WAEA Being Remastered & Re-Released

I just received an e-mail from Ben Folds.com about the new album. The best part, however, was this:

We are remastering Whatever And Ever Amen and adding 7 lost classic bonus tracks...out March 22!!
Stay tuned for more details on all!

This is some of the greatest new I have received so far this year. Remember "Brick"? This is that band that performed that song! That song really overshadowed this highly underrated album. This is one of my all-time favorite albums...EVER. The best part of the e-mail was the part about the bonus tracks. I hope I haven't heard them before. That would be awesome. We'll have to wait for the detail. It feels good to be a gangsta.

New Music to Abound In Spring, Summer

This year will be a great year for music. Well, for me, anyway. I am eagerly awaiting Ben Folds' new album, Songs for Silverman, due out April 26th. His new single, "Landed" (click to listen) is worth a listen or two. One of my favorite bands, Guster will be releasing their new album sometime this summer. They've been posting semi-daily updates of their album's creation progress in their studio journal. As always, it's an entertaining read. I think even the Barenaked Ladies will be releasing something new this year as well.

I haven't been impressed with a lot of the stuff that has been released recently. I've been listening to new bands in order to expand and broaden my musical tastes. I recently picked up Snow Patrol's album, Final Straw, because I had heard how great it was. It didn't live up to the hype. Some of the songs ("Run," "Spitting Games") are amazing. Most of the other songs on the disc sound like filler songs. I was let down.

I also began listening to The Postal Service and The Shins. Both are amazing. These guys make real pop music. Not the kind that Britney makes. I will warn you about The Shins, though. You might not like their music at first. They will grow on you. I'm glad Sub Pop realizes this and has some of their songs available to download. Check out The Shins' "So Says I" and "Kissing the Lipless" from their album Chutes Too Narrow. Also, download The Postal Services' "Such Great Heights" and "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" from Give Up. If the links don't work, go HERE for THE SHINS and HERE for THE POSTAL SERVICE.

Mr. Moore Gets Shut Out

Due to the amount of rants I posted earlier this year about Michael Moore, I guess I should go ahead and mention that Fahrenheit 9/11 was shut out of the Oscar race. I think has was trying to prove something by not submitting it for best doumentary and submitting it for best picture. I guess he didn't think that so many great movies would be released this past year. I don't feel sorry for him. I guess this just comes to show that what is popular isn't necessarily any good. If you ask me, I think the Academy learned their lesson with Titanic.

Mormons On the March...

I just found out a few days ago that Brandon Flowers, the lead singer for the rock band The Killers ("Somebody Told Me," "Mr. Brightside"), was a Mormon (this is true). That was probably the craziest thing that I'd heard in a while since I heard Jewel was raised as a Mormon until 8 years of age (also true. It was on Pop-Up Video)!

First there was The Osmonds. Then there was Ken Jennings (Jeopordy!). Then came Napoleon Dynamite. Now there's Brandon Flowers. That should be enough proof for any conspiracy theorist that the world is almost ours!

Dr. Tobias Funke Gets Spiritual

Whether he was seriously reading it or not, this little piece, as reported by USA Today, only confirms why I think Arrested Development is the greatest television show ever:

• David Cross from Arrested Development wore pearls with his tuxedo and carried the Book of Mormon. He joked, "These award shows can get kind of boring, so I brought something to read." (Link)

I bought season one on DVD just before Christmas and I have watched season one several times since then. The show just doesn't get old.

Also, please help me with my latest cause: Free Annyong!