AWmusic

As far as expectations go, I think the only expectation was that it had to be funny and anything extra was a bonus. I guess I guage how funny a movie is with the type of laughter I usually give off. In the case of movies if it’s able to get me laughing like a girl…it has done its job. I will say that some jokes were way too silly that it got unnecessary though the racial jokes and debunking of stereotypes was definitely a highlight. The storyline was a bit cheesy and the jokes make the movie worthwhile. One character also had me annoyed and being overthetop stupid (forget his name but he’s the guy in the trailer making the North Korea + Al Quaeda joke). However the movie knew how to be cute/romantic yet funny at the same time so it wasn’t all drug-filled silliness.

Overall, you got what you paid for which was lots of laughs and stupid storyline or not, it had its moments. 4 out of 5.

As for the soundtrack, it wasn’t too bad with the song that stuck out the most was Mickey Avalon’s My Dick as it played after the “bottomless” party. I think the soundtrack was alright, the hip-hop tied well into the movie the only thing I hated was the use of Boyz II Men It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye. I just didn’t think it tied into the movie and the movie doesn’t need serious “sad” moments.

Anyway here’s my playlist for the movie:
(for you Googlers, the actual soundtrack list can be found here)

1. My Dick by Mickey Avalon
2. Amsterdam by Peter, Bjorn and John
3. I Gotta Run by Everybody Else
4. It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career by Belle & Sebastian
5. Stupid and Shallow by The Futureheads
6. A Better Son/Daughter by Rilo Kiley
7. Kissing In The Grass by Of Montreal
8. Because I Got High by Afroman
9. Banking On A Myth by Andrew Bird
10. Southern Comfort by Arrah and The Ferns
11. Vanished by Crystal Castles
12. Stoned Again by The Evangelicals
13. People You Meet by Bishop Allen

I could explain the meaning of each song if you don’t get why I put them in, just leave a comment and I’ll gladly respond.

Okay here’s are my goals for Allan’s World Music in 2008:

1. Find at least one more writer (definitely from Toronto) who tastes are a little bit different but still indie. I’ve been asking some friends and I will continue to do so but I may find an “outsider”. If you’re interested feel free to contact me .
Another Step Away by A Place To Bury Strangers

2. Build Up Traffic and Readership. I guess you could say I’m pretty satisfied with the traffic levels and subscribed readers. I think my new short term goal for subscribers would be trying to get it up to the 100 mark. Traffic wise I’ve seen 4 straight days (up until today) of great levels where we were close or above the 1000 mark. That has me totally stoked. Granted the traffic was from being lucky (Hype Machine didn’t update leaving some of my posts for prolonged periods on the first page), from lists (like this one) and doing a post on panda bear .
More Than This by Division Day

3. Start conducting interviews. Whether by e-mail/in person I think I would say I’m pretty shy about doing interviews. I’ve had a few opportunities to do some but reluctantly passed because I feel like I would make a complete idiot out of myself. I’ve been chatting with some friends about interviewing and having what ideas to talk through.
Questions by Jack Johnson

4. See more concerts. If I at least beat 5 (Arcade Fire, White Stripes, Muse, IllScarlett, The Stills) I would be happy. I did get to turn 19 in July so the amount of concerts I was able to go to opened up. Though admittedly I never saw any concerts before ’07. I probably could’ve seen a lot more shows provided I had more friends who liked the same things. This year I want to see a lot more smaller bands (easy on the pockets) and just go to more venues that I haven’t been to before. I regret not seeing Rilo Kiley and Vampire Weekend. School fucking sucks since the concerts I always want to see fall on a test date it seems. I also want to volunteer at NXNE. I’d probably recommend all writers do so as I want to really establish a really good Toronto blog despite the title name.
If We Cannot See by The Devics

5. Invest in a good camera. If you’ve seen some of the shots I’ve taken at concerts, it’s a sub par quality due to the camera. With only 300 bucks to invest (on cds + upgrading the server) as long as the site is a drag financially, the camera is being put on the backburner. Granted if money does come in, I will definitely get a good one to get some great pics.
Click Click Click Click by Bishop Allen

6. Upgrade the servers (and WordPress too). I am going to hate upgrading the server. It will probably come out directly out of my pockets unless we somehow can make some money. Space usage is close to 40% and this month (5 gigs isn’t a lot but w/e) we will probably have 80% of our bandwidth used (250 gb bandwidth!). I hate the WordPress upgrades, a lot of people haven’t recommended it to me but it’s usually for security purposes. I guess this might be something I do today. But either way I hate doing all the work when these things may be way over my head (I’m still a noob, I just wing it when it comes to coding and all these things).
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by Daft Punk

7. Get into better ad programs. You may not like the ads I’ve thrown onto the site but they are here to stay for obvious financial reasons. I do however don’t like a lot of the ads being displayed as it doesn’t sell on my site. I did try to apply to Indieclick but they probably want a more trafficketed site but who knows. I doubt many care about it as it’s really about the content but money is becoming a concern and I don’t want to sell out this blog like I did to my sports blog ($4000 is quite successful though).
Cash Cow by We Are Scientists

8. Have this blog alive and running so I can do the same list for 2009! Have a good new year everyone!
Staying Alive by The Bee Gees

We all make mistakes but it’s really about admitting them!

Albums I was too nice on:

Hot Hot Heat – Happiness Ltd.
Original Rating: 4 out of 5
I must say I am not proud at all with giving this score…granted Happiness Ltd. was a decent album but it definitely wasn’t trash like some people are saying. I think I started getting tougher on albums right after looking at this album. Hot Hot Heat’s Happiness Ltd. does have a more mainstream sound and when I go back on the album it does give off a “meh” feeling despite how poppy it is. This album would probably get a 3 out of 5 from me. I liked it more then “Elevator” and there were some tracks I dug despite giving off that “emo” feeling. An average effort but in the end as I’ve moved on from liking HHH.
Harmonicas and Tambourines by Hot Hot Heat

Shout Out Louds – Our Ill Wills
Original Rating: 4.5 out of 5
The 4.5 out of 5 ranking doesn’t match what I wrote and still feel when I wrote the review for “Our Ill Wills”. I felt this album produced a lot of hits but as an album it didn’t quite gel together. It was a great progression from “Howl Howl Gaff Gaff” but I believe it deserves to be around a 4 out of 5. The first half of this album is amazing though. I think when I gave this score, I was a little bit biased as the Shout Out Louds are one of my favorite bands… Am I nitpicking at my own ranking here? Maybe but a 4 and 4.5 makes a huge difference from the very good to cream of the crop.
Blue Headlights by Shout Out Louds
Suit Yourself by the Shout Out Louds

Eisley – Combinations
Original Rating: 5 out of 5
A 5 out of 5 review would probably guarantee this album in my top 20 albums of ’07 (if not my top 10) but I think this album just missed and that I was too high when reviewing “Combinations”. When preparing for this post, I went back to the album to get a better idea of what the score should be. I was reminded how good this album actually is despite the “blah” reviews. It’s not quite 5 material but I think it deserves a 4.5 out of 5 for being very good. Also while looking up the hot Eisley girls I found out Sherri Dupree’s marriage to New Found Glory’s guitarist Chad Gilbert has seemed to have ended. Not that I really care but Eisley fans might be interested.
Ten Cent Blues by Eisley
Taking Control by Eisley

Albums I was too harsh on:
Beirut – Flying Club Cup
Original Rating: 3.25 out of 5
3.25 out of 5 isn’t that bad of a score. Most albums I review will probably receive 3s but I must say I never gave this album a chance. I do recall songs being a bit too complex for me and I’d wish for songs to be a lot more simpler. I never really tried to get into this album even if from the outset I knew it would take some effort. I MAY do a re-review if someone requests but I just think I couldn’t really justify the 3.25.
Nantes by Beirut

New Pornographers – Challengers
Original Rating: 3 out of 5
Challengers was overall a fun album to listen to. I think the problem when I reviewed the album is that I fixated on the “filler” moments of the album and there were some great tracks that I will make my top 30 songs of this year. The album should’ve gotten a 4 out of 5 from me and I probably was in an upset mood or something for giving a poor score.
Myriad Harbour by The New Pornographers
Mutiny, I Promise You by The New Pornographers

Bishop Allen – The Broken String
Original Rating: 2 out of 5
Like, reviewing Beirut’s album I really didn’t give this album much time. Most of this album were remastered songs from the 12 EP project that they released for every month of the year. Corazon was arguably my favorite song by them and there were a handful of tracks that I dug stylistically. I think they went away from that for “The Broken String”. No fault of their own but I could’ve been less-biased and tried to use less of my own likings of some songs rather then complaining how they did this and that.
Corazon (original) by Bishop Allen

Battles – Mirrored
Original Rating: 1.5 out of 5
I can’t really defend myself here. I gave out a harsh review because the album didn’t fit into my style at all and it gave me constant headaches. Listening to Battles’ “Mirrored” was a mistake at the time I would say because I was not ready for their style of music. It still gives me a headache but I don’t think I should’ve written a review at all but I think I could look at it again to see how my views has changed. I’m thinking about doing a re-review but I need some motivation as I’ve got a bunch of stuff to cover.
Ddiamondd by Battles

From those songs, I really enjoyed some of the songs by Bishop Allen including Corazon and Tea for Two.

The album “The Broken String” was released on July 24th. I’ve had a chance to listen to a bit and I’ve ultimately been disappointed.

The songs just don’t fit the style and while the 12 EP project was exciting with tons of different material…the sound displays on “The Broken String” ultimately turned me off.

I didn’t like the production of some of the songs as the original Corazon was produced different albeit with the same vocals. I couldn’t find a defining song in the album that would help me open up my ears to hearing the rest of the song. The album version of Corazon is decent, however it just isn’t as great of a hit to me.

I want to upload both Corazon versions to contrast how I feel but I don’t think it’s necessary. I’ll just upload my favorite song on “The Broken String” (Click, Click, Click, Click)

For the album, I unfortunately have to give it a 2 out of 5 because it is ultimately ending up in my trash folder.

Click, Click, Click, Click.mp3