The Sunny Side of the Street

Album Review - The Hush Sound - Goodbye Blues

2008-03-28T04:29:12Z

This one is a bit later than I meant it to be.

But on with the show:
When They Performed some of the singles off of Goodbye Blues at the Canopy Club awhile back, I was right in thinking this next album would be a real development.

The Hush Sound has come out with their third album now, titled Goodbye Blues. It really shows some change from the previous albums, but keeps the delightfully jazzy sound that the Hush Sound members do so well. The Album rocks harder than any of the previous ones, with a heavier kickpedal and bass/guitar infulence, with the piano somewhat reduced, though still very present. The beat of songs like Medicine Man (I'm betting it will be their next single off the album) really carry you out, and I can say personally that they do great live, too.

Another interesting note on Goodbye Blues is the sudden action of Greta taking the forefront as singer. She sang a number of songs in the past, but their guitarist, Robert ("Bob") normally took the forefront of vocals, and such was the case live as well. Bob is only the lead singer on two songs in the entirety of the album, with "Not Your Concern" and "As you Cry". Otherwise, Greta dominates the album, and sings stronger than in either Like Vines or So Suddden, the previous albums.

Livewise, I can say that it shows, too: Greta's singing is much, much stronger. I remember when I saw them in 2007, and she seemed wiped by the end of the show. Here in 2008, she held strong and sang better the entire show, not that she was even weak previously.

If I gave star ratings, I'd give Goodbye Blues a 5 out of 5. It is well balanced, strong throughout, and shows development of style without abandoning roots. I just wish Bob sang more, but I know I still have their other two albums, and they still perform quite a bit of the material from them live as well.

So yeah, if you want to get a feel for the album, checkout the following songs:
Honey (Now on 88.7 the Wave!) (Also, Music Video @ youtube)
Medicine Man
The Boys are Too Refined
Love you Much Better
Not Your Concern

Okay, so that is like... half the album... but if you like this "New-Jazz" sound, you should love this stuff.

The Hush Sound -- What I was trying to say was...

2008-03-07T05:08:03Z

They are still awesome.

It goes a bit like this:

Lydia is a gal who I gave some music by the Hush Sound to. Why? Well, because she is a DJ at the radio station who runs a specialty show Saturdays that features a "girls only" style format. (Check it out, by the way... Saturdays Noon-2) As listeners know, Hush Sound frequently features their keyboardist as a vocalist... in fact, the whole band sings.

Anyways, Lydia told me they were going to be in town, and I had absolutely no idea! Turns out that the Canopy really didn't seem to do much to promote it. We went.

'Twas a good show. Opening acts included Paper Rival, Charolette Sometimes, and The Secret Handshake. Frankly, all put on a good show, and I particularly liked Paper Rival and Charolette Sometimes. Secret Handshake was more of a dance/electronic vibe, not my thing... but the girls seem to love it. They did it well, I'll give them that. Chances are, a few of the above will end up on 88.7, so keep your ears open, eh? Paper Rival fits our format to the dot, and have an interesting sound that incorporates some of their Nashville roots into the Modern Alt Rock Sound. They are releasing their first LP soon, but I picked up a copy of their EP for a sample. It's Nice. CS sounds great on their myspace, and fits awesome with Hush Sound, so I can't wait to see some cuts on disk.

As for our main act, it was fantastic. Last time I mentioned that the Hush Sound seemed a little tired by the end of their show... this time, I hear they mentioned that they had practically no sleep, but they performed strong to the end, doing "2 more songs" before leaving, and then coming back for an encore after we whined about them being done. They hit a number of their best, including Wine Red, Sweet Tangerine, Like Vines, and Crawling Towards the Sun. But here is the best part: they are working on a NEW album, and we got to hear some of the new material! In fact, the show at the Canopy was the first on their tour, so we were the first ones! I can say that this new album ought to be great, it carries the same sound, but sounds harder, almost a bit more rock-vibed than jazz. So yes, Goodbye Blues is certainly one I am going to pre-order.

Bonus: they did not one, but TWO covers that night. First, a cover of Tom Petty's American Girl.... astounding! For their final, it was a cover of Love Fool (You know you've heard it... "Love me, Love me, say that you Love me... etc etc) by... the Cardigans? I dunno. That's what the internet says, but Lydia thought it was Madonna. I don't know, and frankly it doesn't matter to me enough to really look into it now.

So yes, good times, good music.

Show Times

2008-03-05T19:55:08Z

Okay, I was asked when I was on Air during the week:

My Alternative Rotation Shift:
10AM-Noon on Tuesdays

The Sunny Side of the Street - Metal for Muthas
4-6pm Saturdays

And, if you are up late enough, you can hear a recorded version of me Midnight-2AM Fridays.

Always on 88.7 The Wave

Deet-De-Deet-Deet-Deet-De-Deet-Deet-Deet-De-Deet

2008-03-03T06:43:19Z

This Just In:

The Hush Sound: still Awesome.
Details later.

Album Review: Float by Flogging Molly

2008-02-23T07:16:04Z

I didn’t even know that Flogging Molly was coming out with a new CD. Imagine my surprise when I was offered the chance to review it. I jumped on it.

“Requiem for a Dying Song” is a great opening. The album has its fair share of songs with a strong rock feel with plenty of Gaelic flavor. “Paddy’s Lament”, “Lightning Storm”, “Float”, and “Between a Man and a Woman” also stand out from among the other songs, though there were hardly any songs I could call weak links. “Float” and “The Story so Far” are both slower songs, but carry their own weight in a swaggering emotional swelling. I didn’t quite like “The Story so Far” as much, but I have a feeling it is one of those songs that grow on you.

All in all, Float is a good CD. It doesn’t offer anything spectacularly new, but it feels far from stale. Flogging Molly sounds the same as they always have, but this album doesn’t have the same feel as Within A Mile of Home, which is my personal favorite of their albums that I have heard. But that isn’t a bad thing. Float just doesn’t rock in the same way. I think that is a good indicator, it shows the band and the members have grown. You can’t record the same type of album twice, and if you try, it usually doesn’t work out.

So: If you like Flogging Molly, then I imagine you would like this album. It is a good addition to your collection. If you are new to them, this is a great example of their sound, so you should pick it up if you want to try it out. This one might turn into a new favorite for me, I'll only know with time.

Ah, we are adding "Requiem for A Dying Song" to Rotation during regular programming on 88.7! So if you want an early sample, give the lines a jingle at 373-3790, and request it! Otherwise, you'll have to wait till March 4th.

-Lucas M

Happy Birthday to Me.

2008-02-21T05:44:01Z

Yay.

I guess.

My Parents and I went shopping yesterday, bought me some new clothes. I've been in bad need of pants that fit. We also ate out at Za's. Dad hadn't been there, so I thought it would be fun. It was nice to see my parents, and I had a pretty good time.

Today was busy. People at the station were really nice about things, which I appreciated. After class, though, I kinda crashed. I pretty much didn't eat for the first 12 hours of my day. I felt miserable. I ate some Arbys, and that helped. I pretty much sat around the apartment all day otherwise. Not much really new.

I got a text message from an old friend, that made me smile.

It reminds me of last year, when things were good, but I just ended up feeling kinda sour by the end of the day. I've never been much of a person for celebrating anything, I guess. For some reasons, days that are supposed to be all-around-awesome end up making me feel kinda down. I dunno why. I'm usually happier on regular 'ol days of the year.

But enough of getting down on myself. I've made it 2 decades so far, and there was honestly a time I didn't think that was going to happen. I hope the next year is as good as this one has been.

PS: The Hush Sound will be back in town March 2nd! I'm totally going.

More Onion

2008-01-27T19:10:01Z

Radio?

2007-12-29T07:10:29Z

Well, I haven't posted about the show in awhile. So here is any news about it:

For starters, I realized nobody reads this in context of the show anyways, so I dumped even mentioning it on the show. I still try an mention the email line for suggestions, but still, no responses. Suppose such is the curse of doing a show on Saturday Afternoons on a college station. However, 88.7 is getting more popular... just not my show.

Second, listeners may have noticed that I dropped 99% of the alternative from the show, which I began doing as I moved through October to the "Special" metal show, which marked the start of the change of format. It is metal now, obviously. I saw the move coming, but didn't want to do it. I don't consider myself a "metalhead" really, though I really like a lot of metal bands. I like a lot of other music, too. But the hodgepodge show was too messy, and people want to know what they are going to hear. So, I stuck with metal, which I have the most of, know the most about, and got the most requests for. I've tried moving any of my old alternative, such as Ben Kweller, Uncle Tupelo, Bosstones, etc, into regular rotation for WPCD's regular format. Some have made it, some haven't. Those decisions are up to our station manager, really.

Third, hey, look, I changed my theme. Yay. I'm still not really happy with it, but it is a change, so I'll settle. Nobody reads this besides my friends anyways.

Back to music, here is a current list of everything I play now. As always, remember I almost always buy entire albums, so if an artists has multiple songs, chances are I have an album or two by them.

Tension/Armored Saint
Den Of Thieves/Armored Saint
Control Issues/Armored Saint
The Truth of a Liar/August Burns Red
Beast And The Harlot/Avenged Sevenfold
Isak/Baroness
Graveyard Disciples/Black Label Society
War Pigs/Black Sabbath
Paranoid/Black Sabbath
Iron Man/Black Sabbath
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath/Black Sabbath
A National Acrobat/Black Sabbath
Looking For Today/Black Sabbath
Alive/Blaze
Ten Seconds/Blaze
Blood And Belief/Blaze
Hollow Head/Blaze
Regret/Blaze
Soundtrack Of My Life/Blaze
Out To Get You/Bloodsimple
Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll/Blue Oyster Cult
Astronomy/Blue Oyster Cult
(Don't Fear) The Reaper/Blue Oyster Cult
Take Me Away/Blue Oyster Cult
Better Than Me/Bobaflex
Home/Bobaflex
Hook Me Up/Bon Jovi
I Got The Girl/Bon Jovi
Titan/Brave Saint Saturn
Hired Gun/Bride
Ever Fallen In Love/Bride
Young Love/Bride
Rattlesnake/Bride
Dust Through a Fan/Bride
Love, Money/Bride
Freak/Bruce Dickinson
Darkside Of Aquarius/Bruce Dickinson
The Magician/Bruce Dickinson
Chemical Wedding/Bruce Dickinson
Abduction/Bruce Dickinson
Soul Intruders/Bruce Dickinson
Kill Devil Hill/Bruce Dickinson
Power of The Sun/Bruce Dickinson
Save Me Sorrow/Bullets & Octane
Love's Got Me Doin' Time/Cinderella
Shelter Me/Cinderella
One For Rock And Roll/Cinderella
Love Gone Bad/Cinderella
Winds Of Change/Cinderella
Fiend/Coal Chamber
Albatross/Corrosion of Conformity
Clean My Wounds/Corrosion of Conformity
Mother/Danzig
Soul On Fire/Danzig
Twist of Cain/Danzig
Thirteen/Danzig
Rocket/Def Leppard
Armageddon It/Def Leppard
Hysteria/Def Leppard
Murmaider/Dethklok
Awaken/Dethklok
Bloodtrocuted/Dethklok
Duncan Hills Jingle/Dethklok
Monsters Of The Deep/Devildriver
Rise Up/Disciple
Regime Change/Disciple
Love Hate (On and On)/Disciple
Dive/Disciple
Sunless Days [Radio Edit Version]/Dokken
Little Girl [Radio Mix]/Dokken
Will The Sun Rise?/Dokken
Till The Livin' End/Dokken
Fury of the Storm/Dragonforce
My Spirit Will Go On/Dragonforce
Through The Fire And Flames/Dragonforce
Lie/Dream Theater
Girl Icarus/Drist
Decontrol/Drist
Arterial Black/Drist
Sunshine Highway/Dropkick Murphys
Tears of a Mandrake/Edguy
Wasted Time/Edguy
Over And Under/Egypt Central
Cliffs of Dover/Eric Johnson
S. R. V./Eric Johnson
Archetype [CLEAN]/Fear Factory
Screaming at the Wailing Wall/Flogging Molly
To Youth (My Sweet Roisin Dubh)/Flogging Molly
The Light of a Fading Star/Flogging Molly
Tobacco Island/Flogging Molly
Queen Anne's Revenge/Flogging Molly
All My Life/Foo Fighters
Times Like These/Foo Fighters
Come Back/Foo Fighters
Razor Flowers/Freak Kitchen
Get Outta Town/The Gone Jackals
Legacy/The Gone Jackals
We Want Our Brothers Back/The Gone Jackals
Witchcraft Tonight/Greenleaf
Black Black Magic/Greenleaf
Welcome To The Jungle/Guns N' Roses
Sweet Child O' Mine/Guns N' Roses
You Could Be Mine/Guns N' Roses
Live And Let Die/Guns N' Roses
Sympathy For The Devil/Guns N' Roses
School's Out/Gwar
Sick Of You/Gwar
Vampire Heart/H.I.M.
Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly/H.I.M.
Under The Rose/H.I.M.
Killing Loneliness/H.I.M.
Buried Alive By Love/H.I.M.
Soul On Fire/H.I.M.
Circle Of Fear/H.I.M.
Wicked Game/H.I.M.
Venus Doom/H.I.M.
Love In Cold Blood/H.I.M.
The Kiss Of Dawn/H.I.M.
Cyanide Sun/H.I.M.
Blood Bound/Hammerfall
Fury of The Wild/Hammerfall
The Templar Flame/Hammerfall
Take The Black/Hammerfall
Heeding the Call/Hammerfall
To The Threshold/Hatebreed
Immortal Enemies/Hatebreed
Never Let It Die/Hatebreed
Spitting Venom/Hatebreed
If I Could Fly/Helloween
I Want Out/Helloween
Paint It Black/Helloween
Gone/Helmet
Connected/Hoobastank
Rainmaker/Iron Maiden
Sanctuary/Iron Maiden
Wrathchild/Iron Maiden
Different World/Iron Maiden
These Colours Don't Run/Iron Maiden
The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg/Iron Maiden
Run To The Hills/Iron Maiden
The Trooper/Iron Maiden
Aces High/Iron Maiden
Hallowed Be Thy Name/Iron Maiden
The Wicker Man/Iron Maiden
Blood Brothers/Iron Maiden
Man on the Edge/Iron Maiden
Take It or Leave It/Jet
Aqualung/Jethro Tull
Breaking the Law/Judas Priest
Screaming for Vengeance/Judas Priest
You've Got Another Thing Comin'/Judas Priest
Heavy Metal Shuffle/Kick Axe
My Curse/Killswitch Engage
Welcome Home/King Diamond
Catch Me Now I'm Falling/The Kinks
Funeral For Yesterday/Kittie
Breathe/Kittie
Redneck [Clean]/Lamb Of God
Whole Lotta Love/Led Zeppelin
Kashmir/Led Zeppelin
Rock And Roll/Led Zeppelin
Misty Mountain Hop/Led Zeppelin
Four Sticks/Led Zeppelin
Blood And Thunder/Mastodon
Colony Of Birchmen/Mastodon
Sleeping Giant/Mastodon
Trust/Megadeth
Use The Man/Megadeth
FFF/Megadeth
Washington Is Next [Edit 1]/Megadeth
Insomnia/Megadeth
Prince Of Darkness/Megadeth
Wanderlust/Megadeth
The Scorpion/Megadeth
Tears In A Vial/Megadeth
Something That I'm Not/Megadeth
Truth Be Told/Megadeth
Train of Consequences/Megadeth
Addicted to Chaos/Megadeth
A Tout Le Monde/Megadeth
Blood of Heroes/Megadeth
Symphony of Destruction/Megadeth
Enter Sandman/Metallica
Nothing Else Matters/Metallica
Turn The Page/Metallica
Fight Fire With Fire/Metallica
Ride The Lightning/Metallica
Fade To Black/Metallica
Master Of Puppets/Metallica
Dig Up Her Bones/Misfits
Dust to Dust/Misfits
Teenagers From Mars/Misfits
Flush/Mötley Crüe
Generation Swine/Mötley Crüe
Bitter Pill/Mötley Crüe
Enslaved/Mötley Crüe
Kickstart My Heart/Mötley Crüe
Afraid/Mötley Crüe
Smokin' In The Boys Room/Mötley Crüe
Shout At The Devil ('97)/Mötley Crüe
Ace of Spades/Motorhead
Shut Your Mouth [Clean Edit]/Motorhead
Simple Survival/Mushroomhead
Crazy Train/Ozzy Osbourne
Desire/Ozzy Osbourne
S.I.N./Ozzy Osbourne
A.V.H./Ozzy Osbourne
Road to Nowhere/Ozzy Osbourne
Black Rain/Ozzy Osbourne
Cowboys from Hell/Pantera
Cemetary Gates/Pantera
Revolution Is My Name/Pantera
Fireproof/Pillar
Shallow/Porcupine Tree
Blackest Eyes/Porcupine Tree
Trains/Porcupine Tree
Wedding Nails/Porcupine Tree
Strip The Soul/Porcupine Tree
Saved/Queensrÿche
You/Queensrÿche
Reach/Queensrÿche
Hit The Black/Queensrÿche
Thorn In My Side/Quicksand
Metal Health/Quiet Riot
Cum On Feel The Noize/Quiet Riot
Reise, Reise/Rammstein
Los/Rammstein
Amerika/Rammstein
Morgenstern/Rammstein
Stein Um Stein/Rammstein
YYZ/Rush
Freewill/Rush
Spirit Of Radio/Rush
Bad Motor Scooter/Sammy Hagar
Heavy Metal/Sammy Hagar
Marching To Mars/Sammy Hagar
Rock you like a Hurricane/Scorpions
I Can't Explain/Scorpions
Big City Nights/Scorpions
No One Like You/Scorpions
Hey You/Scorpions
Nightmare Avenue/Scorpions
Humanity/Scorpions
Convicted In Life/Sepultura
Quicksand Jesus/Skid Row
Falling Down/Skindred
Pressure/Skindred
Criminally Insane/Slayer
Postmortem/Slayer
Raining Blood/Slayer
Misplaced/Sonata Arctica
Ain't Your Fairytale/Sonata Arctica
The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Real Puppet/Sonata Arctica
My selene/Sonata Arctica
Wildfire/Sonata Arctica
White Pearl, Black Oceans/Sonata Arctica
Shamandalie/Sonata Arctica
Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight/Spinal Tap
Cannibal [Cut Throat Edit]/Static-X
Hunting High and Low/Stratovarius
Black Diamond/Stratovarius
Make You Mine/Stryper
Institutionalized/Suicidal Tendencies
Wonderboy/Tenacious D
Practice What You Preach/Testament
Return to Serenity/Testament
Electric Crown/Testament
Absolute/Thousand Foot Krutch
The Art Of Breaking/Thousand Foot Krutch
Hand Grenade/Thousand Foot Krutch
The Flame In All of Us/Thousand Foot Krutch
Favorite Disease/Thousand Foot Krutch
Inhuman/Thousand Foot Krutch
The Last Song/Thousand Foot Krutch
Phenomenon/Thousand Foot Krutch
Rawkfist/Thousand Foot Krutch
Black No. 1 [CLEAN]/Type O Negative
I Don't Wanna Be Me/Type O Negative
Unchained/Van Halen
Panama/Van Halen
I'll Wait/Van Halen
Runnin' With The Devil/Van Halen
Metro/The Vincent Black Shadow
Control/The Vincent Black Shadow
Bullet on the Tracks/The Vincent Black Shadow
Fear's in the Water/The Vincent Black Shadow
Letters to No One/The Vincent Black Shadow
All We Are/Warlock
Killing Machine/Wolfsbane
Man Hunt/Wolfsbane

So keep in mind, if you have ideas for bands that would fit in the list, lemme know! sunnyside887@gmail.com is the email for the show.

If you happen to read this and don't want to email me, call 373-3790 during regular show hours. I'm always live, so I'd love to hear recommendations then. I was thinking that the next show I'd stress some of this.

One last thing, there are about 8 Months left for the show. Then I have to move along on my way.

That's all for now, folks.

Yay for slim chances!

2007-12-20T04:46:37Z

39%

Looking for payday loan?

Shame of Radio

2007-12-09T01:37:05Z

I read a story about some "shock jocks" making fun of a waitress they had seen that had been badly burned as a child.
HERE

This is why I hate morning DJs.
They tend to be childish losers who think nothing of what they are doing.
Scum.

Distractions

2007-12-08T19:14:47Z

Just a quick entry.
I was looking through my notes for my Religion 121 course (eastern religion) and found a note I had jotted down:

Youtube - Prickles & Goo

It was a video our instructor told us about. It's a little paper-style work done by Matt Stone and Trey Parker over the audio of Alan Watts talking about 2 kinds of people in the world. Now, I'm not a huge south park fan, but I like to watch it now-and-then. This is a cool thing, really. I also watched another one on Music and Life. Check'em.

Prickles & Goo

Music & Life

Motley Crue/Iron Maiden

2007-11-29T22:52:48Z

For My MUS 124 Class, I'm doing final paper comparing and contrasting metal legends Motley Crue and Iron Maiden. It is kind of interesting, since the two handled themselves in completely different ways, and both formed around the same time period. Also, both were formed by Bass Players that could write songs.

I can listen to both bands, but when it comes down to it, Maiden Rocks, Crue Eats Socks.
Anyways, back to writing.

Desert Bus for Hope

2007-11-25T02:27:52Z

Today, I found something very strange posted at Penny Arcade.

It was a link to http://desertbus.org

The idea is this: These folks (LoadingReadyRun.com) are going to play a game called "Desert Bus" that came with Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors, on Sega CD. If you've never heard of it, that's because it was never released. I guess a magazine or two may have done a "preview" of it though. There is more information at the site. The minigame involves driving a bus from Tuscon, Arizona to Las Vegas, in real time. No pauses, no breaks, at 45 mph. That is an 8 hour trip. 8 Hours of monotonous, bus-driving gameplay.

Now, you say, "But can't they just leave the game alone and let it do its thing?"

Nope.
The Bus drifts slightly to the right, so you have to stay there and keep the bus on the road, otherwise you get towed back to Tuscon... still in real time.

Okay, so people are playing a boring game. Big deal. Right?
No, there is more. They are playing this for Child's Play, the Charity set up by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the guys who do PA. The charity is for video games and movies for children who are sick in the hospital. As long as there are donations, the 4 drivers keep taking shifts.

Seriously, go to the site, check it out. I think this is a cool idea. They have live webcam feeds of the game and the player, as well as some other information that I'm to lazy to re-type.

Steetlight Manifesto: Somewhere in the Between

2007-11-16T00:21:01Z

Eleni (Our Station Manager) asked if I'd like to listen to this album to see if there was any of it that would be good for our station. I had never heard of Streetlight Manifesto. She told me it was ska, and that their previous albums had been good. I haven't heard good ska in awhile, so I thought I would give it a try.

This is one fun CD, I have to say.

The opening track, We Will Fall Togehter, had me hooked the second I heard it. The horns have this calypso-like fanfare that sounded super familiar, as if I had heard the song before, but very alien at the same time. The Vocals have an old-punk gritty scream to them, but don't go over the top like so many bands do nowadays.

Really, what sold me on Somewhere in the Between was the third and fifth songs, Would You Be Impressed? and Watch it Crash, respectively. Catchy lyrics, amazing drumming and rhythm, and those horns again. What Streetlight Manifesto really impresses me with is their horn section. I'm a mild ska fan, and have a couple CDs by Reel Big Fish and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, but their horns don't quite have this type of grab to them. It's almost as if the reggae roots of ska have mixed with some new Latin American influences, and it really adds something new. It has a dance feel to it, jazzy and march-like at the same time.

I'm going to check out some more Streetlight Manifesto when I have the time.

My Apologies if this seems watered down compared to my review of Venus Doom. I'm not familiar with this band, so it is hard to review how they have developed or compare with other albums. Also, remember, I'm a mild ska fan, so I'd feel out of place going extensively into this. Oh, and I have to type a lot these days. Enough excuses.

Oh, by the way, Sunnyside won't be airing this Saturday (the 17th) due to the fact 88.7 is airing a (basketball?) game. I might not air on Thanksgiving weekend either, we'll see. I should have time, but I have a lot of Essays to be writing, and Schoolwork comes first. If all goes well, I should still have time do one. We'll see. I just thought I would mention it if any of my listeners just happen to check this blog ever.

I never thought...

2007-11-03T05:14:43Z

I just received news that the younger brother of a friend from highschool died in a car crash today.
It's a bit surreal.
My father has been singing with this kid's dad since I was young.
He was a senior in high school.
I grew up with his brother.

It's just bizzare.
I don't know what to feel, really.

Rest in Peace Ethan.
I'll play something on Sunnyside for you Tomorrow.

-LM

My Car

2007-10-26T06:25:21Z

It broke down today.
I guess it's mooching rides and using buses now.

The Onion

2007-10-18T22:38:57Z

Various Deities Still Sorting Through Victims Of Tragic Queens Bus Accident

I think it's funny. If you get offended, you probably need to lighten up a bit.

Yay for WPCD Engineering Staff

2007-10-13T16:53:18Z

Well, Yesterday was I day I thought was far away.

Our Engineer and his assistant installed a set of auxiliary inputs on the Board System. On today's show, I'm going to experiment with using my computer as a input to the system, making life easier on this DJ. (Heck, if I wanted, I could just let the thing play itself, but I always like to hand-pick my songs.)

In related news, I'm working on the new playlist. I've carefully picked out all the "indie" stuff that I used to play, though it'll still be featured (albeit lightly) up till the 27th. Some slower songs are disappearing too, as well as some "classic rock". The reason for that is there's a fellow who runs a Bar-Jukebox-Rock style show after me now, and I don't want us to end up playing the same stuff as eachother. I'll still play some (especially if you request it), but I'm going to have a primary focus on Metal/Heavier Alternative, much to the dismay of my Mother.

I will certainly miss playing Uncle Tupelo, The Format, and a few others though. I'm trying to get our station manager to add Tupelo to the list. No luck so far. I think it's because we're trying to get a younger demographic, and they don't want to listen about how " There was a time / you could put it out of your mind / leave it all behind / there was a time / that time is gone". Y'know. About growing up.

Look forward to a post update roundabout the 27th. That'll be the new playlist. Right now, it's 253 songs, but I want more. A lot of those a repeated artists, with different songs.

Edit: I want to show of the Halloween Flyer that I've hardly posted anywhere.

The hand was originally this nice rich green. It was made more pale to be optimized for the Web. Hmph.

A Quick Word on Our Educational System

2007-10-09T15:26:21Z

Today, we had a lab in Astronomy 101. It was about spectral emissions (how hot gasses emit certain bands of light, so we can determine a star's composition by matching the lines, etc).

A girl was trying to leach answers from me. I hate it when people do this.
Keep in mind, I'm far from a genius.

"...Is the sun a gas, then?"

..yes, it's a pretty hot ball of gas.

"...is it dense then?"

At his point, I just asked if she had ever learned anything about the sun. I was nice enough to cover the sound of my spite with the amusement I was not feeling.

In all seriousness, we just spent Monday learning about the formation of the solar system, about how a nebula with motion condenses down into a swirling disk, etc etc. About how the sun is a giant ball of hydrogen and helium fusing together. About how the sun is a huge, dense, !*&$@#% ball of gas.

I think I've been drilled about this fact since about 3rd grade.

Words escape me on this.
All I know is that something is seriously wrong with our educational system.
Or maybe how much value we put on it.

A Change of Seasons (About Sunnyside)

2007-10-04T04:25:46Z

Soooo,
I've been doing some thinking.

I get a lot more response to the show when I do heavier stuff.
Regular Listeners may notice that the show has been getting heavier and heavier lately. Especially true of the last hour of the show. I try and open light, and it always drifts heavier. I guess that is what people want?

It's hard for me to tell. I'm on a crossroads of what to do with the show. People want to know what they are going to hear when they tune in, and Sunny Side of the Street is just, well, unpredictable. I like to showcase all sorts of different stuff... but I just don't know if I'm going the right route with that anymore.

The Last show I did sucked, too, 'cause I've been feeling sick over the past week. Hopefully I'll get over it soon.

The problem I'm finding is trying to mix everything together in a single two-hour period. Ben Kweller and Slayer just don't fit together. Personally, I like to hear a wide variety, to keep it mixed up. But I can't keep this up, things are getting... too diverse.

Anyways, It's going to boil down to one of a few possible choices:

1) Drop the 'lighter' or 'indie' material from the show completely. This means no more Ben Kweller, Uncle Tupelo, etc. It would become a Rock-and-harder show. I'd keep things like The Gone Jackals, Franz Ferdinand, etc, for variety. But Mellow Material would become a rarity on the show.

2) Splitting the Program Half-and-Half. In other words, starting with my indie/alternative and working up to grunge, punk, metal, etc in the second hour. I like this idea, because it lets me play Uncle Tupelo, who I've had a few request for before in the show.

3) Only Playing Hatebreed, Slayer, etc, by Request only. Frankly, I pretty much do this already. Hardcore just ain't my thing. But If it's yours, feel free to ask for more.

I guess that what it comes down to.
I'm really split on this, but we're doing a survey on the WPCD MySpace to see what our Listeners want more of. I'm going to use information from that, and any emails/comments I get to help me figure this out.

By the way, you know you don't need to be a member of LJ to comment, right? You can always email me too.
Email: Sunnyside887@gmail.com

Album Review: Venus Doom by HIM

2007-09-19T17:44:29Z

I bought it yesterday, and I never listen to an album until I can hear the whole thing end-to-end.
So, I just finished it. Let's Get Started.

I'm going to discuss the different aspects of the album as a whole, and forget using number systems. I can't really put numbers on this kind of thing.

First: Lyrics.

This album wasn't a big departure for Valo's lyrical styling. I didn't expect it to be. So, if you like the typical heartbroken, gloomy, death-is-love-is-suffering songs, then you will like it. I was hoping that this album might make a slight change of course, but once again, didn't expect it. The lyrics are well written, and just as darkly poetic as I'd expect. But It's not much of anything new. I liked Face of God from Dark Light and The Sacrament and Circle of Fear from Love Metal because they had a more positive message. (Circle of Fear talked about saving yourself before you could save others, The Sacrament speaks of love as a good thing, same for Face of God, but maybe that's just my opinion.) the song 'Venus Doom' does have some more positive aspects, so it might grow on me still.

I suppose H.I.M. has a certain niche sound. I'd like to see them explore that niche some more, though I doubt it could happen without angering fans. But Screw Fans, this is art. Just look at Gundam Seed (I'm not even a gundam fan, and I can tell it is bad) to see what happens when fanboys control the material.

Moving On, Music/Vocals:

Just as Catchy as Ever. I've always liked Linde and Migé on the Guitar/Bass. There is this real growl to the guitar/bass combo that gives a real sense of depth. Also, it makes me think of some kind of terrifying giant horsefly of death coming to tear you apart. Possibly a stone horsefly. But I digress. Also, Gas doesn't disappoint on the drums. HIM has always had excellent drums, with varied beats textures, with every part of the kit used in good taste. That really helps your sound. Listen to Reign in Blood by Slayer to hear what a mediocre set of beats will do; each song sounds similar because the same 'speed beat' is used whenever they need to play faster. Burton adds spook on keyboards, providing a range of backgrounds for everything else.

Oh, and the song 'Song or Suicide' is acoustic. It's just a little number, hardly over a minute, though. I thought that was a really good touch.

So, to sum the instruments: very catchy, a progression from the previous album, but not all that new at the same time. If you liked Dark Light then you will like Venus Doom.

Vocally, Valo is deeper and richer. I don't think I have heard him sing so low before, at least not this much. It suits the lyrics and the album well.

Overall and Random Thoughts:

Once again, not a huge departure from typical HIM, but it is done gracefully. This album doesn't have as many catches lyrically for me as Dark Light did, but at least the title song is on par or better than the other songs on the album. (This was not the case with Dark Light, where the title song was the only song I didn't like on the whole album.)

Venus Doom, The Kiss of Dawn, and Cyanide Sun are all worth Radio Play. I might play Song or Suicide, but the shortness makes it tricky to decide.

Speaking of Song or Suicide, it really was a good touch on this album. It is placed right after some of the darker songs of the album, and makes a good transition. It almost feels like a Concept Album, a story of a lover as he falls in love, only to find lust and brokeness. At the end, resolve. Maybe I'm looking too much into it.

Love in Cold Blood, Passion's Killing Floor, and Sleepwalking Past Hope all give me the creeps, and not in the good way. That's a third of the songs on this album.

The Cover art of Venus Doom is creepy. It stares at you like a broken heart, mouth half parted, eyes weak and half closed. Having been through a horrendously rough breakup in my past, it gives me an idea of what I must have looked like.

Sooooo...
It's a good album, but it doesn't feel like much of anything new to me. I hope the next(?) album will carry some new lyrical content, because I was a little disappointed in this album. I know Valo has it in him, i just want to see it. I've seen these guys live, and he has quite a swagger of charisma. While it might hurt their popularity, I would say to abandon the Hot Topic crowd and explore what they can really do with their lineup. I wouldn't say that I'm all that satisfied with Venus Doom, but I'm not crushed with disappointment either. I guess it's average, and that was a little less than I expected, though it isn't a bad thing on its own. Granted, I'm not in the stage of my life where I can really find association with a lot of the lyrics anymore. The niche is a limited area, and as long as you stick inside of the niche, your creativity begins to stagnate, and your material becomes repetitive. I like HIM, but I want to see something more developed than this, because I can only listen to this for so long.

An afterthought:
If you are just getting into HIM, this would be an excellent addition to your collection. It's not a bad record by any means, I just was hoping for something else. Plus, my irritable mood on that particular day didn't help with reviewing it.

What Do You Have To Say? - Music: My First Favorite Band

2007-09-11T14:14:02Z

What was the first band you became a fan of?

View other answers

Jefferson Airplane. My Mom bought be a CD of theirs from dollar general in 8th grade. It was the second CD I ever owned (the first was a Bosstones CD my brother bought me, but I only *liked* it before I lost it.) At first, I only liked one track off of the CD... then it grew on me. To this day, I still don't know what 3 of the songs on that CD were. I still have them on my computer, but after reading the track titles they have listed, and then listening to the original CDs, I know these aren't the right songs. The thing is, I can't find these things on lyric searches or anything. I guess it might always be a mystery for me. Oh, and the original CD was stolen after somebody stole my CD wallet in high school.

A few years later, I discovered Iron Maiden.
But that is another story.

Oops.

2007-09-09T19:07:19Z

Okay, so there was no show this last week.
I can explain.

If anybody was tuned in to 'Goin Underground' (hosted by MythoX) just before me, you would've heard the station suddenly go off-air. For some reason, the rain knocked us out. We got static on the feed in the station, and a short while later, our transmitter signal flatlined... no power readings of any kind. And all the little lights on it went spastic. One of our engineers called in, and said the 2 other stations we share our tower with were off too.

I was there for all of this since I came in early to work on a Promo for the Halloween "Hairy Scary Weekend" Show I've been planning. I stayed till around 4:30, when I went to check the Signal and we were back on air. I talked with MythoX some more, since he had stayed to work on adding new songs to the main automation. I decided I was tired (Getting Cold&Wet will do that to you) and went home, deciding I'd rather not do a shorter show with half-assed energy.

The Good News is that next week is already planned out for once. New Stuff Includes:

A National Acrobat by Black Sabbath
You Could have it so Much Better by Franz Ferdinand
Rip out the Wings of a Butterfly by HIM
Learning to See by Van Halen
With a Wonder and A Wild Desire by Flogging Molly
Dancing For No One by Hello Stranger
Fighting in a Sack by The Shins
Tonight I'm gonna Rock you Tonight by Spinal Tap
To Find a Friend by Tom Petty
Raining Blood by Slayer

A National Acrobat was recommended to me by a Call-In. I bought the CD (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath) a day or two ago, and I have to say I really enjoyed the whole thing. I've grown up mostly hearing stuff off of the 'Paranoid' Album, and Sabbath really has some better stuff out there.
As For Slayer.... I don't like Slayer. Their lyrics are hard to hear, and usually just as over-the-top as their performance. I like harmony and melody... Slayer is just... percussive in all sounds. However, I can't play *only* the music that I like on the show. (Though I tend to). Somebody called in a request for Slayer, and I didn't have any at the time. So: I picked some up for 2 reasons. #1- When doing a Halloween Show all about Metal, You need to at least include Slayer. Yeah, it's thrash metal, which is often gut-wrenching, but it IS metal, after all. #2- I like to make callers happy. But I'm not buying any more thrash albums any time soon.

Somewhere, I apparently Became a 'Metal' show. I guess I like metal a lot, but I try and play other stuff too. I mean.. Hello Stranger, Tom Petty, and The Shins are far from Metal. It really changes from week to week I suppose.

Oh, and one last thing: HIM is releasing a new album, 'Venus Doom'. It comes out on the 18th, and I'll be sure to be playing some of it during that weekend's show.

Songs I've been Playing

2007-09-03T18:14:51Z

Ok, add this to songs that I play.
This is the new weekly content I've been throwing in for awhile now. Somtimes I lose track of what I have already played on the show, so some of this might overlap with previous updates. But Yeah. Here we go:

Damaged/Armored Saint
All I Want/Toad the Wet Sprocket
Fight Fire With Fire/Kansas
Low/R.E.M.
Somebody To Love/Jefferson Airplane
Soul On Fire/Danzig
Thunderbird/Quiet Riot
Walk Away/The Blackouts
The Wall/Kansas
Damaged/Queensrÿche
All I Want/The Offspring
Fight Fire With Fire/Metallica
Hey You/Scorpions
Low/Foo Fighters
Somebody to Love/Queen
Soul On Fire/H.I.M.
Thunderbird/They Might Be Giants
Weeping Willow/The Verve
Looking For a Way Out/Uncle Tupelo
(Don't Fear) The Reaper/Blue Oyster Cult
Join The Club/Reel Big Fish
My selene/Sonata Arctica
Come Sail Away/Styx
Bitter Pill/Mötley Crüe
Dig Up Her Bones/Misfits
Rascal King/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
It's Just Me/Blue October
18th Floor Balcony/Blue October
Pink Fuzz Blues/The Blackouts
She Doesn't Get It (Acoustic)/The Format
With a Wonder and a Wild Desire/Flogging Molly
Kill Devil Hill/Bruce Dickinson
Dream On/Aerosmith
Walk This Way/Aerosmith
Back In The Saddle/Aerosmith
Elected/Alice Cooper
Unfinished Sweet/Alice Cooper
Help!/The Beatles
Let It Be/The Beatles
Yesterday/The Beatles
Walk on Me/Ben Kweller
On My Way/Ben Kweller
Falling/Ben Kweller
In Other Words/Ben Kweller
Piano Man/Billy Joel
Gotta Go Somewhere Else/The Blackouts
X Amount Of Words/Blue October
Sound Of Pulling Heaven Down/Blue October
Hired Gun/Bride
Road To Hell/Bruce Dickinson
Magical Mystery Tour/Cheap Trick
Heartbreak Station/Cinderella
Every Little Thing/Dishwalla
Soundtrack to Life/Drawing A Blank
Decontrol/Drist
Arterial Black/Drist
The Final Countdown/Europe
Say What You Will/Fastway
Kamikaze/Five Iron Frenzy
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt. 1/The Flaming Lips
Do You Realize??/The Flaming Lips
The Worst Day Since Yesterday/Flogging Molly
All My Life/Foo Fighters
Times Like These/Foo Fighters
This Boy/Franz Ferdinand
Breathe/Freak Kitchen
Get Outta Town/The Gone Jackals
Welcome To The Jungle/Guns N' Roses
Live And Let Die/Guns N' Roses
Yesterdays/Guns N' Roses
Ain't It Fun/Guns N' Roses
Magic Man/Heart
Ghost Of The Navigator/Iron Maiden
Dance Of Death/Iron Maiden
Volunteers/Jefferson Airplane
A Song for All Seasons/Jefferson Airplane
Caroline/Jefferson Starship
Aqualung/Jethro Tull
Jump Start/Jethro Tull
Stone Free/Jimi Hendrix
Carry On Wayward Son/Kansas
Dust In The Wind/Kansas
Hold On/Kansas
Mr. Brightside/The Killers
Smile Like You Mean It/The Killers
Immigrant Song/Led Zeppelin
Trampled Underfoot/Led Zeppelin
Wanderlust/Megadeth
A Tout Le Monde/Megadeth
I Thought I Knew It All/Megadeth
Enter Sandman/Metallica
Fade To Black/Metallica
Break so Easily/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Nevermind Me/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
It can't hurt/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Teenagers From Mars/Misfits
Enslaved/Mötley Crüe
Dr. Feelgood/Mötley Crüe
Gonna Find You/Operation Ivy
Yellin' In My Ear/Operation Ivy
Healthy Body/Operation Ivy
Zombie Stomp/Ozzy Osbourne
Comfortably Numb/Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here/Pink Floyd
All Over the World/The Pixies
Debaser/The Pixies
Coldest of Calendars (Acoustic)/Punchline
We Will Rock You/Queen
We Are the Champions/Queen
Another One Bites the Dust/Queen
Killer Queen/Queen
You/Queensrÿche
Can't Get There From Here/R.E.M.
Country Feedback/R.E.M.
Since You've Been Gone/Rainbow
Maxwell Murder/Rancid
Time Bomb/Rancid
Listed M.I.A./Rancid
She's Automatic/Rancid
Old Friend/Rancid
Roll With The Changes/REO Speedwagon
Jumpin' Jack Flash/The Rolling Stones
Heavy Metal/Sammy Hagar
I Can't Explain/Scorpions
Mrs. Robinson/Simon & Garfunkel
He Was My Brother/Simon & Garfunkel
Leaves That Are Green/Simon & Garfunkel
The Sound of Silence/Simon & Garfunkel
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M./Simon & Garfunkel
The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Real Puppet/Sonata Arctica
Through Glass/Stone Sour
Trying Your Luck/The Strokes
Take It Or Leave It/The Strokes
What Ever Happened?/The Strokes
Suite Madame Blue/Styx
Rawkfist/Thousand Foot Krutch
I Need To Know/Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Refugee/Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Don't Do Me Like That/Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Free Fallin'/Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Hot For Teacher/Van Halen
Love Walks In/Van Halen
Unchained/Van Halen
Why Can't This Be Love/Van Halen
Colorful/Verve Pipe
The Freshman/Verve Pipe
Fear's in the Water/The Vincent Black Shadow
This Road is Going Nowhere/The Vincent Black Shadow
Get Free/The Vines
Winning Days/The Vines
Black Math/The White Stripes
Hypnotize/The White Stripes
Broken Bricks/The White Stripes
Happy Jack/Who
Magic Bus/Who
Man Hunt/Wolfsbane
Control/The Vincent Black Shadow
Desire/Ozzy Osbourne
Broke In Two/They Might Be Giants
Lets Face it/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Walk Don't Run (original)/Ventures
Heaved Away/Mackeel
Marching To Mars/Sammy Hagar
The Other Side of This Life/Jefferson Airplane
Thirteen/Danzig
If That's Alright/Uncle Tupelo
Jenny/Flight of The Conchords
You're The Reason I'm Leaving/Franz Ferdinand
Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine/The White Stripes
Life And Death/Blaze
No Tomorrow/The Blackouts
Carrot Juice is Murder/Arrogant Worms
Age Of Innocence/Iron Maiden
The Wizard Of Oz/Chapter 6
Running Free/Iron Maiden
41 Feet Tall/Alan Charing
Hollow Head/Blaze
The Art Of Breaking/Thousand Foot Krutch
Disconnected/Queensrÿche
My Apartment/Ben Kweller
Promise/Silent Hill 2
Alternative, Baby/Reel Big Fish
Fighting in a Sack/The Shins
Damaged/Armored Saint
All I Want/Toad the Wet Sprocket
Fight Fire With Fire/Kansas
Hey You/Pink Floyd
Low/R.E.M.
Somebody To Love/Jefferson Airplane
Soul On Fire/Danzig
Thunderbird/Quiet Riot
Walk Away/The Blackouts
The Wall/Kansas
Damaged/Queensrÿche
All I Want/The Offspring
Fight Fire With Fire/Metallica
Hey You/Scorpions
Low/Foo Fighters
Somebody to Love/Queen
Soul On Fire/H.I.M.
Thunderbird/They Might Be Giants
Walk Away/Franz Ferdinand
The Wall/Pink Floyd
Weeping Willow/The Verve
Looking For a Way Out/Uncle Tupelo
(Don't Fear) The Reaper/Blue Oyster Cult
Join The Club/Reel Big Fish
My selene/Sonata Arctica
Come Sail Away/Styx
Bitter Pill/Mötley Crüe
Dig Up Her Bones/Misfits
Rascal King/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
It's Just Me/Blue October
18th Floor Balcony/Blue October
Pink Fuzz Blues/The Blackouts
She Doesn't Get It (Acoustic)/The Format
With a Wonder and a Wild Desire/Flogging Molly
Kill Devil Hill/Bruce Dickinson
Control/The Vincent Black Shadow
Desire/Ozzy Osbourne
Broke In Two/They Might Be Giants
Lets Face it/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Walk Don't Run (original)/Ventures
Heaved Away/Mackeel
Do Anything You Want To/Thin Lizzy
Marching To Mars/Sammy Hagar
The Other Side of This Life/Jefferson Airplane
Outsiders/Franz Ferdinand
Thirteen/Danzig
If That's Alright/Uncle Tupelo
Jenny/Flight of The Conchords
You're The Reason I'm Leaving/Franz Ferdinand
Love Gone Bad/Cinderella
Dust Through a Fan/Bride
Letters to No One/The Vincent Black Shadow
Reptilia/The Strokes
Something In The World Today/Rancid
Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine/The White Stripes
Life And Death/Blaze
No Tomorrow/The Blackouts
Where'd you go/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Carrot Juice is Murder/Arrogant Worms
Age Of Innocence/Iron Maiden
Walk Away/Franz Ferdinand
Crosstown Traffic/Jimi Hendrix
No One is Around/Drawing A Blank
War Pigs/Black Sabbath
Take Me Away/Blue Oyster Cult
Sweet Tangerine/The Hush Sound
Have you Seen the Saucers?/Jefferson Airplane
Train of Consequences/Megadeth
He's back/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Sell Out/Reel Big Fish
The Grand Illusion/Styx
Pinball Wizard/Who
The Wizard Of Oz/Chapter 6
Curse of Love/The Pogues
All I Want/Queensrÿche
You Wreck Me/Tom Petty
The Light of a Fading Star/Flogging Molly
Running Free/Iron Maiden
41 Feet Tall/Alan Charing
Hollow Head/Blaze
The Art Of Breaking/Thousand Foot Krutch
Disconnected/Queensrÿche
The Zoo/Scorpions
My Apartment/Ben Kweller
Promise/Silent Hill 2
Alternative, Baby/Reel Big Fish
Fighting in a Sack/The Shins
FFF/Megadeth

Some of those even look unfamiliar to me. As in, "Oh, I have that on a CD?"
Anyways, Once I get that cable from my brother (He is in his busy season right now, he keeps forgetting to check with his boss to order it) Everything will get boiled down into one Huge list, and everything will be easygoing.

Photography Exhibit #1

2007-09-03T15:47:44Z

They've been building up, so here they are finally: Stuff I've taken pictures of.
If you have dialup/56k I suggest you wait before clicking, this is going to punch your modem.
For anybody interested, I do have the originals, at their original size and etc. Just email me at sunnyside887@gmail.com if you would like one.

The Original Wasn't so grainy looking. Hmph. But this is the WPCD Production Studio Keyboard.

Yay, butterflies. I caught this one on my Canoe Trip in Missouri this Summer.

This was a spring on the Current River. The water was ice cold, and super clear. The picture is actually inside of the cave. I loved how blue the water would look near the springs.

I love critters. This crawdad was getting a little miffed with my fiddling. Just out of the Picture: His claw gripping my cuticle.

This was an experiment. I kept the lens open, and the walked in front of the window. I'm a ghost now. If you have a really good eye, you can see the camera picked up some of my movement in front of the door.

Looking out from the overpass near my Apartment. I've always wanted to do cool traffic/streaks of light pictures like this.

This one is from a different overpass.

In Contrast, here is a grayscale (Black and white, as some call it) from the same spot. I was experimenting with my shutter settings while waiting for traffic to show up, and this streetlight was very useful. I like how desolate this one looks in comparison with the electric buzz on the other one.

They've put up a windfarm near my Parents' house. These things are very... surreal. I didn't think that something so big could move so hypnotically. They make a cool noise, too (Not pictured).

You knew the fish were coming. This is my male and his choice mate of the time. Sadly, the male has passed recently. He was my favorite fish. Those blue scales were iridescent, and just shimmered when he got near the light. I've seen the same thing in a few other tuxedo platys, but never as pronounced as his was. The females (I actually have two that are nearly identical) are pregnant again, so we'll see if may those genetics passed on. I haven't seen it yet, but there is always the rare chance.

Seahorse from a local pet shop. Cute thing. They blend in really well with the coral they wrap around, it can be hard to spot them.

Not a great picture, but I love this African Lace Cat. We had some where I work, but they were only an inch or so when we got them. Now, one has grown to a few inches, but nowhere near this big.

Well, that sums my pictures up. I guess I'm done for now. I'll try and squeeze in a playlist update later today.