Music Review: Too Close - Jason Nevins Radio Edit

So there's this remix of Alex Clare's Too Close by Jason Nevins.

Now, for comparison, heres the original.

I gotta say, I really dig the remix, I dig it much more than the original. Heres my two bits why. I am picky about dub step. Dub step is wonderful when used well and sparingly. I have Skrillix in my music database for shows, but I rarely play it for myself. He overdoes it a lot. Sure he won awards, but still doesn't mean I like it. Art is subjective, get over it.

Well, with Clare's Too Close I always felt that the dub step bass drops were out of place and didn't fit the song as a whole. Nevins' takes the song tweeks it subtly and gives us a version that holds the song in a better place to my ears. The Dub is still there, but more background than foreground.

Some point I'll tell you about my fav Dubber's (lolz), one being Krewella. They rock the hiz-ous.


Thanks for reading,

E
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Send your thoughts to histwobits@gmail.com. I'll try to read each one, and I'll share the ones I deem awesome (for whatever reason) as often as I can. Know that I will more than likely not reply back to your email. Thanks.

Music Review: Unlike Pluto's I Will Wait

So there's this remix of Mumford & Son's I Will Wait from their album Babel. Note, this youtube clip is just a song not a moving video.

Now, for comparison, here is the original.

Now, my two bits. To start with, I quickly became an adoring fan of Mumford & Sons. I sum up their entirety of music in one word: Sincerity. These guys write songs they believe in and tell stories that bare truth, and when you see them play live (I WILL see them play live IRL someday) you can see a joy on their faces.

When I heard Unlike Pluto's  on Database Radio on C89.5 remix, I did not like it, but I was intrigued. I felt that M&S's music is not for the Dance music scene and stood fine on it's own. But the more I heard it, the more turned on to it I was. Pluto captures that joyful sincerity and bops it on it's head with a goofy grin. Up beat and a dance floor friendly tempo, I think I'll be adding this remix to my dance floors soon!


Thanks for reading,

E
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Send your thoughts to histwobits@gmail.com. I'll try to read each one, and I'll share the ones I deem awesome (for whatever reason) as often as I can. Know that I will more than likely not reply back to your email. Thanks.

Of Horror and Centipedes

So there's this movie called the Human Centipede about a nutty evil doctor who does some awful things to three people, and it was made fun of by South Park.

Now, I have not seen this movie, or the sequel. I have read about it and it takes up space in my head way more than I would like. The concept horrifies me yet I have trouble not pondering just how awful the movie could be. It's bugging the crap out of me. I am hoping that this blog post will help clear it out.

I am taking a cinema history class in college right now and I spend a lot of time reading Rodger Ebert reviews and essays on classics like the Bicycle Thieves and Citizen Kane (oh so Rosebud was his.... I am not that big of a jerk). And I thought to myself, humm, I wonder what Ebert says about the film(s). So I read.

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (UNRATED) & THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 (FULL SEQUENCE) (UNRATED)

These two reviews are wonderfully written and gave me a much needed clearing out. His reviews not only give me something to chuckle about, but also seemed to give me the OK to understand that these movies are garbage and unwarranted of my time. Why did it take these reviews to do it, I have no freaking clue.

Oh yes, and in case you are wondering why I didn't link up the movie in any way other than the Ebert links, cause its trash and doesn't need any more links raising it's search engine hit rates.


Thanks for reading,

E
----------------------------
Send your thoughts to histwobits@gmail.com. I'll try to read each one, and I'll share the ones I deem awesome (for whatever reason) as often as I can. Know that I will more than likely not reply back to your email. Thanks.

Mornings are for...information.

So there is this piece in the Seattle Times about smartphones, media, and waking up in the morning.
Whatever happened to mornings? Oh yeah – our smartphones

To summaries: More and more people are waking up and the very first thing they are doing is checking their phones, be it news, social media, or email.

This article really hits a note with me. I am very connected to my iPod Touch (I don't have a smartphone, but I use my Touch in a very similar way). I use it as my clock, much like the article talks about and I am checking it before my eyes even really wake up. Admittedly, I sit in the toilet the first thing and check my twitter. Sorry, but I do want to be truthful on this site.

I am going to try to do this less starting tonight. One major reason, the alarm clock on the iPod Touch is way to easy to shut off. I have done this more than I want to and cut it close to being late to things because of it.

Thanks for reading,

E
----------------------------
Send your thoughts to histwobits@gmail.com. I'll try to read each one, and I'll share the ones I deem awesome (for whatever reason) as often as I can. Know that I will more than likely not reply back to your email. Thanks.

Wanna Hunt Snakes? No.

So there was this story, Stranded python hunters rescued from Broward Everglades.

Lordy Lordy Lordy.

Here's my two bits, I think Florida should have heard the Freakonomics episode on the Cobra Effect.  I foresee a failure in their plan.

Thanks for reading,

E
----------------------------
Send your thoughts to histwobits@gmail.com. I'll try to read each one, and I'll share the ones I deem awesome (for whatever reason) as often as I can. Know that I will more than likely not reply back to your email. Thanks.

Cartoon citation: Jan 24, 2013Jan 24, 2013280 × 211 - theatlanticwire.com via The Simpsons

I hate "Blank" You should too.

So there was this article: WHY THE IPHONE IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO USE on the Droid Den (all caps theirs).

First, please note that the article about how the user really disliked the iPhone was written on a site dedicated to Droid phones/gear. Bias issues anybody? Now, consider that we choose to carry on reading even though we are pretty sure that the author will write with a bias (although he says he went in with an open mind (yeah right)). My two bits picks up after his review.

So, my two bits are that yep he had an experience that he did not enjoy. And Yep he prefers something else. And yep, the reality is is that this article is pretty much just an ad for Droid products.

What my full take though is that YES I think reviews of products are important, it helps the buyer make informed decisions. But writing article from the slant of "Impossible for me to use" is poor writing and a mask. The truth of the matter as I see it is that the beauty of the open market giving us many different types of tools, often similar to other tools, but this lets you the buyer pick and choose the tool that works best for you. Now, should you find difficulty in using a product, fine pick something else. But that does not mean that that product is bad and people should avoid it. Somebody else may think the counter is true.

So, please review products, but do so with a fair and even balance. And please be very skeptical of an anti-review being hosted on a competitor's site.


Thanks for reading,

E

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Send your thoughts to histwobits@gmail.com. I'll try to read each one, and I'll share the ones I deem awesome (for whatever reason) as often as I can. Know that I will more than likely not reply back to your email. Thanks.

Rapey ad! (Is Rapey a word?)

So there was a Superbowl. There were ads. A lot had lots of sexy ladies, hunky dudes, and beer. (Truth time, I didn't watch the game, nor have I gone to Hulu to view the ads, I am totally guessing.) And then there was this commercial:

Then I heard that some people got in a roar and then other people shot back and then this guy wrote this:

Why Are Conservatives Defending Audi’s Rapey Super Bowl Ad? By Joel Mathis on the Philly Mag Blog

Now first things first: Rape in not a good thing. It is an evil thing.
Second: I hope that I am a bit more than the average male in the terms of enlightenment, but I am me, so my perspective is mine.

Third: No, no, no, the word Rapey is not a word nor should it be. It reduces the meaning of the word to a lesser evil. Like I only kind of killed that guy, I mean sure I killed him, but just lightly. So my first reaction is that the writer is behaving like a dill weed.

Now here's my two bits: I personally say that this is not a video of forced sex acts. This is a video of a teen romance like any 80's teen movie were the geek gets the girl. This is also a car commercial and is trying to get geeks who are watching the game (for the commercials I assume) to buy cars. This video also pokes fun at the Prom King, who stereotypically is a football player, which is rather funny when one thinks about the place where/when this was aired.

Lastly, Rapey is still not a word, and Mr. Mathis should be sorry he penned it.

Thanks for reading,

E

----------------------------
Send your thoughts to histwobits@gmail.com. I'll try to read each one, and I'll share the ones I deem awesome (for whatever reason) as often as I can. Know that I will more than likely not reply back to your email. Thanks.