It's this second group that frustrates me. This attitude that people hold about suicide where it's just something a person needs to "get over" is profoundly ignorant. Here's a shining example of the type of Facebook status I'm talking about (condensed for brevity):

The advice given here is suspect at best. I'm glad that doing an Extreme Makeover worked out for him, but I wonder how much a pack of Crest Whitestrips would have helped me avoid getting jumped in my high school locker room for being a "dirty Mexican" (the irony of course being that I'm not Mexican). Similarly, if a fat gay kid loses weight, will that really shed him of the nickname "faggot" from those who ridicule him?

Of course, I don't expect a random person to dispense advice of the same caliber of a trained mental health professional, or even Dr. Phil. The broader problem with status updates like this is that they illustrate a striking lack of understanding of suicidality and mental illness in general. Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. A review of 3,725 suicides found that 87% of suicide victims were diagnosable with a mental disorder based on history from their friends/ family following their death.

There are still people who, in this enlightened day and age, undermine the significance of mental health and believe that people should simply pull themselves up by the bootstraps. I wonder, what would it take for them to feel the weight of their ignorance? A more robust education in psychology? Experiencing first-hand the feeling of looking over a ledge and contemplating jumping? We've all been close to or known someone who took their life, whether we were aware of it or not.

I used to work with a guy named Eric. He was one of the few people I liked at my job. In many ways he was my opposite -- laid back and optimistic to my tightly-wound self. He had recently acquired his motorcycle license and told me he had plans to ride down to Florida with a friend. He killed himself not much later. There were no signs. There was no warning.

Today would have been his birthday. 

Judgment is fine, but not if it's of something you don't understand nor intend to learn about. Perhaps, instead of blaming people for not having the wherewithal to handle situations we have not personally experienced, we should simply remember to respect the dead. Rest in peace, Amanda, rest in peace, Eric, and rest in peace to the countless souls who have died by their own hand.

Review of "Cruel Summer" by G.O.O.D Music

“Cruel Summer” is a difficult album to assign a numerical rating to. The album, announced by Kanye West last year, is a collaborative album from his label G.O.O.D. Music and features such talent as Big Sean, CyHi the Prynce, Pusha T, John Legend, and more. The collection of twelve songs is permeated with some genuinely great moments, but overall is a mediocre album that fails to live up to the standards of the solo material we’ve heard from these artists.

The album starts off strongly and carries this momentum throughout its first half. The opening song, “To the World,” is a collaboration between Kanye and R. Kelly, two of modern pop’s most misunderstood entertainers. The song is essentially one big hook in which R. Kelly sings about the cliché of raising one’s middle finger “to the sky,” but the song is saved by the aggressiveness of the performers (Kanye makes a scatological reference directed towards the media which vilifies himself and Kelly) and the sublime production, punctuated by orchestral-sounding synths and stuttery drums.

The rest of the first album is consistently very good, though I would hesitate to call it great. “Clique” features Jay-Z in his only verse on the album, and it highlights one of the album’s biggest faults: The guest rappers consistently one-up members of the G.O.O.D. Music label. Take, for example, “New God Flow” which features Pusha T, Kanye, and a verse from hip-hop legend Ghostface Killah. The beat is expertly produced by Kanye and Boogz & Tapez, and the verses from Pusha and Kanye are competent even if they’re not the best we’ve heard. However, it’s Ghostface who dominates the track in the final verse. Though the verse lacks any stand-out lines, the flow is impeccable and he expertly plays on his line from his song “Mighty Healthy” on which the song’s hook is based.

Whereas the best songs on “Cruel Summer” teeter on the cusp of greatness, the worst songs are enough to drag the entire album into the depths of mediocrity. “Higher” feels like filler, which should not exist on an album with over twenty performers. Of course, guest rapper Ma$e has the best lines in the song. “Bliss,” a duet between R&B artists Teyana Taylor and John Legend, fails to match their contributions to Kanye’s last solo album, “My Big Dark Beautiful Fantasy.”

To be fair, “Cruel Summer” should not be directly compared to Kanye West’s solo albums. It lacks the depth and cohesiveness that makes Kanye’s work so widely respected, but it’s meant to be a showcase for the G.O.O.D. Music collective. To that end, the album trips up a bit. Certainly, songs like “The Morning,” “New God Flow,” and “Clique” will be playing on repeat on many people’s iPods, but the uneven production and the fact that the best verses belong to rappers not even on the label doesn’t inspire much confidence in Kanye's "ghetto opera."

Rating: 3/5

Straight Up Juggahos

Did Bloc Party really need to come back? Their newest album, simply titled “Four,” certainly begs this question. By the time many indie post-punk bands released their fourth albums, it seems both critics and fans have moved on (see: The Strokes). For better or worse, then, it made sense when Bloc Party went on hiatus in 2008 after the release of their third album, “Intimacy.”

Regardless of what may have been for the best in 2008, Bloc Party is back with an album that’s good enough to justify the reunification, but not so great that it compares to the band’s best work. That isn’t to say that Bloc Party is treading on new ground stylistically. “Four” is most similar in style to the band’s debut “Silent Alarm,” which was a smart move for the band since that was their most well-received album. That also means that the stylistic growth that occurred in the last two albums, “Intimacy” and “A Weekend in the City” is mostly forgotten.

I couldn’t help but be disappointed by the band’s second record, “A Weekend in the City.” The album marked a significant shift in the band’s sound with the introduction of layered vocals, string instruments, and more slow sections to serve as a counterpoint for faster songs that were similar in composition to those on the first album (e.g. “Hunting for Witches”). “Intimacy,” the band’s third album, was another animal entirely. The album was dominated by booming beats and poppy synths, perhaps following the trend set by Radiohead where rock bands migrated over to electronic music. At the very least, “Intimacy” re-captured the intensity of “Silent Alarm,” and while it isn’t a great album, it was fun and energetic, as Bloc Party should be.

With “Four” ditching the electronic manipulation in favor of stuttering guitars and fast drum beats, you might think that Bloc Party has once again come out on top, but this isn’t the case, as illustrated by a couple of the songs on the 12-song-long album. Take, for example, “Coliseum,” one of the harder songs on the album. While I’m a fan of metal of all kinds, this song feels like a serious misstep for the band. The music is ripped from early-90s grunge, and singer Kele Okereke’s falsetto isn’t enough to make the song fit into the rest of the album tonally (luckily, the band has better luck with hard rock influences on album closer “We Are Not Good People”).

Of course, the album has some shining moments to contrast the failures. The real highlight is “V.A.L.I.S.,” a song that takes everything that originally made Bloc Party great (a quality sing-along melody, tight guitar work, and a punchy beat) and synthesizes it into a poppy dance-rock number that rivals the band’s best work. Was Bloc Party’s comeback worth the effort? Despite some curious stylistic influences in some of the songs, the answer is yes. However, if you’re new to the band, you’d still be better served by listening to “Silent Alarm” first.

Rating: 3.5/5

Hard to believe I haven't updated this blog in two months. I guess time flies when you have a job, a full course load, and an internship. Luckily for all of you, I made a photoblog as part of my internship (which maybe I'll talk about some other time) and the link is in the title. You should join me over there and also follow me on Twitter for all of my classy dick jokes. I'll be around to update this with my mediocre and rushed writing, don't you worry.

Bane, to Batman