the listenerd

optimized for maximum incontinence

Tag: don’t stop believin’

Links for 2.1.09: Journey’s Pineda, Norm Coleman and The Big Fix…

*The Economy: The economy is fucked. Here’s a long NYT magazine article on “The Big Fix,” Obama’s options in reforging America’s institutions.

*Journey: Arnel Pineda, Journey’s new lead singer, rocked the faces of America’s corporate elite at the Super Bowl pre-game. According to reliable sources. Well, sources.

*Mixes: The Daily Swarm interview’s Justin Ouliette on the new Muxtape – “If you’re a band, Muxtape will be the place to do all these things as a complete alternate to MySpace. Or if nothing else, as an alternative to having a web geek in your band.” Sorry, web geeks.

*Football: You can rate Super Bowl commercials at Thummit. (Re-watch them here, too.) [somewhat frank]

*Writing: Remembering John Updike at the New Yorker. I never knew him.

*Twitter: How Twitter Was Born.

*Local: Norm Coleman vs. Rod Blagojevich. Wow. “I can’t think of a good reason why Rod Blagojevich has become the most hated man in America while Norm Coleman still walks the streets with his head held high.” [minnpost]

Miscellaneous year-end listenerd bullshit: 2008

Hello, it is the end of the year, and for an unknown reason you are reading the listenerd. Welcome.

First, I would like to warn you that this will be painfully boring. Because it will not be about Fergie peeing her pants. Or anyone else peeing his or her pants. Unless I pee my pants in the very, very near future. What it will instead be about is anything falling under the broad category of “Miscellaneous year-end listenerd bullshit: 2008.”

Second: business time. Many thanks to the fine readers who have come here and read things over the past year. Even to those who have come searching for pornographic materials. Sorry. Thanks also to those who have commented, sent e-mails, twittered, etc. Regards.

Thanks also to the fine bloggers who link here, e-mail interesting tidbits or angry words, make “social media connections” through various inanely named, platform-specific means (poking, nudging) or slap me directly across the face in person. Particular propers for general 2008 awesomeness go to: Startling Moniker, ControlRoom, Blisslist, Urlesque, Switchblade Comb, Idolator, The Daily Swarm and Spin City, and several others that I have doubtless omitted.

Stats: Please note that I am not a multinational corporation, nor am I Web 2.0 platform that is harnessing the power of crowds, nor do I have a payroll for this endeavor. Instead, I am a single human being, blogging with a singularity of purpose that is known only to one person in the universe. (My job is to find that person, and to kill him.)

Despite these facts, the ‘nerd is now up to 1,657 posts, almost half of them mediocre.

The top five posts for the year, in order NOT of stupidity, but rather in order of pageviews:
1) Censored nude dance party.
2) Famous people who Twitter.
3) Arnel Pineda’s Embassy Aid Speaks.
4) The Believin’ has not stopped.
5) Lil’ Nutzzak’s “(You Make Me So) Hard”.

An analysis of which goes to show you:

1) I am an idiot.
2) Why am I doing this again?
3) People like sex.
4) People like new Journey frontman Arnel Pineda.
5) People like following famous people (who are, as a rule, TERRIBLE twitterers) on Twitter.

The three most clicked-upon links for the year were…

1) Henry Rollins’ purported Twitter account. (Now dead.)
2) Diablo Cody’s purported Twitter account.
3) Snoop Dogg’s Twitter account.
Side note: Why did Snoop Dogg purchase an umbrella?
Answer: Fo Drizzle.

Finally, I offer you my personal favorite items posted on this blog this year. They have nothing to do with anything, except what I happen to like right now. Please note: I have had a Surly Furious, a glass of wine and a Legacy Chocolates truffle. All within the last 15 minutes. Also, I am bald.

1) Recommendations and anti-recommendations.
2) The Oh, Fuck It Edition.
3) Flying Wang Attacks Kasparov.
4) Mashup review: Girl Talk’s “Feed the Animals”.

Thank you – sincerely – once again for your patronage this year (if applicable), and (once again) regards forever.

josh

Links for 11.11.08: Journey rules, “Chinese” reviewed, Live Nation sells…

*Journey: Power ballad “Don’t Stop Believin’” is DOMINATING digital music. The Journey song is the biggest seller on iTunes. And though the Guardian says the band “has Tony Soprano to thank for it,” bloggers who watch their incoming traffic know the band has Arnel Pineda to thank for much of their online success. And that is a FACT. [licensing plate]

*MP3s: Live Nation will sell MP3s from Sony Music, Universal Music Group and EMI. [listening post]

*Concerts: One Radiohead concert filmed with 12 cameras. [largehearted boy]

*Neologisms: Thumbnail goggles – “Effect whereby a person seems more attractive in a thumbnail than in a much larger image or in person.” OK, so this is what I’m going for.

*Reviews: Says Rolling Stone of Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy,” it “is a great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock record.” [fimoculous]

*Things people hate: The SlotMusic player costs only $20 and stores 1GB of music. If they start selling/giving away music-filled SD cards at McDonald’s, it could work.

*Backlash: Fuck Norris Facts. “Chuck Norris does not sleep. He passes out after two wine coolers.” [mefi]

*Blogging: Has Kanye West been stealing other people’s blog posts? And is he stealing from the people who have been stealing his music? Because that would give me a headache.

*Morphing: If Wu-Tang members were NBA players. Link comes complete with WICKED MORPHING FACES.

*Trips: It turns out, I am going to CES this year for the day job. Pray for my health, please. And my sanity. But mostly my health.

Links for 6.12.08: NASA’s tunes, Lily Allen’s despair, Disney’s big music $$$…

*Music sales are down in general, at Walt Disney Records, though, music revenues are up 40%. Thanks, Hannah! [ypulse]

*The USB Mix Tape puts a flash memory stick into an old-school cassette-like case. For all your adolescent wooing needs. In additional USB retro-tech news: Behold the USB-powered vinyl-to-CD phonograph. Nice. [neatorama]

*The NASA crew is listening to Calexico these days. [listening post]

*Watch: shaky video from last night’s Minneapolis Kanye West show. First: He addresses a heckler. Second: He does “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Kanye is no Arnel Pineda. [nah right + the office]

*You may have asked yourself what a Beatles tag cloud looks like. [duke listens]

*Lily Allen is a human being: “If I’m honest, it’s probably because part of it is true these days I am more known for being a train wreck than a musician, and it does hurt.” Now I’m sad again, everyone.

*Off topic: Twitter anonymously with SecretTweet. I want to do this on a daily basis. [via spincity]

*You will notice that I did not mention Metallica. Goodbye.

Video: Arnel Pineda sings “Don’t Stop Believin’”

Following up on that GQ article I referenced yesterday: New Journey lead singer Arnel Pineda sings “Don’t Stop Believin’” with his previous band, The Zoo. Mr. Pineda is from the Philippines.

Also, the article uses the term “cucumber-smuggler jeans.” OK, I’m done with this Journey thing.

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