This Week’s Top 12: A Week In Which We Ignored Dr. Love’s Prescriptive Advice
Gene Simmons getting territorial, alternate theories of the alternative era, Assteroidz, and the British band that’s probably more excited about Superchunk’s inclusion on the Coachella bill than anything else, after the jump.
1. Fighting with Gene Simmons. Sure, there were others who tried to ruffle my feathers this week, but their attempts to outsmart (or at least out-word count) me were little husks of nothingness compared to the efforts of Dr. Love, who tried to assert his dominance by interrupting a nationalistic rant to let me know that I would not be able to get with his finely curated army of flip-flop-wearing groupies. Few fates, I should let you all know, are as tragic.
2. The alternate post-’90s universe conjured up by some amazing commenters in a simple post about Chris Cornell. Go read it. You won’t be sorry.
3. Twelve or so different people telling me that they were excited over Lily Allen‘s It’s Not Me, It’s You. What’s this? Shared anticipation for an album? The mix of songs from It’s Not Me making the rounds this week was, sadly, not as delightful as the Mark Ronson-assisted collection of jams that preceded the release of Alright, Still… a few years back, but it certainly whetted my appetite.
4. The Defiant Brewing Company, Pearl River, N.Y. Specifically, their fresh-from-the-keg stout. Do it, Rockland County!
5. The Diamond Dave Edition of Assteroidz. NB: I’m still not very good at it. But a well-placed Savage Steve Holland reference is always welcome.
6. Live hockey. I grew up an Islanders fan, and therefore felt a pang of traitorous regret when I cheered for the Rangers’ first goal in their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. But the in-person hockey experience is really about a thousand times better than just watching the game on TV, and not just because you get to see between-period entertainment like fan-on-fan pedalcart races.
7. Wonderswan. What started as an attempt to maybe-humorously poke fun at a somewhat overheated Guardian scene report led to me finding a fun little bunch of ragged Merge Records revivalists. There are worse fates.
8. The possibility that this Sunday’s Super Bowl will have a slightly daytime-TV feel, thanks to the ads running in between downs. Cash4Gold (with MC Hammer!), yes; ShamWow, no. (At least, not yet…)
9. The moment that referring to Robin Pecknold as “The Peck” made me want to watch Ghostbusters. Specifically, this scene:
This also led to me wondering if this scene, were Ghostbusters remade in the present day, would have the whole joke about the relationship between the mayor and the cardinal. (Raised Catholic, you know.)
10. Bobby Valentino’s Lights, Camera, R & B mix. In contrast to the truncated Lily mix, here’s a bunch of solid R & B from the man who surprised me with some super-sweet soul earlier this month. Mostly I’m glad for Bobby that this tape is out, because it might mean that his album won’t be subject to the many delays that so many other artists of his ilk have had to suffer through over the past few fiscal quarters.
11. Kelly Clarkson‘s big grin in the “My Life Would Suck Without You” video. Sure, it may be a well-practiced act by a consummate up-from-the-fan-ranks pro, but I don’t know. This just made me happy.
12. “Meet the journalist and documentary maker who gets a camera-lens implanted in his eye.” A late entry (via Eric), but still: Whoa.
