Endangered Species: American Idol.

*Cue the American Idol music* And in comes the lovable and at the same time pathetic Ryan Seacrest. He looks at the crowd, at the countless of wide-opened eyes staring at him; their sassy expressions mixed with a look of agony. He then says, "This will be the last American Idol show; no more. Ya basta, ya basta." Undoubtedly the crowd is silent, they are lost; most of them think this statement was just a joke. "No, seriously people...it's over." The world will end for these people. So American Idol reached yet again its sad conclusion, and like always not all of the teenyboppers are rejoicing their favorite Idol won. Some take it well, "oh well, he's a winner in my book." Others don't take it so good, though: "What?! Lost to that piece of S%*$?" Yeah, a lot of people are sad after watching the finale. But do other people really care who wins? I don't really think so.

Are the American Idols really musicians? Not at all. They're robots with nice voices, that sing safe songs about typical things like love, hate, relationships, boys/girls, breakups, unfairness, and so on... But that's really it. They can sing, sure I'll give them that, but there is no bone in their body that reads, "musician". They're all programmed by big-business men that, above all, care only about their capital. They don't care if the musician wants to write their own songs, or that they have a vision. The man in charge placed you in that situation, you better follow orders...Kris Allen, or else you're back where you began: nowhere.

Don't trouble yourselves thinking about the winners of American Idol, the preposterous show that has everyone glued to their seats. They all get their, "15 minutes of fame" and then they burn out, and sink into depression; one of them might get more minutes of fame, the only downside is that they will probably be dead. Shows like these only inspire people (like me) to say negative things about it. This show has nothing good to offer. "Bikini Girl" yeah good one...Fox. That was weird, as if we didn't know that Bikini girl wasn't a spontaneous appearance. The only thing that has me watching A.I is the auditions. Those people with the horrendous voices thinking they're gonna be somebody are good to laugh at. People have no shame, what a shame.

Will this be the last American Idol? Nope. Will this be the last time I write about it? Nope. Will next year bring a "true" musician to the show? Get real, my dear fried. American Idol will be back someday, with more pathetic stories of tragic losses just to get far into competition; with more Bikini girls, maybe this time she'll wear a more revealing piece, and have a nice body. The next show will come along with the usual package: pretentious singers that only satisfy teen girls, singers with no real purpose that desperately seek fame, and that have no shame.

If you want to be a famous musician work at it, don't take shortcuts like American Idol. Try to write real music and talk about something important; be bold, be different. And I don't mean black nails, eyeliner different (that's even more feeble). I mean be a different person, with new ideas, and make tons of fucking mistakes.

One last thing. This show is called American Idol, so why is a British man judging the contestants??

Guantanamo will remain open....what a surprise.

In a shocking fashion Obama's wishes to close down the concentration camp that a lot of people like to call a "prison" were crushed. With a monstrous defeat of 90-6 loss, Obama will try again next month, and just like this time he will fail. Guantanamo Bay isn't closing, dream on, dream on. A lot of people benefit from it staying open, and for those that think it remains open to keep the terrorists away from us you're implausibly demented. Guantanamo Bay has been open for many years, and a lot of important people that "supposedly" are terrorists are kept locked up there. While time passes by not one attempt to escape or rescue has been heard about, right? No Al-Qaeda vanguard has braved the task of breaking into the "prison" to retrieve valuable warriors. Is it because they don't care about their companions, or because they can't break in and take them home? And now my beloved American citizens fear that bringing the detainees to our land will put us in danger; from what? Al-Qaeda?

That's the reason why this concentration camp remains open: fear. Fear leads people to commit stupid acts. It doesn't allow the formation of better judgment. While the U.S fights the armies, or factions of evil, they torture and build camps to keep their prisoners; something, I would think, that the "enemy" does as well. So are we any better? Is torture okay to use on enemies?

Terminator: Salvation

I read many reviews about the new Terminator film: Terminator: Salvation. So far I've read more bad reviews than good. My favorite critic, the preeminent Roger Ebert, gave it two stars out of four. I wasn't expecting this, I really wasn't. I watched the trailers so many times and they all looked amazing. Sure, the shots of robots and all the fighting going on look great, but I have read that the rest of what a good movie is made of is missing: a story. We know that John Connor comes out and that he's fighting Skynet. But from what I've read it looks like the plot is very thin or nonexistent.

Is it that these critics don't like action flicks, or popcorn flicks? Nope, I do not think so. Am I making any conclusions about the film? Not yet, only when I see it, and see it I will. It looks very entertaining; the more the explosions, the better! Still I'll be looking for what the critics have said and ponder in the darkness, while my friends smile at the sight of terminators wasting ammo like it was a game, and at the war that is all around.

21st Century Breakdown...what's left of the album.

Not much is epic about Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown, perhaps the title is the only thing that adds the notion of "epic-ness" (there is no such word as epic-ness). Nevertheless, the album had two good songs that had me smiling, even if that smile was quickly blighted by the rest of the album. "Last Night on Earth" was the best song in the entire album, without a doubt that song was great! It has a lot going for it: A great piano melody; guitars that sound "epic" and that sound terrific; Armstrong's voice sounds perfect for this type of song; and last, the entire song feels like something John Lennon would be proud of. It has that special Beatles feeling to it. Slow but threatening, and ominous but romantic. It's a perfect love song, some can say. The other song in the album I enjoyed listening to was, "Peacemaker". It had a nice feeling to it; very uplifting and rude. I especially liked the Spanish-style-like guitars, the ey ey ey ey, and the "Vendetta, sweet vendetta." The first thought that came to my mind as I heard the guitar to stop for the solo was, "sounds like Sublime..." But it didn't break into a Sublime solo, it was still okay.

That is all there is to this hysteric album, over-hyped, and ultimately a let-down. Although no one is going to admit this album didn't deliver because, well it isn't fun to say it's bad. Still, I'm glad a few reviews gave a great explanation on why the album didn't work. It took a long time to release and it ended up sounding like a rushed record. 95% of the tracks were dull or banal. Not to mention Armstrong's annoying "hey"(s). Overall the album failed to deliver; it had a pretty title but it was all that: a title. 21st Century Breakdown is a letdown, now let's move on to another one, Green Day.

Last Night on Earth by Green Day

I found it! I found it! What I wanted to find: a good song. It just happens that this song isn't full of inflated attacks at the U.S or none of that stuff, that wasn't working for Green Day. It's just a tender song of love, or so the lyrics read. The melody is tough and sweet, and really well made. It has an uncanny resemblance to John Lennon's style, which is great...kudos, Billy, Tre and Mike. It's not a song worth for what so far has been a cheap album. The music is what really drives this song, and the lyrics are all right, I guess. So far this is the track that lights up. It has such a captivating sound, with the sustained chords that echo in the distance, giving it such a Lennon-ish feeling to it. John could be singing this song just because it rocks!
This is what the album should be full of: songs that don't worry about the meaning of the words, but just about the effect the music has on the fans.

Christian's Inferno by Green Day

Anytime you have a chorus that begins with the word: whoa; it's going to sound very bad. And that is the problem with Green Day's "Christian's Inferno". The song is a "rocker" you know, loud guitars, a lot of bass and the uncontrollable drums beating until your ears burn! I did enjoy the small drum pattern at the very beginning, but that's it. The riff is one of those bone-headed loud, obnoxious-sounding things you bust out in a comical jam with friends. Billy doesn't sing much, he just speaks the lyrics, which again lack any juice. And the chorus is horrendous, to put it in nice words. It doesn't work to have such a silly word like "whoa" begin your chorus. There are tons of other words one can use, such as: Hey, Wait, etc. There is a solo, a Green Day solo that is, which sounds nice-I must admit.
Anyway, this album is starting to feel like a complete miscalculation. It's crappy and to be harsh, it sounds too much like what everyone is putting out these days.

Before the Lobotomy by Green Day

This is another song off their new record, "21st Century Breakdown". The song starts off with a guitar melody a la "Wake me up when September Ends". And Billy begins to sing in a batted-down style, as if he's tied or the words he's saying pain him. After a few bars of the uninspiring singing, and silly words, the nice melody ends and in comes the over-driven guitar,the bass and the pounding drum beat! Armstrong sings in a better manner but the words are still pitiful. It continues for a few more bars of the same banality, and he sings about refugees and the brutality of reality, which in my opinion is quite visible: this song is good to fall asleep. There is nothing wrong with this song it's just boring. I don't have any excruciating critique, just that this song is lame, lame, lame. It's lame because it's repetitive, the riff is to sleep to, the lyrics are senseless, even if they say they mean something, to me they sound like another attempt to sound like they mean to say something, and I say that a lot because in this album it's quite apparent.

Know your Enemy by Green Day, by Green Day

This is not Know your Enemy by "Rage against the Machine", no way. This is a simple song about "sticking it to the man". The music is fast paced and unchained (really?). The lyrics are just the title, "do you know your enemy/do you know the enemy/well you gotta know the enemy." This is an unoriginal song, with an unoriginal message; come on! How many high school rock bands could have written these songs as they took the bong hit while listening to "American Idiot"? They're plain, they're not good. The title is appealing, it gives off a commanding feeling, like "oh man this song must be full of reality." Sadly it isn't, it's just a song trying to sell the album, good for you Green Day, give us some more of the same.
"So gimme gimme revolution."? No, I don't think so, not with this boring song, at least.
Where's the Bombtrack??

21st Century Breakdown the song

"21st Century Breakdown" the song begins with a piano copied right off "The Who's Baba O'Riley and then it hits that point BAM! The distorted guitar along with the rock ensemble pop up! Billy begins to sing something about Nixon and blah blah blah, the song enters the domain of mainstream rock. Some of the lyrics are very bad placed and Armstrong's voice doesn't help it at all. I couldn't help to remember the anthem-songs of the 80's as I heard the riff to the song, almost as if the hair bands were tutoring the band.
It's a bad song for many reasons: The riff is too cliched, it sounds like something out of the 80's. The lyrics are boring with a few known names like "Nixon" "Homeland Security". It's a poor attempt to make it sound like you're actually want to express disgust for the government; instead it sounds like you're trying hard to shock.
I hate to say it, the first song of the album is not good, it's disappointing, so much was said about Green Day's latest album, I felt betrayed listening to some rehashed riff.
Oh yeah...fuck the Rolling Stone review, those idiots don't know shit.

The politics of Green Day

Let's get one thing off, I hate the concept of a "Rock-Opera", it's lame and ever since The Beatles pulled it off (Sgt. Pepper and the Lonely Heart Club Band) no one else has managed to do so. And even the Beatles' record wasn't a rock opera, it was just an album with songs that mixed with each other. "American Idiot" Green Day's revival, that's what a lot of people said. Out of the entire mess that the album was only one song was good, in my opinion, that was "Wake me up when September Ends". And that's it, the rest songs were trash, musically and lyrically. And now they're about to release "21st Century Breakdown" the followup to "Idiot", please give us a break, Green Day. The best thing for the boys to do is go back to their quasi-punkish roots and blast out a 2 minute song with no solo, and make a funny video and watch the money roll right on! I liked when Green Day didn't think it was up to them to rouse the masses to fight the power, their old stuff was better. This new stuff with "political" messages, of course, if you can even call that politically charged,is lame. Green Day is best suited to do what it was created to do: snappy pop-punk songs that don't top 3:30 minutes, and don't have a seven minute video.

So This new album deals with two persons (Christian and Gloria) as they try to live in a fucked up world. It is divided into three acts: "Heroes and Cons" "Charlatans and Saints" and " Horseshoes and Handgrenades" but if you tell me these three acts are exactly alike. The Heroes are the Saints, the Horseshoes are the Heroes and the Saints, and the Cons are the Charlatans, and the Handgrenades are the Cons and Charlatans, but hey it's their damn title. Most of the reviews have been positive, but were we expecting anything less than 3 stars or a B+ grade? Nope, I knew no one would grade it truthfully. I'll just have to wait to get the album and review it.
But as of now I think this album will be the same as "American Idiot" bad and bloated, really bloated.

K-ON!

K-ON! is a very "cute" anime about an all-girl band. Yui is the guitar player, Mio plays the bass, Ritsu plays the drums, and Tsumugi plays the...keyboard. It's a basic girly anime, but I like it just because it's about music. We don't get a lot of those; other than "Beck" and everyone's favorite, "Detroit Metal City".
I saw the preview for K-ON! a while ago and decided to watch it. The first episode was good, just a few of the girls annoyed me, but it's all good. The first episode begins the story, we learn about Yui (the main character), it's her first year of high school and she has a boring life. She has never done much, or nothing fun, so she decides to change and join a group. She decides to join the "light music club" in hopes that it will be fun-but easy. She can't play an instrument, but its the light music club, right? Yes, the only thing she's been seen playing so far in her life is the castanets (she does have a boring life, after all). She, by chance, meets two girls (Mio, and Ritsu) that want to revive the light music club, since it's being disbanded; no members. Yui reads one of the fliers that Ritsu posted about the light music club and decides to join-thinking it's going to be easy. She meets the other 3 girls in the club. Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi-she joined after hearing Ritsu's elaborate lie about her dream, and her wish to play at the Budokan. Yui realizes that the light music club is actually a rock band, and since she can only play the castanets, she thinks maybe this isn't for her. But little by little, and with the help of Tsumugi's exquisite food, Yui is convinced to stay. She will buy a guitar and learn to play.
The second episode is all about the band trying to get enough money to buy Yui a decent guitar. And unfortunately for the band, Yui falls in love with a Gibson Les Paul. With Yui's money it isn't enough, so they get jobs. With the job money it still isn't enough. Yui decides to get a cheaper guitar, but then Tsumugi manages to get the price lowered, how? By bribing the sales clerk. The sales clerk realizes that Tsumugi is the daughter of the store owner, so he quickly agrees.
Episode 3 is a boring episode, a bit of a let down, really. It's exam times and Yui forgets to study, instead she studies guitar chords. And of course Yui fails, and her chances of playing in the light music club is threatened (ummm...why did I see that coming). Yui get's help from the other girls and finally gets a good grade. She then shows them the chords she learned, but she forgot them all.
I've yet to watch the other two, but so far it's a good anime. Not the best, not the greatest characters, not the greatest story, but a solid entertaining anime with good voice acting.