Bandwidth Abuse: Jeff Bridges

I downloaded the sophomore, self-titled album from the Dude, er Jeff Bridges, because I am a fan of his acting. I am not, however, a fan of his music. I didn’t even know he put out an album in 2000 prior to writing this post (Be Here Soon can be found on Amazon). This album isn’t bad because it’s a country album, either, it’s bad because it is a bland, formulaic snoozer of an album that is immediately forgettable.

Bridges won an Academy Award for his roll as Otis “Bad” Blake in 2009′s Crazy Heart, and sang several of the songs on that film’s soundtrack. And his voice isn’t particularly bad here, it is just bereft of any emotion. Not that Bridges is monotone, he just isn’t believable singing his own songs (he wrote or co-wrote four of the ten tracks). And if a singer, especially an actor-as-singer, isn’t believable then the audience won’t buy in and enjoy the music. Just as when an actor is bad the audience won’t believe the story being told to them.

According to the Wikipedia article for the album, Rosanne Cash appears on the album, and her voice is apparent on on a couple of the songs. But even a Cash isn’t good enough to salvage the collection.

My recommendation is that you skip this album altogether. But if you really must, Jeff Bridges is available for pre-order on Amazon for your Bandwidth Abuse.

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Picture of the Day #202

The July 21 picture is of Sadie enjoying the afternoon sun. We had some midday rain, but the sun decided to join the party mid-afternoon, and that is prime sunning time.

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Picture of the Day #201

The July 20 picture comes from the Seattle Sounders FC match versus Manchester United at Centurylink Field. I purchased tickets to the event as a wedding present to my brother and his bride, both of whom are big Sounders fans. We sat up in the nosebleeds, but the view of the game was surprisingly good, as we were able to see all the action off the ball and the plays develop. If not for the score it would have been an even more pleasurable experience.

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Picture of the Day #200

In my mom’s neighborhood there is a house who’s residents ha e topped all the trees along the street. It looks odd amongst all the other trees reaching toward the sky.

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And You Thought Rebecca Black’s “Friday” Was Bad? Here’s “My Moment” [WATCH]

I don’t see “My Moment” taking off nearly as much as “Friday” did because it just isn’t as bad. Or maybe this is worse? “Friday” at least had a playfulness to it, this is just overly auto-tuned garbage about how she’s not going to stop being a shitty tween-pop singer just because she is a shitty tween-pop singer. The lyrics aren’t any better here, and the music is, surprisingly, worse. The clock is getting dangerously close to 15:00 for Ms. Black. Enjoy it while you can, I guess.

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Beastie Boys Reveal Long Form Video For “Don’t Play No Games That I Can’t Win” [WATCH]

Another humorous video from the Beastie’s latest album Hot Sauce Committe Part 2 finds action figure versions of the Boys (and Santigold) being chased by a crazed group of militants and being saved by a helicopter flying Yeti. Yeah, I was scratching my head, too. But it’s another good Beastie Boys video directed by Spike Jonze.

Get Hot Sauce now on Amazon.

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Foster the People Go Post-Apocalyptic In Video For “Helena Beat” [WATCH]

The email I received from Foster the People describes the band’s second video as ‘Lord of the Flies’ meets ‘Mad Max’. Which is pretty spot on.

These guys are great live, and you can catch them on their current US tour. Do it now before they’re playing large theatres or big arenas.

Their debut album, Torches, is available now on Amazon.

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The Strokes “Taken For a Fool” Video [WATCH]

Here’s an interesting video for what is probably my favorite song from the Strokes’ latest album, Angles.

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Picture of the Day #199

The picture for July 18 comes from June 30. This was a mistake photo that turned out pretty cool. I dropped my phone while trying to take another picture and this was the result.

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Picture of the Day #198

The picture for the 17th was taken the 16th in the Seattle Underground. Many don’t know that Seattle was built above itself after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. Throughout many of the older areas of downtown Seattle there is a 12-36 feet of city below street level. One of the “attractions” of the Underground tour is an original Crapper. Yes, the inventor of the flush toilet was named Thomas Crapper (not John). My friend Kyle decided to cross the barricade for this hilarious photo-op.

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