Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
3E Presents: Foreigner Week
Such undisguised bitterness pervades Double Vision, and the record's only good moments arise from spurts of tight ensemble playing. But that's the least we could expect from such grizzled veterans. And songs like "Blue Morning, Blue Day" and "You're All I Am" do gratify in pleasantly odd ways. The surprise influence in this respect is the Beatles: Gramm's McCartney-like coo on "Blue Morning, Blue Day" is charming, while "Love Has Taken Its Toll" surges with a Revolver-era chorus--all snap and cleverness--as the guitars of Jones and Ed Gagliardi toss off a kinetic George Harrison/Paul McCartney blend.Rolling Stone's review of Foreigner's second album, Double Vision.
But ultimately the group's skill is as mechanical as Mick Jones' paranoid misogyny. An instrumental is normally intended to show off a band's chops and smarts, yet the one provided here, "Tramontane," is puffy, quasi-ominous fluff, relying too heavily on Ian McDonald's spook-house organ effects. The tune's tense chords build and build but never break, and the accumulated suspense simply fades away.
What is most dispiriting about Foreigner is its patent lack of creative ambition. Not for an instant do we sense that these musicians are pushing themselves or trying to use their expertise to concoct something they find exciting. The emotions and motives asserted in their music are, when not just plain unbelievable, turgid and tawdry. Right now, the group's rhythms and Lou Gramm's singing tickle the ears of a lot of record buyers, but it's difficult to believe that this band will be able to keep its vast audience with more junk like this. We are not as dumb as Foreigner thinks we are.
Monday, March 08, 2010
3E Presents: Foreigner Week
About Foreigner:
Without question, the story of Foreigner begins and will presumably end someday with Mick Jones, the band's one constant during its ongoing, 30-year history. Long before the band he's known for was remotely conceived, Jones was a veteran in the British rock scene in the '60s and '70s, having worked with Gary Wright in Spooky Tooth and serving as a member of the Leslie West Band. Before that he had kept busy as a songwriter and session musician, packing his resume with the kind of experience that would help him lead Foreigner with a steady, visionary hand during the band's late-'70s and early-'80s peak.[...]
Even though the brilliant No. 1 hit "I Want to Know What Love Is" appeared on Foreigner's next album, 1984's Agent Provocateur, the band had clearly begun its decline immediately following the release of 4. Much of this probably had to do with the double-edged nature of Jones' decision to guide the band down an increasingly pop path that was squeezing out the group's rock inclinations. After all, the only two songs anyone remembers from Foreigner's uneven fifth album are synth-based tunes almost entirely lacking in Jones' previous guitar heroics. "That Was Yesterday" was also excellent, but little else measured up.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Friday, March 05, 2010
Covers
The Covers Project has a covers chain.
From the delightful Covered in Folk ("Folk covers of familiar songs. Reimagined versions of folk songs. Because in the folk tradition, music belongs to the community."), an entire list of covers of Ring of Fire. Also, here's an awesome cover of Psycho Killer.
And, speaking of Talking Heads covers: Tom Jones and The Cardigans do "Burning Down the House."
From the delightful Covered in Folk ("Folk covers of familiar songs. Reimagined versions of folk songs. Because in the folk tradition, music belongs to the community."), an entire list of covers of Ring of Fire. Also, here's an awesome cover of Psycho Killer.
And, speaking of Talking Heads covers: Tom Jones and The Cardigans do "Burning Down the House."
Thursday, March 04, 2010
My mistake: four coffins.
I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. You see, my mule don't like people laughin'. Gets the crazy idea you're laughin' at him. Now if you apologize like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Finnish Sniper
Simo Häyhä (December 17, 1905 – April 1, 2002), nicknamed "White Death" (Russian: Белая смерть, Belaya Smert; Finnish: Valkoinen Kuolema; Swedish: den Vita Döden) by the Red Army, was a Finnish sharpshooter. Using a standard iron-sighted, bolt action rifle in the Winter War, he has the highest recorded number (505) of confirmed kills in any major war.
Häyhä used a Finnish variant, M/28, of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle (known as "Pystykorva" rifle, meaning "spitz"), because it suited his small frame (5 ft 3 in/1.60 m). He preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights to present a smaller target (the sniper must raise his head higher when using a telescopic sight), to prevent visibility risks (a telescopic sight's glass can fog up easily), and aid concealment (sunlight glare in telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper's position). Another tactic used by Häyhä was to compact the snow in front of him so that the shot wouldn't disturb the snow, thus revealing his position. He also kept snow in his mouth so that when breathing he wouldn't reveal his position.Simo Häyhä
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Monday, March 01, 2010
3E Blog statistics
For February, 2010:
Page views: 638 million
Unique visitors: 960,000
Average visit duration: 12 hr 3 min
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Page views: 638 million
Unique visitors: 960,000
Average visit duration: 12 hr 3 min
Adsense clicks: 25.5 million
Biggest referral: google.com/search...
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