...randomness surrounding Guided by Voices, Robert Pollard, and other great indie rock bands; a quasi objective look at "my" sporting teams; the random horror film; plus other crap as we see fit...all with a Pittsburgh based feel.
We love it when 2 of our favorite passions meet on the same night. Gonna watch some pucks early...then heading over to Gooskis for some rawkin good times with a few local Pittsurgh bands.
Neighbours will be there. We first saw Neighbours earlier this year when they opened up for Mike Watt at the Brillbox, and we digged it. We later met their bass player Joe, who also plays with Amoeba Knievel. I believe he also plays in one of the other bands playing, City Steps.
Headlining will be The Love Letters. Word on the streets is the show starts at 10:00-ish, and the Love Letters will be hitting the stage @ midnight. We love our Pittsburgh bands, and love it even more when they are at Gooskis. Support local music, drink a beer, and be happy tonight.
Tonight at the Warhol - a 7:00 screening of an original print of 1984's Revenge Of the Nerds. The coolest part: Curtis Armstrong (aka: "Booger") will be there to introduce the film and do a Q & A afterwards.
Easily my favorite scene from the film, a speech I like to use on special occasions...
A lot of talk in Pittsburgh today as to whether or not this is still a rivalry. The Sid vs. Ovie debate is dead in the water. Actually, Pascal Dupuis (7g 13a) vs. Ovechkin (8g 10a) may be the newer and more fair debate.
That said, this is still a rivalry between the 2 organizations. And we always get jackt for it. The hiring of that dick Dale Hunter should even make it more interesting.
No Tanger again. Simon Despres gets the big club call up. Let's do it.
Pacioretty gets 3 games. Letang, meanwhile, is heading back to Pittsburgh for "further evaluation." So much for that "having our entire team healthy" thingy. It was fun while it lasted for 4 games.
.
Empties Crushed concurs.
Some circles have poked fun at Shanahan and his demeanor in these videos. And that's cool. But we kinda like the new system and "Department of Player Safety." He may not always get it right, but at least he's explaining the thought process. And that's better than Colin Campbell's goonish response, which was always:
"What do you know?! You never played HOCKEY."
What a shitfest of a game. Can't believe I passed up the season finale of The Walking Dead for this. I hate Sunday Night Football. Steelers were a play away from losing to the worst NFL team ever. If Dwayne Bowe had arms, they might have.
Kris Letang gets his head taken off and nose smashed by a completely legal head crunch from Max Pacioretty. He returns for the OT to get the game winner. Stud. Too bad he can never win the Norris Trophy since Niklas Lidstrom still exists.
Not sure who's more irrelevant, Nick Foligno or the Senators. Pens got back to kicking ass on Friday, taking down the Sens 6-3. #87 had 3 assists without even trying. Staal's a beast. Malkin's a beast. Gonchar was there. Konopka dropped a turd on the ice. Foligno accidentally tripped over Fleury 9 times. Sid elbows Foligno.
That's some brutal shit right there. So Brian Murray chirped, and slobbered, and whined...
A lot of hot air there mixed in with the spit, but to summarize: "Refs sucked and we're gonna dress Neil and Carkner next time because I hate Crosby." How do you know when nobody cares? When you have to beg a hoard of reporters to ask you a question.
harking back on Sid's first game back, ESPN is concerned about your kid's sensitive ears eyes.
FCKYA! Think I actually heard some folk criticizing the Sid for this verbal reaction, one that is pretty common for him.
We made it to our first game of the year last Wednesday, and unfortunately, there weren't enough FCKYA's in Sid's 2nd game of the year. Puffy Ken Hitchcock (the original "Sid dives" whiner guy) has his new Blues team playing pretty good pucks. Our Pens lost and we were sad. So we boozed.
The Pens insist there was no set date for 87's return, and it was simply a matter of doctor's clearance. We want to think this is the big F.U. to that dick Garth Snow. Yeah...remember last spring when the Islanders and their fans thought they were relevant for a couple of days?
One of the best teams in the NHL just got the best player in the world back. Meanwhile, the Isles are back in their normal position in the standings...the bottom of the barrel. This is an organization that wanted to celebrate their fight filled / cheap shot affair with Pens last spring, which kinda supports the league-wide theory that they are a joke. A peak at the Isles current roster shows that some of the neanderthals that took part in the thuggery aren't even around anymore. Zenon Konopka was exiled to Ottawa. Michael Haley is flipping burgers at Wendy's. And Trevor Gillies was deemed worthless and subsequently waived last month. But with a dildo like Snow at the helm, nothing would surprise. The Isles may have some other animals laying in the weeds. Let's hope Bylsma dresses Steve MacIntyre tonight just in case.
Just read over at Pensblog that Zibby Michalek is back tonight, too?!?!
Our first fully healthy roster since the beginning of time?!?!?!?
I love my Glen Johnson. A HUGE 3 points at Stamford Bridge. No...it's doesn't mean we'll win a title. But if you said in August that beating Arsenal and Chelsea on the road would help secure a Champions League spot, you probably weren't factoring in home draws to Norwich and Swansea. The latter sucks. But beating Chelsea today in the 87th minute was a glorious triumph.
Roman Abramovich doesn't own Chelsea. King Kenny does. 9-0-3 career record for the King against those wanker Blues.
btw: Andy Carroll was a waste of 35 million lbs. But at least it's still a net gain of 15 million from the more expensive waste of Fernando Torres.
Next Week: MAN SHITTY comes to Anfield for another 11am-er on Sunday FSC. Man U supporters are welcome.
We did not miss out on the double record, though, which rocks. Empties Crushed is proud to say we submitted some of the live video you see in that clip.
Miller is WAY outside of his protective crease area. He's playing the puck. The hit isn't malicious, it's not high to the head, it's body on body. Lucic doesn't leave his feet. It probably would've caused more damage had Lucic tried to avoid the hit, and ended up having a knee-on-knee type of collision. For chrissakes, the dude is wearing a sumo suit!!!
I know Miller is embarrassed, because he looks pretty silly as he swings around with his stick flailing, and emo hair looking all sloppy and floppy. And it's unfortunate Buffalo doesn't have anyone to stand up to Lucic. But this appears to be a little bit of a whineberg moment for Miller.
Dry your eyes, and quit with the talk of a concussion. Our bet: now that Lucic has been dismissed by Sheriff Shanahan without a suspension, Miller will be back in net for the Sabs next game, and there will be no more concussion talk. He's fine...just some wounded pride from Mr Emo.
...calls Ravens QB Joe Montana a little girl. Can't believe our "scoreboard guy" would do such a thing. John Harbaugh is known worldwide (outside of Baltimore) as the whiniest bitch-boy in the NFL. But in this case, we agree with him. "Scoreboard Guy" needs to choose his placement of Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes more wisely. We don't know what he was thinking. What a jerk.
Awesomely swell times in Braddock last night. Seated show...no booze. But it was fun. Got second row, thanks to our new pal Liz. "Stab" was played. "Stop the Show." "Carry the Zero" ended the night with a slew of other nuggets in between. Some dude behind us kept yelling for the cover of "Cortez the Killer", but to no avail. Friendly and excited crowd, with an equally enthused Doug Martsch, who stuck around afterwards shaking hands and handing out setlists. We're not huge Atlas Sound fans, but there's no denying the talent of Bradford Cox, and I can see what the hub bub is about.
check out the dude in the aqua blue "Staff" tee at the 1:05 mark. Rock on!!
3-night "Benefit Braddock" thingy got under way last night at the Carnegie Library in Braddock with Andrew Bird and Kurt Vile. Tonight it's Atlas Sound (Bradford Cox from Deerhunter) and Built to Spill. We love our Built to Spills!!
AFTER A WHILE YOU KNOW THEIR STYLE AND THAT'S ENOUGH TO KNOW THEY SUCK!!!!!
Test Tube has been traded to C-bus for a 4th Rounder. Being an undrafted free agent signing in 2007, I'd say that's a solid ROI. Especially considering Testy was a healthy scratch the few occasions when we had a healthy enough roster this year. The emergence of crazy Joe Vitale obviously made this easier. In Ray we trust.
Kinda wished Testy woulda slugged Soupcan after the latter went down too easily and early.
I liked Test Tube. Solid face off guy, and chipped in some goals last year. A fond farewell, and best wishes to him in the future. He'll be easily forgotten though once #87 gets back on the ice, which sounds like it could be as early as Friday against Dallas. Gentlemen...start your boners.
Sad, sick, and embarrassed. Pretty much sums up the feelings from this life long Penn State fan. No blind support here. This will be the second team we've disowned in the last 5 years, and the reasons surrounding this dismissal are brutally different than the last one.
Anyone want or need a 1993 Ki-Jana Carter jersey? I'd burn it, but Carter had nothing to do with this. We'll burn the flag instead. Lots of room has suddenly opened up in the man cave.
As soon as we talk to our EC banner gfx dude, that old dick will be removed.
John Harbaugh makes history by becoming the first coach ever to win 2 Super Bowls by Week 9. What a douche. Steelers 3rd down D sucked balls, and that was pretty much the story. Joe Montana completed 27 of 28 3rd down conversions and drove 170 yards on the final drive of the game. End of story.
Still doesn't mean we can't make fun of our rivals.
From the official box score, the stat line for Ray Lewis reads:
What a turd. Ray Ray was also heard post game giving himself credit for Torrey Smith's game winning TD grab and telling his team to "be in a positions to win the game, man."
Smith was having a rough game, getting called for a holding penalty on Ray Rice's opening play TD scamper, and then dropping a bunch of passes from Montana.
Smith then caught the game winning TD, and was happy his "team kept face in him."
the 3 Stars for the game:
Joe Montana
Terrell Suggs' upper gums
Ray Lewis. Just ask him.
Position Yoself!
Last note:
Can the NFL hire Brendan Shanahan to do his little videos over what constitutes helmet-to-helmet contact? Ryan Clark gets penalized for his hit on Dixon, while Ray Ray gets nothing for the same thing on Hines Ward. We suspect Clark will get fined, and Ray Ray will get nothing. Just sayin.
This 7" is being released on Fire Records, and can be pre-ordered thru Rockathon. Contains 4 non-LP B-sides (four!!!), and will ship November 28 (per Rockathon). $6.
The previously discussed "The Unsinkable Fats Domino" 7" from Matador can also be pre-ordered via Rockathon HERE. $6. Release date is November 22.
A 3rd 7" will be made available from GBV Inc, called "Chocolate Boy", also available from Rockathon, and it appears they will ship in December (pre-order HERE). This one has a non-LP Tobin Sprout tune as the B-side.
gonna be catching up from the lackluster summer for awhile here. seems like a good place to start. David Comes to Life will easily make my favorites of 2011 list...
The original John Carpenter 1978 classic is being shown TONIGHT at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont: 7:00 and 9:30. It will screen again this Sunday 10/30 at 8:00pm.
This is pretty much the greatest horror film of all time...
That's all this guy does. He's becoming the fantastic bastard of a sniper that we all wished for last year...the goal scoring winger this team's been lacking since forever. He's on pace to score something like 65 goals. We'll be less optimistic and say he doesn't get to 60. But anything less than 50 will be a huge disappointment, and we will burn him at the stake. Along with Staal, Neal has been a beast 10 games into the season, especially considering we are sans 87 and 71. We will probably all poo ourselves when he starts playing with Sid. (Although I'd rather see him along side Geno, just saying).
Our only problem with Neal is his name. It's just way too proper, and let's face it...sounds kinda blahze. Someone probably called him "Jim" one time and he probably snapped, "It's not Jim, it's James." You know the guy. "My name isn't Ed, it's Edward." "I prefer Robert, not Bob." Those guys. Oh well. We would call him "Jimmy", but that sounds like something dickhead Pierre McGuire would call him. And "Nealer" as I've heard some people call him is dumb.
I think the perfect name for JN would be: "James Fucking Neal." The problem with that is we already have "Craig Fucking Adams." Maybe Neal could buy Adams a case of Moosehead, and take his nickname. But then we'd need a new name for CFA, and I don't recommend "Craigy."
BTW: Zibby Michalek out 4-6 weeks. The hits just keep coming.
Sorry late-comers. Snoozers are losers. Sold out show at the tiny little Brillobox in Bloomfield. I will be there because I rule and I have tickets. So jackt!!!!
btw...this video for "Rebound" will rock your lips off...
St James Place Tavern is your quintessential dive bar, and along with Gooski's in Polish Hill, is one of our favorite places to see live local bands. It's a couple of blocks off the main drag on the South Side, so you don't have to worry about knocking heads with the amateurs, or jumping over puke puddles courtesy of some sorority girl looking to lose her virginity to the first dude she sees wearing an American Eagle sweatshirt.
Amoeba Knievel and the Moodswingers brought the Visionary Rock n' Roll that was promised on this Friday night. We've been fans of Tommy Amoeba and his band for a long time, but we really enjoy the lads backing him currently. Joe (bass), Bill (geetar), and Bob (drums) form the perfect ammo that fuels Tommy's staple silliness and cartoonish frontman antics. All of our favs were played: "Mad Magazine", Cowboy Ed", "National Sport", and "Indigo Sandwich"...
"King of the Flowermen" was skipped due to a lack of a second mic for back-up vocals, but AK made up for it with a classic performance of "Broken Record" followed by a punk rock cover of "L.A. Woman" as part of an impromptu Doors medley. I never enjoyed the Doors more than during this 7-8 minute span.
As for my personal highlight of the night: one of the strings on Bill's guitar breaks, causing a break in the action. Bass slapper Joe starts strumming the opening chords to GBV's "Lethargy." I had just met Joe earlier in the night, and it turns out he's a huge GBV fan (not to mention a swell dude). So while Bill's attending to his injured guitar, Joe starts waiving me towards the mic. FCKYA!!! I obliged.... "ARE YOU HAPPY? HAPPY TODAY..." Afterwards, Tommy introduces the song as one from Joe's new side project, "Guided by Gary." We think there may be video existing of this. I don't think we pulled it off as good as this, but jolly good times it was...
The Moodswingers were next. Dennis Childers was back behind the drums for this night, and we love Dennis, along with bassist Dean. Jamie Moodswinger started the set with "Thrill", and then the playlist was up for grabs. Not sure I've ever seen a Moodswingers set that followed the set list. That's just the way they roll, which is ok in our book. Fan favorite "Heart Attack is better than a Stroke" was played, along with "World to Save"and my personal favorite "Hope You're Alright."
Got to hear a new tune, called "Die." And from first listen, it sounds like a keeper. We had some video footage of "I'll Wait", but unfortunately it didn't come out that well (stupid cameraman's fault). Probably the best compliment of the night came from some girl sitting at the bar, who told Moodswingers' frontman Jamie that he needs to learn how to sing better. FCKYA!!!! PUNK RAAAAAWK!!
The Moodswingers had another date with rock on Saturday night at Howler's in Bloomfield. Unfortunately, we had a previous engagement with Zombie.
So jackt to see this on the big screen!! I'm a proud owner of the 25th Anniversary DVD, but I've never seen this film the way it was intended. Word from Jables is there are limited theatres across the states getting the privilege of showing the Fulci classic. The Oaks is awesome!
At 9:00pm
Unlike Zombi 2, I saw The Amityville Horror as a kid and it scared the crap outta me. Here's the unimbeddable (how annoying) trailer:
Two of my favorite local Pittsburgh bands are back at it. TONIGHT!!! At St James Place Tavern on the South Side. The last time they played together, the bar owners told Amoeba Knievel that they were too original, which shocked the locals at the Regent Square establishment into a bewildered state of befuddlement and jerkiness. Confused, and sounding nothing like the Offspring, the Moodswingers followed an abbreviated AK set by rawking everyone's faces off.
Come out tonight! Drink some brews! See local and original music. Don't be square.
Now that the Big Boring Wedding is behind us, Empties Crushed will be back in full effect. We've promised this before, but this time we mean it. Like a bastard.
speaking of BBW, I've never seen this before. Kinda cool. I don't get it, but cool nonetheless...
The absolute perfect tune to open a set with. So happy the dudes from the Textbook Committee played this, and pretty flattered they learned it especially for the occassion. They nailed it!
unreleased tune!! classic SM prog...
thanks to gbvh for the forward and inspiring me to meet my post quota of once per whenever. we'll get this going once November comes around...I swears.
WAIT...Nevermind had a secret track at the end?!?! WHOA!
pretty cool little piece from SPIN last month on the Nevermind classic, which included a free download of a bunch of bands covering the album front to back. SPIN's not-so-cleverly dubbed Newermind features a couple of good ones, including the Meat Puppets and the Vaselines. Go get it HERE. EMA played at Pitchfork a few weeks ago. I was there, but appears we got there too late on a Friday to see her. Kinda regretting it now...
So the 5 year anniversary month of this lackluster blog has come and gone without a peep. In celebration, I felt we needed to stay true to whole spirit of EC by not posting anything for over a month.
Thanks to TB from the now retired Rando Mango (tears) for this forward. Just got my vinyl copy of Let It Beard, and we're pretty jackt about that. This video for "Tabby and Lucy" is pretty much awesome...
We've been pretty fortunate around these parts with our head coaches. The Rooney family gave us Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and now Mike Tomlin. And while the Pens haven't had the same stability at the head coach position (said in ESPN expert voice), we're pretty blessed to have Disco Dan Bylsma leading our favorite team. Pure class guy. Dude is the epitome of a leader.
I surely thought that the NHL "brain trust" would mess this up, but Bylsma was the clear cut choice for the Jack Adams that he won last night. 106 points, only 1 point away from tops in the conference, considering: without Malkin for the 2nd half, Staal for the 1st half, a plethora of W-B/S dudes playing a major role, and without the best player in the world for the 2nd half...that's a solid effort.
When Bylsma first replaced Michel Therrien mid-season 2009, most of Pittsburgh was like, "who's this dude?" We soon found out that, not only could he pluralize words, but he could get the max potential out of the talent in organization.
this speech alone was worth the award...
(yes...we've played this a million times here, and will continue to do so)
The 37 yo central defender is being let out of his final year with my beloved Inter Milan. We will miss you buddy. In Marco's honor, we will retire my Inter #23 home jersey, the very first soccer jersey I got way back (a whole 5 years ago) when I fell in love with the game. It's going to be hung in the rafters of the man cave. Mr. Materazzi has not returned our phone calls about attending the ceremony.
Word on the streets: he may be moving to the Prem to join QPR or possibly could land in MLS. TFC, perhaps?!?!?! And then he'll be back at Inter in a management role after his final year of playing.
While the chance of him going to Toronto are pretty much nil, let it be known: I would be the first kid on my block with a Toronto FC Materazzi jersey...if that were to happen.
Great effort, but then the guy pulls a LaPierre and embellishes with a dive and roll over the car...
jesus. history will be made. yes indeed.
Who, exactly, are these people pissed at? Aaron Rome, for the cheap shot that turned the series around? The Sedin twins, who were vacationing in Sweden during the Finals? Luongo for not grabbing his sack? Alexandre Burrows for being a little turd stain? Alain Vigneault, whose bitchy whines about Tim Thomas got brushed aside? Alexander Mogilny?
No better way to top the embarrassing way your team went down than to start wrecking shit.
I lost my loot on this series, so that sucks. But the longer it went on, the more difficult it was to cheer for these ass bags. Shame a dude like Ryan Kesler has to play on this team.
Props to the Bruins. Besides Brad Marchand, who needs to lose the diaper, this was a very enjoyable team to watch. Like Kesler from Vancouver, Milan Lucic is another dude we'd love to see in a Pens sweater. Tim Thomas played out of his mind, and appears to be a class act...the oppo of Luongo. Bergeron, Peverley, Krejci, Horton, Seidenberg...all solid dudes that we could cheer for.
Mark Recchi...meh. Mixed feelings there. Great memories of that first Cup in Pittsburgh, but he turned into kind of a whineberg during his last stint here. I wouldn't say I hate him...just meh. I won't miss him, put it that way.
3.5 months until they drop the puck again. We'll miss you hockey.
effin love Kathleen Hanna. Bikini Kill, the "Bull in the Heather" vid, Le Tigre, whatever it takes...I think we need a little more KH in our lives. Just ordered my copy of Who Took the Bomp?, which was just released a couple days ago.
here's a clip form the DVD, which highlights Le Tigre's 2004 tour. "Deceptacon" -
checked out Weezer a couple weeks ago at Pittsburgh's new Stage AE on the North Shore (not a bad little venue). They did this Radiohead cover live, and gotta say it was pretty darn cool...
Craig Fucking Adams. Yes indeed sir. I love this guy. With a middle name like Fucking, how do you not want this guy back on your roster. Do you remember the 5 skaters on the ice when the Pens beat the Wings for the Cup? I do. And Craig Fucking Adams was one of them. You know why? I do. Because he's a beast. Disco Dan knows this.
CFA will get $675,000 / year for the next 2 years. God bless Ray Shero. That's incredible value. True, CFA isn't going to get you many goals. You're not gonna put him along side 87 or 71. He's a 3rd / 4th line mucker, grinder, loose puck finder. He's a beast on the PK. He blocks shots. He wins draws. He's the smart veteran savy dude you need on Stanley Cup winning rosters. He's an Ivy League dude for chrissakes.
Bravo Ray. And welcome back, CFA.
Next on my "want list": Pascal Dupuis. Actually, Pascal was first on my want list, with all due respect to CFA. Word on the streets: Pascal wants a 3-year deal, while Ray rarely gives 30+ dudes more than 2 years. Do it Ray. Do it. Sometimes, you gotta step outta the box. Remember that time you traded for that big stiff Ponikorovsky from Toronto? That was out of the box. OK...so that didn't work out too well....bad example. But anyways...we want Super Duper back in the fold. The flexibility he adds...you can play him with 87...71...any line you want. Sure, he's more suited as a 3rd liner, but he can still get you 15 or so goals while killing every penalty ever committed. Get him back Ray. Do it. Do it.
and finally...i got pretty jackt when i heard jables was coming down from Canada for the Pittsburgh show. was rawking some TNV with the TV on mute late Saturday night when I got the news...
a few shows playing around the Burgh this Friday night, including a couple of Chicago bands - Smith Westerns at Mr Smalls, and Sarah and the Tall Boys at Peter B's Dance Barn (thanks Jerry!). One that caught my eye a while ago was this Those Darlins band, playing at the Brillobox.
Those Darlins have been touring around with another of our favs of recent times, Best Coast. And now they invade our favorite venue in our fair city. Just heard the title track from their new album Screws Get Loose over on XM, and I think I'm sold. Tickets available HERE.
fun little tune, released as a 7"...
another catchy one, and a super cool animated video...
No...not mine. Not sure who this individual is, but he's got 100% positive feedback. And this one appears to be a nice one with an A+ rating. Sounds like he just got it signed by everyone from the "classic lineup" as well, so that's kinda cool. At the time of this writing, it's got 7 + days left and currently sits at $510.
