Aside from fucking with its customers for a buck, the whole ad backfires at the moment its employees stand there, unwilling to handle customer grievances. I’m sure Burger King is trying to point out customer loyalty, but you have to wonder what kind of person would be loyal to them after watching this. Wow.

Also, not that I’m really one to care about emo bands, but does Atreyu know about the existence of this ad?

To commemorate the premiere of Project Runway’s fourth season — which I won’t be watching. I know, can you believe it? I adored this show so much, but I’m really sick of the overwhelming professional element pervading the series. If someone has a job for Ralph Lauren or whatever, do they really need this kind of show? I’m willing to wager PR’s shift towards professionalism (the never-forget child of the 90’s screams “SELL OUT!” inside of me) was the direct result of everything that ensued following Jay’s win and whatnot. So here’s a throwback to days when the winners weren’t seasoned industry insiders and, well, more closely resembling loose cannons — like every great designer should be:

Plus, how can you not love the early 90’s house keyboard? I’m thinking of making that my ringtone, just so that I can vogue all day long.

P.S. Jay McCarroll I freaking love you. Can’t wait for your QVC deal!

In lieu of asking the age-old question, “Why?”, here is what they call “content”:

» Mission:300 was awesome, I managed to bowl one decent game, and then someone committed a serious party foul. Not the first time for this particular dude, either. Y’know, I happen to like a lot of graffiti and find the subculture fascinating. But that’s besides the point. Was this particular instance really worth it? Think back through the past 10 years of Philly hipster/indie rock nightlife, where a lot of cultural organizations opened up their halls to a bunch of strangers (RUBA, UACA, Polish National, etc). Now they don’t — and I can’t help but wonder if the selfish impulses and lame stunts are to blame (even in some small part). I guess we might as well start counting St. Monica’s among the dead, and make funeral preparations for the Society of Free Letts, because you know someone is going to ruin that place too. Like a Botoxed Main Line mom would hiss: this is why we can’t have nice things.

» I swear I’m not getting all my info from BCO these days — though the hundreds upon hundreds of pages I have to read for class certainly prevent me from being more, um, one with the world: Espers’ enchantress Meg Baird is on tour with the Sea & Cake right now; her tour manager Steven Ward James (a fine musician in his own right) is updating the world on this particular post. The random professional musician-themed signage in the South is worth checking in every couple of days.

» I’ve got mixed feelings about Gossip Girl. The first seven minutes were genius — the Peter, Bjorn & John opening, the bitchy yogurt commentary — but the rest of it was a little meh. Not the dramatic, bitchy splash I’d been hoping for. Could it be that working for a college has me a bit jaded when it comes to the world of the Young, Privileged & Restless? I mean, I didn’t even roll my eyes when I saw the nontroversy over Ben Kweller in the school paper. Maybe I’ve come down with an acute case of tired-of-shooting-fish-in-barrel-itis.

Here’s what did hit me though: when Kristen Bell’s voiceovers began, I suddenly realized that Veronica Mars was never coming back. Never ever ever ever ever ever. Never ever ever ever ever ever. Never ever ever ever ever ever. Not even an inside glimpse of Henri Bendel could cheer me up.

» After Paul F Tompkins’ show at Helium a couple weeks back, I picked up Scrawl’s Travel On, Rider for a buck, thanks to the keen eye of Jon Solomon. I can’t believe I’ve made this a glaring omission in my Scrawl discography! It’s jarring, angry and sad in the way that I want a Scrawl release to be.

Scrawl, “I’m Not Stuck” (Buy)

» Sue Harshe’s (of Scrawl) Myspace
» Surly Girl Saloon (Columbus, OH); owned by Marcy Mays

I get this sweet window of time where I can write and shit, then it’s back to the craziness — story of my life, I suppose. I have a big test in ten days, the end of a fiscal year at work, a radio show to resume, freelance crapola and the course I’m a TA for begins tomorrow night. This list excludes my daily life activities or the home improvement projects I’ve stupidly scheduled for the warmer months. That said, if I had endless amounts of leisure time I wouldn’t know what the hell to do with myself. But no more excuses!

» NYC Pop Fest is this weekend, folks. My favorite bowling partners Brown Recluse Sings, secret skatepunks Surefire Broadcast and JEK’s brother’s band Gritty Midi Gang are amongst the cream of the twee crop on these lineups. Props of the Pop Fest folks for curating the shit out of this — I only wish it was this past weekend to conflict/coincide with the No Fun Fest. Can you imagine Merzbow vs. Mitch Easter?!?! I can. No rly. Srsly.

» Why can’t I stop listening to AC/DC? And is it just me, or is there really no AC/DC for sale in the iTunes store?

» In other news, I am just really, really bummed that Veronica Mars wasn’t renewed for another season — another conflicted, headstrong female character bites the dust. And what is up with their lineup next season — Gossip Girl? At least in VMars case (and Gilmore Girls, too), we watched as its characters weaved in and out of these worlds; this new series looks to be like a full-on, raging WASP fetish. Way to go CW, now I understand why Univision whoops your ass ratingswise.

» I kind of hate it when everyone crams political endorsements down my throat, which is why I didn’t want to tell you who to vote for. Frankly, it’s a free country — you do what you want, OK? But I’ve been pulling for Nutter (typing that sentence out just sounds totally dirty); needless to say I am psyched he won the primary. There’s a long way to go though — 62.83% (out of 284,328 voters) picked someone else. Here’s to hoping that Election Day has a better turnout.

» Metuchen, NJ’s own Roadside Graves were reviewed on Pitchfork yesterday. And to think we all had B lunch together. Or was it C? I forget. You’d never expect/believe it, but Metuchen High was a veritable hotbed of musical activity in the 90’s. And I’m not talking about being in jazz band (which I totally was) or marching band (ditto). In retrospect, I’m kind of amazed at how much musical output there was — and many of those folks are still at it today. Whatever happened to my Slothbreath t-shirt, anyway?

» Looking northward, DJ and producer Shan Boogie is working on a documentary called Foundations, dealing with the cross-pollination of creative cultures in NYC during the 1980’s. It’s in the very early stages of production, but this little promo teaser is pretty effing fantastic. Can’t wait to see what the finished product looks like!

» Concertmania as of late: Public Record, Sloan, Small Sins, Tussle, Professor Murder — all of whom were really fantastic. Damn you Toby and Adam, for not tipping me off to PM sooner!

» I’ve been a firm believer that nothing good would ever come from Enya’s “Sail Away” — a.k.a., the song from the Crystal Light commerical — but finally, finally I’ve been proven wrong. Beach weirdos win out:

Professor Murder, “That’s How They Getcha”
Pick up their self-titled release here!

Yo Majesty “Club Action” (Chris Bagraider’s Sailing to Baltimore remix)
Pick up the Yo EP here!

» Speaking of beach weirdos, DJ Mental Feelings (Chris of Espers, SHAVE HEAD) is spinning at tonight’s preview screening for Flight of the Conchords — RSVP here. Word on the street is that HBO’s dropping some serious $$$ on this party. As soon as it’s done, bounce over to Big Jar Books for Lambsbread.

» I use “BAAARF” to tag a lot of things these days, it seems:

“Both Ben Folds and Third Eye Blind were very popular on our Facebook searches and on our student-body survey, so we think that everybody will be really excited about them,” said Wharton senior and SPEC director Catey Mark.

Maybe it wasn’t being trapped in so-called “90’s rhetoric” that killed Plain Parade, we should have been soliciting data from Facebook! Give the people what they want – nay, spoonfeed it to them – even if it’s shitty, middling alt-rock. I guess.

» On the Veronica Mars front: As many of you may have heard, Rob Thomas is entertaining the possibility of “fast-forwarding” the series four years ahead, only for the sake of keeping the show on air. How is this a good idea… at all?

» That wasn’t my ears playing tricks on me last night, the Feelies’ “Let’s Go” was really in a Volvo commercial. This is exactly why I am for licensing: if I can watch Grey’s Anatomy and catch a bit of The Good Earth, just how bad can it be? Also, when will someone get smart and reissue the motherliving shit out of their records?!

» Oh yes, my preview for this Tuesday’s Blues Control gig is up at the City Paper. If you don’t trust me, then take Tom Lax’s word for it. Funny how two folks pegged as the authors of Cherry Coke have similar taste in music, isn’t it?

» Friday Night: WQHS is hosting a show at Haunted Cream Egg house (4207 Baltimore Ave) in West Philly, mere blocks from my bed. Relay, Grammar Debate, Kurt Vile and others are on tap. But it gets even better — over at the Green Line Café, The Impossible Shapes are playing. I believe this is the very definition of “Rock Block”, folks. Do it!

» FYI I’m back on WQHS beginning this Wednesday. 4-6PM EST, same old time. My fill-in slot at WPRB ended sooner than expected; alas, Jon and I did not perform the Princeton Record Exchange live on-air. Someday. Soon?

» Last, but not least: Saturday I had my pupils dilated at the doctor. This would have been all fine and dandy, had there not been a sunny sea of ice/snow waiting for me outside the doctor’s door. “Oh the agony!” only covers a fraction of what I felt on my walk home.

The real news today is that Veronica Mars will not be renewed for a fourth season, according to sources like E! Online and whatnot. Make your voice heard! Let the CW Network know their decision to throw away one of the best shows on TV right now fucking sucks. (Really, are there any good shows on that network these days?)

The Veronica Mars Livejournal community, Cloud Watchers, has some way you can contact the network and share your thoughts. I am totally making an “I Love Veronica Mars” fan video — and as an added bonus, will post it on my site.

» *Plain Parade’s show* with the Ex Models et al went well — you should seriously stop missing our shows. [We’ve only got four more left for the rest of the year.] If you haven’t seen the Ex Models in a while [mayhaps the stick from your ass needs to be removed?] you’re totally missing out. Gone is the hiccupy no-wave of years and replaced with total fucking quasi-industrial insanity. Seriously: how can such evil music come from the nicest dudes in the world?

» Jesus Christ on a crutch: 25$ to see a reunited Bongos? And not even at Maxwells!?

» I love television. Sometimes I think I like it more than music but then music will go do something awesome [ex: Sufjan Stevens at the Tower Theatre — more on this in a bit] and steal me away. Anyway, watch Ugly Betty. I loved the Lichtenstein pop of its filming technique in contrast to the uncomfortable nature of its material. Anyone else get a _Welcome to the Dollhouse_ feeling out of this show?

» Also in the category of mind-bendingly awesome is Victor/Victoria, which I caught multiple times this weekend. I feel like I’ve seen this movie a million times since childhood and each viewing makes me love it more. [Between V/V, _Xanadu_ and _Flashdance_, this should explain a lot about me. Perhaps too much.] For those that regard V/V as a campy throwback, think again. This film was years ahead of the queer curve. Laughs are made at the expense of the ignorant, rather than the other way around — especially in a time when being gay was either the punchline to a joke or a lowdown dirty shame, this movie treats its subjects [straight, gay or in drag] with nothing but the highest kindness in respect. And it contains some of Julie Andrew’s best acting and singing. Ever. So if you hear me belting out “Le Jazz Hot”, you’ll know why.

» Last but not least: on the Typical Girls mailing list, we were asked to submit a top ten of Typical music. Here’s my contribution, plus one:

Pylon “Feast On My Heart”
Raincoats “Red Shoes”
Hi Beams “White People”
Finally Punk “Henri”
Mo-Dettes “White Mouse Disco”
Lizzy Mercier Descloux “Funky Stuff”
Crash Course In Science “Kitchen Motors”
Dolly Mixture “He’s So Frisky”
Delta 5 “Journey”
Erase Errata “Rider”
Scrawl “Green Beer”

I guess I have to start getting my list-making muscles in shape — the end of the year is just around the corner.

yeah yeah, i done gone and did it — ive redesigned the site. can anyone help me out with a weirdo php function that makes the far right column slide under the other when the screen size is too small? i dont want that to happen.

anyway, i am still mourning the loss of my beloved yacht rock, consoling myself by rewatching every episode a jillion times and reading the channel 101 board. looks like a fellow 101er made a michael mcdonald mockumentary.

if there is one sound i truly, truly, truly hate, its the sound of michael mcdonald’s voice. for real. but whenever i watch yacht rock, its the funniest thing alive, which just goes to show you how fake can be better than the real thing. “remichaeling” — brilliant!

» keep your eyes on yachtrock.com, btw.

» also in the 101averse — they’re doing a pilot for VH1. so exciting!

The official sign that I’m a loser.