Terror

Forever rereleasing the same songs? Forever crossing the line is a "new" Terror record on Trustkill. I guess this is a greatest hits? 13 songs. 2 live and 2 unreleased leave 9 classics to beat your friends up to. Knucklehead core at its finest. Madball, Ringworm, Cro-Mags etc.
They may not be original, but unlike some past masters (outburst, cro-mags for example), they don't get undercut by shitty recording. Can't understimate the power of a good mix. Total power.
This is a late season addition to the essential driving mix. It is also the soundtrack in my head when the red light goes on that says "punch your fucking computer, right now"! Perfect for intervals.

Small World

Smorgasbord Cycles? How did I miss this?
Double Cross has the details.

Boston Spaceships Brown Submarine and beyond.....

It is pretty hard not to want to listen to a record with a song called "soggy beaver" on it, but when it is on a Robert Pollard related project, you can't let your hopes get too high. My reactions to GBV songs run from "are you fucking kidding me" to "please don't stop playing this song" with not much middle ground. So outside of "soggy beavers", I didn't really have any major expectations for the new Pollard group Boston Spaceships. Would they be better than the Boston Chinks? Would they do the Boston Monkey? Would it be better than a Pollard stand up album? 14 songs on an album titled "brown submarine". "brown submarines" is as lame a title as "soggy beavers" is cool. so there you go. It's a thing line between clever and stupid.
This record "consistently met expetctations". There are the tracks I skipped and the tracks I played again. Solid record, but no jaw on floor moments.

I suppose that spending my commute switching between this and the new Metallica would inevitably cause me to make some comparisions. Hetfield vs Pollard. Both middle aged rockers who deliver the goods in a forumalic fashion (Hetfield methodically and slowly and Pollard sloppily and frequently). Both popular (one in a niche, one around the globe).
The new Metalica was supposedly a "return to the roots" helmed by Rick Rubin(which might explain why some of the earlier songs have a Slayerish groove). To me it was an acceptable serving of Metallica. Some riffage was in the vein of Ride the Lighting or Master of Puppets, but the lyrics remain in the millionaire middle-aged crisis angst mode that for me is hard to understand, but totally enjoyable none the less(watch their documentary-the pseudo therapy babble is priceless. I guess when you don't have problems you make them up).
So this brings me to the one significant difference between Pollard and Hetfield-money. Pollard drops without a note of existential anguish dozens of records with no concern. Hetfield seems to agonize over every move, riff, and drum fill. Metallica go multi-platinum ever time, no matter what-How much positive feedback does Hetfield need?
Both dudes are past their prime, but can manage to deliver the goods. Maybe not blow your doors off, but not totally emabarass themselves either.

Either way at least with these guys you get what you expect and they don't get your hopes up like this fucking Cult Ritual 7" I picked up. Over Enginereed sleeve looked like the 1st Youngbuck album cover redone by Nic Blinko. I couldn't see a band name and thought it might be a new Bone-Awl 7" and not some pseudo-Void noisey HC. Total let down. The packaging was about 1000 times cooler than the music. Maybe that is the secret to the old guards success-they meet your expectation everytime. Not a lot of home runs, cause they hit for average not power. You know what you are going to get with Metallica or GBV, but you don't get suprised-which casues you to roll the dice on things like this single-which hold out a chance of jaw on the floor suprise.
So in one review, I have covered the new Pollard, Metallica, and Cult Ritual. That is a good days work.

Pentemple

How did I end up buying the same record again? Stated in some old review is the fact that I find Sunn side projects better than Sunn, despite the fact that the are usually of some live/improve/scrap,boom, and drone nature.
No suprise that when confronted with the over the top black on black packaging of the this Pentemple project that I scooped it up. Embossed goat's hoof? You had me at hello.
The prescence of Sin-nana (must resist urge to make ill nana reference) on drums makes this live improv from Australia essential. He actually brings some non doom and non BM drumming into the mix that give it a real cacophonous vibe to offset the mega riffs. Attilla is working his creepy rasps and growls to the fullest. In fact the creepy vocals and drumming make it sound more like Mike Patton than Southernlord.
To some degree this is pointless to review as those that want it(either to hear or resell) have already scooped it up, but noteworthy none the less. Both CD and Vinyl were limited and number'd so get them while you can.
Another document of an odd, creepy, and cool live show.

Cool Wiggins Interview

Wiggins seems like a rad dude and this interview is a lot more cards on the table than most sports "journalism". Almost makes me feel bad for my comparisons to Arthur Moore after the Olympics

And seriously, who is against knighting Chris Hoy?

Passing the torch

So no Bettini, but Ballan! Nice. Ballan looks super fit-way skinnier than when he won Flanders.
This photo was a real bum out. Two giants who won't be racing next year.

I loved this line from the cyclingnews "Steven Cozza of the USA is now leading the field." Call it blatant nationalism. Whatever. Maybe it was better that Levi wasn't around to show Cozza how the big dogs roll.............

Oh and where did my picks finish?
15 Philippe Gilbert
28 Paolo Bettini
37 Alejandro Valverde
39 Oscar Freire
47 Stefan Schumacher
53 Sylvain Chavanel
Ouch
It was nice to see some of my favorite young guns finishing -Gesnick,Lovkist,etc. Finishing rather than dropping out.
Crazy to think that in a race this long, that the real action didn't start til after 150K.

2nd Guessing

I realize the race is underway, but I might have overlooked some wildcards. Gilbert looks to be in sick shape. Chavenel can't be discounted either.

Bettini,Gilbert,Valverde. Chavenel,Freire, and Schumacher are the best of the rest.
88K to go.