Welcome to Whovember

Considering how much fun we had with our Zeppelin themed “Zeptember” week we here at Mildly Pleased have decided to do another rock iinfused, pun-inspired, theme week with “Whovember”. We all love The Who here at the blog at least to some extent, so it’ll be exciting to see why that is. In the same style as “Zeptember” we’ll countdown our personal favorite songs throughout the week.

For the sake of consistency we’ll follow the same order as our last theme week.

– Tuesday: John’s Top Ten Who Songs
– Wednesday: Sean’s Top Ten Who Songs
– Thursday: Colin’s Top Ten Who Songs
– Friday: Nancy’s Top Ten Who Songs
– Saturday: Kevin’s Top Ten Who Songs

Hopefully this will all join together and we’ll be posting up a storm anyway, anyhow, and anywhere, if that makes any sense.

Trouble Comes Calling

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Do you still like Call of Duty? I don’t mean the WWII shooters that started the franchise, I mean the multiplayer-focused more modern ones that have become as akin to November as the Saw film series was to Halloween. Every year, since 2007, we’ve gotten the latest entry in the series, and it hasn’t really evolved. It hasn’t needed to. Last year’s Black Ops is the best selling game ever. For better or for worse, the Call of Duty franchise is the dominant one for the medium, and the Modern Warfare games define it.

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Someone Find Them a Chart

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

One of the seemingly endless stream of “threes” coming to gaming the last few months, Uncharted 3 had the odds stacked against it. After all, while the first game in the series was commendable, it wasn’t especially remarkable. So when that second game came out and basically defined the cinematic gaming experience, it raised expectations considerably higher for the third part of the trilogy. After all, how do you top one of the greatest games of the current generation?

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Hate is a Battlefield

Battlefield 3

I was definitely on board with the Battlefield franchise as soon as I saw the first game, 1942. It was the first time I ever played a conquest-style game like that before and it really impressed me. I’ve tried to stick with the series over the years, but I was hesitant to get involved in Battlefield 2, as it seemed like a departure from what I originally liked about the series. The Bad Company series kept the franchise relevant, but it had changed and adapted to the post-Modern Warfare world. I thought classic Battlefield was gone. And yet, Battlefield 3 is here, despite there being so many more games in the series than three.

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C.A.T: They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants – They Might Be Giants (1986)

I was hoping we could start Whovember this week but I didn’t want to spring it on everyone without any announcement so it can wait another week, but beware you have no been warned! Anyways, Colin an I had a good run reviewing nine debut albums in a row and although this is again a debut album it’s merely coincidental. I saw my opportunity to pay tribute to the cult kings of underground novelty pop and so here I am, presenting the 1986 debut album from Brooklyn duo They Might Be Giants. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist John Flansburgh and vocalist/multi instrumentalist (mostly accordion!) John Linnell, They Might Be Giants have had a prolific career producing a clever brand of offbeat pop and this is where it all began. Well actually the duo had recorded quite a bit of material before their actual first album. In the early 80s they created a service “Dial-A-Song” where you could dial a number to hear a song. Sounds bizarre but somehow it caught on and people started calling all these numbers to hear these novelty songs. This lead to They Might Be Giants recording at least 500 different songs before they were offered a record deal, wow, and this is their first record.

They Might Be Giants is a difficult band to pin down regarding any kind of genre or subgenre. It’s unfair to call them a novelty even though they have recorded a lot of silly songs, but they definitely legitimate songwriters and have written some great pop rock songs. The tying theme behind all these varying numbers is the lyrical wordplay and unusual subjects the pair often sing about. Look at some of these titles; “Youth Culture Killed My Dog”, “Absolutely Bill’s Mood”, “Chess Piece Face” sometimes I have no idea what these guys are talking about but I enjoy the ride. The record is probably best known for They Might Be Giants first breakout single “Don’t Let’s Start.”

There’s a magnificent blend of different and diverse instruments on this album and both members blend their sounds together well. John Flansburgh’s guitar work has a funky rhythmic flair brimming with energy and John Linnell wows with his aptitude for a whole splendor of instruments with everything from saxophone, to keyboard, to his trademark accordion. Though both members share lead vocal duties Linnell has always seemed to have the most success with producing the band’s hits propelled by his quirky charismatic singing voice.

Growing up in the 90s I’ve always had a soft spot for They Might Be Giants, most notably when their songs “Particle Man” and “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” were featured on Tiny Toon Adventures. As a matter of fact their album Apollo 18 is one of their first cds I can clearly remember listening to. With that being said I suppose it’s not that surprising that the pair started recording educational children’s music for a little while in the mid 2000s, though I’m glad they’re back to their old ways now. This band really is the definition of “cult band” as they’ve somehow been successful but are still only known by a select few. All I know is that I like this album and I’m proud to be a part of that cult.

Fun Fact: Last week’s CAT artist was Husker Du. Did you know that The Daily Show theme song “Dog on Fire” was written by Husker Du guitarist Bob Mould but was re-recorded by They Might Be Giants after Jon Stewart joined the show? It’s all connected man!

Favorite Tracks: “Don’t Let’s Start”, “Hide Away Folk Family”, “She’s an Angel”

My Low Xylophone

Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto

When they were on The Colbert Report a little while ago, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was asked about comparing his band to Radiohead. His reply? “They’re more talented musically, but we’re more handsome.” And that’s it, really. Radiohead has gone on to put out albums that challenge the music industry, genres and even their fans. Coldplay made one Radiohead-esque album and then blew up to be one of the biggest bands in the world. And, in a year with new releases from bands like Radiohead and My Morning Jacket that require a little effort to get into, it’s nice to have something as easy as a new Coldplay album.

I know a lot of people really don’t like Chris Martin, but I appreciate the guy’s earnestness. When I read stuff like the album is inspired by old school American graffiti, the White Rose movement and The Wire, I pay it much mind. Similarly, I don’t spend much time paying attention to his lyrics about love and happiness and whatever. Let the man have his fun. He’s the headman of one of the biggest bands in the world. You should know the vibe Coldplay is going for already, don’t worry about the specifics.

The thing that stands out on Mylo Xyloto is the beats. I feel like the band really kicked up the bass and drums this time around, I mean, just listen to a song like “Paradise.” That shit is deep. Coldplay has definitely taken some inspiration from popular R&B music, I mean they even got Rihanna to sing on a song. Which is perhaps not the direction I expected them to go in, after all I thought Jay-Z’s appearance on the last album more weird than cool, but I’ll allow it. This is a band that sells out stadiums, and that’s the kind of music that does the same.

In the end, the musicianship is as tight as ever, the songs as catchy. No, there’s absolutely no obvious breakouts this time, no “Fix You.” This is more a consistently solid, but never amazing, album. And yes, Coldplay does continue to get farther away from the Parachutes/Rush of Blood sound that made them great in the first place. But it’s easy to get most of this album stuck in your head. I like easy.

Favorite Tracks: “Hurts Like Heaven,” “Charlie Brown,” “Major Minus”

The Dark Knight Returns

Batman: Arkham City

After a summer of Marvel, I’ve recently descended into the depths of DC. And it would be hard not to, with all the new material they’ve been putting out lately. As part of the New 52 initiative, every single DC comic has been relaunched in the past month or so, which, you’ve got to admit, is a bold move. There was the Batman: Year One animated film starring Bryan Cranston – I thought it was OK. DC Universe Online, an MMO that launched earlier this year, just went free to play. And at the center of it all, for gamers like me, that is, there’s Arkham City, the sequel to the surprisingly great 2009 release Arkham Asylum. So needless to say I’ve started watching the Justice League cartoon that I never really paid attention to and spending a lot of time thinking about the DC Universe. Was Arkham City a worthy lightning rod for my DC fascination, or is it a disappointing sequel to the game that proved super hero games need not be disappointing?

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