Comic for Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Posted: 6:20 am, Wednesday, January 7th

I'm late for year-end lists, but seeing as how I haven't mailed a single Christmas card yet, I think I'm just running a month behind in everything I do. I somehow found the time to read Sasha Frere-Jones' article on Bon Iver in the New Yorker yesterday, and it finally inspired me to listen to For Emma, Forever Ago, which is widely acclaimed on the internets to be the best album of 2009. I'd heard the refrain to Skinny Love many times without actually realizing it was Bon Iver, but Frere-Jones' writing made me actually *want* to hear it. So far, I'm not floored by the album, although I do prefer it to the Great Indie Hype of the 2000s, Sufjan Stevens.

"Bullfrog," you say, "listening to you talk about maybe almost liking a CD is even more boring that listening to you talk about the Irish fumble game after fucking game away on the gridiron!"

True, I will respond, noting that whoever "you" may be, you are certainly not 2.0, who finds nothing on this spiritual plane of existence more boring than listening to be talk about the Irish fumbling game after fucking game away on the gridiron. I'm mentioning this to say that, while I had heard of and semi-consciously avoided Bon Iver during the year, I had not heard of the delightful Los Campesinos until the blogs had their yearly wrap-up wankathon recently. They're like a more British Go! Team, layers upon layers of spastic, joyous noise. To wit:

Tupping hell, whenever I get the chance to go running again, I have to make sure that stays off my Shuffle. I'll have a flipping heart attack. Anyway, Los Camps put out two albums last year, and I hope they can keep up that ridiculous pace, because that music makes me want to run through a brick wall. If they dub in some Lou Holtz, I could fucking solve the Gaza shitstorm singlehandedly. (Is Hold On Now, Youngster my album of the year? Does anyone care? Probably not, but I think I have to very predictably go with Stay Positive by the Hold Steady. We're still not up the impossibly high standard of the first two albums, but Lord, I'm Discouraged has totally sunk its hooks into me and almost makes me cry everytime it comes up on random.)

More music - I don't know the band Titus Andronicus, but I do know that to be the name of a relatively poor Shakespeare play, and I do know that I tend to check out anything the AV Club gives an A-. Then I noticed that their CD is called "The Airing of Grievances," and Seinfeld references will get you everywhere with this cat. And then I noticed the track the Club gives you is called "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, New Jersey." This is hilarious to me because Mahwah, NJ happens to be the hometown of 1.0, who I believe has never been mentioned in the nearly four and a half year run of this blog and probably never will be again. Referencing fear and loathing in Mahwah will get me to listen to your song. The song sounds like it was recorded in a tin can until about the 1:19 mark, where it blows the fucking tin can up and becomes, like the little AV Club blurb says, a bloody-knuckled Arcade Fire tune. That also will get me to listen to your song. I recommend. I don't know how actually good it is, but odds are you're at work right now, and fuck if you can't steal 5:55 from The Man.

I mentioned it elsewhere on the interwebs, so this may be old news to some of you, but I left my razor home over my late-December travels, and have accidentally grown a beard. I let it go, with great trepidation, to see if the children A) mocked it mercilessly or B) feared it. Astoundingly, they so far seem to have gone with C) something resembling respected it. And I won't get into details until the end of the year, but one of my students finally totally completely flipped at me yesterday. I've yet to be told to go fuck myself or anything like that, but this was close. So that's fun! Whoo! Edumacation!

I think that's all. I need to get to sleep. (Tipping my hand that this was typed the night of 1.6.) Oh, a quick word on the past two strips, especially today's. I'm just kicking it back to the roots a bit. Lissa has always been, in my mind, an extremely confident and self-assured lass, more than willing and certainly more than able to bag any dude who's out and about. So that's what's going on today. I don't think it's particularly vital to the joke or that anyone's prudishly judging her, but since I oftentimes forget what I establish in my noggin and then actually bother to establish in the strip, I thought I might mention it here. Oh, and the other (more pressing, to me) thing: I have no idea where in New York Ron could get a brew for $2 that would also be a place Lissa would wear that get-up. I fucked that one up. (I mean, there are places where the beer's two bones and girls dress like that, but they're generally still in college, and not mid-20s, like the characters are. Is this getting long-winded? I'm putting too much thought into this, aren't I? Ah, somebody m'ise well.)

bullfrog

Ted's Head -- Wednesday, January 7 2009, 09:10 am

If I just HEARD that Los Campesinos song you posted, I probably wouldn't have minded it. But since I had to watch that video, I decided that I hate that song, I hate those people in the video, and I hate you for posting it. God, that was annoying. Merry New Year.

Man, I had to watch that video again and it drove me even more crazy the second time. At least most of the people are looking at the camera, but that dude with the big nose just kind of randomly looking around as he mouths the words is driving me fucking nuts. I don't know what it is but you really hit a nerve with me. Maybe I just got to stop talking to Coach (no offense Coach) - his anger might be contagious.

Yeah, the band does look like the Invasion of the American Apparel models, but what can you do?

Today's rankings:

1. Special Dark 2. Mr. Goodbar 3. Krackle 4. Plain

Agree?

I'd have to put mr. goodbar last. i just don't like the peanuts.

Yeah, 1., 3., 4., 2. Although I remember this girl who went by Mug that I went to high school with. In fifth grade, she wrote an awesome story about Mr. Goodbar and his girlfriend, with all these double entendres involving other candy bars. It was hilarious.

Special Dark is much better in mini-size than big size. it's a weird phenomenon.

Someone suggested me this song:

Ode to Crayola by Lemon Demon

American candy bars are 2nd rate. I prefer to eat limey candy bars.

Jersey trash wannabe eurotrash...

A week ago, I would've put Mr. Goodbar last as well. But then a mixed bag showed up at the office, and I must say, it's been a revolution. The Goodbar launched up through the rankings with a stellar performance over the past few days.