Wednesday, June 30, 2010

This is What I Hope the Apocalypse Looks Like



There were no survivors.

If you frequent Kotaku or HALOLZ you may have already stumbled across this little gem.

If you're a TF2 (Team Fortress 2) player, then you're in for a treat.

If you have no idea what any of what I just wrote is referring too (or what you just watched was), then I'm sure you're just now realizing you're never going to get those 1 minute and 37 seconds back.

You were going to waste them anyways. I'm sorry.

Wait...what? #10

Death Cab For Cutie covering "All Is Full Of Love" by Bjork. I thought that it would have been impossible to do a good cover of this song but leave it to DCFC. I wonder if the robots in the Bjork version influenced the design of the robots in "I, Robot" Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Are You Brave Enough?

The Epic Gentleman's Society is looking for 16 competitors to answer the "Call to Arms".  Call to Arms is a video game tournament that will be hosted by the society. The featured game will be the classic Sega Dreamcast fighter Power Stone. The champion will be awarded $100 cash and of course bragging rights. Details on the location and date coming soon. If you are interested in registering leave a comment below.

Wait...what? #9

To celebrate the return of D'angelo after a NINE year hiatus, I decided to post Pattern Is Movement covering "Untitled (How Does it Feel)". The guys do a pretty straight forward cover but if it ain't broke don't fix it. These guys have been on my "Must See List " for a long time. Enjoy!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Mogwai's Special Moves (And I Don't Mean Gizmo Hadokens)

What I am referring to is Mogwai's upcoming new album entitled Special Moves. As a huge (HUGE) Mogwai fan, this has quickly become one of the most anticipated albums of the year for me after they announced it on their Facebook page. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mogwai, they are one of the most dynamic, (mostly) instrumental bands around. They are a big influence for the music I try to write, and definitely have something for everyone in their music library. The new album will contain content from their Brooklyn shows over the past 2 years, and I am really hoping for some new material as well.

Their website currently has all kinds of pre-order bundles available for purchase. Head over over to http://www.mogwai.co.uk/order/us/ to see what is available.

Below is a short teaser for their upcoming full length film Burning (also shot at their Brooklyn shows), and is available with the pre-order bundles of Special Moves.

Mogwai Live Film "Burning" Teaser from Nathanaƫl Le Scouarnec on Vimeo.


On a side note, I must apologize that there were no Gizmo Hadokens. However, now that Ive thought of this, I am starting a quest, an internet journey if you will, to find something, anything, that involves Gizmo Hadokens (or any kind of special move)... because that would be amazing... If any of you kind souls happens to find something or have the time to put your Photoshop skills to use, by all means (please) send them our way. This is where meme dreams come true.

Young Avengers Assemble!

After a four year break, original creators Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung will be returning to Young Avengers. Avengers: The Children's Crusade is an eight issue bi- monthly mini series that will feature the return of the Scarlet Witch and deal with the true parentage of team members Wiccan and Speed. The story will mostly be told through Wiccan's perspective.

Is the Scarlet Witch still the threat that she posed in Avengers Disassembled? Is she truly the the mother of Wiccan and Speed? If she is, does Wiccan posses the same potential for chaos? Find out as Avengers: The Children's Crusade hits shelves on July 7, 2010. This is a must have for anyone's pull list!

Wait...what? #8

Bon Iver doing a simply heart warming version of The Outfield's "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love". Enjoy!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together, Also Gets a Video Game

For the eight of you Scott Pilgrim fans out there that haven’t heard the awesome news, everyone's favorite slacker, Scott Pilgrim, is finally making his way to an Xbox 360 and PS3 near you this August.

The game ties in with the upcoming releases of the sixth and final chapter in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s critically acclaimed Scott Pilgrim comic series (Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour) and the highly-anticipated Scott Pilgrim vs. the World feature film (directed by Edgar Wright and starring Michael Cera).

If you’re a fan of the series and/or side-scrolling beat'em-ups like River City Ransom then prepare your nerd senses for some serious tingling. Check out the trailer. (Keep your eyes peeled. Just like the comics, this game has a healthy dose of references to classic video games).


This game is looking to be a perfect storm of nostalgia and fanboyism for me. Color me stoked!

Wait...what? #7

One of my favorite bands covering one of my favorite songs of all time. R.E.M covering "Munich" by The Editors! I got chills watching this performance. Today, I decided to post links to the original versions. Just click on the song title. If I get a chance I will do this for older posts. Enjoy!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Wait...what? #6

Today you are in for a special treat. This edition of "What...wait?" is full of B-More love. Wye Oak covering the Baltimore club classic "Dance My Pain Away" produced by Rod Lee. Both versions are fantastic. Enjoy!



Download the mixtape here.

Friday, June 25, 2010

An Epic Gentleman Keeps a Busy Schedule

Some people "don't want to work, (they) just want to bang on the drum all day" others are just "working for the weekend". Either way an EG works hard and parties hard, we just do it with style. We don't scoff at enjoying an adult beverage we just do not treat Baltimore like our personal frat house. Even before the EGS was formed we would pride ourselves in finding enjoyable events throughout this beautiful city that we call home. Now that we are in the long days of summer there is no end to the fun and inexpensive fun to be had.




I will start with my personal favorite summer event ARTSCAPE! This particular festival totes itself as being "America's Largest Free Arts Festival". It will run from Friday July 16- Sunday July 18. For an Artscape virgin the size of the festival alone can be daunting. This is the type of festival that you should actually attend all days so you can feel like you almost did everything. Be sure to to pick up The City Paper on Wednesday and check out the schedule and map before even leaving the house. This year the band that I'm looking forward to seeing the most is Cold War Kids. They will be taking the main stage at 6:30pm on Saturday evening. My hint is to GET THERE EARLY!! Cake was a madhouse at last years festival.



That same weekend I will have to split my time between the above mentioned Artscape and the 36th Annual Pow-Wow. This is poor planning in my opinion. This is a festival that deserves more attention and attendance. Scheduling it the same weekend as one of the largest festivals in the country isn't that smart. Either way I will be penciling in some time to get there. I personally recommend getting there around 11:00am and getting a good spot for the Grand Entry at 12pm. If you've never seen a Grand Entry it is truly unique.



There is another reason that I adore Summer and that is for the outdoor movies. Thankfully there are multiple neighborhoods in Baltimore that play host to this event. If you plan carefully you could spend the majority of your week watching an outdoor film. My two cents here would be investing in a tarp and a picnic basket. Grab a few blankets, pack a few sandwiches, brownies, and a bottle of wine and you will have a delightful evening for a very affordable price. Be sure to remember the wet naps and a bottle opener! About.com has done a fabulous job of compiling the complete schedule of the outdoor films so I will direct you there.


Hope I see you around! Don't be shy, just say hi!
xoxo,
The Divine Miss J




"You're here to win friend. Click click saddle up see you on the moon then."


These are the words from a band that is an EGS favorite! Derek Miller (formerly of Poison the Well) & Alexis Krauss (formerly of RubyBlue) make up the wildly hyped band Sleigh Bells. Baltimore is yet again being graced with their presence at The Ottobar for a sold out show on Thursday, July 1st!

Unfortunately an EGS member will be unable to attend this show. We are using this extra ticket as a way to spread the word about our humble little blog. Please pass our link to your friends via Facebook, Twitter, whatever your social networking site of choice is. Any person who can get three people to follow our blog and list your name as a referral in the comments sections of this post will be entered to win this "golden ticket"! I will choose at random a winner to accompany us to this bound to be EPIC evening.

Spread the word, not germs!
~The Divine Miss J

Digital Lament

On 6/23/10 DC Comics announced that they will be joining the ranks of publishers going digital. These publishers are still offering books in print but it seems like only a matter of time before the industry will convert completely. And why shouldn’t they? This may be showing my age but when I first started reading the cover price was only a buck. Now the cover price is anywhere from $2.99-$3.99. If the industry converts, prices per issues should drop due to a decrease in manufacturing costs. Readers wouldn’t have to worry about buying bags, boards, long boxes. If we go digital, there wouldn’t be a need to get your books CGC graded because every issue would be mint condition. Let’s also not forget about portability. Where ever you go, you could take your entire collection with you. With all of these benefits, who could possibly be against this? Well, I am for one.

For me comics are about community. And that community thrives at local comic shops (LCS). Going to the shop every Wednesday should be an event. It’s the one time of the week where we the comic readers can geek out and not feel the judgment by the non readers in our lives. This is a chance to see our “once a week” friends and discuss titles that came out that week, explain theories we have about current story lines, and share artists and writers that inspire us. You are probably thinking that this could be accomplished online through message boards and comic websites. This is true but with most boards it’s all about PWNing noobs and posting “First” on comment threads to articles. The latter I’ll never understand! Is there a prize for being the first to comment? Marvel fanboys vs. DC fanboys and the one random person that is offended by Rob Liefeld jokes. It got to be so ridiculous, at one point I considered to stop reading comics. I didn’t want to be slightly associated with these malicious and pretentious people. This has never been an issue (no pun intended) at the LCS. If we convert, the community is gone. LCS’s won’t be around and most likely my interest in comics will go with them.

I’ll leave you with a story that wouldn’t be possible without a LCS. It was May 1998 and my sister took me to a signing. The artist/writer was promoting a new mini series. I wasn’t familiar with the artist/writer except for one book that he wrote. It featured two of my favorite characters at the time, Batman and Spawn. I brought that book and bought the first issue of his new mini series. After waiting 2 ½ hours (thanks Jessie for being a good sport and not complaining) it was my turn. I handed him my copy of Batman and Spawn. As he was signing the book we discussed Spawn. We didn’t talk about the book that he wrote but about the regular series. The conversation carried on to the point that the assistant reminded the creator that other people were waiting in line. The creator thanked me for coming out and hoped that I enjoyed his new book. The writer was Frank Miller, the book was 300.

Wait...what? #5

This is hands down one of the coolest projects ever and the mastermind is Levi's?! That's right Levi's the jean company has invited artists to recreate songs that inspired them. The latest contribution is Passion Pit covering "Tonight , Tonight" by Smashing Pumpkins. You can download the song here and be sure to check out the other contributions.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Welcome, Ghosts

We welcome you back to Baltimore. Explosions In The Sky is a band that needs no introduction. A band that has inspired hundreds of ambient/instrumental bands all over the world. Many people may have heard their music in both the film and the television series "Friday Night Lights". Baltimore and Louisville are lucky enough to be the only cities to have EITS drop by and play a show as they travel north to the ATP Festival. With this announcement, EITS has also announced much more touring and a new album coming in 2011.

As cliche as it is to say, there really aren't enough words to describe how excited I am to see this band live. I hope this post gets other fans excited and new listeners listening to one of my favorite bands. Keep checking their site (www.explosionsinthesky.com) for details on their upcoming tour and album. Anyone who gets the opportunity to see this band live should definitely take it!

Below is a small sample of what we (Baltimore), Louisville, and the ATP Festival can expect from Explosions In The Sky. Enjoy!

You Say Party! We Say Die! is No More

The band will be simply known as You Say Party after the death of drummer Devon Clifford. Clifford passed away after collasping during a show in Vancouver on Apri 16, 2010. The band also announced that Krista Loewen has left the band. Robert Andow and Bobby Siadat from Gang of Violence will be taking over keyboards and drums. The band will resume touring in the fall. You can read the official statement here.

Wait...what? #4

Solange Knowles covering "Stillness is the Move" by Dirty Projectors. I'm still undecided if I like this but I couldn't stop nodding my head. What do you think?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Wait...what? #3

Not much to say about this one. Passenger performed a stripped down almost folk like interpretation of Rihanna's "Umbrella". With this version I was able to pay attention to the lyrics and realized it's a really good song. Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Another Wait....what? cover

Yesterday we started off with a cover of a terrible song. Today we have a cover of Sam Sparro's "Black & Gold " by Katy Perry. Now I'm not too familiar with her songs, but from what I've heard she was put on Earth to annoy the hell out of me! Until I heard this cover. This is one of the few examples where I enjoyed the cover more than the original. Enjoy!

Monday, June 21, 2010

You Only Live Twice

That is the case with Goldeneye 64 which is being re released for the Nintendo Wii(November 2010). The game will feature the current Bond, Daniel Craig. My only concern is that the game may feel dated compared to other FSP's such as Call of Duty and Halo. This is definitely a game I'll keep an eye on.*



* You can thank me later, for not making a Goldeneye pun.

I like "Miracles"! Wait....what?

I'll be the first to admit that the original is one of the worst songs in history, but this video makes me smile everytime.
 

Look at the Fields posted an free mp3 over here.
Here's a link to the anti science original. Don't blame me, if you become slightly dumber after viewing!

A love letter to Karen O.

I never made it a secret that I have a crush on Karen O. Alas, I doubt that I will ever meet her, so I decided to write her a letter she'll never read. This was inspired by the following clip from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia"





Dear Karen O,

You sing real good. You look as good as you sing! What does the O stand for in your last name? Is your last name actually the letter O? I met a guy at work and his middle name is the letter H. Is it just me or does that seem pretty lazy on the parents’ part? Unless your last name is O, then that’s totally awesome! Would like to go out for a drink and talk? If you don’t drink, I’ve been straight edge for 10 years otherwise you’d be impressed with my sheer recklessness when it comes to drinking stunts. To be honest, I may not be the typical guy you would go for. Pitchfork is not saved under my favorites, I don’t own an Iphone or Ipad (it sounds kind of gross, like some sort of a women’s “down there” product), I don’t tweet and don’t plan on starting. Still I think we would be awesome together.

So please say Yeah Yeah Yeah,
Matt

PS - They don't love you, like I love you

DWI

Gentlemen, I think it’s safe to say that many of if not all of us are guilty of this heinous act. We don’t know when to cut ourselves off and before the night is over we've done something that it is irreparable. No, I’m not talking about Driving While Intoxicated (which something that an Epic Gentleman would never do). This is a discussion about Dating While Intoxicated.

We all have our war stories. Some of us have called our dates by another woman’s name while others have gone to the extreme and vomited during a date. Now, I’m not suggesting that we put X’s on our hands and go straight edge. Hell, I am drinking a glass of Malbec as I’m writing this essay. Some of us may believe that we need a couple of drinks to “loosen up” or gain “Dutch courage*”. Which is fine, to an extent. The problem lies in knowing when enough is enough. This isn’t Bro-mageddon guys, there’s no need to get hammered. If I may, here are some suggestions when it comes to drinking on a date. First, NO SHOTS! It’s the easiest way to get drunk. Your date may also think that you are trying to get her drunk. Second, despite how many drinks you think can handle, always drink less. You don’t want to look like a lush in front of your date. If don’t know what your magic number is, a good rule of thumb is to have one less drink then your date. I am going to make it my personal goal to not rely on drink while on a date. After all we are EPIC gentlemen I suggest that we start living up to our name.

*Where the hell did the term Dutch courage come from? I didn’t think that the Dutch were known for drinking?

If you have any comments or thoughts please feel free to share!