Saturday, January 03, 2009

Previewing Dangerous Encounters


A sixgill shark up close and personalEvery Saturday in January, the National Geographic Channel is airing a new episode of Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr. You may remember Barr from two years ago when he was famously bitten by a twelve foot long python. Well Barr has had time to recover an in the last episode in the series on January 24, he returns to that same cave again looking for rumored fifty foot pythons.

But before then, tonight Barr is on a journey to find the elusive Sixgill Shark (seen at right, so Spoiler Alert!: he finds them) which scientists have very little knowledge of the Jurassic sharks. Barr sets out to change that traveling to Central America, Puget Sound, Hawaii and 1,700 feet below the surface of the ocean (in the submarine seen at left). To put that in perspective, more people have seen the summit of Mt. Everest that been that far under the ocean.

Brady Barr in his yellow submarineThen next Saturday, Barr travels to South Africa to put satellite transmitters on crocodiles to see how they migrate after a dam threatens their current habitat and January will be on the hunt for the world’s largest salamanders which can grow up to five feet and eighty pound. I may go into further details about future shows later but until then, head over to the Dangerous Encounters website for these goodies:

"How to be like a gecko" Game: Take the Dangerous Encounters challenge and prove your gecko skills such as eye licking and wall climbing. How gecko are you?

Dangerous Encounters mobile trivia: Get your danger fix with weekly mobile trivia nd learn surprising facts about some of the world's most most menacing – and even some of the world's oddest – creatures!

Dangerous Encounters podcasts: Watch previews of Dangerous Encounters as Dr. Brady Barr travels around the globe on a series of death-defying, hair-raising expeditions to study reptiles and other creatures in their native habitats.



Friday, January 02, 2009

It Sounds Like Someone Has a Case of the Mondays


Office Space

As someone who grew up with a heavy dose of Beavis and Butt-Head, I was a little weary of Mike Judge making a live action film. Granted Office Space was actually based on an animated short that was featured during Liquid Television but ended up turning into a first ballot Scooter Hall of Fame inductee.

Even though at the point I first seen the movie I had only worked part time in an office, I could see how brilliantly it portray the life sucking ability sitting in a cubicle for eight hours a day for extended periods of time where you only have mimesweeper to keep you sane (of course this was before the proliferation of the internet and time suckers like Facebook). But nothing stung worse than the passive aggressive bosses like Lumburgh or having six bosses who all point when you make a mistake.

And nothing cut too close more than Michael “why should I change my name, he’s the one that sucks” Bolton whose scenes I have lived out in my personal life multiple times like turning down my gangsta rap, which made up most of the soundtrack in the movie and my formative years, in the car whenever near an actual black dude. Also my freshman year in college I had a very old school printer, the kind that had the paper with the scrolls on both sides to feed into the printer. To keep the story short, finals week it wouldn’t print something and later turned into pieces similar to the scene in the movie.

The cast is pitch perfect from the dry humor of Ron Livingston (Band of Brothers), the previously mentioned Gary Cole (The Brady Bunch Movie) to the bumbling Stephan Root (Idiocracy) and even the smaller roles such as the guy that brought an “O Face” into the lexicon. Thank and many other lines from Office Space has had permanent place in my own personal lexicon over the past decade since it has been released.



Wednesday, December 31, 2008

100 Best Songs of 2008


Much apologies for being late on this but it does come before the end of the year. And even a day late, this may not be the definitive list that makes up the playlist on my iPod. To pull back the curtain of the 9th Green, typically I have two or three (or ten) drafts of the best songs of the tear before I am content with the results. I doubt I will ever change this post but maybe sometime in the New Year I will make a playlist somewhere for you to listen the songs and post that here. Until then feel free to dissect this list (and if you want to how all 189 potential songs actually ranked, shout me a holla and I will e - mail you my spreadsheet) and hope to see you all back at the 9th Green in 2009 when I have some major projects planned throughout next year.

1. I’m Yours - Jason Mraz

2. Paper Planes - M.I.A.

3. Shine - Anna Nalick

4. Who’s Gonna Save My Soul - Gnarls Barkley

5. Cath... - Death Cab For Cutie

6. Where I Stood - Missy Higgins

7. Lost! - Coldplay

8. Come on Get Higher - Matt Nathanson

9. Hope - Jack Johnson

10. Strange Times - The Black Keys

11. Love Story - Taylor Swift

12. Going On - Gnarls Barkley

13. Free Fallin’ - John Mayer

14. Fix It - Ryan Adams and the Cardinals

15. Love is Noise - The Verve

16. Viva la Vida - Coldplay

17. More Time - Needtobreathe

18. Amen - Kid Rock

19. Always a Friend - Alejandro Escovedo

20. Bottle it Up - Sara Bareilles

21. I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie

22. Warwick Avenue - Duffy

23. Picture to Burn - Taylor Swift

24. The Resolution - Jack's Mannequin

25. Nothing Ever Hurt Like You - James Morrison

26. Boys With Girlfriends - Meiko

27. Birthday Girl - The Roots and Patrick Stump

28. Listen - Amos Lee

29. Good Morning - Kanye West

30. Just a Dream - Carrie Underwood

31. I Got Mine - The Black Keys

32. Just Stand Up! - Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Natasha Bedingfield, Miley Cyrus, Leona Lewis, Carrie Underwood, Keyshia Cole, LeAnn Rimes, Ashanti, Ciara & Mariah Carey

33. Girls in Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen

34. This Is the Life - Amy MacDonald

35. Trashcan - Delta Spirit

36. Rock & Roll - Eric Hutchinson

37. If I Had Eyes - Jack Johnson

38. You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne

39. Your Song - Kate Walsh

40. Pumpkin Soup - Kate Nash

41. You Found Me - The Fray

42. Stepping Stone - Duffy

43. 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction) - The Roots

44. How I Could Just Kill a Man - Charlotte Sometimes

45. Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution - The Black Crowes

46. Lovebug - Jonas Brothers

47. Move - Q-Tip

48. Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

49. Get Busy - The Roots, Dice Raw, Peedi Peedi, and DJ Jazzy Jeff

50. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend

51. Mercy - Duffy

52. Praying for Time - Carrie Underwood

53. Heartless - Kanye West

54. Us Placers - CRS

55. The Show - Lenka

56. The Truth - Jake One featuring Freeway & Brother Ali

57. What's Been Going On - Amos Lee

58. Dream Catch Me - Newton Faulkner

59. Change - Taylor Swift

60. Gettin’ Up - Q-Tip

61. Right as Rain - Adele

62. The Weight of Her - Butch Walker

63. The World Should Revolve Around Me - Little Jackie

64. Whatever You Like - “Weird Al” Yankovic

65. Fast Car - Wyclef Jean featuring Paul Simon

66. Foundations - Kate Nash

67. Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom) - N.E.R.D.

68. Slow Dance - John Legend

69. Madly - Tristan Prettyman

70. A-Punk - Vampire Weekend

71. Champion - Kanye West

72. Violet Hill - Coldplay

73. You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds featuring Regina Spektor

74. Crack the Shutters - Snow Patrol

75. If I Never See Your Face Again - Maroon 5 featuring Rihanna

76. Love That Girl - Raphael Saadiq

77. Love Lockdown - Kanye West

78. Run (I’m a Natural Disaster) - Gnarls Barkley

79. You Cheated Me - Martha Wainwright

80. Hero - Nas featuring Keri Hilson

81. Dance With Me - Old 97’s

82. Sweet And Low - Augustana

83. The Little Things - Colbie Caillat

84. The Fear - Lily Allen

85. Car Crash - Matt Nathanson

86. Chasing Pavements - Adele

87. Mr Rock & Roll - Amy MacDonald

88. New Soul - Yael Naïm

89. Pork And Beans - Weezer

90. My Medicine - Snoop Dogg

91. Nike Boots - Wale

92. Teenage Love Affair - Alicia Keys

93. Catch My Disease - Ben Lee

94. Broken - Tift Merritt

95. Old Enough - The Raconteurs featuring Ricky Skaggs & Ashley Monroe

96. Gives You Hell - The All-American Rejects

97. Ayyomyman - Tre Hardson featuring Fatlip

98. Beat It - Fall Out Boy featuring John Mayer

99. Seven Days of Lonely - I Nine

100. Stuck to You - Nikka Costa

Monday, December 29, 2008

The 9th Green’s Readers Favorite Songs of 2008


First off, congratulations are in order Emily and Niv who both picked up Amazon gift cards for sending in their top ten lists and thanks to everyone else who also contributed to the list (check your e-mail that you sent your lists from if you haven’t got it yet). After sending all the ballots sent in this year through my patent pending algorism that makes the Electoral College seem reasonable in comparison, here is what it came up with. If you do not like the results start get ready to send in a list for 2009.


1. Viva la Vida - Coldplay

2. Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings

3. Electric Feel - MGMT

4. I Will Posses Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie

5. Heartless - Kanye West

6. Where I Stood - Missy Higgins

7. The Show - Lenka

8. Signs - Bloc Party

9. You Don’t Know Me - Ben Folds featuring Regina Spektor

10. Human - The Killers

11. Violent Hill - Coldplay

12. In This Life - Delta Goodram

13. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend

14. If I Never See Your Face Again - Maroon 5 and Rihanna

15. Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) - Beyoncé

16. Come on Get Higher - Matt Nathenson

17. Live Your Life - T.I. featuring Rihanna

18. Broken - Lifehouse

19. She’s a Lady - Forever the Sickest Kids

20. Paper Planes - M.I.A.

21. Shape Shifter - Keri Noble

22. The Resolution - Jack’s Mannequin

23. How I Could Just Kill a Man - Charolette Sometimes

24. Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon

25. My Medicine - Snoop Dogg

Sunday, December 28, 2008

25 Best Mash-Up's of 2008


There didn’t seem to be a bunch of great mash-ups this year, but still plenty to create a list so here are the best that I have found the last twelve months even if some were actually created before 2008. Here is where I usually give my disclaimer of actually ever having or even hearing these songs for legal reasons, but since the RIAA recently admitted lawsuits weren’t the best course of action when it came to illegal downloading and gave up the practice I guess I know longer have to do that. Granted since Blogger doesn’t have a music upload service you will still have to scour Google if you are interested downloading these songs. Of course there are some links on my sidebar to get you started on your search. If you want the unaltered album version of the songs, on the second line I will list the main songs that make up the mash-up (note some have more songs than I’ve listed):


1. M.I.A. Wanted Dead or Alive - DJ Schmolli
M.I.A. (Paper Planes) vs. Bon Jovi (Wanted Dead or Alive)

2. 50 Ways to Kill Your Lover - DJ Topcat
Slick Rick (Women Lose Weight) vs. Paul Simon (50 Ways to Leave Your Lover)

3. No Taylor, No Scar - Norwegian Recycling
The Fugees No Woman, No Cry vs. Jack JohnsonTaylor vs. Missy Higgins (Scar)

4. EasyWall - DJ Lobsterdust
The Commodores (Easy) vs. Oasis (Wonderwall)

5. Get that Rocky Mountain High - DJ Erb
Method Man & Redman (How High) vs. John Denver (Rocky Mountain High)

6. No One to Squeeze - DJ FOX
Alicia Keys (No One) vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers (Soul to Squeeze)

7. Rolling Confusion - Go Home Productions
The Temptations (Ball of Confusion) vs. Rolling Stones (multiple songs)

8. More than on Point - DJ Topcat
House of Pain (On Point) vs. Boston (More than a Feeling)

9. Can’t Tell My Wonderwall Nothing - Clinton Sparks
Kanye West (Can't Tell Me Nothing) vs. Oasis (Wonderwall)

10. If I Were a Free Fallin' Boy - DJ Earworm
Beyoncé (If I Were a Boy) vs. Tom Petty (Free Fallin')

11. Paper Rump - DJ Tripp
Wreckx-n-Effect (Rump Shaker) vs. M.I.A. (Paper Planes)

12. Jude’ll Fix It - Phil RetroSpector
The Beatles (multiple songs) vs. Coldplay (Fix You)

13. Brick My (Explative Deleted) - DJ Magnet
Mickey Avalon My (Explative Deleted)) vs. the Commodores (Brick House)

14. Wicked Wedding - DJ Schmolli
Billy Idol (White Wedding) vs. Chris Isaak (Wicked Game)

15. Duffy Train Running - DJ Y alias JY
Duffy (Mercy) vs. the Doobie Brothers (Long Train Runnin')

16. Jenny’s Superstitious - DJ Lobsterdust
Stevie Wonder (Superstition) vs. The Killers (Jenny Was a Friend of Mine)

17. Hate It Ain’t So - DJ Koochie
(50 Cent and the Game (Hate It or Love It) vs. Weezer (Say it Ain't So)

18. The Pink Jack - Wax Audio
AC/DC (The Jack) vs. David Lynch (The Pink Room)

19. Don’t Let it Be in Anger - DJ Y alias JY
Oasis (Don't look Back in Anger) vs. the Beatles (Let it Be)

20. Funny Bizniz - The Abrahammer
M.I.A. (Paper Planes) vs. Beastie Boys (Body Movin') vs. Nas (I Can)

21. Ghost Busta Rhymes - Ludachrist
Busta Rhymes (Dangerous) vs. Ray Parker Jr. (Ghostbusters)

22. Maggie’s 64 - locK3Down
Mike Jones (My 64) vs. Rage Against the Machine (Maggie's Farm)

23. Sad but Superstitious - Wax Audio
Stevie Wonder (Superstition) vs. Metallica (Sad but True)

24. Reckoner Lockdown - DJ Earworm
Kanye West (Love Lockdown) vs. Radiohead (Reckoner)

25. Looking Back Is a Losing Game - Phil Retrospector
Oasis (Don't look Back in Anger) vs. Amy Winehouse (Love Is a Losing Game)

Saturday, December 27, 2008

25 Best Live Performances of 2008


Last year I started a Best Performances of the year list mostly because of the overabundance of great performances at Live Earth. Despite the lack of any major cultural event, I thought I would continue the list for at one more year. Here the live performances that caught my ear this year. I have links to YouTube for those that have yet been pulled and there are even a couple that are sold on iTunes so check out the button for those.


1. Stronger/Hey Mama - Kanye West and Daft Punk (Grammy Awards)




2. Just Stand Up - Carrie Underwood, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Nicole Scherzinger , Natasha Bedingfield, Miley Cyrus, Leona Lewis, Keyshia Cole, Ashanti and Ciara (Stand Up 2 Cancer)



3. Burning Up/Ray of Light - The Stooges (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony)



4. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room - John Mayer (Where the Light Is)



5. Jungle Boogie/Umbrella/Don’t Stop the Music - The Time and Rihanna (Grammy Awards)

6. Learnin’ the Blues - Alicia Keys and Frank Sinatra (Grammy Awards)

7. Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (The Oscars)

8. Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood (Grammy Awards)

9. Always a Friend - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Alejandro Escovedo (Magic Highlights)

10. Children’s Story - Slick Rick (Hip Hop Honors)

11. The Pretender - Foo Fighters and the My Grammy Night Orchestra (Grammy Awards)

12. Let it Roll - B.B. King and John Mayer (Grammy Nomination Special)

13. Praying for Time - Carrie Underwood (Idol Gives Back)

14. No One - Alicia Keys and John Mayer (Grammy Awards)

15. Ghost of Tom Joad - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with Tom Morello (Magic Highlights)

16. Viva la Vida - Coldplay (MTV Movie Awards)

17. Love Lockdown - Kanye West (MTV Video Music Awards)

18. Just a Dream - Carrie Underwood (Country Music Award)

19. Free Fallin’ - John Mayer (Where the Light Is)

20. God Put a Smile on Your Face/Stop Me/Valerie - Mark Ronson, Adele, Daniel Merryweather, and Amy Winehouse (The Brit Awards)

21. Photograph - Taylor Swift and Def Leopard (CMT Crossroads)

22. Pink Houses - John Mellencamp (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony)

23. Love Bug - Jonas Brothers (MTV Video Music Awards)

24. You’re So Vain - Foo Fighters (Grammy Nomination Special)

25. Love Story - Taylor Swift (Country Music Award)

Friday, December 26, 2008

30 Best Music Videos of 2008


This may have been the easiest list to make ever because lets face it, there is nothing more entertaining than boob pong. After that it was a race for the other twenty-nine. I have embedded the first couple videos, the rest you can click the link to follow to YouTube and if you are interested in buying the videos, click the iTunes links.


1. Toe Jam - The BPA Toe Jam (feat. David Byrne & Dizzee Rascal)



2. Who's Gonna Save My Soul - Gnarls Barkley



3. Honey - Erykah Badu Honey



4. Champion - Kanye West

5. All I Need - Radiohead Radiohead - In Rainbows - From the Basement - All I Need



6. Strange Times - The Black Keys

7. Pork and Beans - Weezer Pork and Beans

8. American TV - Ben Lee

9. Good Morning - Kanye West Good Morning

10. Going On - Gnarls Barkley Going On

11. Chasing Pavements - Adele Chasing Pavements

12. Your Song - Kate Walsh Your Song

13. Viva la Vida (Anton Corbijn Version) - Coldplay Coldplay - Prospekt's March (Bonus Video Version) - Viva la Vida (Anton Corbijn Version)

14. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend Oxford Comma

15. Just a Dream - Carrie Underwood Just a Dream

16. Cath... - Death Cab For Cutie Cath...

17. Birthday Girl - The Roots & Patrick Stump Birthday Girl

18. House of Cards - Radiohead Radiohead - In Rainbows - From the Basement - House of Cards

19. Love Lockdown - Kanye West Love Lockdown

20. Picture to Burn - Taylor Swift Picture to Burn

21. Get Busy - The Roots, Dice Raw & Peedi Peedi

22. The Fear - Lily Allen The Fear

23. Violet Hill - Coldplay Violet Hill

24. The Weight of Her - Butch Walker The Weight of Her

25. Soon We'll Be Found - Sia Sia - Some People Have Real Problems - Day Too Soon

26. Boys With Girlfriends - meiko Boys With Girlfriends

27. The Resolution - Jack’s Mannequin The Resolution

28. Lovers in Japan - Coldplay Lovers In Japan

29. Love Story - Taylor Swift Love Story

30. Gives You Hell - The All-American Rejects Gives You Hell

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

40 Best Albums of 2008


After the most mediocre year last year (see 30 Best Albums of 2007) I thought 2008 was looking up while listening through the almost 200 potential songs that will appear in next week’s Best Songs of 2008 list. Despite being plethora of great songs, there were not really any great albums. There were plenty of good albums released in the last twelve months and here they are.

If you are interested in reading my original review of these albums, check out the link below the album and if you are interested in buying them on iTunes, click on the album link. If you want to buy the physical CD, head over to Scooter McGavin’s Amazon Store where you can order them there:


1. Cardinalology - Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
Turn the Radio Up Loud and Get Down

2. The Renaissance - Q-Tip
It’s Up to Me to Bring Back the Hope

3. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay
But That Was When I Ruled the World

4. Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie
And They Carried on Like Long Division

5. Fearless - Taylor Swift
It’s Like a Roller Coaster Kind of Rush

6. The Odd Couple - Gnarls Barkley
Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing

7. Hello…x - Tristan Prettyman
Sitting by the Seashore Soaking Up the Summer Breeze

8. Rising Down - The Roots

9. Sleep Through the Static - Jack Johnson
There Is Still Hope Between the Dreams

10. Attack & Release - The Black Keys

11. Rockferry - Duffy
You Got Me on My Knees Begging Please

12. Two Men with the Blues - Willie Nelson and Wynton Marseilles
Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition VII

13. Last Days at the Lodge - Amos Lee
I Just Want to Be a Part of Your Home

14. 19 - Adele
I’d like to Hear the Words Fall out of Your Mouth

15. This Is the Life - Amy McDonald
And You’re Singing a Song Thinking This Is the Life

16. Asking for Flowers - Kathleen Edwards
You’re the Great One, I’m Marty McSorley

17. Another Country - Tift Merritt
Come Gather Me in Like a Rainstorm

18. Gossip in the Grain - Ray LaMontange
Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition IX

19. Pebble to a Pearl - Nikka Costa
Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition IX

20. Accelerate - R.E.M.

21. We Dance, We Sing, We Steal Things - Jason Mraz
Our Name Is Our Vitue

22. On a Clear Night - Missy Higgins
Breathe Them Deep into Your Lungs

23. Forth - The Verve
Love Is These Words that I’m Singing Again

24. Made of Bricks - Kate Nash
You Said I Must East So Many Lemons ‘cause I Am So Bitter

25. The Way I See It - Raphael Saadiq

26. Life, Death, Love and Freedom - John Mellencamp
I Walked like a Hero into the Setting Sun

27. Way to Normal - Ben Folds
You Wanna See What’s in My My Head

28. Day & Age - The Killers
You Sold Your Soul like a Roman Vagabond

29. Blame it on Gravity - Old 97’s

30. Black Ice - AC/DC
One Hot Angel, One Cool Devil

31. Lenka - Lenka
Life Is a Maze and Love Is a Riddle

32. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
All Your Diction Dripping with Distain

33. This Storm - Sonya Kitchell
This Is the Sound That I’m Thinking Of

34. A Hundred Million Suns - Snow Patrol
Musings from the Back 9: Junior Slumps Edition

35. Some People Have Real Problems - Sia
If I Am a Number I Am Infinity Plus One

36. [Untitled] - Nas
Hate Him or Love Him for the Very Same Reason

37. Meiko - Meiko

38. Learn to Live - Darius Rucker
I’m Gonna Love While I Still Have the Time

39. When the World Comes Down - The All-American Rejects
Nobody Wants to Hear You Sing About Tragedy

40. These Are Good Times People - Presidents of the United States of America
Musings from the Back 9: 90’s Rock Edition