Central Village

This is where I do now

I considered not even linking to it from here, making a clean break and all. But if you're still checking this site, maybe you'd like my Tumblr too.

Coachella 2007 thoughts

• Faithless! I never thought I'd get to see them in the States.
• My favorite tradition of 1 shitty screamo/emo band thrown in there for the hell of it: Circa Survive. (Last year was Coheed, year before, Thrice)
• Friday is the best, top to bottom. Saturday has the strongest core of smaller bands and DJs and Sunday has some ace headliners, but not as much I need to see during the day.
• I'll be at the grounds all day Friday, maybe leave a bit early on Saturday (don't need RHCP in my life these days) and get there a little later on Sunday for the big names. I'll be a much happier person if I pace myself this year, and the way the bands look to shape up, it might work out without too many regrets.
• Find it funny that Rufus is buried under the likes of Brazilian Girls and Peaches, when that dude could probably sell out the garden on a good night and they each have trouble filling Irving. But maybe it's different out west...
• Aside from Faithless, JAMC, Bjork, Rage and TAF (always, even if I had just seen 2 or 3 times recently) are all wouldn't-miss-for-the-world sets.

I am quite excited for this year.

I think it's time for us to take a break

I'm gonna shut this blog down for a bit. Probably until CMJ. While there have been plenty of moments where I've grown sick of doing this, I really do enjoy keeping CV going for the most part. It's just that right now, without going into too many details, I've got a whole lot of other things going on that demand far more attention than I've currently been able to offer.

I dunno. Maybe I'll get bored and start it back up next week or maybe after CMJ I'll figure out I don't really miss it all that much and stop for good. I just don't wanna plod along any longer trying to force out a mere 3-5 posts a week. It isn't very satisfying. We'll see. For now tho, don't expect anything new on here for a while.

To part, here's my favorite song right now off what I'm gonna go ahead and call the best album of the year. Even if no one else blogs about it between now and then, don't forget to buy it when it comes out on the 19th.

Bound Stems - Excellent News, Colonel (mp3)

Cheap Trick

I don't think Travis Pastrana is quite the household name that Tony Hawk was even before the video games came out, but it's pretty clear from this video and 2 minutes of web research that he's the top MotoX (dirtbike tricks) guy in the world right now. And seeing that a video of him pulling off a double-backflip in competition to win the gold at the X games showed up as 4 of the 10 most recent You-tube most viewed clips, I'm thinking this is a pretty big deal. Like when Hawk did the 720.

Anyway, this really isn't my thing. I bet if the X games were every 3 or 4 years like the Olympics, I'd get more excited about it, but with 2 a year (Summer and Winter), it's hard to know or care when it's on or who wins. I'm posting this video NOT because it's a pretty rad trick, but because of the twit in the white tanktop who stumbles up the dirt ramp during the celebration, snapping away with the Powershot. The money move is to get to the top, put your arm around the winner, take the shot of you two together, THEN STEP AWAY AND TAKE A LONG, HARD LOOK TO SEE HOW THE PICTURE CAME OUT. Way to live in the moment, brah. No-Fear photoblogging!

Bonus points to anyone who can find that guy's myspace page or whatever with that pic on it.

We've Been Had

My friend Erin is working on this viral marketing campaign for Mark Ecko that involves a video of Mark tagging up air force one that's been floating around the internet the last week or so. It's not real, but it's a pretty remarkable hoax. Of course, I doubt something like this could have gone down without getting massive mainstream media attention, which is always a big tipoff to these internet spread urban legends and whatnot. They've gone down to the details of the proper decals in the right place, and even having the vandals fun through a golf course (which there is apparently one right near the runway to Andrews AFB) The most minor of inconsistencies turn out to be the most glaring in hindsight, as the ones detailed in this article point out. Nonetheless, people seemed to had been genuinely fooled by the stunt for a while. Well played.

I think the most remarkable thing about this whole ruse is that the state of our military has become such a shadowy sham, that official denials are just assumed as bogus coverups. Which obviously plays perfectly into the marketers hands. Silly government.

Anyway, seeing this can't help but draw me back to think of those Viral Secret Machines and Morningwood comment spammers that got called out last year. The toughest line these campaigns have to walk is that when you target tech savvy bloggers to push your wares, it's safe to assume that these people know more than you. If a blogger sees 10 comments from the same IP on the same post, something's up. If the font of the letter matches times new roman, not old fashioned typewriter face, somethings up. You're never gonna out-geek the people who actually care about this, and nobody wants to be taken for a fool. Especially when given an opportunity to call out the people trying to take advantage of their service for personal or financial gain.

Anyway, all pontificating aside, the video's pretty great. Watch below:

Testy-Test Test

Wow...Typepad sure shit the bed on this one. No surprise "typepad" is the number one searched term on technorati this afternoon. The irony is, the only ones who really gave a shit couldn't even post and complain.

Oh well. Sorry bout that. Have a good weekend.

Grand Opening/Grand Re-Opening

Two of my favorite internet reads return to the mainstream this morning.

First off, Jay Good Times has officially launched Loose Record, which at a quick first glance appears to be a very well put together New York based music resource.  Well done Jay.

Also, welcome back Ash, whose candid summer fling of a blog looks to be starting back up again.  While she's currently in a bit of a link whore mode, (pun intended) I have no doubt she'll return to her full smutty self in no time.