Apple told me that in 3-5 business days my Mac Mini would be fixed. It has been 7 business days… Still waiting on an answer from them.
Category Archives: Personal Entry
Eat A Steak.
I have decided that BHP will be going through some changes in 2011. I am in the works on changing things up around here from the design of the site to the content I throw in randomly. Change is good.
So to start things off early, I decided to start a random series of quirky little comics from events that have actually happened to me or would happen should I be subjected to the situation.
D.X. Ferris has been supplying some funny ass Suburban Metal Dad comics on Addicted To Vinyl this past month and that along with my addiction to the comics on If You Make It made me what to try it for myself.
So here you go. Laugh, cry, complain… It is all about the fun and terrible artistic abilities right?
What would happen if Anthony Bourdain ever told me to quit being a vegetarian?
Best Of 2010, At Least According To BHP…
It’s that time of year everyone (in case you forgot), the time of the year where I look back at all that defined 2010. I am sure many of you can agree that 2010 was not that bad of a year and there were some pretty good releases / events that happened.
I had a good 2010 thanks to all of my great friends. I went on two mini road trips to see bands I adore and had good times doing so without injury. There were plenty of albums to keep me going and a good share of bands made their way to play Cleveland.
So, as a blogger I feel it is my duty to continue my “Best Of…” posts yearly. I am sure I will miss something but here we go:
Best Punk Albums:
Iron Chic – Not Like This
-Hands down my favorite release this year. Catchy punk rock at its finest. They kick ass live too.
Menzingers – Chamberlain Waits
–Easily my second favorite release of the year. This band is going places. I can not wait for a follow-up release. They kick ass live as well.
Bad Religion – The Dissent Of Man
-It’s Bad Religion, need I say more? 30 years as a punk rock band with no sign of giving up any time soon. It is as if getting old is cool…well it is if you are Bad Religion.
RVIVR – RVIVR
-It was brought to my attention that I overlooked this important release. I knew I was forgetting something as I thought of what albums I really enjoyed… Ex-members of Latterman as well as a few whose roots cross with members of Jawbreaker in a band? Yes please.
Best Rock Albums:
J. Roddy Walston & The Business – J. Roddy Walston & The Business
-I’d be lying if I said that I did not listen to this album 3 times a week. A few of my friends have been fans of J. Roddy for a couple of years now and thanks to them so am I. This album is so fun to listen to and so well written that I am shocked all those mainstream music magazines failed to put them on their “Best Of” lists… Jerks.
Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
-I am sure many of you know my slight obsession with this band. Their new album slid more towards the rock and less of the punk but I am ok with that. From start to finish this is an excellent release.
Against Me! – White Crosses
-Kind of funny how much I love these guys seeing how I used to hate them 5 years ago. I love the direction they are taking with their new material and I am sure many will disagree. Yes, it is not anything what they used to sound like and that is why they are considered to me now as a rock band.
The Black Keys – Brothers
-I have to give some love to this Akron, OH duo not just because I reside near the city they started in but also because they dropped a solid album. If you have not listened to this album yet, do it.
Foxy Shazam – Foxy Shazam
-Here’s another album I almost forgot about! Some might think these guys are going to just be another one hit wonder but I disagree. Foxy Shazam kicks some serious ass!
Best Metal Albums:
The Dillinger Escape Plan – Option Paralysis
-Love this album. So much better, to me, than their last release. Heavy and full of energy. They put on a killer set at the Warped Tour this past summer too.
Deftones – Diamond Eyes
-Nice to see the Deftones continue moving on. I was super excited when this album dropped earlier this year.
Best Folk Rock Albums:
Frank Turner – Rock N Roll EP
-All I have to say about this EP is that if you are a fan of Rock ‘n Roll you need to hear the song “I Still Believe”.
Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
-Still in shock these guys are from the UK… Not that it is a problem or anything, but they play Americana folk-rock as if they grew up in the mountains. This album was a suprise listen for me in 2010. Very addicting if you like this kind of music.
Best Indie Rock Albums:
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
-Never thought in a million years I would admit be being an Arcade Fire fan, but this album brainwashed me into one. Catchy as hell and just a solid release.
Bars Of Gold – Of Gold
-I love surprises. Bars Of Gold surprised me with how awesome they were. Best underground album I have heard in a while.
Band Of Horses – Infinite Arms
-This album snuck up on me. It took three listens and now I can not get enough of it.
Best Hip-Hop/Rap Albums:
Sage Francis – LI(F)E
-Oh Sage Francis… You are a talented talented man. I was not too sure about this album upon my first taste of it, but it is exceptional. Love the way this guy puts words together. I also really liked how he got some of the music for some of the tracks – he had indie bands work with him.
Eminem – Recovery
-This guy is good once again. The end.
Best Film Soundtrack:
Tron: Legacy Soundtrack – Music By Daft Punk
-I had bee waiting for this release since early 2010 when it was announced that the French dup would be providing the soundtrack. It is insane. Insane as in good.
Best Shows I Attended:
The Avett Brothers @ House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH
Frank Turner / Social Distortion @ House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH
Bed Folds @ House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH (minus the douche I almost got into a fight with)
Dale Watson & His Lone Stars @ Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH
Most Fun Shows I Attended:
NOFX @ Madison Theater – Covington, KY
Gaslight Anthem @ Lifestyles Pavilion – Columbus, OH
The Facials as NOFX @ Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH
-Seriously, one of my favorite memories of 2010. My pals The Facials practiced their butts off to do a Halloween-inspired NOFX cover set. They nailed it. It was just one of those nights where I was surrounded by friends and felt like a kid. That right there is a show.
Worst Shows Attended:
Van’s Warped Tour
–I did not even make it past 5 o’clock this year. I got to see some of my favorite bands including Face To Face, but overall it was far too hot outside and I just was not feeling it as I had no clue who most of the bands were on the tour. I guess a time comes one day when a punker gets too old for this shi-, not to mention, my circle of friends dwindled significantly (2). After being at almost all of the Warped Tours since they started – I am done (I say this every year…).
Worst Albums Released:
Brokencyde
–Words can not describe how I feel about this band. I will not even go there.
3OH!3
–Any band that collaborates with Keisha or however she spells it is instant THE SUCK. I really liked the band’s first album but could not stand their recent effort. Nice guys, but just not my cup of tea.
Album I Did Not Get Whatsoever:
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
-Why is everyone giving this album 5 stars? I do not get it, am I missing something. I do not think it is that good at all. That is me of course… Give me his older material any day.
Looking Forward To In 2011:
Social Distortion’s New Album
Those Darlins’s New Album
–I got a sample of their new material when I saw them play at the Beachland Tavern and I must say…impressive. I look forward to their new release as it appears as if they have changed up their sound a little.
The Bonnaroo 2011 Line-Up
–This will be the ten-year anniversary and I am hoping for a line-up unlike any other)
SXSW
–I think I am actually going to be able to make it this year finally…
Making new friends and hearing new music. I always look forward to something new.
What are your favorites of 2010? I want to hear! This comment section below doesn’t fill itself out you know!!!
Thanks to all my readers. 2010 was fun – here’s to 2011. Happy holidays everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving
To my 7 readers, maybe 6 by now… Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
I am going to make sure I pay more attention to this site. I feel as of late I have neglected it, with good reason of course (school, work, life, iPad). I am going to try and step things up a bit and throw some more posts from myself and a slew of special guests.
Look for an interview shortly with Matt Fish, owner of Melt Bar & Grilled, to be posting soon. I am just putting my final touches on it. It’s a good read – ’cause I say so.
I also have my Best Of 2010 coming up soon. I really need to think back hard on this past year as there were a ton of great releases.
Until then, have a nice holiday weekend and eat lots of Tofurkey (or turkey if you are one of THOSE people…)
Disappointed is a 12 letter word.
disappointed [dis-a-point-ted]
adj – saddened by the failure of an expectation, etc.
Last night was the first time in a long time where I was disappointed, not just a little bit, but a whole lot.
I was not the only one in my group of three either who had this unbearable feeling occur. It’s happened before, and I am sure it will happen again, but last night was not the night for it to happen.
Why so disappointed you ask?
Well, in a nutshell, last night was the J. Roddy Waltson & The Business / Shooter Jennings show at the Beachland Ballroom. I, and two of my closest friends, have been looking forward to this show since we first caught wind of it a couple months back. We were not excited for Shooter, but rather, J Roddy.
My friends had seen J. Roddy a couple of times but I had not.
Last night around 8pm we left my homestead and made the 45+ minute trip to Cleveland to hit up the show. We were all smiles during the rainy drive up there and anticipated a killer show.
Arriving we hung outside the venue for a moment as a female Chris Farley looking cop (seriously, just like Airheads Farley) chased a seemingly drunk patron down the sidewalk with her trusty stun-gun in hand. She was pissed about something he did, maybe asking her how it felt to be a Farley…
Anyways, we walked inside, and realized something was terribly wrong. There was music playing and it sounded like J. Roddy.
Wait – it WAS J. Roddy.
We ran inside the ballroom literally to J. Roddy stating that they were playing one more song, “Used To Did”. The song was amazing live and for a brief moment I was in a music bliss like none other enjoying the song and then it happened.
J. Roddy Waltson & The Business finished their set.
Disappointment took over. I wanted to crawl in a dark corner and cry. One song was not enough for me at all. I wanted more and I could not have any. We arrived 1 hour late thinking the show started at 9 p.m.
The three of us stood there. Depressed, pissed off for not rushing one another to get there and most of all disappointed as hell.
I honestly thought there was a local opening act and what band starts on time anyways???
A very friendly J. Roddy greeted us and was bummed to hear we missed his set but did give us a heads up that they just wrapped up a new Daytrotter session. That was cool to hear.
Still, we were not satisfied at all. We did not know if we wanted to stay or not so we sulked over a cold one and felt sorry for ourselves.
Add insult to injury, Lady Chris Farley super-cop pushed us aside in the bar to make way for Shooter Jennings and his band so they could hit the stage.
Screw you super-cop.
A few songs into Shooter’s set we decided to bail. We were not feeling it.
Jumping in the car we decided to play a fine mix of J. Roddy songs all the way home. We sang the songs at the top of our lungs, almost making up for the live show we missed.
Good friends and great friends mix so well especially when you need a pick-me-up.
So, I guess I wait till next time J. Roddy makes his way back to Ohio to check him out. I can wait, and I know he will be back, and it is going to be amazing…