Very Old Barton

I'll cut this right to the chase:  Very Old Barton 100 proof bottled in bond bourbon.  I paid 15 dollars and change for a fifth - including taxes.  How does it taste?  Good.  Closest analogue?  Old Fitzgerald.  No strong rye kick like Old Grand-Dad, and an almost almondy nutty undertone.  Definitely a buy.

Unrelated tangent:  This song was in my head all week.



boy is that a terrible video!

Also this would be a good song if Dave didn't put so much crap production into the song.  I now understand the pain of Android users with their "bloatwear". I hate to sound like grandpa creapo always drinking whiskey and yellin' "stripped down and raw" because that might give you nightmares about what I do to your grandma but holy hell Dave Mustaine is like some guy that buys those goddamn Thomas Kinkade plates.




Dave Mustaine's musical tastes in the form of a plate.

Wait what was I talking about?  Oh yeah, simpler isn't always better but when it comes to producing Megadeth then yes.

Full disclosure, I actually bought a copy of The System Has Failed, the first Megadeth album I bought since Hidden Treasures.  Man wasn't Go to Hell an awesome song?

Whiskey propaganda films

The good folks at the Cooley whiskey distillery in Ireland have made a nice little film about their business.  Who they are, what they make, and whatnot.  Not bad at all.



Not to be outdone, the fellows over at the Midleton distillery in Ireland created their own film about who they are and what they do in regards to their Pot Still whiskey.  Single Pot Still is a new website, and unfortunately they won't let you embed their videos, but it really is worth your time to go see the 40 minute whiskey propaganda film.  Has the like of this ever been done before?

Newsflash: Lou Reed has always sucked

I don't want to comment on Lou Reed's newest terrible collaboration.  That it sucks is not disputed.  After all, it is Lou Reed.  He is a one hit wonder that people respect but for no reason.

Lou Reed sucks exhibit A:



Exhibit B:



I rest my case, because I can't stand to listen to anymore. That someone can have a 40 year career based on one song is rather amazing. What a country.

Old people are stupid

Old people say stupid things relentlessly.  The one thing they remember from their youth is that someone sold them rocks, and like idiots they bought it.


So the only advice that old people find worth passing on is "you gotta find that one thing, like Pet Rocks, that will sell. And then you'll make a million dollars."  At least Beanie Babies had room in your investment portfolio.

Bad luck headphones

I have bad luck with headphones.  Sometimes it is my own damn fault, like falling to sleep listening to music.  I roll over, rip out the headphones, and they eventually break.  Sometimes it is bad luck.  I lost 2 pairs in the last year.  I have no idea how.  So I usually look for cheap pairs, since I know they won't last long.  My last pair were JLab JBuds.  You can get the old style ones for 10 bucks on Amazon, which is a decent deal for solid headphones.  I'm trying a different brand since my last pair broke today.  I ordered some Samsungs.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Also, before you snark about first world problems my shoes also wore out the heels today.

Before the Internet: like a ghost

Before the internet things had a way of disappearing like a ghost.  For example, I remember hearing a band called Varga on the radio.  They had a video on MTV and it was on an episode of Beavis and Butthead.  Then, a few years later, they disappeared without a trace.  Nothing in music stores, not even the bargain bin.  It was like they never existed.  I wasn't a huge fan or anything, so it didn't bother me greatly.  But it did seem weird that a band could come so close to heavy metal success and then disappear like a ghost.



All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.
 

Retooling the Godmachine

My favorite app, Stanza, is dead. The nearest replacement, Bluefire, is a hassle to load. Currently my commute reading is the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Good times.

Brandy Review: Alfonso I, Tres Cepas, Captain Apple Jack

Three new mystery brandies were sampled recently.  In order of price they were:

Alfonso I - A brandy de jerez, this clocked in around ten bucks.  A bit harsh around the edges but mellowed a bit in ice.  The flavor is consistent with Jerez brandies, and taste wise not bad.  Buy.

Tres Cepas - Around fifteen bucks, also a brandy de Jerez.  Less bite than the Alfonso.  Also a buy, but only nominally so.

Captain Apple Jack - This is a bottled in bond apple brandy.  The same stuff as Laird's apple brandy, but marketed for Virginia.  The label features an androgynous looking pirate.  I call it "Pat".  On closeout sale for 20 bucks.  Harsh around the edges, not as strong of an apple flavor as I recall from the Laird's.  Good for mixing but a bit too pricey for a mixing brandy, even at closeout prices.  Pass.

So there you go.

It would be good without the synths

Someone on the webernets called Italy's Fleshgod Apocalypse "death metal Dimmu Borgir", and boy howdy is that ever apt.

The bassist does "clean" or "operatic" singing, just like Vortex.

What's with the makeup?  Did they just get out of the coal mine?  Or were they busy working on rebuilding the transmission on their Camero?

So yeah they play really tight but I hate the crappy synths they poured over their riffs.  And if I don't like it, you know it sucks because I am usually a sucker for that kind of classic inspired crap.  It is like some stupid youtube "mashup".  Like someone in their basement took someone else's death metal song and sat their with a Korg and layered this crap on top of it for shits and giggles.

Also I'm wondering if the name means something really cool in Italian.  Because in English it sounds kinda dumb.