Guitar, history, dissidence, food, music, alcohol and its consumption, folding paper, psychology, optimism, computers, air hockey, darts and pool. Other things, too.
Someone, anyone, who knows a joke that I haven't already heard. People who enjoy despicable puns and long, often pointless stories. The free spirits of the world. Creative thinkers, artisans, problem solvers, entertainers, and also girls with pink hair.
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Any bands, artists, emcees, producers, and musicians in Milwaukee, Madison, Twin Cities, or Chicago area. Milwaukee's got Talent? Oh, yes it does.
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Alright. At the moment, this band is amusing the hell out of me. Here they are being harassed by Ricky Roma. er- Al Pacino.
Oh, and here's the preview for my world premier movie.
I get killed by the monster.
My favorite local band is Test Pilot , and they should be yours, too...
Otherwise, mostly rock & pop. Break-beat, house, and assorted electronica. Really, a little of a lot... Jazz, Blues, Scratch, Metal, Surf, The Real Hip-Hop, Fusion, Motown (oh, especially Motown)... Here's a smattering of my favorites:
Harvey Danger, Tom Waits, Pink Floyd, Sam Cooke, Suzanne Vega, Nicole Atkins & The Sea , SquarePusher, SRV, Foo Fighters, Soul Coughing, negativland, Joe Satriani, Weezer, Poe, The Meat Puppets, Hot Chip, Minus The Bear , STP, Nirvana, The Who, Z-Trip, Lily Allen, Kula Shaker, Tom Petty, The Beastie Boys, The Beatles, David Bowie, PJ Harvey, Drive-By Truckers, Danny Gatton, My Morning Jacket, Dizzee Rascal, Eric Johnson, Stevie Wonder, The Raveonettes, Editors, Marvin Gaye, DJ Shadow, Dick Dale, Django Reinhardt, Lanterna , The Deftones, The Danglers, Blonde Redhead , KRS-One, Aimee Mann, Stereolab, The Offspring, Queensrÿche, The Tindersticks, Uzeda, Felix Da Housecat, Soundgarden, Sunny Day Real Estate, Frank Zappa, etc...
I like vocalists and songwriters a lot. All time favorite female & male vocalists are Dusty Springfield & Sam Cooke, respectively. I'd trade a dozen Fall Out Boys for one more Irving Berlin. I think Dave Matthews is this generation's Bob Dylan, and like ol' Bob, I hate hearing him perform most of his own music.
The best artist I've heard lately is Ktodik . Good n' Trance-y.
Also, go check out Tortured Soul . You won't be sorry.
I do like movies. Oh yes, I do like them a lot! If there's a heist, a twist, Jackie Chan or Jet Li, musings on the nature of humanity, Al Pacino, snappy dialogue, or a good car chase, I'll probably like it a good deal.
The Godfather, Amelie, Gatacca, Waking Life, The Usual Suspects, Heat, Magnolia, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Big Lebowski, Clerks et al, Office Space, Lost In Translation, Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), Fight Club, Wings of Honneamise, Falling Down, Bullitt, Lawrence of Arabia, Blade Runner, Shanghai Noon, Tron, Buffalo '66, The Machinist, Adaptation, Shaun of the Dead, Dirty Harry, Swingers, Wizards, Charade, Apocolypse Now, The Great Escape, Snatch & Lock Stock, Can't Hardly Wait, Macross Plus. Don Hertzfeld's short films, anything by Lynch or Kaufman or Jonze or Gilliam or Gondry or Wes Anderson or Jim Jarmusch or Christopher Nolan; the vast majority of Hitchcock, Jodorowsky, Ingmar Bergman, Studio Ghibli, and so on and so on.
I make it a point to watch The Crow every year on Halloween. "Try harder! Try again! Victims, aren't we all?"
The Prisoner, Adult Swim (DethKlok will make everything Metal). House M.D., The Simpsons seasons 3-8, The Sopranos, The Office, Newsradio, Mr. Show, Spaced, Home Movies (single funniest cartoon ever. EVER.), South Park, Jeopardy, Oz, Firefly, and Arrested Development. Probably more that don't come to my mind.
I think Jeopardy is the only one that really counts as TV, because you can watch the rest without commercials on dvd...
I also watch a fair amount of football. A rough couple of weeks. Um, ok... What kind of biarre nether-world have I fallen into when Green Bay loses to the Bucs & The Falcons?! Go Pack!!
Overall, non fiction is where it's at.
Noam Chomsky.
Books on history (anywhere, anytime, but especially late history Asia & Europe, and also dawn of time stuff). Books on psychology or the brain. Car & Driver. Fast Food Nation & Reefer Madness. Guitar Player. Books about computers. Biographies. The newspaper.
The most profound thing I have ever read is Julian Jaynes' The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind . Don't let the title throw you...
As far as fiction goes, Neal Stephenson, P. K. Dick, Arthur Miller, Paolo Coelho, Chuck Palahniuk, and Douglas Adams. Ender's Game. The Count of Monte Cristo. Riverworld. Winesburg, Ohio.
Curently reading The Business, by Ian Banks.
My Father. Noam. Berry Gordy, David Gilmour, Pete Townsend, Jackie Chan, Joe Satriani, Errol Flynn, and Tom "SquarePusher" Jenkinson.