Is It So Wrong...To Crave Recognition...

Well, I guess the Cock Party musings can begin now that Bloc Party frontman Kele Okerke has come out of the proverbial 'closet' (what do they keep in there anyway?)...hopefully this admission doesn't overshadow the fact that his band have released a more than adequate sophomore album, A Weekend In The City. Below is the first single off the record, which has the band striving to bit a bit more accessible (not to be confused with selling out)...in my opinion, this record is not as strong as the first, if only for the fact that Silent Alarm was a complete slap in the face with respect to novelty...no band was writing like that at the time. It becomes harder to re-invent yourself with each passing album, and Bloc Party have done an excellent job at doing just that. For those who miss the old sound, just wait until you hear the last two minutes of 'Uniform', another track off the new disc...it will knock you on your ass.

Bloc Party - The Prayer

Since we're on the topic of bands who've had to re-invent themselves on subsequent albums, here is a track that will likely feature on Radiohead's new disc, due out later this year. This song is haunting, not to mention absolutely gorgeous (or as gorgeous as a song about death can be). I can't wait for it to get the full band treatment...and any band who finds a way to drop the name Mephistopheles into a song has to be considered genius in some capacity...

Thom Yorke - Videotape

The last track of the day is a rocker, pure and simple. One of the reasons I love music is for the small moments in songs that capture your attention. This track has one of those moments at around the 1:25 mark (halfway through the song)...i love crisp, clean guitar notes and the way the two guitars intermesh at this juncture in the song is sonic bliss to my ears...

Birdmonster - Cause You Can

Changing gears a little, here's one of my favourite move quotes ever from Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting:

Why Shouldn't I Work For The NSA

Other stuff:

1. How good are green olives?! This question is rhetorical, insofar as they are effin brilliant. The make any sandwich taste better, save for nutella and peanut butter, which is obviously in a class of its own if you have ever had the pleasure of tasting these two spreads together...

2. How stoked am I that I am finally going to see my man-crush in person? This too, my friends, is a rhetorical question. David Beckham signed with the LA Galaxy today, and I have the good fortune of having season tickets for Toronto FC this summer...i cannot wait to see the man strike a ball in person...

3. If you want to laugh, be sure to tune into Telelatino this Saturday to watch the first NHL game broadcast in Italian...I'll be at the game (poor me), although I'll definitely be watching with bemusement in the private box...a hockey game....in Italian!! Now that's funny...if not an oxymoron of sorts...