Now we have “Contra”. I have purposefully not read anything about this album because I wanted to have an unbiased take on it. I did see that it has reached a level of “universal acclaim” on metacritic.com, but so did Vampire’s eponymous first album, so that isn’t saying much. Taking an impulsive risk with my $9.99, I purchased “Contra” from iTunes. I can truthfully say that it is not money misspent. It is an album packed with great melodies, infectious Afro-pop rhythms, and loads of fun. Let me get one thing out of the way before I get to the good stuff. The lyrics, while at times witty and very funny, are perhaps too full of self-indulgent references to the hipster Manhattan lifestyle.

What makes “Contra” a good album is the musicianship. Starting with “Horchata”, a song about pining for summer days in mid-December, Vampire Weekend reels the listener in with a heady mix of drums, Caribbean/African-influenced percussion, driving bass, marimbas, and tight rhythm guitar. “White Sky” and “Holiday” continue to develop the sound while keeping up the quick pace. At this point I couldn’t care less about the lyrical content; I just want to hear them play.

The pace finally slows down with “Taxi Cab” midway through the album. This is a very well-placed song as it is the perfect mid-set breather. This respite is short-lived, however, as the very next song, “Run” picks up the pace again. This is the first of three songs that highlight “Contra”, along with “Cousins” and “Giving Up the Gun”. The rhythms are at their most complex, the keyboards offer a dissonance not heard elsewhere on the ablum, and there is a sing-along quality to the songs that would make them an absolute blast to experience live.

“Contra” then tails off a bit with the last two tracks, “Diplomat’s Son” and “I Think Ur a Contra”. The former is a strange hybrid between Afro-pop and Reggae and is just a little too muddy for my liking. “I Think Ur a Contra” is just a mess of a song. Slow, full of atmospheric keyboards and lacking the precise, angular rhythms displayed in the rest of the album, it is a disappointing end to an otherwise brilliantly fun album.

Please note that I will never recommend any app that doesn’t secure your personal information or makes your personal information easily accessible to someone who picks up your iPhone. 

Starbucks Card Mobile | Available in the iTunes App Store for Free! [Get it!]

Elegant in its execution and simplicity, Starbucks Card Mobile is a double-edged sword. It is a handy tool for quickly checking your Starbucks card balance (or balances, if you have multiple cards), and it is entirely too convenient for refilling cards. That is really bad if you are a Starbucks addict like myself. However, it is also great if you have a registered Starbucks card and enjoy the benefits that come with it. When I buy a bag of beans at Starbucks I will refill my card in the store with the app just so I can get a free tall beverage.

The other really interesting aspect of this app is that it can generate a QR code that the barista scans to process a payment, thereby replacing the physical card. Unfortunately, this feature is only being used in a trial limited to stores near the Apple and Starbucks HQs. I am hopeful that the trial is successful and that it goes live nationwide; it will mean one less thing in my wallet that I can lose.

Did I mention this app is free? If you have an iPhone and a Starbucks card there is no reason not to have the app.

Mint.com Personal Finance | Available in the iTunes App Store for Free! [Get it!]

There is some controversy about whether using a financial aggregating service like Mint.com can potentially compromise personal financial information. I made the choice to use it several months ago and have found it extremely helpful creating and monitoring my budget and tracking my various financial accounts (checking, mortgage, auto, investments, etc.). If you are a Mint.com user, this app is indispensable. It allows you to monitor accounts, categorize transactions, and view any alerts. This is particularly helpful if you find yourself wanting to make a major purchasing decision and need current information immediately. 

Gowalla | Available in the iTunes App Store for Free! [Get it!]

Do you like exploring urban and suburban environments? Do you and your friends like sharing where you have been? Do you need something to jog your memory when writing about your day’s mundane events or all the really cool places you visited on your vacation or business trip? Do you like social networking games? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Gowalla is for you!

It really is a simple premise: go somewhere, “check in” using the app or create the place if it does not exist, pick up virtual items represented by cool little icons that the folks at Alamofire create, be rewarded with stamps and pins for visiting and creating places, and just have fun with it. There are tons of additional features, but the beauty of Gowalla is the flexibility it offers to users—use it how you want to use it. Just get out and explore your world.

Words With Friends Free | Available in the iTunes App Store for Free! [Get it!]
Words With Friends | Available in the iTunes App Store for $2.99! [Get it!]

Do you like Scrabble? If so, check out this variant on the classic word game. Yes, the board is set up a little differently and it is only for two players, but the basic rules of Scrabble apply. The great thing about this game is that you can play at your own pace as the game updates asynchronously and takes advantage of push notifications to let players know when it is their turn. With the ability to play up to 20 games simultaneously, it can become a bit dizzying, but it is perfect for obsessive players looking for a word game fix.

The free version is ad supported, with an ad popping up after every word you play. I like the game so much and was annoyed enough by the ads to spring for the paid version. I have played so many enjoyable games that I would happily pay again for it.

Photoshop.com Mobile | Available in the iTunes App Store for Free! [Get it!]

This app is perfect for quickly editing photos taken with an iPhone. Since the iPhone lacks a flash, I use it frequently to adjust the exposure of photos that I have taken in less-than-optimal lighting conditions. With other useful basic editing tools such as crop, saturation, tint, and some basic filters, Photoshop.com Mobile makes it easy to perform minor edits to your photos, whether you are simply being silly or really need to focus on the important information in a photo that will be shared. The app also supports uploads to the Photoshop.com paid subscription service.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
This is schizophrenic sample-and-synthesizer-based music at its best. Probably best described as a post-modern pastiche of XTC and the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds”, Animal Collective’s “Merriweather Post Pavilion” grabbed my attention several months after its release, but I am very glad that it forced its way into my consciousness. The music demands patience to listen to initially, but the payoff is found while being submersed in layers and layers of sound and vocal harmonies. This is definitely a love it or hate it type of record, though, and is not the type of album to be pushed on a casual music listener.

Pearl Jam - Backspacer
It is hard to believe this band has been around for 18 years and nine albums. Considering the turmoil they have created for themselves throughout their career and the relatively short shelf-life their fellow Seattle grunge bands have had, it is no small feat that Pearl Jam released their strongest effort since 1994’s “Vitalogy”. “Backspacer” reflects the thoughts and feelings of a 40-something Eddie Vedder, all grown up and now a parent of two. Having reached a similar stage in my life, it is impossible for me to not relate to much of what Vedder has to say. Oh, and the band completely rocks out the music.

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
Often labeled as an alt-country artist out of sheer laziness, Neko Case delivered a stunning album that runs deep with songs that use the power of nature as the metaphorical backdrop. The songs on “Middle Cyclone” are often hauntingly beautiful, but even when listening to one of the most sorrowful sounding songs, “Don’t Forget Me”, one can’t help but laugh at the dark sense of humor that Neko delivers within it:

In the summer by the poolside
While the fireflies are all around you
I’ll miss you when I’m lonely
I’ll miss the alimony too

Deadmau5 - For Lack of a Better Name
Making electronic/DJ music at its absolute finest, Deadmau5, aka Joel Zimmerman, has redefined the genre by incorporating samples, a chaotic mix of analog synths, and live vocals in a way that no one else has. Though his previous effort, “Random Album Title”, was great, “For Lack of a Better Name” is mesmerizing from start to finish. It is a complete effort without filler. Zimmerman keeps the beat moving and the music interesting with subtle changes that key the listener to something exciting to come next. This is the album that got me interested again in the branch of electronica that isn’t represented by The Chemical Brothers or The Crystal Method. Deadmau5 does it like no one else.
 

Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
See my full review here. Nothing much about my opinion of the album has changed. If anything, it is even more engaging than before. I continue to hear new things in the music and new angles to the lyrics. The musicianship just blows me away. Go get this album if you haven’t already.

Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
The boys from Scotland returned in 2009 with a much more assured album than 2005’s “You Could Have Had It So Much Better”. With songs built from the bass line up, this is a solid New Wave revival dance album filled with hooks, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and plenty of surprises. The almost-eight-minute-long “Lucid Dreams” is reason enough to listen to the album as the last half of the song is an electronic dance instrumental. If you don’t get up and dance to this album you probably never dance at all.

Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Kick-ass prog metal concept album concerned with Tsarist Russia, wormholes, and out of body experiences—what’s not to like? Add to that mix a four-part song cycle in the middle of the album that clocks in at over 10 minutes and you have the very definition of intense music. The members of Mastodon are some of the finest instrumentalists in the world of rock music, but until now much of that skill has been hidden in muddy production and limited to live performance. The sheer power and skill displayed on this album is what keeps me coming back for more.

Moby - Wait For Me
Moby’s return to power. It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the seminal “Play” was released, yet it had been a disappointing decade for new Moby records. It seemed like he was desperately trying to recapture the magic of that album with “18”, followed up by two less stellar efforts. With “Wait For Me”, Moby has crafted a very personal album filled with songs of melancholy, regret and mourning built around beautiful melodies. There isn’t a hint of electronic dance here, just some beautiful, reflective songs.

Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
With lyrics ranging from playful to melancholy to regretful, “The Album” represents the acceptance of the unpredictability of life. This album connected with me on a deeply personal level during the months of July through September when I needed this kind of connection most. Sometimes we all hear what we need to hear and get what we need to get at exactly the right time. Thank you, Jeff Tweedy, for capturing your thoughts and emotions and transforming them into universal truths.

U2 - No Line On the Horizon
Though I stated at the beginning that this list would be in no particular order, I admit to saving my favorite album for last. This is the U2 album I have been waiting, no, pining for since 1991’s “Achtung Baby”. Yes, I have enjoyed the intervening albums for what they were, but major faults could always be found with each. Whether it is due to the band giving over more of the production reins to Brian Eno or just serendipity, “No Line On the Horizon” finds U2 back at their experimental best. It is an album filled with layers of sound and moods and only the slightest missteps, but those are still a lot of fun to hear. This is what elevates the album to one of the very best U2 have ever made. “No Line On the Horizon” is bombastic when it needs to be, quietly unnerving at precisely the right moments, and revelatory throughout.

Seeing all of the writers who have signed up for Project52 excites me because it provides me with some strange sense of accountability. The goal is realistic and attainable, particularly after I am once again a productive member of society (read: not unemployed!). It will require dedication to meet the challenge, but it will provide the time to craft a few of what I hope will be interesting longer-form articles without feeling the pressure to produce something new every day. Regarding that last point, I would assuredly feel differently if I were being paid to write, but I am not. Yes, I am being a little defensive about this, so back off!

I hope my readership, as it is, will enjoy my efforts as much as I will enjoy meeting the challenge.

I already own Killzone 2, and it is a killer first-person shooter, but of the other games available for the PS3, I would like to rent or buy: 

• Brutal Legend (rent) - When I first saw the ads for this game I wasn’t sure to be impressed or horrified. The game looked like a campy mess, but I have read and heard nothing but good things. Seems like the perfect three-day weekend rental
• Batman: Arkham Asylum (buy) - I’m a sucker for most things Batman anyway, and having played a little bit of the demo at my local Best Buy, I think this will be a super-fun action-adventure game.
• Modern Warfare 2 (rent, maybe buy) - Killzone 2 sucked me in unexpectedly. I am generally not a fan of the FPS genre because they tend to give me migraines. Maybe it is the hardware of the PS3 that allows games to be developed with such high frame rates and smoothness of motion, or maybe it is my 40” HDTV instead of a 17” PC monitor, or perhaps a combination of both, but KZ2 caused no problems for me. No matter, it does seem that I can play FPS games on the PS3. I have yet to read a bad, or even marginal review of this game; enough said.
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (buy) - This game has received nearly universal acclaim for its combination of story, fluid gameplay, and open world environment. Uncharted 2 has also received acclaim for realizing the PS3’s capabilities as a console. How can I pass up this game? 

Even though I love all the rhythm games I have purchased, I am getting a little burned out on them, and frankly, most of the other games that I have purchased are earlier PS3 titles that are lacking in one way or another (Assassin’s Creed, Ratchet & Clank: Future Tools of Destruction, Burnout Paradise, to name a few). So the idea of getting to play compelling games that are fun to play and great to look at has me salivating.

What games are on your wish list? What platform(s) do you own and what do you look for in games to buy or rent? 

Here’s my Tweet Cloud:

“No One Loves Me & Neither Do I” starts off the album sounding like Queens of the Stone Age with better bass and drums, but it quickly evolves into a blending of the best stylizations of the members’ previous groups. That description may prompt some worries about self-indulgent excess, but the experiment really does work. Unlike many other super groups from the past decade (Audioslave and Velvet Revolver immediately come to mind), TCV seem to have taken the approach of writing the music together in the same space. The signature sounds are there from each individual, but the songs never sound like a mash-up; it is obvious that there was a great deal of give and take during the writing process. Because of how well the music works, it is easy to be in total awe of the brilliant musicianship displayed throughout the album. 

There is not a dud on “Them Crooked Vultures”, but there are three highlights, (interestingly enough the fifth, sixth, and seventh songs) starting with “Elephants”. This track clocks in at almost seven minutes, but does not meander aimlessly. It begins as a raucous blues instrumental that settles into a slack blues rhythm during the verses, only to find its way back to a straight 4/4 tempo during the choruses. The lyrics are intensely personal, depicting a dysfunctional relationship between two people with huge personalities that explode when they are together. It is a grinder of a song, the best representation of Homme’s stoner rock on the album.

“Scumbag Blues” sounds like the spawn of Cream, perfectly evoking Jack Bruce’s falsetto and thumping bass, Ginger Baker’s jazz-influenced drumming, and Eric Clapton’s wailing guitars. “Scumbag Blues” is no mere imitation, though; instead, it is a well-placed tribute to the original rock super group. It is the work of three musicians at their finest, and if it doesn’t make you want to get up and dance, you must be dead.

My favorite song on the album is “Bandoliers”, a classic rock breakup song featuring a long instrumental break near the end. With lyrics again focusing on a fiery and intense relationship, the song is built around a distinctly Eastern European folk-influenced sound. Jones’ keys and Homme’s guitar play off each other while Grohl pounds out a staccato rhythm. “Bandoliers” is unrelenting lyrically and musically and best represents the overall theme of “Them Crooked Vultures”: brilliant musicians playing incredibly well-written music at volume 11.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

Prep Time: 5 min.  Cook Time: 20 min.   

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened  

1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt

1/2 cup hot wings sauce

2/3 cup blue cheese crumbles   

2 cans (9.75 oz. each) white premium chunk chicken breast in water, drained 

1.  HEAT oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.

2.  MIX in sour cream, hot wings sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken.  

3.  BAKE 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

I do not post this in some vain and misguided attempt to gain sympathy, but rather to acknowledge that after my somewhat successful (?) string of writing in late September I have completely fallen off the wagon in October.

I am going to try really hard to let my geek flag fly again very soon. I hope you are still here to see it!