The Trifector

Sparrow

2012-01-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

Audrey Assad's new album comes out on Feb 14. Sparrow is the first single from the album. This is a little video my old buddy Billy put together.

Streak ender

2012-01-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

I haven't confirmed this yet, but I'm certain we just had our longest streak of time without a post. It ends today, with this post for some reason. We can do better but somebody had to do something.

32 Rules of Thanksgiving Football

2011-11-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

Pretty funny article from the WSJ:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204531404577050370294096452.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5

Jake Recommends...

2011-11-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

It's time for another Jake recommends. Some of you may be well aware of these albums already, but just in case you're missing out on any of these three I feel it's my duty to "Trifetor" them.

Switchfoot: Vice Verses

This is your ideal pop rock album. High energy, top notch production, diverse songs, strong lyrics, and excellent performances on every instrument. Throughout the album you will hear traces of Jimmy Eat World, Third Eye Blind, Tonic, and Live sprinkled throughout. Below is the first single released from the album. Keep in mind that you can never judge and album by it's singles.

The Head and the Heart: self titled

Below is the first song I heard by them. It definitely caught my attention. I finally just got the whole album and I'm really glad I did.

I really like this song right now, Honey Come Home

The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow

Think of them like Easily Amused but on steroids (talent steroids)

Also worth watching...Barton Hollow

Sarcastic Occupation is Funnier and Less Smelly Than the Real Thing

2011-10-28T07:56:00.001-07:00

Headlines

2011-10-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

Drudge had the following newsline up today:

"Man steals sandwich, tries making getaway in stolen forklift."

Classic

Mrs. Potter's Piano Pie

2011-10-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

I've always thought that American Pie and Mrs. Potter's Lullaby are very similar songs, although I could never (and still can't) quite put my finger on why. Here are a few of my own thoughts on how they're similar: They're both fairly long; they're both a kind of pop/folk blend; they both have deliberately obscure but colorful and intriguing lyrics; they both have a narrative structure, but only loosely so; they both feature strong piano parts but are totally amenable to one guitar and a campfire situations; there's an intense desire to sing along even though no one ever remembers all the lyrics. Beyond these, I'm not sure how else to compare them. I suppose you could call them both ballads, but I think they're a little too unstructured narratively to fall into that category completely.

Anyway, tonight I heard Piano Man on the radio and it struck me as falling into a similar, if not the same, category. And this got me thinking, what other songs would fit?

So here are my questions: 1) If these songs are of a common and fairly unique category, what is it called or what should it be called? 2) What other songs, if any, fall into this category?

Here are a few I came up with after a quick scan of iTunes. None of them quite seem to fit, but they're close:

Furr, Blitzen Trapper
Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
The Weight, The Band
Feeling Good Again, Robert Earl Keen
Hey Jude, The Beatles
You Don't Have to Call Me Darlin', David Allen Coe
All These Things I've Done, The Killers
August and Everything After, Counting Crows
Nightswimming, REM
Hallelujah, Rufus
Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkel
Take Me Home Country Roads, John Denver

Life Skills: Corn Shucking

2011-10-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

The Divided Brain

2011-10-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

PJ 20

2011-10-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I'm really excited to see this.

Pearl Jam Twenty chronicles the years leading up to the band’s formation, the chaos that ensued soon-after their rise to megastardom, their step back from center stage, and the creation of a trusted circle that would surround them—giving way to a work culture that would sustain them. Told in big themes and bold colors with blistering sound, the film is carved from over 1,200 hours of rarely-seen and never-before seen footage spanning the band’s career. Pearl Jam Twenty is the definitive portrait of Pearl Jam: part concert film, part intimate insider-hang, part testimonial to the power of music and uncompromising artists.

About the Filmmaker

CAMERON CROWE, Director, Writer, Producer
At Age 13 Cameron Crowe began his professional life as a music critic, writing for magazines such as Creem and Crawdaddy, and at 15, became a staff writer for Rolling Stone. In 1979, Crowe (then 22) went undercover as a Southern California high schooler for his book, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He then wrote the screenplay for the film upon which it was based. In 1989, Crowe made his feature film directorial debut with Say Anything…. His other films include Singles, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky, Elizabethtown and Almost Famous, which earned him an Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay. His newest narrative film, We Bought A Zoo, starring Matt Damon, will be released in December 2011.

Nash and Dirk

2011-10-16T22:29:00.000-07:00

I randomly found this video on youtube. I think these two guys have a really cool story. Neither of them came into the league with much hype nor did they really impress anyone early in their careers. But they pushed each other and kept working and by the time this video was made they were the number 1 and 2 choices for MVP and led their teams to the best records in the league. I've read many great stories about their friendship but haven't seen a video about it till now.

The Lost King, Still Rockin'

2011-10-14T18:45:00.001-07:00

So, I have to admit I haven't listened to much Counting Crows lately. But for some reason I checked out their website today and there are some pretty cool new developments. No new studio album, but some fun side stuff.

I guess a year or two ago around Valentine's Day, Adam got the idea to record his own acoustic piano versions of seven Valentine's Day-ish covers in seven days. He does songs by Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, Steve Earl, Tom Waits and others. Here's his cover of You Might Think by some guy named Ric Ocasek:

Also, Counting Crows apparently just released a Live Album called Live at Town Hall which is them playing through August and Everything After. Here's Rain King mixed with a bit of The Boss:

Paul Ryan

2011-10-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

Paul Ryan is the man.

Nick Recommends: Dawes

2011-10-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Going to see these guys on Thursday with Blitzen Trapper. Should be cool. I really like this song for the piano melody. Almost sounds like a old Stephen Foster ballad ("you know, Stephen F*&^!% Foster"). On the downside, the lyrics are a bit awkward at points, and the singer's face looks retarded most of the time. Oh well.

Nick Recommends: Jeff Bridges

2011-10-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

Rick Perry and The Ponz

2011-10-07T05:58:00.001-07:00

There's a l lot I don't like about Rick Perry as a presidential candidate, but I think he absolutely got it right on social security.

Michael Ramirez sums it up more visually:

More Ritter

2011-10-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

I continue to be impressed with Josh Ritter, both as a songwriter and a musician--a rare combo, I think.

He also just published a novel.

One of my favorite of his:

Pearl Jam playing Pink Floyd

2011-10-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

I couldn't figure out how to embed this into the site, so please follow the following ink:
Pearl Jam Performs "Mother" for Pink Floyd Week - Music - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Explanation of the UK, England, & Great Britain

2011-10-01T15:50:00.001-07:00

Meanwhile, in Soviet Russa...

2011-10-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

http://tralalalalalalalalalala.com/

The Speech

2011-09-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

Nick Wignall Photography: The Blog

2011-09-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

I decided my new photo site needed a blog. I'm not really sure which direction it will take, but here it is. Critiques welcome!

http://nickwignallphotography.com/blog/

Inquirey into physics

2011-09-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

In my physics lab last spring, we had to conduct an experiment on our own and film it. I took the opportunity to make mine somewhat stylized (Sauce Money Millionaires have standards after all). My lab partner and I wanted to do the most boring thing we could think of. Initially, we planned to watch paint dry for 5 minutes, but we didn't know how to apply that to the course. We finally settled on watching things heat up and cool down.

Also, I shot the whole thing with my phone, which was kind of cool (for me anyway).

Summer Movie Review

2011-08-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

I recently realized that I've seen a lot of movies this summer. For what it's worth, I gave them grades. Basically, go see "the Help" if you haven't yet.

The help: A-

X-men first class: b+

Thor: B

Super 8: B

Conan the barbarian: C

Rise of the planet of the apes: B+

Cowboys and Aliens: B-

Final destination 5: C-

Nick Recommends: Best of Craigslist

2011-08-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/all/

Amazing Kid Singer

2011-08-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

This kid is unreal and the best kid singer I've ever seen. He has unbelievable strength and perfect timing. It will be interesting to see what becomes of him. Anyway, I watched this video with my dad and sister and they both cried.

Live from Soho

2011-08-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Audrey Assad just released a live album produced by Apple. You can only get it on iTunes. I got it yesterday and it is good. That is all.

Kids singing Everlong

2011-08-14T17:43:00.001-07:00

Quote of the Day

2011-08-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

"Athletes are not overpaid, stop whining about it."

"....Athletes are paid what the market will bear for them. Owners of professional sports teams choose to pay those huge salaries because they get a large net positive return out of those contracts. If someone were willing to pay you $10 million a year to play baseball, would you not sign? Also, if you could hire an agent for $1 million that could turn your contract into a $15 million a year contract, wouldn’t you hire that person? If you want to gripe about player salaries, don’t blame the players. Blame those who created the marketplace (the owners) and the people who support that marketplace with billions of dollars (the fans)."

Via The Simple Dollar

I concur.

Same goes for Debt Ceiling stuff in Washington. Once every single American has a balanced budget, then they can start complaining about Washington not having one.

Nash Makes More Prius Commercials

2011-07-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Nash hasn't starred in a commercial that doesn't make him look stupid and/or arrogant in a long time. I think it's funny and I appreciate that he doesn't take himself too seriously. However, I just read the comments of some of the blogs featuring these commercials and it seems that other people are taking him seriously, even if he doesn't. So maybe there are plenty of people in the blogosphere who really are that dumb, or maybe we're just so used to successful athletes being full of themselves that not everyone can see the satire in these commercials. Anyway, some of the bloggers seem to think he is a real jerk and question why he would do these commercials. I just think they're funny.

Saying Goodbye to Borders

2011-07-22T13:31:00.001-07:00

"Saying Goodbye to Borders: The Place We Ate, Drank, Pooped, and Sometimes Bought Books."

Must be one of the best news headlines of the year.

Some of the Tweulogies are pretty funny, too:

http://gizmodo.com/5823806/saying-goodbye-to-borders-the-place-we-ate-drank-pooped-and-sometimes-bought-books/gallery/1

A Rough Draft: NickWignallPhotography.com

2011-07-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

So, I've been working for the last month on building a new photo website and finally have a working first draft. I'm hoping I can enlist some of you to give it a thorough going-over with a critical eye or two.

I'm especially worried about how it appears on different combinations of web browsers and operating systems. To me it looks "correct" on Macs using the latest versions of Firefox or Safari. Chrome on Mac tends to have a washed-out look. Similarly, Firefox and Internet Explorer on Windows machines tend to make it look a little washed-out and to not render the fonts as well. So if you could compare the site using whatver browsers/operating systems you use, that'd be great. Also, if you have one of them new-fangled smart phones or tablets, maybe give it a run through on them as well.

Other than that, feel free to give me as much criticism as possible about any aspects of it--functionality, aesthetics, tone, vibe, structure, etc...

Thanks!!

www.nickwignallphotography.com

Social Insecurity

2011-07-13T22:05:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure which is dumber: People's surprise at Obama's suggestion that their social security checks might be withheld without a new debt ceiling, or the fact that we let the government babysit our money at all.

If anyone can explain why social security is anything less than an awful idea, please speak up.

Here's the story: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/13/report-backs-obama-warning-that-social-security-checks-at-risk-in-debt-crisis/

Also, since a friend recently informed me that I should be more vocal about my political opinions, here are a few on some related topics:

Q: Should we raise the debt ceiling?
A: No.

Q: Then how do we avoid defaulting?
A: Pay off our debts.

Q: Yeah, but how?
A: First, spend less. A lot less. On everything. Yup, even military spending. Second, tax. That's right, tax. And everyone the same amount. Rich, poor, black, white, employed, slacking (like myself), smart, stupid, whatever.

USA!!!

2011-07-10T11:17:00.001-07:00

Power Couple

2011-07-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

Slingshot vs. iPhone

2011-07-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

This guy needs his own show. I suggest interning as a third host on Mythbusters for a season, then striking out on his own.

Nick Recommends: Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers

2011-07-08T15:31:00.001-07:00

New Map

2011-07-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

Take-home message: people from Montana don't talk, and nobody talks to them either.

Haboob video

2011-07-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

I just found a different video from the one in the previous post that actual embeds. Enjoy.

The Phoenix Haboob of July 5th, 2011 from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.