Darth Drabek

Enjoy your birthday... but ditch the Pokemon. Word on the street is that it's for nerds!

Rx Bandits - Overcome (The Recapitulation) I'm so behind the times... I haven't actually heard anything off the new Radiohead album yet. And now it's The White Stripes - I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet) I guess Winamp shuffle is on a parentheses kick.

I was confused when I first noticed them, but I think I get the(ur)gist of these titles now. Ha ha ha! But seriously... theurgist? I'd rather be called something a little cooler... like "Plankton Wrangler."

Warren Zevon - Don't Let Us Get Sick

So they're really noisy, eh? Hmm ... I won't like that much. But oh well. Is there anyway to explain what you guys mean by 'combat is better than Kotor?' In what way? Just the fact it's harder? Or something else, ie, style or interface? I have no idea why people make such a big deal about the noise 360s make. It's not like it's a dealbreaker. It's not nearly as annoying as the CD drive on the Dreamcast used to be. Also, the combat from KOTOR to ME is apples to oranges. I guess the simplest way to put it is that in KOTOR you told your party what to do. In ME, you actually are doing it. You don't cycle through available targets in a battle, you aim at them with the right thumbstick and you have to keep attacking them. It's still stats-based, but you can't just sit back, let the math play out, and enjoy the show anymore. The combat took some getting used to, mostly because I haven't played a console shooter since... well, Goldeneye. Still, I'm learning. Now the only thing that gives me problems is driving the damn jeep while operating the turret.

I bought it yesterday and let me tell you, Seth Green is awesome. Also, I picked out the guy who voiced Carth instantly. I'm not very far in, but so far, so good.

the beltones - ain't no life It's off an old TKO records compilation from my "punk" days.

The Hold Steady - Charlemagne in Sweatpants So, do you want me to tell it like it's boy meets girl and the rest is history? Or do you want it like a murder-mystery? I'm gonna tell it like a comeback story...

Matthew Sweet - Someone to Pull the Trigger

i found my looooooooove by the gasworks wall dreamed a dreeeeeeeeam by the old canal! Against Me! - Thrash Unreal Dr. Dog - Ain't It Strange The National - Mistaken for Strangers Sugar - If I Can't Change Your Mind Fiction Plane - Two Sisters ^bitchin' guitar on that last one. There's my five songs for this week. I've really been slacking on the posting front guys, sorry 'bout that. Plus side: The Hold Steady are back in Ohio next weekend!

Hey, maybe now Dragon Age will lose that ugly "PC Exclusive" tag. Since EA likes its games on all platforms, this seems to be in the realm of possibility, no? Oh, and how did EA kill Maxis? Last I heard, The Sims (along with its infinite expansions) was getting rave reviews while basically printing money.

Forget "Can't Get You Out of My Head." This is why I say Kylie's got street cred. And since I haven't posted in a while, I'll add a few more: Catfish Haven - Monty Got a Raw Deal This is from an interesting compilation called DriveXV. It's a tribute to the 15-year old R.E.M. album Automatic for the People. Stereogum got a bunch of bands to submit songs and put together the complete album. You can listen to it here if you're into reinterpretations of R.E.M. songs. For the Radiohead gushers (you know who you are), they did a similar tribute to OK Computer a while back, too. Rhett Miller - Girl I guess I've really been into these full-album tributes lately, because I've also been listening to a 40th anniversary tribute to Rubber Soul, one of my favorite Beatles albums. It's called "This Bird Has Flown" and you can listen to some clips here.

Vixen... wasn't Marty Friedman in that band? My 80s metal lore is rusty. Southeast Engine - We Have You Surrounded

That's pretty good! Tom Waits - Tango 'Til They're Sore

Do I get points for being half right? Poor Rex. He was probably looking forward to playing the Lions. Mistakenly, of course, because the Lions are going to throw for 400 yards and three TDs on the depleted Bears secondary. Martz may not run the ball five times against that Chicago D. I don't think Griese can lead the Bears to a win in a shootout in his first game. Besides, the Bears can't win. Jon Kitna has been touched by the Hand of God! In other news, how 'bout those Saints? Not exactly pulling a repeat of last year, are they? Some jerkface in one of my fantasy football leagues tried to trade me Deuce McAllister and Devery Henderson for Marion Barber III and Santonio Holmes. Let me tell you, there was a stern couple of paragraphs accompanying that trade rejection. You better believe it.

Can't we all just agree that we should always hate hippies? Those damn hippies... with their PETA and their drum circles and their Rastafarian beanie caps and dreads and their collection of Phish bootlegs. Guess what, maaaaaan? Your hair is dirty! There's a whole family of bugs in there! And guess what else? The String Cheese Incident sucks! Look, I hate stupid wars as much as the next rational American. But ... I also hate hippies.

Good morning to you too, sir. The Hold Steady - Citrus lost in fog and love and faithless fear i've had kisses that made judas seem sincere

re: Carth/Sbarge If the guy is an actor, he ought to be able to play a different character. Grey Delisle voiced The Handmaiden in KOTOR II. If I hadn't read it somewhere, I'd have never guessed she also voiced Viconia in the Baldur's Gate games. For bonus points, what other BG NPC(s) did she voice? Man, voice acting would be a great job. I could read dialogue lines all day. Just gimme a hot cup of tea and I'd be set.

Well, if anyone should know, it's P-dawg. The Lemonheads - Into Your Arms

I know it's a double post, but I really don't care. Fountains of Wayne - Bright Future in Sales and before that it was... R.E.M. - Driver 8

The Stone Roses - The Hardest Thing in the World

Bowie Song by Flight of the Conchords "Groove-a-tational pull" ... nice. And the binary solo in the other one was pretty slick, too. I liked Load. At least they were trying something new instead of making the same album over and over and over like most metal bands. They tried to age gracefully, but their fanbase demanded they go back to 1986 and make Master of Puppets again. St. Anger was terrible. The first time I listened to it, I thought, 'Hey, did Kirk quit the band, too?' There were no guitar solos and apparently Lars replaced his drum set with trash cans and milk crates. Metallica is dead to me, anyway. Now, if the Cranberries made a comeback, on the other hand... Joe Satriani - House Full of Bullets