2005-01-25 - 10:03 a.m. Let me be the first (or four hundredth, more likely) to shout "travesty!" at Paul Giamatti's not being nominated for the performance that made the film. Also, the song choices this year are back to being stupid and boring, unlike last year's nominees which were adventurous and fun and high-quality. I was expecting at least "America, Fuck Yeah!" I joined a gym! It's 60 seconds away from my front door, and it's open 24 hours, so I have no excuse for not going. Complication: there's a 24-hour Dunkin Donuts next to it. The gym affords me my one opportunity to hear the popular music of the day, which seems to be a mix of rap, r&b, and straight-up pop. I enjoyed hearing "American Idiot"--that's a good li'l song. I find the r&b stuff the least interesting, with the overly-processed vocals, sterile production, and that patchwork quality of the songs themselves--verses haphazardly stuck to choruses and bridges with no regards for momentum or lyrical integrity. I guess that's what happens when songs are written by a panel of song doctors. Not exactly a fresh observation, I realize, but it's so rare that I encounter this stuff that is always comes as a little shock when I hear it again. thoughts? (6 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact