Gurgle ...

Seriously folks, you can't make this shit up. Not even if you tried.

(Via Gawker.)

This 'n that

Forgive the erratic, skimpy posts ... 'ol Riprock's amount of bloggin' time is stretched thinner than CBS's credibility. (Hey-o! Oh, Chase or Red Dirt'll appreciate that one.) I'll leave you faithful reader(s) with this: I retract previously made harsh statements about Bright Eyes' new albums sucking the big one; "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" is pretty good while "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" takes a bit to grow on ya. So Conor, if you're reading (snicker), I'm sorry.
At any rate, until things settle down, Pop Cultured is just gonna be erratic ... y'know, like J-Lo or Martin Lawrence. (Rimshot!)

Are you dead?

It's a question I've been getting a lot lately and the quick, short answer is no, no I'm not. Just busy to a level I haven't been since learning to walk, chew food and tie my shoes. Snowed under, the old-timers call it. (You know who you are.) At any rate, I'm alive, I'm well (if wanting for a nap) and I promise the posts will resume with some modicum of regularity ... just not today. Although I will mention that I saw "Million Dollar Baby" quite recently and I was ... mixed. Not what I was expecting -- not horrible, mind you but definitely an odd bird. At any rate, hugs 'n kisses, kids ... Dash'll be back soon. Why don't you go read Chase or Dr. Pants (mad props, yo) until this whole adult responsibility thing blows over?

Let the games begin ...

Well, I gotta say - I'm not terribly surprised by the announcement of the 77th annual Oscar nominations this morning save for this: Paul Giamatti getting shut out? What's that all about? How do Thomas Haden Church and Alexander Payne snag noms but not Giamatti? Messed up - that's what that is. But I am supremely happy to see Catalina Sandina Moreno with a nod. This will be an interesting year - unless Marty comes along and sweeps everyone with "The Aviator." We shall see.

Back in business

All righty ... quick pause there but we're all back online here at Riprock HQ - and with glorious news no less! As I mentioned a few days ago, Beck's latest work (titled "Guero" and slated for release March 29) was already trickling out into the online world; it was only a matter of time but now, the full-blown album has leaked - two, count 'em, two months in advance of its release. Beck's Web site popped up with this lil missive:

The new Beck album, tentatively due out March 29th, has unceremoniously been leaked onto the masses. This is NOT the final album. It is an early unmixed, unmastered version that is neither the final sequence or all the tracks that will appear, so please be aware this is not what Beck intended to happen or bestow onto his fans.

Heh ... stupid record company. Don't they recognize people don't care? (And for the record, yes - it is already a frontrunner for one of my favorite albums of the year ... and I've only got a third of it.)

Some kind of wonderful

I'd highly recommend (for those of you who haven't seen it) to run out on Tuesday and snag a copy of the excellent documentary "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster." I got mine today ... the commentary from filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky alone is enough to recommend a purchase. The second disc has almost 40 minutes of deleted scenes, along with other film-related gewgaws. Great stuff and don't gimme that lame excuse of "Oh, I don't listen to Metallica" or "Heavy metal music makes a boring film." Stow it. This is a riveting account of famous people falling apart and somehow finding it within themselves to snap to and pull it back together.
Go rent/buy it. You'll thank me later.
(Insert quick headbanging and triumphant devil horns here.)

Eary

I maintain that as you're working and your iTunes is on shuffle and until you've followed up "Queen Bitch" with a Portuguese riff on "Life on Mars?," you haven't really lived. But that's just me.