Two Great Albums

In reaction to thedailydoseproject's most recent posts on Atmosphere and Adele, I would just like to give praise to both artists for releasing stellar albums in 2011. For all the big releases of 2011 so far, I have been lukewarm on a lot of projects. Radiohead, The Strokes and Lupe all came up short this year where as TV on the Radio and The Decemberists delivered with their new albums. But as we turn the calender to June, two of my favorite albums of this year have been Adele's 21 and Atmosphere's The Family Sign.


Adele's second album shows how much the 21 year old British singer has developed and displays her unbelievable talent and voice. Soul music has never sounded so beautiful and the range of Adele's vocals will latch on to any listener with a good ear. "There's a fire starting in my heart," she begins on the lead track "Rolling in the Deep" which is a powerful dark and daring opener that thumps from beginning to end. The rest of the album is full of great tracks like "Rumour Has It," "Take It All," "One and Only" "I Found A Boy" and the powerful tearful ballad "Someone Like You." The entire album is fantastic and my favorite so far of 2011.

Atmosphere's 6th full length album "The Family Sign" is probably their most well rounded effort to date. Slug and Ant are one of the best duos in hip hop and "The Family Sign" is a more tone downed and mellow sounding album as opposed to their previous efforts. The beats are impeccable and Slug is smooth and clever as always in his lyrics. The best song by far on the album is "Just For Show" which is classic Atmosphere for the new decade. Other tracks worth checking out are "The Last to Say," "Became," Who I'll Never Be," "Ain't Nobody" and "My Notes." If you like Atmosphere, the entire album delivers.

Anyway, keep checking out thedailydoseproject. These guys do a great job.

Colicchio Hits Game Winning 3-Run HR in 9th for Thrilling Comeback Victory

The Jive Wiffle Ball League began on Monday and continued last night with an epic come from behind victory led by a Jack Colicchio 3 run homer to dead center in the top of the 9th to give his team a thrilling 4-3 victory in Tome Lot. After Ian Hall and Kevin Cottington shut down their opponents on opening day with a 3-0 victory, play resumed last night on a beautiful and slick night.

Hall and Faith were joined by Toph, Simon and Mittens and were opposed by Jack, Jake, Nate and Sherm. In the top of the 1st, Hall struggled with his control and was definitely not the pitcher he was last night but kept the opposition scoreless. Jake took the mound in the bottom of the frame and worked around a single by Faith and a walk to Hall by getting Topher on an easy pop up to escape any damage. In the second, Faithful had control problems of his own. After Sherm led off with a double, Faith couldn't find the strike zone and ended up walking in a run to give Jack's team a 1-0 lead. He escaped further damage by striking out the next better looking.

In the bottom of the second, Mittens started the inning with a double off Jack. After a great one handed stop by Jake on a Simon grounder, Faith and Hall hit back to back doubles to give their team a 2-1 lead. Jack found his curve ball and was able to hold them to only 2 runs. Then the pitchers settled in....

Hall pitched the top of the 3rd and while his control wasn't there, his stuff was good enough to keep the bats quiet. Jack led off with a double and Jake walked but he was able to retire Nate and Sherm by way of the K. Nate making his debut ran into his own control problems on the mound by walking the two lead off hitters but somehow managed to escape with a zero on the board. Faithful gave up a single to Jack and walked Jake but again the bottom of the order had trouble getting the clutch hit.

Jake found his combo slider-screw on the mound and struck out the side in the bottom of the 4th. Hall again toed the line with his control in the 5th but kept his ERA at 0.00 intact. Jack looked his sharpest in the bottom of the 5th striking out the side. Faithful seemed to be regaining his confidence and pitched a quiet inning in the top of the 6th getting Jack to go down looking with a nasty bender that nicked the inside part of the plate. Nate came back to pitch a shaky but effective 6th inning, getting an anxious Hall to reach for a bad ball out of the strike zone to go down swinging.

In the 7th, Hall found himself in serious trouble with runners on base. Somehow, with a full count to Grefe and Sherm, he got both looking on cutters that nailed the outside part of the plate. Jake continued his dominance on the mound and struck out the side in the 7th. In the 8th, Jake led off and swung through 3 straight pitches to go down swinging, tossing the bat in frustration. After a mini rally by the bottom of the order, Faithful again got Jack looking on the almost same pitch he got him to strike out on in the 6th inning. In the bottom of the 8th with the score still 2-1, Jack struck out the first batter before Hall unloaded on a hanging 3-2 curve ball that reached the Tome building. A huge insurance run for Hall who was looking to nail down the save in the 9th.

In the top of the 9th, Jake led off with a walk. Hall then got Grefe to strike out. After getting to a 2-2 count on Sherm, Hall needed just one more strike for the win. He uncorked 3 cutters that missed the strike zone to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. On an 0-1 pitch, Hall through a high fastball that Jack got his bat on and drove to dead center, just clearing the fence to give his team the 4-3 lead. His team erupted while Hall looked absolutely stunned on the mound. After a single and error, Hall got out of the inning shocked at what had just transpired. Brimming with confidence, Jake took the mound in the bottom of the 9th to nail down the save. After striking out Mittens, Jake walked Simon to bring up Faithful. On a 1-2 count, Jake threw a tight slider to K Faith and give his team an unreal come from behind 4-3 victory.

W: J. Colicchio (1-0)
L: I. Hall (1-1)
S: J. Rainwater (1)

HR: Hall (1), Colicchio(1)

Impressions on "The Illusionist"

The drooping of a rabbit’s ears. The overwhelming grief that encompasses the feeling of loneliness. A small glimmer of hope in a bowl that makes you hold on to something in life. The wonderful, fluttering yet subtle strangeness of a first kiss. That heart wrenching moment when you realize that what you once had is gone. When the lights go out in The Illusionist, a ripple of emotion pierces through you just enough to appreciate the real magic of this film.

The Illusionist centers on the relationship between an older magician and a young women. Both start the movie alone and seemingly unappreciated by anyone and find comfort and companionship with each other. The story chronicles the wants and needs of these characters. The elder magician, like the ventriloquist and the clown try to bring happiness to people behind their own veil of lonesomeness and sorrow. Despite the pessimistic undertone, the movie does not lack its uplifting and charming moments.

The real magic lies in how clearly human emotions are conveyed in this beautifully animated film where there is almost no dialogue. A dying dream, to drunkenly drown back into our despair, The Illusionist captures the full spectrum of emotion in a whimsical and touching story. A visually and aurally mesmerizing artistic achievement in film, it is amazing how so much can be expressed when so little is spoken.

3.5/4

New Blog Hype

The launch is near. According to sources, the most legendary blog is about to grace this fucking Earth either today or tomorrow. You want to actually read something worth your time, well you better check out "From The Mouths of Legends." Are you as excited as I am? You fucking better be. This is a once in a lifetime event. If you thought I was clever, which i'm not, you need to check out these guys. Your opinions are meaningless, their opinions should be taught in grad schools.

What can you expect from this new blog. Epic-ness of legendary proportions? You're god damn right. Prepare to have your feeble mind blown to bits. Like he said, even this blog will be more legendary than Betchtits. Drink from their cup of knowledge and inhale their fumes of superiority.

Their commentary will provide you with the insight you need to survive this world. Some other quotes from what people are saying.

"I stopped going to the Snar to read this blog" - Tyler Gagnon

"Whats a blog" - Ian Hall

"This shit is gonna be bigger than my twitter account" - Brian Sperling

"You wont" - Alex Vouga

"Shotty kills on that blog." -Jake Rainwater

"My penis is huge." -Cory Palmer

"Its not Johnskies" -Jack Colicchio

"EEEEEEEEEEEE" - Nate Grefe

"I quit playing frisbee to read this blog." - Bartlett Jackson

Anyway, expect "From the Mouths of Legends" to be up soon. Bookmark that shit. Tell your friends, grow a sack, chug a beer and write a blog.

2011 Music

2011 has the potential to be one of the biggest years in music since...well I really don't know. 2010 was very solid but not spectacular. At least for me, Kanye West, Arcade Fire, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Beach House, Jack Johnson and Vampire Weekend all delivered this past year. Ill mention now that Spoon's early 2010 release Transference was a big disappointment but maybe because I hold them to such a high standard.

For 2011, several of my favorite musical artists that have either confirmed or are expected to be releasing a new album.

TV On the Radio - Got the news from Eddie Small via facebook post yesterday. Nine Types of Light expected to be released in the Spring has all the hype that would follow one of the most unique sounds in music and a group that has gotten better with each album.

Blink 182 - Another album expected to hit this Spring. How can you not be a Blink fan. it will be their first album in 8 years and their first since they got the band back together.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - The head shot, for me anyway. Their previous 3 albums have been nothing short of spectactular and waiting 5 years for another is just too long. The down side is John Frusciante leaving the band so the sound will definitely be different. None the less, the hype will be there.

The Strokes - This album has been rumored for some time and popular opinion was that it would be coming out in 2010. It has been confirmed that Angels, their 4th album will be dropping March 22. The question is, will this be a return to their first two masterpieces or a further deviation from their disappointing 3rd album First Impressions Of Earth.

Radiohead - Always there are rumors with Radiohead but its been 4 years since In Rainbows. Nothing sets the music word abuzz than hearing a rumor that Radiohead is releasing an album. Well there is a good chance that we could be seeing them in 2011.

No Doubt - Another band that is back together. Gwen is back with the band that hasn't released an album since the beginning of the last decade. Still waiting for a release date but no doubt it will be in 2011.

Coldplay - 4 great albums in the last decade. Their 5th album should be just as good as their last one and another reason why 2011 is great for music.

Dr. Dre - I should stop getting excited. Haven't we been waiting for this album for like 10 years. But rumors are that this will be the year and with the single Kush already out, it looks like this might actually happen.

More to come.