Thoughts from the Bong

February 14, 2009 at 9:58 am · Filed under Sticky Icky Icky ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

Just a few things running through my head. Just a few fish swimming through the sea. Mostly about music, or more accurately, about being an aspiring musician. Having a dream that seems so out of reach and on such a high pedestal seems like pissing in the wind. But it’s for that reason alone that it is such a sweet and glorious dream.
And, more about the band: I told myself I wouldn’t pimp my band on this website… and I’m going to stick to that. It’s unimportant right now. Fact is, we’ve been playing together for about 3 years, give or take a little. I play bass most of the time, but we switch it up and I rock some guit or keys every now and then. The other member of the band plays guitar mostly, but is multi-talented and an excellent musician. That’s right: there are only 2 member in my band.

So you may ask: what the hell are you waiting for? Get more members of the band and start rocking. Well, the truth is that we’ve been jamming occasionally with a few different musicians. We’ll play with a drummer here, a singer there, a saxophonist… whatever. But they never seem to fit quite right. If we vibe musically, there’s a lack of commitment. If A, then B. It just never fits quite right.
So what’s the solution? How do we get great musicians to commit to our band? Feed back. We must find that balance… the harmony… and all will be well.
Thoughts from the Bong. Thank you very much.

Toke on.

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Umphrey’s McGee – Mantis

February 10, 2009 at 7:54 am · Filed under Album Reviews, Bands I Like ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Word"opress" needs to start letting me put my logo at the top of the page for free.

Word"opress" needs to start letting me put my logo at the top of the page for free.

Hello beloved readers. I have reestablished my post as the highest music critic on the planet. I am reviewing an album that I think is un-fucking believable: Umphrey’s McGee’s latest studio album, Mantis. Below is a YouTube video of a live playing of this album’s title track, Mantis.

A word about my history listening to the band. I heard about them a few years ago and didn’t really get into them that much. I actually went to an Umphrey’s show at Liberty Hall in Lawrence, KS in 2006. But, I got really wasted and missed a huge portion of the show. Then last year (or possibly even 2007… time flies when you’re baked all the time) my roommate bought Anchor Drops, a previous Umphrey’s studio album, and I thought it was amazing. I jammed it all the time. It was especially pleasant after a nice big bong toke to the brain.

Great fucking album.

Can't stop.

S0, after listening to Mantis about 10 time all the way through, I am giving it a 5-star rating. This is an amazing album, and there should be more music of the same quality floating around in the music industry, and fewer mass-produced no-talent pop-star bitches and “pop-punk” bands.

Everything about this album seems pleasant to my ears. The screaming guitar solos, the spacey keys, the vocal harmonies, the catchy melodies, the lyrics. The masterpiece of the album is the title track, Mantis. The epic 11-minute features everything from heavy metal guitar riffs to smooth reggae. The first line of the song (“We believe there’s something worth dying for”) has been stuck in my head for days. It is an absolutely brilliant song… I wish I had written it.

So there it is. A 5-star rating. A great album. Do what you have to do… go to your local record store, go online and buy it… but just get it and have a listen.

Toke on, planet Earth. Peace be with you.

-420man

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Every bong has its day.

December 17, 2008 at 8:30 am · Filed under Sticky Icky Icky ·Tagged , , , , ,

And this one's day is done.

And this one's day is done.

Good morning everybody. Firstly, to Downstemmy and all of Zong’s family, from my family to yours, our deepest sympathies and condolences. I think this memorial should be a joyful one, and not mournful one. We, after all, have to keep in mind who we are here to celebrate, and what he would have preferred. I hope somebody will speak today of the specifics of what Zong achieved as a smoking device, but all I can do today is talk directly to my friend, my mate, Zongy.

Your passing has suspended reality for all of us. It was way too soon, and completely unfair on all accounts. I know as humble as you always were, that you would still be pleased to know that the world sends its love and that people all over this planet have been grieving. We’ve all lost a friend, we’ve lost a champion, and we’re gonna take some time adjust to that.

I’m in New York, mate – the big city – and you have been headline news on 420man’s website for a couple minutes. There are not many smoking devices who would command that attention, mate. And all that means is that you got your message across. You got the word out there. And you were heard. And you will be remembered.

–Russell Crowe

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Incubus – A Crow Left Of The Murder

December 15, 2008 at 4:05 am · Filed under Album Reviews, Bands I Like, Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

Still resorting to putting my logo at the top of each post because WordPress free version won't let me put it at the top of the page.

Still resorting to putting my logo at the top of each post because WordPress free version won't let me put it at the top of the page.

Yes, I realize that Incubus’s A Crow Left of the Murder came out in 2004. According to my calculations, this album was made more than 4 years ago. This album was long awaited by me and the rest of the Incubus fanbase… being the band’s first studio album since the stellar Morning View.

However, uber-funky-awesome-cool bassist Dirk Lance was replaced by Ben Kenney… and ACLOTM would be Kenney’s first album with the band. Being that Dirk Lance is one of the greatest bass players in the universe, and Ben Kenney is… well, no Dirk Lance…. I was quite disappointed with the change in lineup. So… the results?

Great fucking album.

Great fucking album.

One of the greatest albums of this era in music. The songs were smooth, deep, and invoke many cool feelings. Guitarist Mike Einzinger really stepped up his game and kicked out some extremely nasty (in a good way) guitar riffs and solos, cementing his way in my heart as one of my favorite guitarists.

Ben Kenney blended in nicely and played extremely sound bass parts. Brandon Boyd sounded good as always, and wrote great lyrics… and Jose was brilliant on the drums. It truly was synergy… the sum was greater than the value of the individual parts. It is one of those albums that you can listen to over and over again, start to finish.

The songs were sporadic and one can never know what to expect… except more tight jams. The album is a non-stop rollercoaster. This is one of the classic albums of our era. If you haven’t heard it…. go buy it.

The coveted 420man 5-star album at its finest.

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Now you can wear it home!

December 15, 2008 at 1:59 am · Filed under Merchandise ·Tagged , , , , , ,

Click this sweet image to buy 420man stuff.

Click this sweet image to buy 420man stuff.

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Thrice – Live at the House of Blues

December 11, 2008 at 10:38 am · Filed under Album Reviews, Bands I Dislike ·Tagged , ,

God damn free WordPress won't let me put my logo on the actual top of the page. Piece of shit.

God damn free WordPress won't let me put my logo on the actual top of the page. Piece of shit.

I’ll admit that I’m not too familiar with Thrice’s work. They’re one of those bands that you’ve heard the name of hundreds of times, but couldn’t name a single song… at least for me anyways. So, as I was looking through a list of recently released albums, I saw this live album from Thrice… and me being especially critical of bands that put out live albums… I decided to review it. Here goes nothing.

(Brief pause for the loadage and tokeage of my sweet glass bong… and also the listening to the rest of this album.)

Not good.

Not good.

thriceGoing into this album, I expected Thrice to sound like a lot of the other “alternative rock” bands that are thriving in our radios. I base this expectation on the other music that my good buddy Sam (who I’m pretty sure owns a Thrice CD or two) listens to, which is mostly alternative rock bands from the 2000-present era, and mostly crap, in my professional opinion.

And, if I may digress for a moment, most of these bands that compose the alternative rock genre of the 2000-present era share similar characteristics. They’re generic. They all sound the same. They use lots of simple powerchords on the guitar and have a guy whining or screaming on the microphone, singing simply and lifeless melodies. Furthermore, their guitars are distorted to an extreme, which (poorly) covers up for the fact that their musicianship skills are greatly lacking for people who call themselves professionals and make wads of cash from their fanbase of 14-year-olds and other people that are slaves to FM radio.

Anyways, back to Thrice. After hearing a few songs… the band and album was not TOO bad and not TOO generic. They are listenable in some situations. BUT, by no means would I ever buy this album or anything Thrice puts out from here on out.

They are an average band, who seem to have hit it big during a sad chapter in music history where this crap is being mass produced… but, there were a couple highlights to this album. Come All You Weary isn’t bad, but it’s nothing spectacularly great either. It’s a pretty decent song.

But for every decent song, there was one that I couldn’t wait for to be over. Such as Red Sky, Silhouette, and especially, Hold Fast Hope.
Some advice for the band: Get a better guitarist, or maybe add another guitarist… one that can play a good melody and some cool lead fills. And learn to not sound like every other crap new Alt Rock band out there when you sing.

Toke on.

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New Site. Working hard.

December 11, 2008 at 8:48 am · Filed under Bands I Like ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I will be working hard on writing some album reviews. I don’t know where to start… except for loading up my bong with these dank ass green sticky buds, and popping in some cd’s. For now, you can check out the following list of some bands I like.

NOTE: If your favorite band is not on there, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like them. It just means that I didn’t think of them.

The List (In No Specific Order):

  • 311
  • Incubus
  • Umphrey’s McGee
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • Moe.
  • Dispatch
  • State Radio
  • Bob Marley & The Wailers
  • The Police
  • The Eagles
  • Allman Brothers
  • Cream
  • Blind Faith
  • Eric Clapton’s Other Stuff
  • Traffic
  • 10 Years After
  • Bob Dylan
  • Peter Tosh
  • Tool
  • A Perfect Circle
  • Puscifer
  • Fishbone
  • Reel Big Fish
  • Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  • UB40
  • Bootsy Collins
  • George Clinton
  • Larry Graham & Graham Central Station
  • Andy McKee
  • Antoine Dufour
  • Don Ross
  • Mason Williams
  • Edgar Cruz
  • Time Lapse Consortium
  • Soulive
  • Phish
  • Grateful Dead
  • Janis Joplin
  • Jimi Hendrix
  • The Beatles
  • The Rolling Stones
  • The Flaming Lips
  • Slightly Stoopid
  • Robert Randolph & The Family Band
  • Pepper
  • Victor Wooten
  • Sublime
  • Long Beach Dub All Stars
  • Pink Floyd
  • Led Zeppelin
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd
  • Lou Reed

Alright. That’s the short list. That’s all I want to think of right now. Do me a favor and load a fat bowl and chief it up like a mad scientist.

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