Day 56: The Next Morning

Why is it that the older you get the more prone you become to the adverse effects of alcohol--specifically: Hangovers? What is it in your body chemistry that dictates that there has to be some rule that you must feel worse after drinking three beers when you're 28 than drinking those same three beers when you're 21? I can remember back to college and we'd drink from 530 PM till 330 AM and then wake up chipper the next morning early enough to head to the Luther Caf for Sausage Biscuits & Gravy breakfast before heading off to my 8 am Astrophysics class. How the hell did I do that? These days if I drink a couple beers I wake up the next morning feeling like my eyes were run through a Rock Tumbler and the whole next day I feel like I'm drinking water for the very first time and can never seem to get enough.

Was it the biscuits and gravy? Doubtful. Was it a weaker alcohol? Very doubtful, Gin is Gin. Was it heaven? It's Iowa...Iowa? I could have sworn this was heaven. Meaning the most likely influential variable has to be AGE. How does that make sense?

I thought when you were younger you're not supposed to have a tolerance to alcohol and that's how babies were born. How is it that as you get older, even though you have the tolerance, the after-effects of the libations intensify? Bahr?

Maybe its our body's way of trying to prevent us from drinking that 7th White Russian...who knows, or maybe its just karma. Maybe I was a veritable superhero of drinking during my college years with my secret powers being no hangover and a prolific ability to make it to my 8 AM classes and now as a penance for my former powers I must pay the price in the form of terrible hangovers that emerge from the drinking of a single beer. Its like a bizarro M. Night Shymalan movie with a twist just as bogus and predictable (see The Happening if you have issues with this statement). Whatever the reason is for the hangover's increasing impact as a function of time I'm not sure; but I do know that if it keeps up then the 30's are really going to suck.

Day 55: Weekly Music Review: Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More

Yes I realize its been two weeks and only four blog posts, but that will pick up soon.

This week's music recommendation goes to:

Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More

I was recently turned onto this English folk band, but immediately identified with it. I'm not sure whether its the style of the music, the banjo or the mandolin, the lyrics or even the voice of Marcus Mumford, I'm just not sure. Its a bit like a slightly more epic Band of Horses album, and if you're a fan of the latter you'll in all likelihood dig this. Marcus Mumford's "angry" tone during his songs remind me of Ed Kowalczyk (Live) which adds further to the familiarity of their sound. I wish I could say that I've been a fan of these guys for years, but it simply isn't true. My exposure to them is limited to hearing the song "The Cave" somewhere before and not knowing who sang it and having the album suggested to me yesterday. If you're looking for some new music that's a combination of traditional Irish drinking songs and Fleet Foxes with the grandiose of a Decemberists performance than look no further. The full album is solid; however, if you're one of those miscreants who needs further provocation to listen to a full album then see the two songs below--if you don't like those well then I wouldn't bother with the rest of the album.

Rating: 8.5/10

Little Lion Man

The Cave

Day 54: The Superblog

Well I guess the Superbowl of sporting events is coming up this weekend so I should at least address it. First I'll say, the Saints should have lost last week. Now that that's off my chest, again, I'll also say that the Saints stand no chance this weekend. Currently the spread stands at 4.5 pts in favor of Indy. I have $290 left in my Sportsbetting account, and I've decided to put my money where my mouth is, as shown below.

That being said I've got not much else, besides the following plot which I thought was funny. I'll report back once I'm basking in my riches.

Day 53: A New Feature - Weekly Music Reviews

Alright, so after the week hiatus, and the emotionally scarring Vikings loss I'm back and ready to turn the page. There will be some serious baseball talk coming up in the next few weeks, but until then I'm going to introduce a new weekly feature that I'll be incorporating into the blog. Once per week I'll be recommending an album for your listening pleasure. Its pretty clear where my musical tastes lie by now (see here, here, here, and here) so if you're not a fan I apologize, but maybe you'll still find something you like--anyway so here we go.

The first ever weekly album recommendation goes to:

Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring

This Welsh band's third full album and first since they released both Hold on Now, Youngster... and We are Beautiful, We are Doomed in 2008. They've always tended more towards the power-pop genre (think New Pornographers or Vampire Weekend but with more hand claps), and this album is no different. Though that's not to say that the albums are all so similar that they sound identical (see Red Hot Chili Peppers for an example of this)--quite the contrary in fact. In each of their three albums now you can hear a sense of the band becoming more confident in their musical abilities and their exploration of their style. Each of the albums are slightly more tight than the previous, which if continued they'll start to sound like a Brian Eno produced album but hopefully they'll realize that before they sound too produced.

The stories in their songs are very memorable, but they're not told in the matter-of-fact manner of many other "indie" bands, but rather they weave their imagery using funny one-liners and whimsical lyrics. Its fairly uncommon anymore for a band to have such a strong discography after three albums, especially given the size of their Arts & Crafts label. This is an album that I've listened to four times already in the past week and a half and doesn't have any tracks that stick out as "skippable". This album flows very well and I have a feeling you'll be on board after the first listening; I know I was hooked immediately. A fantastic effort by a "small label" band, in what I consider their best and most complete album. This is going to have some serious play by me this year and I've got a feeling its going to be near the top (or maybe even at the top) of multiple lists by year's end.

Rating: 9.5/10

MySpace Album Stream