Girl talk by a guy

Listened to the album Feed the Animals by Girl Talk, who is actually a guy. He's a dude that works as an engineer during the day and mixes at night. His whole album is samples of different songs mixed together and really is an enjoyable album. Best part about it is, it's ready to go for a party, no need to skip, and no need for variation because he provides it.

I also listened to the album Ga Ga Ga, by Spoon, who is a band that is Austin-based. I thought the album was awesome, especially because they don't mind bringing in the sound of a number of different instruments. The song "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case" is a song that sounds unimpressive in the beginning, but then turns out to be a great composition after the introduction of Spanish guitars and it's the album pick.


--Mahmoud

Harvard

So I was listening to the debut album of Chester French, Love the Future. Even though they have a rather uncreative title for their album, one should not write them off so quick. The band consists of two members D.A. Wallach and Max Drummey, both of whom are Harvard students (is "both of whom" even gramatically acceptable?). I can only describe their music as just general alternative. They are multi-instrumental and show their Harvard intellect in the way they construct their music. However, sometimes it seems like they try too hard, but one should not judge them only by this album. They're still young and I predict that they will be able to strike a balance in the future. Song pick: Jimmy Choos

Another album I listened to was the singles collection of the Hoodoo Gurus. They are an 80's power pop band from Aussie land. It's sort of hard to give this album a coherent review, maybe I'm not very good at reviewing 80's power pop albums. The collection was is not very hard to listen to, but to me, there was nothing special about it. Song pick: Good Times

From 808's to Big Pun

I had a tumultuous day in terms of listening to music today. I started out listening to Kanye's mixtape "Lv's and AutoTune 2." I actually think this mixtape is better than his most recent official album. 808's and Heartbreaks is a pretty okay experimental album by Kanye, but a lot of hip hop fans felt alienated. This mixtape features more hip hop and less autotune in spite of the title. Album pick: "Poke Her Face" with Kid Cudi and Common.

I listened to some Joe Jackson, who is an 80's New Wave artist. Didn't listen to any particular album, just a bunch of his songs. To me, his music feels like youthful alternative rock. His lyrics aren't deep by any means, but are symbolic. He's probably most known for "Steppin Out," but I liked "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" That was his first single and I think it's timeless in terms of the lyrics.

Then, I listened to XTC, another 80's new wave band. I listened to a compilation of their singles from '78-'85. At first, I wasn't impressed at all. Eventually, I agained a moderate liking for their music and my album pick is actually "Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down" which ironically allmusic regards as the worst songs on the album.

Finally, I listened to Big Pun and it reminded me what a tragedy his young death was. One of the top hip hop artists of the 90's, he undoubtably left a lasting influence on hip hop. He shines especially on tracks with other artists because he feels the need to stand out. He provides rhymes faster than a lot of people think and the best part about it is that they have significant lyrical content. I'm sure I speak on the behalf of the hip hop community when I say he is deeply missed.

--Mahmoud

Mahmoud's Thoughts of the Day: Elephants and Norman Finkelstein

Well, first off, I wish I had a wider array of fonts to use for this blog. I'm using Arial now, which is a poor man's Helvetica, but whatever.

In terms of music, today I listened to The White Stripes' Elephant. According Allmusic.com (which is my #1 website when it comes to music info) this album peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and it boasts two grammys. All of this is deserved. Generally, this album is considered alternative rock. More specifically, it's more like garage blues. Jack White's mastery of the guitar would make any contemporary blues fan happy. The album starts strong with "Seven Nation Army", then goes through a little bit (just a little bit) of a slump until the fifth track(my favorite track) "In the Cold, Cold Night". This song actually features Meg White's vocals. Jack White becomes less punky on this song and more bluesy and therefore, displaying his versatility. The album then stays consistently strong until the end. The last song, "It's True That We Love Each Other," features Holly Golightly and is a pretty fun song. It's extremely bluesy and makes me visualize the trio in the garage just jamming and having fun. Despite this fun characteristic, the song is still a work of art.

In terms of politics, Norman Finkelstein gave a lecture at the university and it was amazing in every sense of the world. He had his facts straight and made a very compelling argument on behalf of the Palestinians and really did a good job shedding some light on Israel's record. If y'all are interested you should youtube his name and check him out.

Alex's thoughts for the day

For two days in a row now, I have listened to Creedence Coldwater Revival radio on Pandora.com, and for once, my song ADD has been tamed. You know what song ADD is right? That part of your brain that gets sick of a song after 60 seconds and compulsively searches for the next one. I went through my seventies rock and roll phase in high school, and I have the 4 Led Zeppelin shirts and countless illegal downloads to prove it. In recent years, however, I have regarded seventies rock as an immature era, not worthy of my listening, and substituted it with the admittedly more flowery, more intellectual lyrical stylings of the post punk rock movement stemming from Manchester. But I'm starting to feel my recent snootiness toward all "lesser" forms of rock subside, and CCR is the band breaking down this barrier. I have even taken the time to listen to The Beatles when they sneak into the Pandora playlist. Yes, the godforsaken Beatles, my sworn enemy of all great things musical. Perhaps this is a phase, maybe I will go back to hating this era of music once more. Only time can tell.

Alexander Hagen: Introduction

Alex Hagen is a 21 year old college student, and will be studying biochemistry at the University of California Santa Barbara in the Fall of 2009. Musically, he is admittedly the pickiest person in the world, however, he is always open and patient to new sounds. His top five favorite bands are:

1. The Smiths
2. The Killers
3. Joy Division
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival
5. The Jimi Hendrix experience

Politically speaking, it has been a roller coaster of self discovery. Once a staunch Conservative Republican, he volunteered in assisting the Bush Presidential Campaign of 2004. He now considers himself to be a Marxist, regretting his years as a conservative, however, grateful for the lessons he learned. He volunteered in campaigning for Barack Obama's Campaign in 2008. Alex believes in the right to own guns, and that is where his agreement with the Republican party ends. He believes that the purpose of the government is for that of the greater good.

Religiously, Alexander is a devout buddhist, and has been practicing since January 1st, 2009. He does not believe in the existence of god, but rather, in the existence of a god-like energy which initiated the creation of the universe. The spiritual realm can be sufficiently understood when the laws of thermodynamics are utitlized. Therefore, his religion is a composition of both Buddhist, and physical principal.

This should be sufficient background of Alexander Hagen before embarking on his thoughts with this blog.

Mahmoud Sabawi: Introduction

Hi I'm Mahmoud. People that went to my high school remember me as Mark because that's the name I used because Mahmoud is pretty hard to pronounce. Since I moved to Texas, I've just gone by my real name. I'm studying Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin and I'm hoping I could get a pharmacy degree. Then, I could proceed to the Occupied Territories and start a Palestinian revolution.

I love music. I never really liked music so much until this semester when I opened up my musical tastes. I used to listen to strictly Hip Hop, but now I listen to all kinds of music, even country. That's right, I said it (even if it's just a little bit of country). As far as my favorite artists go, it's really hard to make a list. I love 2pac. I'm pretty sure he's my favorite artist. I love Elvis, he's the King of Rock & Roll. I love Michael Jackson, he's the King of Pop. I don't like Paul Whiteman, even though he's the King of Jazz.

I'm going to go ahead and list artists that have NOT changed my life: The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and Radiohead. This is not to say that the artists aren't talented. They are, in fact they are brilliant, but I think their fans grossly overrate them.

Politically, I lean Marxist. That's not to say I hate capitalism, but if capitalism means Reagonomics and supporting corporations over people, then I'd rather be a Marxist. I'm a big supporter of the Palestinian cause and I am Palestinian. I don't like conservatism and I hate it when people try to justify Western imperialism. So I bet you've figured out that I'm a lefty. Yes, indeed, I am left handed.

Religiously, I'm a Muslim and proud of it. I'm no expert on Islam, so if anybody wants to criticize it, they should go on another blog.

Well, that's about it....oh yeah, one more thing: OBAMA!!

Welcome

This is the blog of Alex Hagen and Mahmoud Sabawi. We will be talking about music and politics and stuff.